How To Re-Energise Your Evening Workout

Not everyone wants to train and workout in the morning, despite what those glossy magazines tell us. If this is you, then you will likely realise that this leaves you little time in the day other than the evening to get your workout done, especially if you go to work every day.

By far the best time to exercise if you can’t do it in the morning is in the evening. Now, this isn’t always the easiest. Especially if it has been a long hard day, and you are drained of energy. However, with any luck, these tips will help you to re-energise your evening workout and give you a few ideas on how to exercise consistently, even when you don’t feel like it.

Fuel your workout

Food is the fuel of the soul (or something like that. I remember reading that somewhere?), and your body needs regular food and water, so you carry out everyday tasks like simply walking and talking. 

Food is also needed if you want to exercise regularly, too, and there’s no better fuel for our bodies than eating the right carbohydrates a few hours before a training session.

I say a few hours before because you want to give your body enough time to generate energy from the food you have eaten, which in theory, should provide you with a ton of energy after you finish work. 

That’s why it is essential to have small meals throughout the day instead of large meals at set times. 

Eating the correct carbohydrates provides energy for your muscles, which in turn boosts a happy hormone called serotonin, which also has the added benefit of regulating your mood, help with digestion, and improve your sleep patterns at night.

Add all of this up and means you are more than ready for your evening workout. No matter what exercise you choose to do.

Here’s an extract from The Truth About Carbs

Which Foods Have Carbs?

You would typically find a healthy mix of carbs in our food like dairy products (ice cream, yogurt, milk), fruit, vegetables, bread, cereal, and sugary sweets and drinks.

Sugar

This is one carb that has been branded as evil not just by professionals, but even our own UK government. Laws have been passed to tax sugary drinks on top of the VAT that is already applied to them.

This was imaginatively called “the sugar tax.”

The levy is being applied to manufacturers. Drinks with more than 8g per 100ml will face a tax rate equivalent to 24p per litre. Those containing 5-8g of sugar per 100ml will face a slightly lower rate of tax, of 18p per litre.

This should give you an idea of just how much the government is encouraging all of us to cut down on our sugar consumption.

Again, there are many different types of sugar (too many to get into in this article). However, the one that is seen to cause the most damage are called “free sugars.”

These are not typically found in everyday fruits and vegetables, but can specifically be found in a lot of our processed foods such as sweets, chocolates, biscuits, flavoured waters, fizzy drinks, and even breakfast cereals.

These sugars can be added at home but will more likely be added by the manufacturer when the food is being made and processed.

The so-called healthy sugars found in honey, maple syrup, and fruit juices are still characterised as free sugars.

So consuming a bucket load of these sugars is still a bad idea. However, sugars found in fruit, vegetables, and milk don’t count.

Starch

As mentioned previously, it is typically found in bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, and certain cereals. Taken in moderation can actually provide you with a slow, steady release of energy throughout the day.

Fibre

Out of the three carbohydrates, fibre is probably one of the most straight forward ones to understand. Generally found in vegetables, bread, pasta, and pulses. It can be found in the cell walls foods that come from plants usually.

Listen to upbeat music

Now, this might seem like the most obvious tips to give you. However, working out to upbeat music will dramatically increase how much energy you have before and during a workout. So, my advice would be to crank the music up!!

Don’t wait till you get to the gym either, select your favourite playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, play your upbeat music in the car, and get both your body and mind ready for an energising workout.

There’s no specific genre of music that works better than any other. The choice is a subjective one. In essence, whatever works for you and your mood should do the job.

Stay hydrated

Having something to drink before and after a workout is undoubtedly recommended. To determine whether you are drinking enough is to check the colour of your urine.

Yeah, I know, this sounds pretty gross. However, there’s no better check than for you to have a quick look.

If your urine is a strong lemonade-color in the morning, then this is generally OK and means your body is well hydrated.

On the other hand, if it is a darker apple juice type colour, then this would suggest that your body is not adequately hydrated.

That’s why it is encouraged for you to drink a pint of water as soon as you get up in the morning.

This water is restoring the fluid your body lost during the day. Please understand, there’s no size fits all here.

Don’t go home first

Going home before your workout is a big, no, no. What are the chances you are going to feel energised enough after you have sat down to watch one of your favourite soaps? Little to none, I would guess?

That’s why you should get into the routine of going straight to the gym after work with no detours. 

These detours provide you with the excuse of not going to the gym and doing double the reps tomorrow. Unfortunately, this won’t happen, and those extra reps conveniently get forgotten about.

Depending on how organised you are. Get into the habit of packing your gym clothes and any fluid or snacks the night before. That way, there is no excuse to take any unscheduled detours, and you definitely won't need to return home before you go to the gym.

Plan Ahead



Extract taken from: What Is A Good Food & Fitness Plan For Someone Who Is Extremely Busy?

This is probably the most important tip of all. The title says “busy,” so I’m going take the generalist view that you are busy in a full-time job for the sake of argument if you do work full time and don’t have a lot of time. 

The best thing you can do is get organised. 

If you do nothing else, make sure you plan. This will be the one thing that will help you with your overall fitness plan.

When’s the best day to do this? I would say Sunday. To some, it is the end of the week and to others, the start of the week. Either way, it’s a great day to plan the next week ahead.

You can either use a notebook or an online calendar. Write down all of the items in your fitness plan for the next seven days. This should include the hours you are at work, the time you need to wake up, get up, and the time you get home.

With this noted, you can then work out when you can fit in exercise. By doing this, you should also be able to calculate when and what type of meals you will need to prepare and what meals you will have each day.

Can you see how effective this is?

Granted, this might be a little hard to get into. But, I guarantee you if you do this for long enough, you should see your life transform. The more you plan, the more time you have to fulfill your exercise program and the more free time you’ll have.

In Summary

Now we are coming into the winter months, don’t let that scare or demotivate you. Often times, the hardest workouts provide the best results. Times when just don’t feel like it and you are able to push through mean you stay consistent and true to your goals.

Don’t forget, working out in the evening is also an excellent way to socialise and meet new people. If you can form bonds and friendships at your gym, it makes going to the gym a lot easier and will provide you that added motivation to not only get fit but socialise with people you like.

It is argued that an evening workout provides the working person with a lot more work-life balance than a morning workout (especially if you got in late the night before). A nice bit of exercise to round off the day can make all the difference.