Morning vs night training?

Training
41

I remember reading an article on CNN sometime in the last 1-2 years that talked about a study comparing morning and afternoon exercise. They’re conclusion was the benefit was higher in morning, but performance was better in the afternoon. The latter matches my limited observations, but I do mornings now for several other reasons.

42

Yup, that summary matches my recollection.

43

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am up at 4, and I “try” to get on the bike by 4:30 so that I can get in a 2 hour workout. It really comes down to a few things for me:

  1. I prep my bottles on Monday night for both workouts. I also put my kit, HRM and socks in the spare bathroom the night before right by the bike room.
  2. Coffee- I have a cup ready to go within 5 minutes of waking up.
  3. Food-I usually stick two bagels with that morning cup of coffee.
  4. Lastly, I know it takes me a little while to get moving in the morning, so I always extend the warmup by 10 minutes. The first 10 minutes is anywhere from 35-40% FTP, just to get my legs moving and feeling better.

It takes some time to get used to, but once you establish your routine there is no better feeling than starting your day having already gotten all of your work in.

44

N=1, the longer I have trained in the morning, the better I have gotten at hard efforts in the AM vs the PM. Now if you asked me to do a VO2 Max effort after work, it would be 20 watts less than the morning (although I think that has more to do with stress from the workday and being tired).

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45

I find that’s seasonal.

When the mornings are dark I’m not feeling that I’m performing well and lunchtime is best, when the mornings are bright I’m best then.

Same for evening. If the suns still up I’m more likely to feel good to go than three hours after sundown.

46

Thanks @cnigro!

I have to agree with you, starting the day after a good workout feels very good indeed! It just happens to be more difficult :smiley:

1 Like
47

This is me. I dread having to do workouts in the evening now. I just feel too mentally tired if anything from the days work to do anything productive really.

One thing I love about getting my workout done in the morning is I know that I will (relatively speaking) always have a good workout - I am far more motivated. It helps massively with consistency for me…and we all know this is key.

If I have to workout in the evening, any number of factors during the day could derail my plans (impromptu arranged meetings, other engagements, stress from the day etc.) and make me be sub-par or worse, miss my workout completely.

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