Jasmine's Place Issue No. 12 - July/August 2014 | Page 34

FEATURE When Is The Best Time To exercise? By Laurette Willis Maximise your exercise routines from Laurette Willis, founder of PraiseMoves. If you exercise regularly, you may have already determined what is the best and most productive time for you to exercise. Once you have a routine established, it's important to stick with it. However, if you're not consistent with exercise and you find that it's wearing you down instead of building you up, you may be interested in the work scientists are doing in the area of "circadian rhythms," the internal clocks God put in place within our physical bodies. I'VE GOT RHYTHM... Circadian rhythms, the daily cycles which govern certain physical processes, originate in the hypothalamus just above the brain stem. They regulate everything from body temperature and blood pressure to metabolism. The influence of circadian rhythms on body temperature seems to have the greatest effect on the quality of the workout we have. When your body temperature is at its highest, your workouts appear to be more productive. They are likely to be less productive when your body temperature is low. Your body temperature is lowest one to three hours before you wake up in the morning, and at its highest late in the afternoon. Later in the day your muscles are warmer and more flexible, reaction time is quicker, blood pressure and resting heart rate are lower, and strength is at its peak. Since studies have shown that exercise during these late afternoon/early evening hours produces better results, it would be good to determine what time that is for each of us. ………………………………………… JASMINE'S PLACE 34