• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The BarBend Logo in white.

BarBend

The Online Home for Strength Sports

  • News
    • CrossFit
    • Strongman
    • Bodybuilding
    • Top Athletes
    • Powerlifting
    • Weightlifting
    • HYROX
    • Competition Results
    • Latest Research
  • Reviews
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Mini-Massage Guns
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein
        • Best Vegan Protein Powders
        • Best Whey Isolate Protein Powders
        • Best Mass Gainer
        • Best Protein Bars
      • Best Pre-Workouts
        • Best Pre-Workout for Women
        • Best Pre-Workouts for Men
        • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workouts
        • Strongest Pre-Workouts
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Electrolyte Supplements
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Meal Replacements
      • Best Nitric Oxide Supplements
      • Best Fat Burners
      • Individual Supplement Reviews
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Ellipticals
      • Best Recumbent Bikes
      • Individual Cardio Equipment Reviews
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Leg Extension Machines
      • Individual Strength Equipment Reviews
    • Apparel
      • Best Weightlifting Shoes
      • Best Cross Training Shoes
      • Best Running Shoes
      • Best Gym Shorts
    • Fitness Tech
      • Best Running Apps
      • Best Fitness Trackers
      • Best Workout Apps
      • Best Smart Scales
    • Support Gear
      • Best Lifting Straps
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Best Lifting Gloves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
  • Nutrition
    • Diets
      • Carb Cycling
      • Vertical Diet
      • Reverse Dieting
      • Carnivore Diet
      • Ketogenic Diet
      • Intermittent Fasting
      • IIFYM Diet
    • Muscle Gain
      • How to Dirty Bulk
      • Go From Cutting to Bulking
      • Eat These Carbs
      • How to Eat for Muscle
    • Fat Loss
      • Macros for Fat Loss
      • Calorie Deficits
      • Natural Fat Burners
      • Cut 2 Pounds Weekly
    • Supplement Guides
      • Pre-Workout
      • Whey Protein
      • Mass Gainers
      • Greens Powders
      • Creatine
      • BCAAs
    • Daily Protein Needs
    • Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition
    • Foods With Creatine
    • Bulking Tips
  • Training
    • Workouts
      • Back Workouts
      • At-Home Workouts
      • Chest & Back Workouts
      • Full-Body Workout
      • HIIT Workouts
    • Exercise Guides
      • Deadlift
      • Bench Press
      • Back Squat
      • Overhead Press
      • Bent-Over Row
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Crunches
      • Farmer’s Carry
    • Best Exercises
      • Shoulder Exercises
      • Back Exercises
      • Chest Exercises
      • Glute Exercises
      • Ab Exercises
      • Hamstring Exercises
      • Quad Exercises
      • Calf Exercises
      • Biceps Exercises
      • Triceps Exercises
    • Programs
      • Push-Up Program
      • Pull-Up Program
      • German Volume Training
      • 5/3/1 Program
      • Powerbuilding Program
      • The Cube Method
      • 5×5 Program
      • Bodybuilding Programs
      • Build Your Own Program
    • Fat Loss
      • How to Burn Fat
      • Spot Fat Reduction
      • How to Train on a Cut
      • Body Conditioning
      • Workouts
        • Kettlebell Circuits
        • Dumbbell Complexes
        • Farmer’s Carry Workouts
    • Muscle Gain
      • Muscle Hypertrophy Explained
      • How to Build Muscle
      • How to Maintain Muscle
      • What Researchers Say About Muscle Gain
        • Workouts
          • 20-Minute Workouts
          • Kettlebell Circuits
          • CrossFit Workouts for Muscle
          • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Calculators
    • Protein Intake Calculator
    • Macros Calculator
    • BMR Calculator
    • Squat Calculator
    • Calorie Calculator
  • Community Forum
Home » News » New Study Suggests Best Times to Train For Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure Reduction

New Study Suggests Best Times to Train For Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure Reduction

Women and men respond differently to training in the morning and evening.

Phil Blechman
Written by Phil Blechman
Last updated on July 31st, 2023

On May 31, 2022, a study published in Frontiers in Physiology sought to find the best times for men and women to train for optimized health and performance outcomes. While there isn’t a position stand on the ideal time of day to train, the study concluded that training in the morning “reduced abdominal fat and blood pressure,” while evening training “enhanced muscular performance in the women.” (1)

For men, training in the evening “increased fat oxidation and reduced systolic blood pressure and fatigue.” The study did not specify whether any women or men who participated were trans and did not seem to include any nonbinary participants. Let’s dive into the methods this study used to conclude the best time of day to exercise.

Morning Exercise
Image via lzf/Shutterstock

[Related: New Study Shows the Sooner You Swap to a Healthy Diet, the More Years You Can Add to Your Life]

Ideal Exercise Times

The study featured 30 women between the ages of 34 and 50 and 26 men between the ages of 37 and 53. All of the participants were randomized into groups that trained in the morning (between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.) and in the evening (between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) for 12 weeks — all training remained consistent between groups. The following measurements and means by which they took those measurements were taken as follows:

  • Muscular Strength — one-rep max bench press, one-rep max leg press
  • Endurance — sit-ups and push-ups
  • Power — jump squats, bench throws
  • Body Composition — fat mass, abdominal fat
  • Blood Pressure
  • Respiratory Exchange Ratio
  • Profile of Mood States
  • Diet

Body composition was assessed via iDXA, a densitometer for body composition and bone mineral assessment. (2) Twenty-seven of the 30 women and 20 of the 26 men completed all 12 weeks of the study. Women in the evening group could bench press more weight and perform more push-ups than the morning group. However, the morning group performed significantly more jump squats and achieved more than double the reduction in body fat (two percent versus five percent) and more than three times the reduction in abdominal fat (three percent versus 10 percent).

This suggests that women who seek to “optimize total body and abdominal fat loss, lowering of blood pressure, and increasing lower body muscular power” should train in the morning. Women who want to improve “upper-body muscular performance” should train in the evening.

For the male groups, those who trained in the evening reduced systolic blood pressure significantly more than their counterparts who trained in the morning. The study determined that men and women respond differently to training in the morning versus the evening due to circadian rhythms‘ potential impact on performance.

References

  1. Arciero, P., Ives, S., Mohr, A., Robinson, N., Escudero, D., & Robinson, J. et al. (2022). Morning Exercise Reduces Abdominal Fat and Blood Pressure in Women; Evening Exercise Increases Muscular Performance in Women and Lowers Blood Pressure in Men. Frontiers In Physiology, 13. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.893783
  2. Hull, H., He, Q., Thornton, J., Javed, F., Allen, L., Wang, J., Pierson, R. N., Jr, & Gallagher, D. (2009). iDXA, Prodigy, and DPXL dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry whole-body scans: a cross-calibration study. Journal of clinical densitometry: the official journal of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, 12(1), 95–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocd.2008.09.004

Featured image via Shutterstock/lzf

Phil Blechman

About Phil Blechman

Phil is a native New Yorker passionate about storytelling, bodybuilding, and game design. He holds a BFA from Syracuse University.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Latest Reviews

Featured image for the Ironmaster Super Bench Pro V2 Review

Ironmaster Super Bench Pro V2 Review (2025): Our Expert’s New Favorite FID Bench

Titan T3 Power Rack Review

Titan T3 Power Rack Review (2025): An Expert-Approved Rig Beckoning to Budget-Minded Athletes

Our tester works out at the beach in preparation for the Rogue Resistance Bands Review

Rogue Resistance Bands Review (2025): Tested by a Certified Personal Trainer

Barbend tester Jake Herod works out on a Force USA Trainer

Force USA G3 Review (2025): Our Experts Tested This Compact All-In-One Rack for Small Home Gyms

BarBend

BarBend is an independent website. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. BarBend is the Official Media Partner of USA Weightlifting.

  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Sections

  • CrossFit
  • Strongman
  • Bodybuilding
  • Powerlifting
  • Weightlifting
  • Reviews
  • Nutrition
  • Training

More

  • BarBend Newsletter
  • BarBend Podcast
  • The Ripped Report
  • 1RM Calculator
  • BMR Calculator
  • Macros Calculator
  • Protein Calculator
  • Squat Calculator

Policies

  • Accessibility
  • Advice Disclaimer
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimers
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 · BarBend Inc · Sitemap