How to Exercise at Night to Lose Weight

Exercising at night can be a great way to lose weight. Whether you head to the local gym to lift weights or simply take a little stroll around your neighborhood, you will burn calories to aid in your weight loss goals. Getting the proper nutrients when training at night is very important. Many people are unsure if they should take in a meal at night after having worked out. Combine a few basic workout strategies with a couple of dietary tips and you can lose weight in no time by exercising at night.

Step 1

Have a serving of whey protein before you head off to the gym or another exercise activity. Whey protein digests very quickly to give your body a ready supply of amino acids, which repair muscle tissue. Fifteen to twenty grams of protein will get your body ready to build muscle and burn fat.

Step 2

Do a resistance training workout to burn more fat. Training with weights burns fat while you're working out, and also increases your metabolic rate for up to 48 hours. Training at night can also help to relieve stress and blow off steam after a long hard day. Since the body repairs muscles while you sleep, training at night may actually decrease your muscle soreness the next day, due to the proximity to bedtime.

Step 3

Add cardiovascular training to your routine, immediately after your resistance training workout. "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson calls this "super cardio" because it directly targets body fat. Or you can add extra cardio sessions at night to increase fat burning. Cardio is cumulative, so you could do a short session in the morning and then another at night, rather than one long workout.

Step 4

Make sure to get some post-workout nutrition. If you work out and then go to bed without having anything to eat, your body will have no nutrients to repair damaged muscle tissue. If you do a weights workout, take in 30 to 50 g of protein, 60 g of carbohydrates and 30 g of healthy fats. For cardio workouts, you do not need the extra carbs, but keep the proteins and fats, which will help your body repair itself and burn more body fat.

Step 5

Stretch well after your night workout and spend some time sitting quietly and practicing deep breathing before you go to bed so that your body can transition to sleep mode. Experiment with the amount of time you need to become sleep-ready. Be sure to get at least seven or eight hours of sleep for proper recovery. Irregular sleep patterns inhibit the body's ability to burn fat and build muscle. Not to mention that lack of sleep will zap your energy the next day, especially if you were up too late working out.

Warning

If you suffered from insomnia before starting to work out at night, exercising at night may exacerbate the problem. Take note of your sleep patterns for a few weeks after starting to exercise at night and make adjustments along the way. Losing weight is an admirable goal, but getting enough sleep is imperative.