Sports beginners often fail at one point – these tips help

Exercise in the morning, at lunchtime or in the evening? Many people fail to establish a sustainable exercise routine. Our walking training plan and a little experiment could be the solution.

Most people who have decided to finally do something for their health and fitness are highly motivated when they complete their first training sessions in the gym, while running or elsewhere. But there is a great risk that after a few weeks – when the initial euphoria wears off – it will become difficult to stick with it consistently. It is simply not possible to develop a workout routine that fits in with your personal everyday life and can be sustained. Our eight-week walking training plan and fixed training times can help. Why walking? And when is the best time to train? Find out here.

When is the best time to exercise? What science says

Numerous studies have already addressed the question of when the optimal time of day for training is. And to put it bluntly: there is no clear answer. For example, an Australian study showed that training in the evening (6 p.m. to midnight) can be particularly effective for a longer life. 29,863 obese people over the age of 40 were examined. Those who did moderate to intensive activities in the evening had the lowest risk of premature death compared to those who exercised in the morning and at lunchtime. Compared to the control group who were inactive in sports, the risk fell by around 61 percent.

Another study showed that in women, morning exercise reduced belly fat and lowered blood pressure, while evening exercise improved muscle strength. In men, evening exercise helped lower blood pressure and stimulate the breakdown of body fat. So the optimal time to exercise also depends on the goal of the training and gender.

In general, endurance sports such as running, cycling or swimming can be done effectively in the morning, at midday or in the evening. The afternoon to evening period is ideal for intensive strength training. This is when muscles and joints are warmed up, energy levels and ability to concentrate are at their best and hormones that influence muscle building are at the right level (high testosterone, low cortisol).

Also interesting: Run 5 kilometers in one go! The 10-week training plan for beginners

Tips on how to find your optimal time for training

Science provides clues as to when training is most effective for certain goals. However, the most important criterion you should use to decide when to do your training is a different one: The optimal time for training is when you can consistently integrate it into your daily routine! Because only if you develop a sustainable routine will you achieve lasting success and stick with it.

When does training fit best into everyday life?

• In the morning: This time of day is particularly suitable for those who know that they find it difficult to get up the energy to exercise after work and prefer to spend the evening relaxing. But also for those who want to keep the evening free for spontaneous meetings with friends, going out to eat, going to the cinema, concerts, etc. If you do your training program in the morning, you start the day full of energy and can spend the evening doing other things without feeling guilty.
• Lunch: This could be the right time to train for anyone who is stressed in the morning and then again in the evening (e.g. people with children), people who can squeeze in a workout during their break at home, or those who can take a brisk walk after eating.
• At evening: If the morning is simply not the right time for activity and every minute in bed counts, you shouldn’t work against your internal clock. Would you rather clear your head with exercise after work? Then make time in the evening for your regular workout and plan other meetings accordingly on other days or, for example, afterwards.

Of course, it is possible in principle to train on different days at different times. But experience shows that it is more difficult to do this consistently. If you make an appointment with yourself to exercise at the same time every morning or evening, you can coordinate your other appointments accordingly. There is less chance of something getting in the way. An important point for the successful development of a fitness routine.

Adhering to recovery times also becomes complex when training times are frequently switched. For example, it makes no sense to do intensive interval running training in the evening and then completely exhaust your legs with strength training before work the next morning (in this case, even a 24-hour break would not be enough for most athletes to recover). If you constantly overexert yourself, you will not make any progress in your training, lose energy and increase your risk of injury. All factors that prevent you from establishing a fitness routine in your everyday life.

Read more: Running or walking – which is better?

Walking: The ideal endurance sport for beginners to develop a routine

In order to develop a sports routine, which is a major hurdle for new and returning athletes, it is important not to overexert yourself. A less intensive endurance sport such as walking is ideal for this – fitness and health are improved step by step without getting completely out of breath, as is the case with running, for example. Walking is feasible for most people – even in old age, if you are overweight or have a pre-existing condition such as diabetes. A medical examination is still essential before starting training.

Another advantage of walking is that it can be done anywhere and is free of charge. All of this makes it the ideal sport to develop a fitness routine in a small experiment that will allow you to integrate exercise into your daily life on a permanent basis.

All you need is our free walking training plan, which you can download from the PDF library. By training according to this plan, you will strengthen your cardiovascular system and basic endurance over a period of eight weeks and improve your mobility. You can find out more about the walking training plan and walking technique here.

To find the training time that is easiest to integrate into your daily routine, conduct a simple experiment.

Walking training plan: PDF to download

The 8-week training plan for walking beginners is available to you free of charge in the PDF library. To download the document, you must register once with our media login USER.ID.

With a simple experiment on the sports routine

Familiarize yourself with the walking training plan (requirements, safety instructions, etc.) and complete it over eight weeks as described in the PDF. Stick to the following training times:

1. In week 1, complete your walking session at any time of day
2. In weeks 2 and 5, walk in the morning (e.g. before/after breakfast)
3. In weeks 3 and 6, walk at lunchtime (e.g. before/after/instead of eating)
4. In weeks 4 and 7, walk in the evening (e.g. after work or dinner)
5. In week 8, complete your walking session at any time of day

Be open to the different times. You will probably notice that it is more difficult for you to exercise at certain times of the day than at others. But give all training times a chance – this is the only way to find the best time for you.

During weeks 1 and 8, you may find that it is more difficult to complete your workouts if you do not have a clear schedule for when you should do them.

Have fun trying!

The author is a former competitive athlete (alpine skiing and ski cross), certified fitness trainer (B license) and ski instructor.