The Top 3 Benefits of Evening Workouts
When winter's chill sets in, sometimes it's hard to get out and exercise. Though outdoor activities can be uncomfortable on cold evenings, Pilates serves as a warm and inviting place to do something good for your body, see friends, and decompress after a long day. Although many Pilates-goers like a morning or mid-day workout, there are a lot of benefits to closing out your day with an evening class.
Improve physical performance:
When you work out in the evening, your body has already spent the day in motion; your muscles are warmed up and your lungs actually consume less oxygen than in the morning, requiring less energy from your body overall. In fact, it will take you 20% longer to reach a point of exhaustion in the evening, giving you a more impactful workout and elevated athletic performance.
Being an evening workout warrior boosts your overall performance and also helps you battle those long nights in colder months. Many of our clients say they enjoy scheduling their classes to break up the many hours of darkness after an early winter sunset. No matter the season, coming to a 45-minute evening Pilates class means making time for YOU without sacrificing the peace of your mornings or interrupting a productive mid-day workflow.
Help bring stress levels down before bed:
Each day presents challenges that can throw us off of our game or cause us to spin when we should be sleeping. Engaging in an evening workout routine means taking time for yourself to blow off steam, feel stronger, stretch, and be present for a mindful, full-body workout that brings you back to your center.
Join us for a Pilates class that works with your schedule and allows you to leave your worries on the reformer. Then, return home sweaty and refreshed with enough time to honor your nightly routine. Close out your evening with a healthy dinner, time with the family, some quiet reading, your favorite skincare moment, maybe a little meditation, and a ritual to align yourself with goals for the day ahead.
Just try not to work out too close to your regular bedtime. When your body is trying to wrap up and shut down, here are a few tips to prevent getting too amped up, and instead support the slow-down process:
Schedule a Pilates class that ends at least 2 hours before your normal bedtime.
Eat a small snack before class and leave yourself time to make a healthy dinner that compliments all your hard work once you get home.
If you go for evening workouts, try to make it a regular habit. Repetition trains your body to accept a spike in endorphins and transition into relaxation mode afterward.
Develop healthier evening routines:
We all know that some of our most unhealthy habits creep up on us after sunset. When you come home from a less-than-stellar day at work, it feels easy to plop onto the couch, grab some snacks, turn on Netflix, open a bottle of wine, and call it self-care. Everyone needs these nights once in a while, but creating a nightly routine of it can actually wreak havoc on your health and sleep.
For example, consuming too much alcohol before bed can cause sleep disruptions or reduce the quality of the sleep you do get. Similarly, eating late at night can cause your metabolism to slow down and create issues with acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion, and, again, the quality of your sleep.
Trading your nightly couch-potato routine for one you can feel good about will keep you busy, boost your self-confidence, enable you to stay in touch with your body, and help you sleep soundly and restfully. Once you've joined us for a few evening classes, you'll wonder why you didn't pick up this Pilates habit sooner!
When there is so much to do during our days, it may seem hard to be fully present and engaged in class. Take a deep breath, and remember it’s called “practice” for a reason. Making a steady habit of your new nightly routine will help you gain focus, bring yourself back, and set up for a successful tomorrow.
Above all else, make sure your practice leaves you feeling good about what you've accomplished, and that your workout compliments your day instead of complicating it.
If you want to know what classes would best suit your evening routine, check out the schedule on our website or call us today!
xo,
Sydney