MORNING WORKOUTS: EXPOSED!

Have you ever wondered whether it's better to exercise in the morning or at night? Well, to answer all your questions, please join me in welcoming Jenna Obeid, guest blogger and sports star extraordinaire.

Jenna Obeid

Jenna Obeid is in her final year studying a Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition at Deakin University in Melbourne, with hopes of further study in Dietetics. So far during her studies Jenna has enjoyed learning about how nutrition demands change throughout the lifespan, particularly during female stages such as pregnancy, lactation and post-menopause. Jenna is very much into living a healthy and active lifestyle and enjoys writing about nutrition. Jenna is looking forward to further developing her knowledge in sports nutrition as well as clinical dietetics in the near future.

Connect with Jenna on Twitter

There are many different beliefs on what the best time of day is to exercise. But what do you take as fact and what do you take as a myth? What is known is that exercise in general, no matter what time of the day, is beneficial for the body. But let’s take a closer look at the morning workout and decide for ourselves whether it is really more beneficial than working out later on in the day...

KICK START YOUR DAY

A morning workout is a great start to the day and can get you burning energy from much earlier on. Clinical exercise physiologist Professor Steve Selig from the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at Deakin University states that morning exercise stimulates metabolism and provides a big step up in the rate of metabolic processes of the body.

However, Selig says that morning exercise also may spike blood pressure early in the day and can promote blood clotting for those with cardiovascular issues. Overall, healthy people will benefit more from a morning workout and the advantages on the body of exercising early outweigh the disadvantages.

Wow! Jenna recently came back from competing in
the World Cheerleading Championships in the USA. Jem (Ed) 

MORNING vs ARVO

Body temperature is at its highest in the late afternoon (around 5pm) so exercising at anytime around then can mean exerting a higher level of performance – meaning you may be able to get more from your workout. 

According to exercise physiologist and Senior Science Editor for Muscle & Fitness magazine (USA) Jim Stoppani, afternoon workouts show to be more beneficial for athletes as research has shown that you are stronger and faster in the late afternoon. But he suggests that for the average person, an afternoon workout is not essential as you tend to see similar results regardless of the time of day.

If you prefer a morning workout, just allow for a longer and more extensive warm up to increase your initial lower body temperate in the mornings. 

Read more here:
Souissi, H. et al
Souissi, N. et al
Hill, D. et al

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

Chances are, those who exercise in the mornings will be more likely to stick to their habit and find consistency with their workouts compared to those who exercise later in the day. Selig believes that there are less excuses not to exercise in the mornings and an AM workout seems to be more convenient, leading to more people regularly exercising earlier in the day.

Check out this post over at FitSugar for some great ideas on how to make sure you get motivated to get out of bed and into those running shoes earlier on in the day.

MAKE YOURSELF A MORNING PERSON

Find that you are just too tired to get up that little bit earlier and exercise first thing in the morning? Well, did you know that regular morning exercise can actually have a positive impact on your sleeping patterns and can make you feel more awake during the day?

There has been reported improved sleep quality in those that exercise regularly. Selig says that while only anecdotal evidence, it has been found that people who go from a sedentary lifestyle to one that includes exercise – particularly morning exercise – find that they feel tired when they should be going to sleep and feel more awake during the day. So morning workouts may have a great impact on sleeping patterns.

If exercising late at night, some may find it difficult to fall asleep soon after. Selig suggests that the reason for this is because the body has just been aroused and it may take a while for it to calm back down enough to the point of sleep.


THE FINAL VERDICT

A small change to your lifestyle, like making morning workouts a habit, can really be beneficial. From boosting your metabolism, to keeping you alert, to helping you sleep better, mornings workouts provide some great incentives that go well beyond fitness. Exercise is a great way to start to your day, but more importantly, any time of the day you will reap the benefits! What are your goals to stay fit and healthy over Winter?


Editor's note:


Thanks Jenna. I think this blog is the perfect motivation I need to get out of bed on these cold Winter mornings (yes, it's well and truly Winter here in Melbourne). I'm sure there are many people out there that love a good morning workout, so if anyone has any good suggestions for getting out of bed, they would be most welcome :)

Oven Fries

You may have read my post on McDonald's Gets Grilled, and let's be honest, there are no surprises there when it comes to how nutritious some of the menu options are. But what about oven fries? How do they stack up? Many would argue that at least they're not deep fried, right?

Well, last week on A Current Affair, myself and 2 other dietitians reviewed 7 popular brands of oven fries, and rated them from the most to the least healthy. Now of course we're not promoting oven fries as everday foods - let's put it into perspective here - oven fries should be kept as treat. But it is good to know that you can make better choices at the supermarket by choosing fries that are lower in kilojoules, lower in saturated fat, and lower in sodium (and higher in potato!) for those one-off nights when you're strapped for time.

Check out the story here

And if you're after some pointers on how to make the right choices at the supermarket, check out my guide below.

A guide to buying fries

• The greater the surface area of the chip, the more oil is absorbed. Choose straight cut or wedges over thin & crinkle cut.

• Beer battered chips often contain added wheat starches and may not be suitable for those with food sensitivities or coeliac disease. They are also lower in % potato.

• The Heart Foundation Tick is a good guide for making the right choice, but there are also options that do not have the tick that meet the same criteria.

• Shorter ingredients lists tend to have less additives and more potato. Go for those with >95% potato.

• Look for <120mg/100g sodium

• Look for <1g/100g saturated fat

• Oven fries aren’t an everyday food, save them for special occasions

• Choose those that are made with heart healthy oils like canola and sunflower oil

• If you’re serving oven fries, aim for no more than ¼ of your plate

• Avoid adding extra table salt, most products already contain added salt

• Serve them with a reduced salt tomato sauce as opposed to tartare, aioli or sour cream as these are all high in saturated fat

• The best chip? Make them yourself and add flavour with herbs & spices