Is There an Optimal Time to Work Out?
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About the Show
On this episode, Chuck Gaidica is joined by Dr. Angela Seabright, care management physician for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Together, they discuss the science behind the optimal times to exercise and how aligning our exercise routines with our body's internal clock may enhance performance.
In this episode of A Healthier Michigan Podcast, we explore:
- Circadian rhythm and how it influences our body's function
- The debate between morning and evening workouts, and if there's an advantage to either
- Myths and misconceptions about the best times to exercise
Transcript
Chuck Gaidica:
Hi everyone, Chuck here. Before we get into today's episode, I want to let you know that recently we launched our newly refreshed site over at a Healthier Michigan. You can find the podcast there and a lot of health related content at ahealthiermichigan.org. Now to the episode.
Hi everyone, Chuck here. Before we get into today's episode, I want to let you know that recently we launched our newly refreshed site over at a Healthier Michigan. You can find the podcast there and a lot of health related content at ahealthiermichigan.org. Now to the episode.
Can the time of day yield better results for your workout? This is a Healthier Michigan podcast, episode 139, and coming up we discuss how our circadian rhythm impacts our workout.
Welcome to a Healthier Michigan podcast. It's a podcast that's dedicated to navigating how we can all improve our health and wellbeing through small, healthy habits that we can start implementing right now. I'm your host, Chuck Gaidica, and every other week we'll sit down with a certified expert and we discuss topics that cover nutrition, fitness, a lot more, and on this episode, we're going into the deep end of the pool on whether or not our circadian rhythm plays an important role in optimizing our workouts. You may already have personal habits like this. Joining us to help us navigate this area is the care management physician of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Dr. Angela Seabright.
Doctor, good to have you back.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Good morning, Chuck. Thanks for having me.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, it's great to have you. I know as a family physician you probably hear this a lot and you make recommendations to people who you see about getting into a workout plan, but there is a notion that there's a certain time of day that may work better for some. When it comes to exercising, there's no question, I think that anecdotally anyway, that finding a time to work out which fits your work schedule, your kid's schedule, it seems like everybody else's schedule but your own, is what's appropriate and something we can do. But what if you wanted to actually optimize your workouts and have the most benefit from it? Is there a time of day that you see, in research and otherwise, that is optimal to maximize benefits for all of us to getting a good workout in? What do you think?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, that's a great question and I think it goes back to that circadian rhythm. Circadian comes from the Latin word circa diem, which means around a day. If we're going to talk physiology for a moment, we know that the body is a machine and the circadian rhythm is our body's internal clock and variations in our biology throughout that 24 hour period, that clock is running in the background to ensure optimal function. Our body temperature, our hormones, our immune function, appetite, digestion, wakefulness, sleep, the list goes on and on. What cues the clock is light. Daylight enters our eye, our retina then sends a signal to the brain, something called the super chiasma nucleus or SCN for short, which you can think of as the pacemaker of the brain. While light is the most important cue to run our clock, other signals can shift your circadian rhythm or support them, and exercise is one of them. It makes sense because when we're exercising, what's happening physiologically, our body temperature is increasing, our heart rate is increasing, we're waking up, we're aroused, and so these external cues can have an impact on our body's rhythm and our body's natural rhythm or circadian rhythm can also impact our exercise.
To answer your question, I think a lot of it depends on the individual and their goals. Are you working out to lose? Are you looking to lose weight? Are you looking to lose calories, inches, fit in your jeans better? Or are you working out to gain, you want to gain muscle? You want to gain strength, endurance? Usually it's a combination of both, but what does the science say? What do the studies show?
Well, some studies show that morning exercise can promote more fat burn and weight loss. Morning workouts also support your circadian rhythm by promoting wakefulness in the morning. You're truly in sync with your natural clock, which means you're probably going to go to bed earlier and you're just going to have that healthy sleep-wake cycle. On the flip side, afternoon workouts actually show that you might have more endurance and that's thanks to our body's natural rhythm. We have an increase in core body temperature later in the day and so this means, it's kind of like a built-in warmup, you still need to warm up, but your body's going to have improved muscle contraction and power. You may be able to lift a little bit more, you may be able to run an extra lap. They've actually done studies on athletes that show greater athletic performance in the afternoon.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, now there's so much in there that you've gone through because this idea, we happen to be recording episode 139 today in a cloudy kind of stormy day for some, right? For a lot of people, and for me, I'll just say me, when it's a rainy day, if I can find a place to lay down next to my dog, that's a great day. That's the day where I get a little sleepy maybe. But this seems to go hand in hand with us, even if it's cloudy or even if it's seasonal where the sun is setting sooner than later, we could also force our hand. Maybe structuring a 6:30 AM workout when you haven't really pushed yourself to do that, gets you in sync with this rhythm. It seems like light is important, but yet we do have some hand in formulating a healthful approach to this rhythm that can become something where we don't fall off the wagon, that we actually stay with it, huh?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, and that's a great point, and you also want to keep in mind that we're all wired a little different. Even though we have this internal clock, we have our so-called early birds and night owls. It also depends on your age and underlying health conditions. You've got to think maybe someone with diabetes who's on insulin, they probably wouldn't want to exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning due to risks of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. I think the takeaway is that it's highly individualized. If you do have a medical condition, you want to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program, but you can do a little trial and error, but everyone kind of knows, I know I really can't work out early in the morning.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
It's just not me. But for people who can set their alarm, it's 6:00 AM or 5:00 AM, that's wonderful, that's them, but everyone's a little bit different.
Chuck Gaidica:
I've read from some who are influencers and whatever that means, within their sphere that working out on an empty stomach or in a fasting state is better for burning calories, et cetera. I don't know if you've seen anything that actually supports that beyond their anecdotal pitch that maybe it's their idea of what's healthful.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, it can be helpful, but keep in mind if there are underlying medical conditions, it might actually do more harm than good, and then the other thing to think about is because we don't have as much power and endurance in the morning, are you getting as much bang for your buck with your workout? Maybe you can work out a little bit stronger, you can burn more calories, you can work out longer in the afternoon, so the argument there is you're actually going to burn more calories with a better workout later in the day, and so maybe that will create more weight loss.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, and to your point, I love trying to work out in all kinds of different ways, including the natural ways of letting my dog take me for a walk. But if you were to tell me, I'm usually up by 6:30 to 7:00 every morning, that I have to get up at 5:30 to work out, I'd say, "I've got a guy. I'm paying a guy to do pushups for me at 5:00." There's no way the planet that I'm going to get up much earlier to start a plan, which means even if I tried it, I know I'm headed for the destiny of failure, so you do have to sort of know thyself in this.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Exactly.
Chuck Gaidica:
You can force or push yourself, which I think is a good thing, but if it's not really part of your rhythm because of kids or dogs or spouses or whatever, work, maybe you do need to work around those things.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
That's a great point. You have to listen to your body. We all know how we feel. Think about how you feel before you workout, during your workout, and after your workout, and if it doesn't feel right, then you might want to adjust and tweak a little bit.
Chuck Gaidica:
For a lot of us, whether it is actual work from home or a workplace, work could be for some taking care of the family, that's going to be a substantial part of the day. If you have to wait until the latter part of the day, 5:00 PM, in that window before what we would call dinner time, should you precede your dinner with a workout or would you think going after it? Because that's when a lot of people have to structure their time, that's all they have.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, I think it really depends. If you're going to eat a huge dinner, it's probably not a good idea to go for a jog right after. But then some people think, "Well, I burn off that dinner. I burned off that ice cream."
Chuck Gaidica:
Oh, interesting.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
On the flip side, if you work out, you may feel more hungry. Sometimes people say when they work out, their appetite's actually suppressed, so they may make better food choices. I think the key is for the evening workouts, try to avoid vigorous or high intensity activity within one hour of bedtime. It's really important that your body cools down. Our core temperature actually naturally decreases in preparation for sleep, it helps us fall asleep when our temperature's down. I know, Chuck, we've talked about this on other podcasts regarding sleep. Those higher intensity workouts are going to be better for earlier in the day, maybe if you want to have a little boost or a surge of energy, that might be a great idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
It's funny you talk about the temperature, your body temperature, because I have found this. There are days where I'm running and gunning so much with all kinds of things, and I don't get to maybe doing some weight training until later, and I mean like 9:30 at night. It doesn't prohibit my sleep in the sense that I can't sleep because I'm so fired up, but I have noticed my core body temperature, and it's not extreme HIIT training where I'm going at it for 40 minutes and being crazy about it, but it's enough where I've noticed that body temperature 10:30 to 11:00 is still higher, which does tend to, doesn't prohibit sleep, but I noticed I'm having to adjust more to feel more comfortable.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Right.
Chuck Gaidica:
That's really interesting because I wouldn't have thought that's a thing that could derail my circadian rhythm, just the idea that I'm feeling warmer for an hour, hour and a half after a workout.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, it's true, and it might take you a little longer to fall asleep. If you're going to exercise close to bedtime, some of the restorative exercises like yoga, there's a lot of breath work, maybe optimal, and if you notice that you are having trouble falling asleep after a workout, then maybe dial it back a little earlier.
Chuck Gaidica:
Have you heard from patients, people that come to talk to you, myths or misconceptions that are even something beyond what you've already discussed relative to the best time to exercise?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think we have this common myth that the morning is the best time to exercise, and I think we can agree that from a logistics standpoint, morning workouts do tend to come out on top for most people, you're scheduling it first thing in the morning before the busyness of the day, the 1000 excuses. It does allow for that consistency, which is key. Also, just knowing your workout is done, it's a huge weight off your shoulders, so you get that blood pumping early in the morning, those endorphins kick in. It's a huge stress relief and you're really starting your day on the right track. But as I mentioned, sometimes those morning workouts aren't as powerful or effective as maybe in the afternoon, it's individualized. I know New Year's comes and everyone sets their alarm clock, "This is it. I'm going to wake up at 6:00 AM, I'm going to get that workout," but like you said, Chuck, sometimes it doesn't feel right, you just can't do it. Maybe you can force yourself in a couple weeks, you'll get a little bit better, but just listen to your body and it's okay. If you didn't get that workout in the morning, try to find another time during the day.
I think another myth is not so much about the timing of the day, but just the timing of the workout. People think, "Well, if I don't have that hour during the day, I'm just not going to work out today." You don't need to have your workout in one continuous period. You can schedule smaller bursts of workouts, so you can do maybe a morning walk with your dog, a brisk walk, you can do quick afternoon on the bike or some strength training, maybe 20 minutes of yoga at bedtime. Those smaller bursts can still have just as much benefit as one continuous exercise.
Chuck Gaidica:
What's that phrase, the acronym NEAT? It's non-essential exercise basically, and I think in this work from home environment that many of us are still in that if you're taking a phone call, it's probably harder with the Zoom call or something, but if you're making phone calls or returning calls, to walk around your house and add steps to your day or do it outside. This way of adding exercise to our day that actually works into, some businesses allow that as well, in the business workplace, I think that that's a brilliant way to add some things to your day that you don't normally think about. I guess from a business standpoint, it's called productivity. How can I multitask to get things done? One of those things you could add to your list is, well, I can go for a walk around the kitchen and make a phone call just as well as sitting in a chair.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Right. It all adds up and it's very important.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah. You said something that I think is critical. We've both said it in different ways, but it's this idea, it'll be my day of an acronyms, SMART goals, S-M-A-R-T. The A is achievable, and I think that, for me, and maybe for you too, has been something that I see that's really important, is to not set myself up for failure. It's to create those goals of whether it's the time of day to workout, how strenuous, make it achievable, something that if you do want to push yourself, that's okay, but don't make it so goofy that you just know within by January 3rd, the New Year's resolution is gone.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Exactly. Yeah, and do something you enjoy. Don't feel that you have to do the latest and greatest workout. It's got to be something you enjoy because that's what you're going to actually do at the end of the day. You're not going to want to force yourself to do something that you just don't enjoy. If you want to have that consistency, you've got to like what you're doing.
Chuck Gaidica:
I know you're a doctor, so you're going to have a bit of a bias to what I'm going to say, but I think this is really important because I think our doctors, our personal physicians, are a great resource. Sometimes I see a sign to exercise plans. In my mind, it's almost like there's an asterisk and it's just a disclaimer. Before starting a new workout plan, talk to your doctor. I think for many of us, we see that and we go, "Yeah, that's kind of funny. Somebody put that on there, one of those tags on a brand new mattress, it doesn't really matter." It does matter, doesn't it? Because listening to you now on this podcast, I'm learning stuff, you're not even my personal physician, but just being able to have a dialogue and encouragement, a bit of coaching, that's critical for a lot of people before they start something new and maybe even strenuous, isn't it?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
It's very critical, and you want to prevent injury. The last thing you want to do is have all this motivation to exercise, get healthy, and then suffer an injury that sets you back, so I think it's very important to have that conversation with your doctor, make sure what you're doing is safe, because again, you just don't want to injure yourself. As important as exercise and physical activity is, it can be dangerous if not done correctly.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah, that's really good advice. I have tried to employ that more in my life because for me, I know it's a bias of my own. I've thought, "Well, why do I need to check in with somebody about what I'm going to do? I'm just going to do some pushups or start to get into something." I have suffered an injury, to be fair, going to boxing classes, and all of a sudden I had something happen in my left foot and it took me out of the game for a couple of months. It wasn't a break, but it was a bad enough sprain, and I thought, "You know, I kind of messed that up. I pushed a little too hard, too fast."
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Makes you think twice, definitely.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah. As we start to wrap up, can you summarize for us this idea of trying to get the time of day, your body clocks, circadian rhythm, all lined up with optimal workouts for you?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think the best thing is to listen to your body. Try not to go against your body's natural rhythm too much. We all know are we a morning person? Are we a night owl? Try to go in sync with your body as much as you can. I know lifestyle and work and children and everything feels like it's interrupting our goal to exercise, but exercise is one of the most important steps you can make toward good health and ultimately the best time of day to exercise is the time that you can exercise and the time that you can be consistent with it.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah, great advice. Well, it's always good to see you. Thanks so much for the wisdom today. Now you've encouraged me. I'm going to wait for the storms to pass and get out there and do something. I don't know what it is yet.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think I will too.
Chuck Gaidica:
Good to see you. Thank you.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Thank you.
Chuck Gaidica:
Dr. Angela Seabright, who's care management physician for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. So much good stuff. Thank you for listening to a Healthier Michigan podcast. It's brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. If you like the show and you want to know more, check us out at the newly refreshed site that we have. It's called ahealthiermichigan.org/podcast. You can actually go there, click on it, you can leave us reviews ratings, also on Apple Podcast or Spotify. We're now posting these on YouTube so you can find us all over the place. You can follow us too. Don't forget to do that. Hit the follow button on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can get the new episodes, we're up to 139, all the old episodes, and take them with you on your healthful walk or bike ride, on your smartphone, you can use a tablet and be sure to subscribe. Hit that button too. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. I'm Chuck Gaidica, be well.
Doctor, good to have you back.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Good morning, Chuck. Thanks for having me.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, it's great to have you. I know as a family physician you probably hear this a lot and you make recommendations to people who you see about getting into a workout plan, but there is a notion that there's a certain time of day that may work better for some. When it comes to exercising, there's no question, I think that anecdotally anyway, that finding a time to work out which fits your work schedule, your kid's schedule, it seems like everybody else's schedule but your own, is what's appropriate and something we can do. But what if you wanted to actually optimize your workouts and have the most benefit from it? Is there a time of day that you see, in research and otherwise, that is optimal to maximize benefits for all of us to getting a good workout in? What do you think?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, that's a great question and I think it goes back to that circadian rhythm. Circadian comes from the Latin word circa diem, which means around a day. If we're going to talk physiology for a moment, we know that the body is a machine and the circadian rhythm is our body's internal clock and variations in our biology throughout that 24 hour period, that clock is running in the background to ensure optimal function. Our body temperature, our hormones, our immune function, appetite, digestion, wakefulness, sleep, the list goes on and on. What cues the clock is light. Daylight enters our eye, our retina then sends a signal to the brain, something called the super chiasma nucleus or SCN for short, which you can think of as the pacemaker of the brain. While light is the most important cue to run our clock, other signals can shift your circadian rhythm or support them, and exercise is one of them. It makes sense because when we're exercising, what's happening physiologically, our body temperature is increasing, our heart rate is increasing, we're waking up, we're aroused, and so these external cues can have an impact on our body's rhythm and our body's natural rhythm or circadian rhythm can also impact our exercise.
To answer your question, I think a lot of it depends on the individual and their goals. Are you working out to lose? Are you looking to lose weight? Are you looking to lose calories, inches, fit in your jeans better? Or are you working out to gain, you want to gain muscle? You want to gain strength, endurance? Usually it's a combination of both, but what does the science say? What do the studies show?
Well, some studies show that morning exercise can promote more fat burn and weight loss. Morning workouts also support your circadian rhythm by promoting wakefulness in the morning. You're truly in sync with your natural clock, which means you're probably going to go to bed earlier and you're just going to have that healthy sleep-wake cycle. On the flip side, afternoon workouts actually show that you might have more endurance and that's thanks to our body's natural rhythm. We have an increase in core body temperature later in the day and so this means, it's kind of like a built-in warmup, you still need to warm up, but your body's going to have improved muscle contraction and power. You may be able to lift a little bit more, you may be able to run an extra lap. They've actually done studies on athletes that show greater athletic performance in the afternoon.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, now there's so much in there that you've gone through because this idea, we happen to be recording episode 139 today in a cloudy kind of stormy day for some, right? For a lot of people, and for me, I'll just say me, when it's a rainy day, if I can find a place to lay down next to my dog, that's a great day. That's the day where I get a little sleepy maybe. But this seems to go hand in hand with us, even if it's cloudy or even if it's seasonal where the sun is setting sooner than later, we could also force our hand. Maybe structuring a 6:30 AM workout when you haven't really pushed yourself to do that, gets you in sync with this rhythm. It seems like light is important, but yet we do have some hand in formulating a healthful approach to this rhythm that can become something where we don't fall off the wagon, that we actually stay with it, huh?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, and that's a great point, and you also want to keep in mind that we're all wired a little different. Even though we have this internal clock, we have our so-called early birds and night owls. It also depends on your age and underlying health conditions. You've got to think maybe someone with diabetes who's on insulin, they probably wouldn't want to exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning due to risks of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. I think the takeaway is that it's highly individualized. If you do have a medical condition, you want to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program, but you can do a little trial and error, but everyone kind of knows, I know I really can't work out early in the morning.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
It's just not me. But for people who can set their alarm, it's 6:00 AM or 5:00 AM, that's wonderful, that's them, but everyone's a little bit different.
Chuck Gaidica:
I've read from some who are influencers and whatever that means, within their sphere that working out on an empty stomach or in a fasting state is better for burning calories, et cetera. I don't know if you've seen anything that actually supports that beyond their anecdotal pitch that maybe it's their idea of what's healthful.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, it can be helpful, but keep in mind if there are underlying medical conditions, it might actually do more harm than good, and then the other thing to think about is because we don't have as much power and endurance in the morning, are you getting as much bang for your buck with your workout? Maybe you can work out a little bit stronger, you can burn more calories, you can work out longer in the afternoon, so the argument there is you're actually going to burn more calories with a better workout later in the day, and so maybe that will create more weight loss.
Chuck Gaidica:
Well, and to your point, I love trying to work out in all kinds of different ways, including the natural ways of letting my dog take me for a walk. But if you were to tell me, I'm usually up by 6:30 to 7:00 every morning, that I have to get up at 5:30 to work out, I'd say, "I've got a guy. I'm paying a guy to do pushups for me at 5:00." There's no way the planet that I'm going to get up much earlier to start a plan, which means even if I tried it, I know I'm headed for the destiny of failure, so you do have to sort of know thyself in this.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Exactly.
Chuck Gaidica:
You can force or push yourself, which I think is a good thing, but if it's not really part of your rhythm because of kids or dogs or spouses or whatever, work, maybe you do need to work around those things.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
That's a great point. You have to listen to your body. We all know how we feel. Think about how you feel before you workout, during your workout, and after your workout, and if it doesn't feel right, then you might want to adjust and tweak a little bit.
Chuck Gaidica:
For a lot of us, whether it is actual work from home or a workplace, work could be for some taking care of the family, that's going to be a substantial part of the day. If you have to wait until the latter part of the day, 5:00 PM, in that window before what we would call dinner time, should you precede your dinner with a workout or would you think going after it? Because that's when a lot of people have to structure their time, that's all they have.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, I think it really depends. If you're going to eat a huge dinner, it's probably not a good idea to go for a jog right after. But then some people think, "Well, I burn off that dinner. I burned off that ice cream."
Chuck Gaidica:
Oh, interesting.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
On the flip side, if you work out, you may feel more hungry. Sometimes people say when they work out, their appetite's actually suppressed, so they may make better food choices. I think the key is for the evening workouts, try to avoid vigorous or high intensity activity within one hour of bedtime. It's really important that your body cools down. Our core temperature actually naturally decreases in preparation for sleep, it helps us fall asleep when our temperature's down. I know, Chuck, we've talked about this on other podcasts regarding sleep. Those higher intensity workouts are going to be better for earlier in the day, maybe if you want to have a little boost or a surge of energy, that might be a great idea.
Chuck Gaidica:
It's funny you talk about the temperature, your body temperature, because I have found this. There are days where I'm running and gunning so much with all kinds of things, and I don't get to maybe doing some weight training until later, and I mean like 9:30 at night. It doesn't prohibit my sleep in the sense that I can't sleep because I'm so fired up, but I have noticed my core body temperature, and it's not extreme HIIT training where I'm going at it for 40 minutes and being crazy about it, but it's enough where I've noticed that body temperature 10:30 to 11:00 is still higher, which does tend to, doesn't prohibit sleep, but I noticed I'm having to adjust more to feel more comfortable.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Right.
Chuck Gaidica:
That's really interesting because I wouldn't have thought that's a thing that could derail my circadian rhythm, just the idea that I'm feeling warmer for an hour, hour and a half after a workout.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Yeah, it's true, and it might take you a little longer to fall asleep. If you're going to exercise close to bedtime, some of the restorative exercises like yoga, there's a lot of breath work, maybe optimal, and if you notice that you are having trouble falling asleep after a workout, then maybe dial it back a little earlier.
Chuck Gaidica:
Have you heard from patients, people that come to talk to you, myths or misconceptions that are even something beyond what you've already discussed relative to the best time to exercise?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think we have this common myth that the morning is the best time to exercise, and I think we can agree that from a logistics standpoint, morning workouts do tend to come out on top for most people, you're scheduling it first thing in the morning before the busyness of the day, the 1000 excuses. It does allow for that consistency, which is key. Also, just knowing your workout is done, it's a huge weight off your shoulders, so you get that blood pumping early in the morning, those endorphins kick in. It's a huge stress relief and you're really starting your day on the right track. But as I mentioned, sometimes those morning workouts aren't as powerful or effective as maybe in the afternoon, it's individualized. I know New Year's comes and everyone sets their alarm clock, "This is it. I'm going to wake up at 6:00 AM, I'm going to get that workout," but like you said, Chuck, sometimes it doesn't feel right, you just can't do it. Maybe you can force yourself in a couple weeks, you'll get a little bit better, but just listen to your body and it's okay. If you didn't get that workout in the morning, try to find another time during the day.
I think another myth is not so much about the timing of the day, but just the timing of the workout. People think, "Well, if I don't have that hour during the day, I'm just not going to work out today." You don't need to have your workout in one continuous period. You can schedule smaller bursts of workouts, so you can do maybe a morning walk with your dog, a brisk walk, you can do quick afternoon on the bike or some strength training, maybe 20 minutes of yoga at bedtime. Those smaller bursts can still have just as much benefit as one continuous exercise.
Chuck Gaidica:
What's that phrase, the acronym NEAT? It's non-essential exercise basically, and I think in this work from home environment that many of us are still in that if you're taking a phone call, it's probably harder with the Zoom call or something, but if you're making phone calls or returning calls, to walk around your house and add steps to your day or do it outside. This way of adding exercise to our day that actually works into, some businesses allow that as well, in the business workplace, I think that that's a brilliant way to add some things to your day that you don't normally think about. I guess from a business standpoint, it's called productivity. How can I multitask to get things done? One of those things you could add to your list is, well, I can go for a walk around the kitchen and make a phone call just as well as sitting in a chair.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Right. It all adds up and it's very important.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah. You said something that I think is critical. We've both said it in different ways, but it's this idea, it'll be my day of an acronyms, SMART goals, S-M-A-R-T. The A is achievable, and I think that, for me, and maybe for you too, has been something that I see that's really important, is to not set myself up for failure. It's to create those goals of whether it's the time of day to workout, how strenuous, make it achievable, something that if you do want to push yourself, that's okay, but don't make it so goofy that you just know within by January 3rd, the New Year's resolution is gone.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Exactly. Yeah, and do something you enjoy. Don't feel that you have to do the latest and greatest workout. It's got to be something you enjoy because that's what you're going to actually do at the end of the day. You're not going to want to force yourself to do something that you just don't enjoy. If you want to have that consistency, you've got to like what you're doing.
Chuck Gaidica:
I know you're a doctor, so you're going to have a bit of a bias to what I'm going to say, but I think this is really important because I think our doctors, our personal physicians, are a great resource. Sometimes I see a sign to exercise plans. In my mind, it's almost like there's an asterisk and it's just a disclaimer. Before starting a new workout plan, talk to your doctor. I think for many of us, we see that and we go, "Yeah, that's kind of funny. Somebody put that on there, one of those tags on a brand new mattress, it doesn't really matter." It does matter, doesn't it? Because listening to you now on this podcast, I'm learning stuff, you're not even my personal physician, but just being able to have a dialogue and encouragement, a bit of coaching, that's critical for a lot of people before they start something new and maybe even strenuous, isn't it?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
It's very critical, and you want to prevent injury. The last thing you want to do is have all this motivation to exercise, get healthy, and then suffer an injury that sets you back, so I think it's very important to have that conversation with your doctor, make sure what you're doing is safe, because again, you just don't want to injure yourself. As important as exercise and physical activity is, it can be dangerous if not done correctly.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah, that's really good advice. I have tried to employ that more in my life because for me, I know it's a bias of my own. I've thought, "Well, why do I need to check in with somebody about what I'm going to do? I'm just going to do some pushups or start to get into something." I have suffered an injury, to be fair, going to boxing classes, and all of a sudden I had something happen in my left foot and it took me out of the game for a couple of months. It wasn't a break, but it was a bad enough sprain, and I thought, "You know, I kind of messed that up. I pushed a little too hard, too fast."
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Makes you think twice, definitely.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah. As we start to wrap up, can you summarize for us this idea of trying to get the time of day, your body clocks, circadian rhythm, all lined up with optimal workouts for you?
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think the best thing is to listen to your body. Try not to go against your body's natural rhythm too much. We all know are we a morning person? Are we a night owl? Try to go in sync with your body as much as you can. I know lifestyle and work and children and everything feels like it's interrupting our goal to exercise, but exercise is one of the most important steps you can make toward good health and ultimately the best time of day to exercise is the time that you can exercise and the time that you can be consistent with it.
Chuck Gaidica:
Yeah, great advice. Well, it's always good to see you. Thanks so much for the wisdom today. Now you've encouraged me. I'm going to wait for the storms to pass and get out there and do something. I don't know what it is yet.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
I think I will too.
Chuck Gaidica:
Good to see you. Thank you.
Dr. Angela Seabright:
Thank you.
Chuck Gaidica:
Dr. Angela Seabright, who's care management physician for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. So much good stuff. Thank you for listening to a Healthier Michigan podcast. It's brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. If you like the show and you want to know more, check us out at the newly refreshed site that we have. It's called ahealthiermichigan.org/podcast. You can actually go there, click on it, you can leave us reviews ratings, also on Apple Podcast or Spotify. We're now posting these on YouTube so you can find us all over the place. You can follow us too. Don't forget to do that. Hit the follow button on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. You can get the new episodes, we're up to 139, all the old episodes, and take them with you on your healthful walk or bike ride, on your smartphone, you can use a tablet and be sure to subscribe. Hit that button too. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. I'm Chuck Gaidica, be well.
