Move with your clock to boost muscle, mood, and metabolism

When executive coach Linda changed her schedule, she was stunned by what happened. She’d always been an evening-only runner, pounding out miles on her treadmill at 9 p.m. to clear her head. Yet she never seemed to shed stubborn fat, and her sleep was a struggle. Intrigued by new research on circadian timing, she moved her run to 6 a.m. and set aside light strength training at 5 p.m. Before long, her energy soared and the scale started tipping downward—no extra diet required.

In businesses, we call this “process optimization,” creating the right input at the right time. Scientists have discovered that human strength and endurance are not static. Muscle fibers, hormones, and even neural coordination surge in late afternoon. Meanwhile, early a.m. aerobic exercise taps fat reserves that naturally rise overnight.

Since adopting her clock-aligned routine, Linda’s productivity meetings run smoother and her midday creative bursts are stronger. By ending each day with a gentle walk, her digestion improved and she falls asleep almost instantly. Her story proves that timing your moves can supercharge any performance metric—at work or at home.

You don’t need extra hours to exercise—you only need to place them at the right time. Lace up at dawn for a fat-burning walk, lift while your muscle enzymes peak, and close the day with a quiet stroll. Shift your routine and watch performance, body composition, and sleep all improve in lockstep.