I wouldn’t be alarmed… The AI detection is probably closer to your potential as opposed to sub-optimal morning testing. I hop on the trainer every morning at 4:30am. It’s not fun but it’s when I can get in the time before work in the winter months. If you do it consistently you will acclimate to some extent, and the most difficult thing is usually just the getting out of bed and pushing through the first couple minutes of warm-up when your body is talking back like a teenager. I can get through really hard V02 workouts, etc. but - as others have stated - RPE is significantly higher, HR is higher (but typically settles after a few efforts), and I would estimate I’m missing out on a few watts. But I know these things and feel comfortable with the fact that if I can get through it in the early a.m., then all the numbers are totally surpass-able in the afternoon/evening. That said, the only thing I definitely carve out time for later in the day, is testing.
And just a side note as far as fueling goes, I generally don’t do much. I’ll eat a few extra carbs the night before if I have a tough session the next morning but if it’s just 90-120 min Z2-3, I generally don’t eat. Maybe some small snack or liquid cals after awhile of pedaling. If it’s a V02 or threshold session, my body does OK with a couple rice cakes topped with a little honey (1 tbsp), a very little smear of peanut butter (1 tsp), and banana slices (1/3 fruit), right before I kit up, and then some sugars during.
As someone who is commuting almost every workday with both a HR strap and a powermeter I can confirm that there is clear difference in both power, HR and RPE between riding in the morning and in the afternoon.
I find it easier to go hard in the afternoon. My way of dealing with morning group rides that leave at 8am is to wake up at 5:30am and eat breakfast. Some fruit and orange juice to replenish glycogen stores in the liver, and granola. That definitely helped me with morning group rides.
I’ve started doing workouts almost exclusively in the morning starting around November. I eased my way into it by doing a couple of weeks of just Z2 work, then a bit of sweet spot. In the beginning there was no way I wanted to do any hard workouts. Now after a few months, I can perform at 5am just as I would in the afternoon. In my opinion you just have to do it for a while, get a routine and you’ll be able to get through the workouts just fine.
It used to be called biorhythm in the 1980s, circadian a more modern term. There’s all sorts of biological clocks in the body’s cell machinery , together with a master clock that can reset them. These clocks control when hormones are released etc.
Thus there can be optimal periods in the day for your training. But these can be upset, for instance too much blue light at night by looking at led screen can confuse the body clocks, and prevent someone getting a decent nights sleep. The clocks can be reset by enough time in natural light. Hence the health articles about getting time outside each day (and not behind a windscreen).
I prefer workouts in the morning. But some days I start them and it’s just not happening. If that’s the case, I’ll try them later that day. If it’s still not working and I don’t have anything scheduled next day, I might try it 24 hrs after originally scheduled. If I have another workout scheduled next day, I’ll just write off the one that wasn’t happening today.
Some are slow to get going in the morning, some have a slump in the afternoon. My thinking capacity tends to slump in the afternoon. Thus I try and schedule work meeting for then, as they don’t require much brain power. Then I can have a productive morning actually getting stuff done, whilst the brain is firing on all cylinders.
Perhaps a bit late, but here are a number of related posts:
I train 95% of the time within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning. The days that I am able to do it later in the day I always enjoy as my RPE is lower for sure.
Recently I was listening to a podcast, might have even been TR, where they mentioned a study showed people’s peak performance tends not to be first thing in the morning. Pretty sure it was in response to a question about what’s the best time of day to workout. But, obviously if that’s the only time you have in your day, well that’s when you are going to workout regardless. If I can remember the pod, I’ll share the link.
I dont have the study handy but there have been studies that look at the timing of efforts and what works best. 3pm (in the study I cant find) was the optimal time to be at your strongest.
It’s pretty normal, I think.
My n=1 anecdotal experience is that being used to morning workouts doesn’t help that much. At least when I was running a lot, my afternoon runs were probably 30-40 seconds per mile faster for the same RPE. Despite most of the workouts being at 6 in the morning.
Biggest difference for me is how long has passed since the previous meal. I need at least two hours, or my heartrate is much higher. Fasted in the morning is also more difficult.
While it’s true that people generally perform best in the PM, in practice I perform much better in the early AM. When I wait till the PM, I feel tired by the time I start. Training after 4 pm is a disaster and messes with sleep. Of course, if I would wake up at 7 am instead of 4:30 the preferred times would change but I’m guessing it would still be shortly after waking up. Eating solid food before an intense work-out often creates a problem - if I simply start drinking carbs the moment I start peddling I perform best.
Back in my college days I always ran my best races under the lights at night. In my studies I remember finding research articles that found VO2 levels were actually higher in the evening than morning. That was a while ago though. The hard part is waiting around all day for the race…
Now days morning works best… not from a performance standpoint but due to convenience.
Having trained 90% of the time in the morning I perform better in the morning.
Not sure if it’s physcological or physical but if I leave a workout to later in the day it’s more of a struggle.
However I do need a full 20mins to warm up with early workouts so a 1hr usually turns into 1:15.
Based on all the replies, it would seem that mornings are fine for workouts, but FTP tests should be left until at least mid morning.
Well I suppose then there’s the question; does performing better at a different time of day mean that it generates better signalling for adaption?
I guess I’m the outlier, as I much prefer getting in TR before work. I’m a chef, so I’m on my feet all day, and I commute to work via bike, so my legs are generally more tired in the evenings, and I struggle to complete workouts. I pretty much nail them in the AM tho
Studies show that your glycogen levels are at their lowest upon waking up. Thus, no matter how we fuel at dinner the night before, it’s still at its lowest. With lower glycogen in the morning our bodies pull fuel from fat stores. And I think we all know now how much we use sugar/glycogen/carbs for energy on our hard efforts. Fat for those slow burn workouts ie Z2. So it would make sense most, not all, people struggle to put in efforts early morning.
Prime time of day to train, is that 1-2:00pm range.
I’m no scientist, but I have slept at a holiday inn express once!!
Haven’t read everything, but your body temp is another factor, and I believe peaks in early afternoon. I can remember listening to a podcast about this related to strength training (Huberman and Andy Galpin?) where that late morning - early afternoon was the optimal time based on body temp, glycogen, etc. and that there was a performance difference.
N=1 - I’m stronger and have more in the tank if I wake up, have coffee and breakfast, and wait a couple hours after that at least. But, beyond early afternoon and then I start to go the other way. Sweet spot is after breakfast and coffee, but have lunch and bigger meals later. But, if the time I have is 5:30 AM, then game on, get up, down a caffeinated gel, and get after it.
And yes, performing better can mean better adaptation if you’re able to do more work (e.g. lifted heavier or more reps, or finished an all out interval stronger / longer) but if it was just the RPE of a bike workout, I don’t think there’s a difference there.
What you do during the day definitively matters. I feel like I only have so much energy to spend during a day, and whatever comes first (training or work) gets the larger chunk. Train first, but be very tired in the afternoon, or work first, but don’t have any motivation left to train after.