Exercise: Early bird vs. night owl

[Anchor]

To live healthily until the age of 99, it is essential to develop healthy exercise habits from a young age.

Dear viewers, which do you prefer, morning or evening exercise?

Reporter Kim Ki-beom introduces the pros and cons of morning and evening exercise, focusing on the experiences of tennis enthusiasts.

[Report]

The fitness center is brightly lit from 6 AM, well before the sun rises.

There are people who start their day energetically by playing tennis at this hour.

I asked them why they prefer to exercise early in the morning.

[Lim Yoon-hyuk/Tennis Enthusiast: "I go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 5 AM. I can be free from work or family contacts, so I can fully concentrate on exercising, and the morning time feels refreshing, allowing me to focus on work later."]

[Park Kyung-sik/Tennis Enthusiast: "I don't think we've ever had a drink. We only focus on exercise."]

After finishing their workout, they quickly wash up and transform into office workers.

[Park Kyung-sik/Tennis Enthusiast: "We have to go to work now, so we are busy heading straight to the office."]

I am a tennis enthusiast who prefers to exercise in the evening.

Today is a day when I will work out after getting off work.

Although my day was quite tiring, just thinking about exercising soon makes me feel energized.

From 7 PM, we turn on the night lights and gather to exercise twice a week.

I asked club members why they prefer evening workouts.

[Yeo Yi-joo/Tennis Enthusiast: "If I go straight home after work, I just want to lie down and sleep, but coming out to exercise on the way home makes me feel light and refreshed."]

[Yoo Gyu-yeol/Tennis Enthusiast: "In the morning, I feel like my body is stiffer right after waking up, so evening workouts seem to suit me better."]

Generally, morning exercise is known to be effective for weight loss, while evening exercise is more effective for muscle gain.

Although evening workouts are better for performance, morning exercise has the advantage of being more regular and consistent.

However, recent medical studies have shown that morning exercise is more beneficial for blood pressure management and achieving deep sleep.

[Oh Beom-jo/Professor of Family Medicine at Boramae Medical Center, Seoul: "If the goal is weight loss or managing high blood pressure and diabetes, it is better to do cardio exercise in the morning, and if the goal is to maintain muscle strength, it is advisable to do more intense exercise in the evening, but not too late. However, the most important point in all of this is sustainability."]

Ultimately, whether it's the so-called miracle morning or being a night owl, there is no right answer, so it is important to develop habits that suit oneself, and middle-aged and older adults who enjoy exercise also need the wisdom to choose times that fit their long-established lifestyle patterns.

This is KBS News Kim Ki-beom.