Bangaloreans swap morning workouts with evening gym sessions

It’s an age old belief, working out in the mornings comes with more benefits than one is generally aware of. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to hit the gym at 6am when you have to be at work by 8am, which is the case for many professionals in this city. Plus, late nights at the office lead to people oversleeping the next day. And that is exactly why the city has seen a trend of people going for workouts in the evenings instead.

Vidya R, who works in an IT major, says, “I have to report to work as early as 8.30am. This leaves me with little time for myself in the morning, since I also have my household chores to finish before I head to work. Since work gets over by 7pm most days, I decided it is best that I work out in the evenings. I finish work and use the gym facility at my office itself for a brisk session.”

There are a lot more like Vidya, who believe that evening sessions are less stressful. “I have to drive 30km to work every morning. The traffic can wear you out. I chose to join a gym close to my work and as a team, roping some of my colleagues in. We head there directly after work and by the time we’re done, the peak traffic hours have passed. It works to my advantage,” says Anirudh Bannerjee, a software professional in HP.

Gyms too have taken notice of this increase in their evening batches over the past couple of years. “We see evenings drawing a full house. The crowd mostly comprises IT professionals. We also have many college students who prefer coming in the evenings, since they have college and tuitions in the mornings,” says a spokesperson of Fitness One.

Some of Bangalore’s glitterati too prefer exercising in the evenings as opposed to early mornings. “I’m quite particular about my workout session in the evenings. It is part of my daily routine. Since mornings are always filled with client meetings, it is quite hard for me to squeeze in a gym session there. Evening workouts also help rejuvenate me after a long day of work, and gear me up in case I have an evening do to attend,” says Zubair Ahmed, event manager.

Some people are naturally nocturnal, which is why waking up in the mornings to go to the gym becomes a tough task. Designer Ramesh Dembla says, “I’m not an early riser. I am up till late night usually. This is why I opt to work out every evening. I’m usually done with my meetings for the day and I have nothing on the back of my mind. I manage to put in an hour or two at the gym hence.”

Most of the city’s partying lot agrees with Ramesh. Since they have quite a few late nights in the week, dusk is when they like to be seen in the gym. “I like to unwind and party when I’m not shooting. When I am shooting, early mornings are invariably part of the package. This has led me to believe that evenings work out best for me to hit the gym,” says actor Sanjjanaa.

Fitness trainer Salim Ahmed from Snap Fitness Centre sums it up best. “I’d say that the ideal time to workout is whenever you make time for it, as long as you’re regular with your visits to the gym,” he says.