Best time to hit the Gym

[kcbuilder]

Just curious if there is a "optimal" time of day for working out.

I recently started working nights from 2pm-midnight and I currently go to the gym after work. Kind of nice having the whole place to myself. Since switching to working out at night I have seen some new gains.

I usually workout from around 12:30-2:00 and go to bed around 3:00am.

Are these gains a result of sleeping shortly after my workouts? nothing else has really changed as far as diet or my current program. I am currently not on cycle and only taking my usual supps.

 

[AN3M4L]

Not sure but maybe having the place to your self allows you to stay more focused, or because you no longer wait around for equipment or always get to do what you want it has resulted in a better workout.

 

[shawnkarbabacz]

Its possible that your seeing new gains because your ramping up your body at a time its used to basically being catabolic. I just read a report on 'is it better to work out in the morning or at night'. The study showed the night timers were effected a little better and the explanation they gave was because most people are up already getting theyre metabolism going in the morning, whereas most people are winding down at night. If you train later you keep your body going for longer. Maybe thats whats happening to you?

Maybe the study was bullshit. I read it in FLEX magazine

 

[Pekkerwood]

This is from no study but my goodness, I just cannot summon the same intensity in the early morning b4 work as I can after work. I think its just habit. I have a group of guys that regularly meet at 5:00 am to work out and they assure me they are cranking it out and have been trying to get me to come rejoin them.

I've tried it at 6:00am before, but it just seems my intensity it not their. I sometimes wish it was so I could be through for the day after work and just take the dogs to the park and such. Cardio is no problem in the morning just the weights.

 

[Nikopapp]

Quite honestly the best time to workout is whatever time works best for you.
The only real known fact is that the bodies' own natural testosterone production is at it's highest in the morning, which in theory could make that the "optimal" time for a workout.
However, a lot of people cannot get the needed intensity in the morning, so that kind of throws that theory out the window a little and makes me go back to saying whatever time works best for you is optimal.

 

[Ironraider]

I dunno...to each his own I think. Back in the day when I was working construction I'd work out at 5:00 a.m. I didn't have enough in me to train hard afterwards with the heat and work needed to complete my tasks.

Nowadays, I can work whenever the hell I want and I've been getting to gym around 10:30, which allows me to wakeup, suck down some joe, get some pro/carbs and meander down to throw some slag.

 

[xxsuprman22xx]

as long as i've had my breakfast with plenty of carbs and my coffee, i am good to go at 6 am. i love working out early because it creates a huge appetite increase that stays with me all day which gives my muscles that extra bit they need and want

 

[Thor]

AGREED

This is from no study but my goodness, I just cannot summon the same intensity in the early morning b4 work as I can after work. I think its just habit. I have a group of guys that regularly meet at 5:00 am to work out and they assure me they are cranking it out and have been trying to get me to come rejoin them.

I've tried it at 6:00am before, but it just seems my intensity it not their. I sometimes wish it was so I could be through for the day after work and just take the dogs to the park and such. Cardio is no problem in the morning just the weights.

This is EXACTLY how I feel about it.

 

[doug1]

i think the best time based on the "average" persons lifestyle(no graveyard shift type stuff) is going to be between 4-7pm another time that seems to be nice is around 10am(doesn't work well with the 9-5 job though)

 

[Lenny]

For me the best time to hit the gym is in the evening because I have more calories in me = more energy. I just feel stronger, fuller, and aware/awake. Of course I do not get off work till early evening, but if I had a choice I would do it with more meals in me than less meals, unless it is cardio on a empty stomach early in the morning.

But, to each thier own, the muscle will break down regardless.

 

[RONJON]

I agee..whatever time is best for you personally...I love to workout early in the morning..but cant do it because of work

RJ

 

[Need2getnaps]

I find it best to go around 5pm after I have got a good full days worth of cals in me. I go in the morning and I am weak as hell. Only thing that sucks is everyone else is at the gym at this time.

 

[rAJJIN]

I Like to go in the evening. Get Home Eat, rest and relax a bit and that also give it time to clear out some. Ill usualy get there about 7-8 o`clock.

Ive tried the mornings and Just Like pekkerwood said I Just didnt have the Same energy or Intensity. Im Sure a guy would adjust But I didnt care for it.

 

[TJB]

Hmmm

I believe the optimum time is when you can mentally focus and put it the right amount of effort.


100% individual. When you decide, your body will follow and respond.

 

[GoneForever]

Now that im unemployed i go around 2pm and love it. Nobody there, no waiting for machines, its perfect. Wish I could go that time everyday.

 

[dragonfire101]

Maybe Later

If your older maybe later in day, most of similar studies with other ages say same thing that I have heard about. I always though 1-2 pm was the best time for me ever and this is when I worked second shift.

J Appl Physiol 92: 2319-2325, 2002. First published February 1, 2002; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01116.2001
Vol. 92, Issue 6, 2319-2325, June 2002

Aged men display blunted biorhythmic variation of muscle performance and physiological responses

Michael R. Deschenes, Laurie L. Bronson, Meredith P. Cadorette, Julia E. Powers, and John C. Weinlein
Department of Kinesiology, The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795


Aging is known to disrupt the "biological clock" that governs physiological variables at rest. This study sought to determine whether aged men demonstrated biorhythmic variation in muscle performance during resistance exercise and physiological responses to that stimulus. Ten aged (75.6 ± 1.6 yr; mean ± SE) men completed an isokinetic testing protocol of knee extensors and flexors at 0800, 1200, 1600, and 2000 h. Although time of day variation in peak torque was detectable, significant (P 0.05) oscillation was established only in the knee flexors at 3.14 rad/s. Heart rate, blood pressure, and rectal temperature displayed no significant variation, but trends (P < 0.10) in oscillation of postexercise blood pressure and rectal temperature were noted. Temporal patterns in biorhythmic variation of muscle performance, as well as thermal and cardiovascular measures, emulated those observed in a previous study involving young men where the magnitude of variation was sufficient to achieve statistical significance. Similar to our earlier findings in young men, however, pre- and postexercise testosterone and cortisol concentrations demonstrated significant variation among aged men. These data confirm the blunting of biorhythmic variation in muscle performance and physiological variables, except for circulating hormones, in aged men.

In summary, the data generated by this investigation confirmed our initial hypothesis. We have determined that, among aged men, muscle function and selected physiological variables display muted biorhythmic variation that in temporal pattern, but not in magnitude, emulates biorhythmic variation noted in young men. From a mechanistic standpoint, our findings suggest that modifications in target tissue rather than in the biological clock itself are primarily responsible for this attenuation of biorhythmicity, at least during the segment of the day studied. From an applied standpoint, the data reported here indicate that older men may perform resistance exercise at any time of day between the hours of 0800 and 2000, with expectations of roughly equivalent performance and stress imparted to the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems. Hormonal data, however, reveal that a more favorable anabolic environment exists in the early evening hours and that testosterone levels are most responsive to resistance exercise during those same hours.

 

[doug1]

[... From an applied standpoint, the data reported here indicate that older men may perform resistance exercise at any time of day between the hours of 0800 and 2000, with expectations of roughly equivalent performance and stress imparted to the cardiovascular and thermoregulatory systems. Hormonal data, however, reveal that a more favorable anabolic environment exists in the early evening hours and that testosterone levels are most responsive to resistance exercise during those same hours.

oh crap, does this mean me training around 10am on saturday means im becoming an old man?

 

[thebrick]

This is from no study but my goodness, I just cannot summon the same intensity in the early morning b4 work as I can after work. I think its just habit. I have a group of guys that regularly meet at 5:00 am to work out and they assure me they are cranking it out and have been trying to get me to come rejoin them.

I've tried it at 6:00am before, but it just seems my intensity it not their. I sometimes wish it was so I could be through for the day after work and just take the dogs to the park and such. Cardio is no problem in the morning just the weights.

Same here. 30 years ago when I started training, I would get up at 5:00 AM, eat 6-8 hard boiled eggs and head to the gym at 6:00 and train like a banshee. Deadlifting, you name it. Loved it. My body was on that clock. Flip side, by 8:00 PM I was ready to crash and call it a day. My work situation changed and I then stitched to 5:00 PM to train. It took a week or so to get my body on that "clock". I just didn't feel as "with it" at first. So I think a lot of it is just the "clock" you put your body on and what works for your schedule.

I enjoyed that post Dragonfire101. Interestingly, now at 55, I train early in the afternoon, because thats when I feel strongest.

 

[fsm]

5:00 in the morning. Why? because thats when "life" is least apt to get in the way. I used to workout right after work but things kept interfering with consistency. And yes I am ready to crash by 9:00pm, but I really don't need to watch TV anyway.

 

[dragonfire101]

I enjoyed that post Dragonfire101. Interestingly, now at 55, I train early in the afternoon, because thats when I feel strongest.

I'm not 55, but I have always felt strongest early afternoon. I was never an AM person.



Time-of-day effects during acute isokinetic exhaustive eccentric exercise: Serum leptin response
Journal: Isokinetics and Exercise Science, Volume 17, Number 1 / 2009, pgs. 19-25
Authors
Zekine Lappalainen1, 2, Fatih Kilinc2, Jani Lappalainen1, Mustafa Atalay1
1Institute of Biomedicine, Physiology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
2Department of Sports Science and Health, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey

Abstract
Circadian rhythms are known to influence muscular performance and regulate leptin hormone secretion, which assists in the regulation of body weight and energy homeostasis. In this study we examined the time-of-day effect on skeletal muscle eccentric contractile properties and the response of serum leptin to acute eccentric exhaustive isokinetic exercise. Male subjects (n = 26) performed a bout of exhaustive eccentric exercise on an isokinetic dynamometer in the morning or late afternoon time on different days. The test was repeated after 7–10 days at different time-of-day. Blood samples were collected at baseline and immediately after exercise for determination of serum leptin. Leg extensor muscle torque and work parameters were recorded, and compared with the time-of-day. Maximal eccentric torque values were not significantly affected by time-of-day. The maximal work performed during single repetition as well as total work values were significantly higher in the afternoon time. Leptin levels significantly decreased after exercise, but no time-of-day effect on serum leptin could be observed. Diurnal variations during short-term isokinetic exhaustive eccentric exercise seem to reflect muscle work capacity, with higher contractile efficiency towards the evening time. Although short-term exhaustive eccentric exercise decreased serum leptin, the levels did not to have a significant diurnal variation.