Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Health & Fitness
  3. News

Does staying consistent with your workouts yield the best results? New study

Does working out at a certain time of day provide more benefits?

man lunging in workout older man
Anna Shvets / Pexels

Of course, five minutes of exercise is better than zero minutes, but they do say consistency is key. It’s putting in the effort by showing up to your workout sessions that delivers results and gets you closer to achieving your goals over time. Finding the time and energy to workout is easier said than done, but if you stick with it, you’ll reap the rewards of your hard work and be proud you’re prioritizing your fitness.

For me, as well as the benefits of helping to manage a chronic autoimmune condition, I enjoy the sense of accomplishment and pride I feel after a solid workout like a resistance training session, a bodyweight workout, or a jog around the block. The rush of feel-good endorphins that accompany that sense of accomplishment is just another added bonus.

Recommended Videos

Recently, researchers explored how the timing and consistency of workouts affected the benefits for older adults. Let’s look at the research.

The study

In a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, 800 older adults wore a wrist device that monitored their physical activity levels for seven days. After the week was up, the adults finished a cardiopulmonary exercise test designed to assess their respiratory and cardiovascular health.

The results

The researchers concluded that individuals who were more physically active in the morning and more consistently had better heart health, lung health, and walking efficiency compared to those who were more physically active in the later hours of the day, with less consistency.

Concluding thoughts

Both the timing and consistency of your workouts matter and make a difference in your overall heart health, lung health, and walking efficiency. In this study, physical activity is the umbrella term for all movement, whether you’re running errands, walking your dog, gardening, cleaning your house, picking up the groceries, or exercising. 

For the betterment of our wellness, our bodies are made to move — at all ages. This research supports previous studies emphasizing the benefits of being physically active in older age. It also shows us that peak activity earlier in the day and staying consistent with that movement yields the best results for our hearts, lungs, and beyond.

Steph Green
Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and…
Topics
Tired of shaky workouts? Meet the MERACH UltraWalk W60 Plus – a walking pad built to last
Animal, Canine, Dog

Finding time to exercise is hard enough. The last thing you need is fitness equipment that feels unstable, sounds like it's about to fall apart, or struggles to keep up with your pace. Yet that's exactly what many budget walking pads deliver. Lightweight frames, noisy motors, and limited performance often turn what should be an enjoyable workout into a frustrating experience.

The MERACH UltraWalk W60 Plus aims to change that. Instead of simply offering another compact walking pad, MERACH has built a treadmill-grade under-desk fitness machine designed for long-term reliability, stability, and everyday convenience. Whether you're walking while working, squeezing in a quick cardio session, or looking to stay active without leaving home, the W60 Plus is engineered to make movement feel effortless.

Read more
From wheelchair to walking: The power of mindset, movement, and never giving up
Sometimes it's the hardest roads that lead us to a deeper sense of purpose
Steph Zee Christmas Secret Music Video Steph Green

I never expected I'd have to learn how to walk again. That journey took me from writing for doctors and magazines to spending thousands of hours researching health and autoimmune disease. When we have excellent health, many of us don’t give it much thought until those sneaky symptoms start to show, and one day it all comes crashing down. Now, our health becomes one of the most important priorities. When we feel good, we can be more productive and chase our dreams. When our health declines and we don’t feel so good, one of our biggest dreams is just to feel better. 

I became a health writer 12 years ago, shortly after graduating with my creative writing degree and getting a diagnosis of the autoimmune bone condition, ankylosing spondylitis. In an effort to improve my health, stay mobile, and help prevent my bones from calcifying and fusing, I spent thousands of hours studying everything from nutrition and naturopathy to conventional medicine and holistic healing. I heard this somewhere, so I can’t take credit, but I like to say I went to “save my ass university”, because pain and illness are some of the biggest motivators.

Read more
I tried Magic Mind for a month and here is what happened to my productivity
Does Magic Mind really help with your productivity or is it just another buzz.
Furniture, Business Card, Paper

I am proudly an all-brown beverage man. I say it often: I am coffee in the morning, bourbon in the evening, and Pepsi/Coke in between. I know what you're thinking: What about water? Well, all of those are mostly water. And who wants to drink the same thing they bathe in? That sounds gross. All jokes aside, the coffee addiction is real, and I am not alone. Who thinks they can truly conquer a day without a hard shot of caffeine? I would get it in an IV if it were feasible to do on the subway instead of a cup to go. But that doesn't have to be the only way you develop your productivity. Instead, you can look to the more natural and healthy methods to maintain and increase your effectiveness. I got my hands on some Magic Mind recently, one of the many different products that claim to elevate brain health, increase mental performance, and, of course, replace the coffee without losing the energy boost. But does it work?

The scientific hoolah

Read more