The clocks went back on Nov 1. In Vaughan the sun set at 6:09 PM on Oct 31 and at 5:08 PM the next day. On Nov 12 it sets at 4:55 PM. From Nov 8 to Jan 9 it goes down before 5 PM every single day (timeanddate.com, n.d.).
This is the stretch where people start missing sessions. You finish work and it's already dark. Once you sit down for the night, you're not getting back up. This post covers what the research says about training in the morning versus the evening, and how to pick a time at our studio in Concord, Vaughan that you'll actually keep until spring.
How dark it gets in Vaughan this winter
Source: timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for Vaughan, Ontario, October 2026 to February 2027. We checked them against a standard sunrise and sunset calculation and they matched within about a minute. Clocks went back one hour on Nov 1, 2026.
People move less in the dark months
A 2021 review pulled together 110 studies with 118,189 people from 30 countries, almost all of them high income. People did more physical activity in summer than in winter. They sat more in winter than in spring or summer. Longer daylight went with more activity, and rain went with less (Turrisi et al., 2021).
An earlier review by researchers at the University of Western Ontario looked at 37 studies and came to the same place. Activity rises and falls with the seasons, and bad weather is a common barrier. The authors suggested indoor options in the cold, wet months to help people stay active all year (Tucker & Gilliland, 2007).
Most of these were observational studies, so they show a pattern, not proof that the dark is the cause.
Time is the other squeeze. In 2022, 56% of Canadians said they felt stressed because they didn't have enough time (Statistics Canada, 2026). Short days make a tight schedule feel even tighter.
Morning or evening: both build strength
A 2019 meta analysis looked at 11 studies that had people lift either in the morning or in the evening, with the rest of the training kept the same. Strength went up by a similar amount in both groups. Muscle size went up by a similar amount too (Grgic et al., 2019).
People were stronger in the evening before training started. Lifting in the morning brought morning strength up to about the same level as evening strength (Grgic et al., 2019). So if you're a morning person, you can still build strength well.
That's the answer to the best time to exercise in the dark months. It's the time you'll show up for. Pick it around your work and your family, not around the sun.
Evening sessions and sleep
A lot of people worry a late session will keep them up. A 2019 meta analysis of 23 studies in healthy people looked at sleep after a single evening workout. Overall, evening exercise didn't hurt sleep. The one flag was hard exercise that ended an hour or less before bedtime, which might make it harder to fall asleep and cut into sleep time (Stutz et al., 2019).
Our studio closes at 8 PM on weekdays, so for most people there's room between the last set and bed. Our post on exercise for sleep goes deeper on this.
If you go the early route, guard your sleep. Canada's 24 Hour Movement Guidelines call for 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep, with consistent bed and wake up times (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, n.d.).
Book the time before the dark decides for you
Making a plan for when you'll train helps. A 2022 meta analysis pooled 35 randomized trials. People who were helped to plan their activity did more of it than people who weren't. The effect was modest (standardized mean difference 0.35), and most trials relied on people reporting their own activity. In the subgroup results, plans worked better when they were made face to face and when someone followed up afterward (Peng et al., 2022).
That's close to how a studio schedule works. Here's how we'd set it up for the dark months:
- Book the whole week at once. Pick your sessions on the weekend and put them in your calendar like a meeting. Canada's guidelines ask for muscle strengthening activities using the major muscle groups at least twice a week (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, n.d.; Ross et al., 2020), so two booked sessions is a solid floor.
- Go straight from work. Keep your bag in the car. Parking is on site.
- Try the early slot. We open at 5:45 AM on weekdays. On Nov 12, sunrise is 7:08 AM, so it's dark on the drive in, but you're done before the day fills up.
- Use the weekend. Weekend hours are 8:30 AM to 4 PM. All winter, that window sits inside daylight in Vaughan.
- Plan for the low days. Decide now what you'll do when it's dark and you don't feel like going. Go anyway, and tell your coach you're low on energy. They'll adjust the weights for that day.
Use the picker below to see how your time lines up with the daylight and with your bedtime.
Pick your training time
Choose a date and a start time inside studio hours. See how it lines up with the daylight and with your bedtime.
Start time:
Bedtime:
Sun times from timeanddate.com for Vaughan. Studio hours: weekdays 5:45 AM to 8 PM, weekends 8:30 AM to 4 PM. The bedtime check assumes a one hour session. Sleep note from Stutz et al., 2019 (abstract). Check the class schedule for actual class times.
Cold mornings call for a proper warm up. Our post on warm up exercises for cold weather covers that. If you're wondering about the sun and your muscles, read about vitamin D in winter.
Train in Vaughan through the winter
Our small group classes are capped at 16, with a coach running every class. We're open weekdays 5:45 AM to 8 PM and weekends 8:30 AM to 4 PM at 11-411 Confederation Pkwy, 2nd floor, with parking on site.
If your schedule needs more flexibility, look at personal training in Vaughan. We also offer one on one training focused on balance and strength. If dinner keeps sliding later on training nights, nutrition coaching can help you plan it.
Try the $30 seven day trial (+ HST). Join by day 5 and your $30 is credited toward your membership. Call (289) 536-8066 or email g-squad@innerg.ca, and book your first class at the time you plan to keep through January.
References
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. (n.d.). Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines (official title shortened). https://csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/adults-18-64/
- Grgic, J., Lazinica, B., Garofolini, A., Schoenfeld, B. J., Saner, N. J., & Mikulic, P. (2019). The effects of time of day-specific resistance training on adaptations in skeletal muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Chronobiology International, 36(4), 449-460. https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2019.1567524 | PubMed
- Peng, S., Othman, A. T., Yuan, F., & Liang, J. (2022). The effectiveness of planning interventions for improving physical activity in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7337. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127337 | PubMed
- Ross, R., Chaput, J. P., Giangregorio, L. M., Janssen, I., Saunders, T. J., Kho, M. E., Poitras, V. J., Tomasone, J. R., El-Kotob, R., McLaughlin, E. C., Duggan, M., Carrier, J., Carson, V., Chastin, S. F., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Chulak-Bozzer, T., Faulkner, G., Flood, S. M., Gazendam, M. K., ... Tremblay, M. S. (2020). Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines: an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep (official title shortened). Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45(10 Suppl. 2), S57-S102. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0467 | PubMed
- Statistics Canada. (2026, November 4). Time in Canada: Not so standard. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/9386-time-canada-not-so-standard
- Stutz, J., Eiholzer, R., & Spengler, C. M. (2019). Effects of evening exercise on sleep in healthy participants: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 49(2), 269-287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-1015-0 | PubMed
- timeanddate.com. (n.d.). Vaughan, Ontario, Canada: Sunrise, sunset, and daylength (October 2026 to February 2027 tables). https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/canada/vaughan?month=11&year=2026
- Tucker, P., & Gilliland, J. (2007). The effect of season and weather on physical activity: a systematic review. Public Health, 121(12), 909-922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2007.04.009 | PubMed
- Turrisi, T. B., Bittel, K. M., West, A. B., Hojjatinia, S., Hojjatinia, S., Mama, S. K., Lagoa, C. M., & Conroy, D. E. (2021). Seasons, weather, and device-measured movement behaviors: a scoping review from 2006 to 2020. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01091-1 | PubMed