Does exercising in the morning burn more calories?

Here’s a nice little bedtime fable to tell the kids at night when you tuck them in. You can tell them that exercising first thing in the morning will burn more calories than the same workout done later in the day. Unfortunately there is about as much truth to this story as there is to the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty .

No, Nyet, Nay, Nien, and Non – exercising in the morning does not burn any more calories than the same exercise regime done at another time of day. In fact there is no scientific evidence to support the myth that morning exercise increases metabolism and fat loss.

There is however some data available showing that working out in the morning is overall more effective for weight loss. This is simply because people who do their personal workout programs first thing in the day tend to do so much more consistently. There are just less distractions or excuses at that time the day than there are at the end of a long work day.

Any and every workout will increase your metabolic rate and keep it elevated for hours regardless of the time of day you exercise. The higher your metabolic rate, the faster you will burn off calories. One of the misconceptions that drive this myth is the thinking that by doing your workout in the evenings you will miss the “afterburn” period because sleeping effectively lowers your metabolic rate, but this has not been found to be true.

Competitive body builders use a form of aerobic training done first thing upon rising and before eating anything. The logic behind this idea is that without fresh fuel to burn the demands on the body from the workout will cause it to use up stored fat for energy. Fact or fiction? Once again there is no agreement in the scientific community on the effectiveness of this style of training. Most fitness professionals will insist it is imperative to eat something at least a half an hour before any workout.

Here are the straight goods on fat loss. Are you ready for the big secret to weight loss success?


The time of day you schedule your exercise program won’t make any difference on your metabolism. All that matters is that you exercise regularly.