When is the best time to train?

This is a very common question, however it is not a simple answer of morning between 9am and 11am for example. Every one of is an individual and unique so therefore everyone's bodies react differently at different time.

From scientific research has shown that the human body's hormone levels peak in the late afternoon into early evening around 4pm - 7pm. This would make the muscles in your body respond much better, to any form of exercise, so therefore it's better to workout between 4pm – 7pm.

However we all know with our busy schedules this is more often than not impossible to stick to these time.

What happens if you can only train in the morning? Will you be able to still make sufficient gains in your weight training or improve your fitness with cardio training? Of course you will so long as you are keeping to your routine and feeding your body the right nutrients.

One of the most popular times of day to exercise is approximately 5pm. This is due to a couple of factors.

Firstly research has shown it's the time when people feel most energised. The vast majority of us are simply not very good at getting up in the mornings and it's never fun pumping iron when you are half a sleep.

Secondly working out at approximately 5pm fits into the majority of our schedules so we are not rushing or cutting your routine short. Or like a lot of us we just give the gym a miss as we have to work etc.

With our busy schedules and relentless life styles the most important thing is that we make sure we workout, not necessarily what time we workout. If you can only fit your session in the morning before work, then exercise in the morning. The same applies with the afternoon and evenings. The crucial point is that we are routinely training and exercising at a high intensity level if we are serious about making improvements in both our physique and athletic stamina.

Whatever time our schedules or body decides on it does not matter whether it's 4am or 4pm. It's important that we consume whey protein or protein shakes before and after training. Your post work out protein shake will deliver all of the important nutrients to the muscles that have just been exhausted and broken down minutes earlier during your workout. A post workout shake containing a two to one carbohydrate to protein ratio no later than 40 minutes after exercise is key.

So when' the best time to workout? Simple, any time when you can regularly commit to performing an intense and varied workout. Find what time suits your body and schedule and keep to it.