What time of day do you workout?

Bulldog

Bulldog

Active Member
I was just curious what time of day everyone works out and why you workout when you do. Whether it is just for convenience or because you feel strongest at that time or whatever reason you might have for picking that time of day.

I'm also curious if there are any inherent benefits in hypertrophy associated with working out at a particular time of day. So if you know anything about this, please post some info including references if you have any.

I workout around 5:30 PM (early evening). Mostly because I can't get my butt out of bed to do it in the early morning. I also feel strongest at this time of day so I figured that would be the best time to workout because I can use the most weight.
 
I've just quit training at 7:00am as I found I was just too tired - tough balancing full-time job / life / family and hitting gym first thing in the morning.

I now train around 1:30, during my lunch break at work and find I'm pretty strong at this time of day. Downside is that I'm paying twice as much for a London City gym which is a fraction as good as the hardcore BBs gym I was training at. Thats the trade-off for extra sleep.
 
I wish there was a decent gym near my job, I'd train on lunch. But for me it's the morning. It seriously sucks sometimes getting up early enough (5:30 AM
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)to get it in before an hour long commute but it works best for me, and I feel great for the rest of the day and sleep easier at night. So in that sense it serves its primary purpose for me, mood control.
 
I'm with xahrx -- getting it done early morning also means I can spend more time with my family in the evening.  
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However, to shorten the workout I usually end up with a split morning/evening workout .  This also helps if you want to work out at home but have limited equipment.  I use the gym in the morning for stuff I can't do at home and work out at home in the evening (fortunately, I'll have a power rack within 1-2 weeks and will be able to stay home for it all).
 
Late evening suits me just fine. That way I can think about my deads or squats the whole day and get really psyched!
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I prefer to hit the gym at 0800 and get out at 1200. However, it's very cold here right now and I don't care for my sweaty hands freezing to the bar. Sooo, I'm waiting until later in the day when the temp gets above freezing. One of the tradeoffs I have to make for getting old. Last winter, I didn't mind freezing to the bar so much. And the cold didn't hurt my joints so bad.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I prefer to hit the gym at 0800 and get out at 1200. </div>
You train for 4 hours!!??
 
My workout times differ since I am in school. I used to do midmorning/late evening, and then I switched to morning this semester, but I will be lifting early in the evening next semester. That should stay like that once I get a job after graduation.
 
i would prefer to workout in late afternoon, but due to work (can't we all just retire at 25
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) i really don't have the time until later.. usually try to do it right when i get home so i can rest before dinner, but doesnt' always work that way..
 
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(rpopple @ Dec. 21 2006,04:48)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
You train for 4 hours!!??</div>
I did this summer during July and August.  Put on 30lbs from it.  It was a bit rough in the end though and I won't be doing that kind of training cycle again until next summer with more effective suppliments than I had this last time.

Now it's only about an hour. I don't like the cold anymore.
 
So are there any scientific studies that determine the best time of day to work out? For instance, is there any benefit to working out in the morning when your natural Testosterone levels are at their peak?
 
That's an interesting question you've posed Bulldog. Early AM while test and GH are replenished by sleep. Or late PM so that you are recovering during sleep while test and GH are being replinished by sleep.

I've heard both ways, trained both ways, and never personally saw much of a difference.

It would be a little bit interesting to see what the scientists say.
 
<div>
(vagrant @ Jan. 15 2007,23:09)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">That's an interesting question you've posed Bulldog. Early AM while test and GH are replenished by sleep. Or late PM so that you are recovering during sleep while test and GH are being replinished by sleep.

I've heard both ways, trained both ways, and never personally saw much of a difference.

It would be a little bit interesting to see what the scientists say.</div>
I imagine the test fluctuations within a given day are not large enough to have an impact on protein synthesis. There was a thread a while back about even going to the lengths of swallowing semen or having sex right before lifting.

It sounds bizarre and outlandish, but that thread's discussion has a direct relation to what we are talking about.
 
I'm assuming that there is no benefit to working out at any particular time of day. But thought I would ask because I don't know for sure.
 
I voted for late night, since I did that for over a year. I've switched to afternoons lately, but I still workout late if my afternnon gets too busy. I had good results, although I was a newbie this first year, so I probably would have gotten good results anyway.

But here are the challenges to working out late:

1: Post workout meal. I don't like cooking at midnight when the family is trying to sleep.

2: Hard to fall asleep. I'm pretty pumped up after working out, so I may not fall asleep until after midnight. Then I'm tired the next day.

3: After a hard day, especially due to work, sometimes I'm too exhausted to workout. Then I put it off a day, and my frequency is shot.

Benefits:
1: Kids are asleep -- no interruptions.

2: It's kind of a surreal experience. Hard to explain, but working out that late has a real positive effect on the attitude. Other people write about how early morning workouts are like this.

3: Speculation, but since protein synthesis is at it's peak overnight, I'm thinking that with a recent workout and good nutrition, getting to that synthesis phase right away may be a plus.
 
I've been working out every 36 hours for the past 3 months, and I haven't noticed a difference between AM and PM as far as energy goes.
 
One must consider that working out precisely after waking up from the night`s sleep is not necessarily the safest thing possible. Body temperature is lower, the spine is distensed(oddly enough, it seems that it`s safer to work out in the afternoon when the spine is in a compressed state), and focus may not be that great...not to mention the eat/not eat dilemma.

There was a study that I read some time ago(Lonnie Lowery, I think, has an article dealing with the issue of the timing of training, but I don`t exactly remember what it was called and if he was the author, a search on Testosterone Nation may help) which discovered that you have the greatest grip strength somewhere around 1600 and 1700-another aspect to be considered. Just some food for thought, nothing more, because overall it`s more important to train, irrespective of when you`re doing it.
 
I workout around 9pm-10pm usually. Then I snack on cheese and drink a lot of water for an hour and then go to bed.

When I wake up my muscles feel funny from working hard then not moving much for 7.5hours. I like that feeling.
 
Having tried early morning(grim) and mid evening training(too drained after spending time with the kids), it's lunch time for me...mind you, I am lucky enough to have a gym almost next door to our offices and with corporate membership at £150pa, peanuts basically, it's almost perfect...
 
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