morning vs. evening running

[vgoatz]

I am new to running and really enjoy it... in the evening. I would prefer to jog in the morning to speed up my metabolism, but my legs are tired from the start, making me start out at a slow crawl. On the other hand when I jog in the evening I feel like I can keep jogging forever and it's a lot more enjoyable. I currently don't do any stretching before jogging (or after for that matter) and thought maybe it would help. Or possibly a more intense warmup would get rid of the tiredness in my legs because it goes away once I've been jogging for a while. Any suggestions?

[SteveJ]

I run in the morning (actually haven't run in the evening so I wouldn't know if I can run more then). My warmup is a pretty fast power walk...I get my legs moving and my heart rate up as fast as I can and that seems to wake me up. I only stretch after my run (I don't stretch before I've started my warm up because I don't want to stretch a tight muscle and my the time I've done my 5 minute power walk I'm not in a place to stretch so I run).

 

But if it's more of a chore for you to run in the morning and you really enjoy running in the evening, you don't want to do something that will prevent you from wanting to get out there and run. So when all is said and done, I think it's really personal preference.

[iamnataliemarie]

I like going for my run in the evening but I want to lose weight, so what I've been doing is not eating after 6, doing my jog around 7 pm and fasting the rest of the night until morning. So during all those hours of not eating my body is burning calories rapidly even while I sleep. I've lost 5 lbs in 4 weeks without any major dietary changes except for not eating at night. If I actually started to watch what I eat more, I would lose twice that.

[Photoyogi24]

I was reading an article about this just the other day.  In the past I've been an early morning person, but more recently I've been working out just after work.  There seems to be pros and cons to both, but in the end it's up to the person and whether or not they can stick to it.  Morning or evening won't matter if you find yourself making excuses to not go!  I've included some examples of the pros and cons I read about for the morning runs.

 

Morning Pros

• There can be less distractions that cause you to miss sessions such as staying late at work, having to go out for dinner, etc.
• Because you've been fasting, you do burn more fat-calories

Morning Cons

• Because you've been fasting, you may not have enough energy and by proxy might not work as hard as you would in the evening
• Proper sleep is also essential to health and weight loss, so if you are waking up extra early but not going to bed early enough you may be doing more harm than good

Just some food for thought, good luck!

[Anne Lang]

i preffer to run in the morning but after my breakfast if i dont then i try on my lunch break if i get my full hr and i run before i eat if not then i do as soon as i get home before it gets to dark I am flexible with when i run but i breath easier in the mornings

[Rob129]

I prefer running in the morning because it's the only time I have free...unless you count chasing around 1 and 3 year old as running.

 

Aside from that I also prefer it since in summer it is cooler