Thread: Weight Training at 6am in morning compared to night

It may not make a huge difference b/c it's all individual & things will effect ppl differently.

But when you first wake up at 6am your body is still in sleep mode even though you're awake. It usally takes anywhere from 1-3hrs b4 the body is completely awake, alert, & full of energy.

Pluse you will be working out on only one meal & your system will be dehydrated after a nights sleep.


I personally find that training at, at least 1pm is better but I can't usually do this b/c of work & a new course I'm taking at work. My training has always been between 4-6pm & no later.

Going to the gym in total takes about 2hrs. You gotta drive there which takes 5-10mins at least, find parking, check in with your card & go into the locker room & put your stuff away, head to your first exercise, stretch & warm up & then train.

Then you got to go back to the locker room, pack your stuff, go to your car & drive home, shower & eat.

All of this takes about 2hrs maybe an hour and a half if you're lucky & fast.

So you also have to have 2hrs available to you.


But for me personally I've found that training in the late afternoon & early evening is much better in general.

You've had 3-4 meals in you providing your body with fuel & nutrients, you've had a chance to drink a few bottles of water & take your vitamin supplements. & your body will be fully awake.

But it's up to you, if you feel better at 6am in the morning, do what you feel is best.

You have more testosterone in the morning.

You may have more testosterone in the morning, but as I said your body is still in sleep mode & not alert.

You won't be as strong as you would be later in the day after having all those meals & water in you.

Originally Posted by Johnnny

You may have more testosterone in the morning, but as I said your body is still in sleep mode & not alert.

You won't be as strong as you would be later in the day after having all those meals & water in you.

that is not true at all, you obviously are talking about something that you have never tried...

it takes time for your body to adjust to early am workouts, just as it takes time for the body to adjust to training at night when energy an motivation levels are low. Out of the 23 years I've been lifting weights at least 14 of those years have been early am training. once you get used to training in the am you won't go back to training at night.

I've trained at 4:30 am for many years. when I train that early a shake of whey and maltodextrin works great for "me". some people can't handle the glucose based sugars before training. the key is to drink the shake and get to the gym ASAP before serum insulin levels rise to much. you can also use a shake of whey and oats which is obviously a lot low on the GI scale.

the thing that is beter about morning training is you have the rest of the day to feed your body, if you train at night you will only be eating once or twice after the work-out.

also training at night, depending on how late, can interfere with sleep.

I have always trained in the afternoon/evenings, it just works better for me and my schedule, also because I feel stronger later in the day.

conclusion: it will not really make enough difference either way so train when it makes the most sense for you and when you feel best.

i also train in the morning. If i get up by 6:15 and get there by 7:00 im pretty well awake and like prince said, you have all day to feed your body. I know that after my post workout meal im still hungry and would hate to only have one more meal before i slept for 8 hours (on a good night). plus Gh levels are also extremely high in the morning. Kick some creatine/arginine/glutamine in your system before your workout and im sure you will have no problem with all the strength and muscle size that you require. oh and pre workout shake i typically use sasperilla root to fire me up just like it did to the indians.

I also usually train in the moring. I have been doing so for almost 3 yrs now. Like LAM said once you get used to getting up early to train, you wont want to go back to a PM workout. I have discovered that I have a lot more energy through out the day when I train in the mornings. I have also notice that if I miss the morning workout, it is alot harder for me to drag myself to the gym in the PM.

Robert DiMaggio

the thing that is beter about morning training is you have the rest of the day to feed your body, if you train at night you will only be eating once or twice after the work-out.

also training at night, depending on how late, can interfere with sleep.

I have always trained in the afternoon/evenings, it just works better for me and my schedule, also because I feel stronger later in the day.

conclusion: it will not really make enough difference either way so train when it makes the most sense for you and when you feel best.

This is all true.

But it is true about training in the morning having the rest of your day to feed your body & rest.

This is one reason I like training in the mornings, but I usually don't b/c I don't feel as strong personally in the morning as you're still in sleep mode. But maybe that's just me.

I don't train later than 6pm usually. 6pm is the lates I would train.

But even with training between 4-6pm I'm still eating 3-4 more times b4 bed & as it gets towards bed time I'm usually eating just fish servings & salads as they're very light on the stomach for me anyway.

Training at night depending on the time can interfear with sleep.

I've trained at 8pm at night b4, & I'll tell you I at times was supposed to be asleep by 10-11pm & I was up unitl 12am those days I trained at 8pm.

You really have to try everything out for yourself & see what works best for you as it's an individual thing.

remember strength is all relative. heres an example.

week 1 (6am workout) or (5pm workout)
bench press max 250 275

week 2
bench press max 255 280

week 3
Bench press max 260 285

so either way you look at it the person obtained the same amount of strength whenever his workout was. I know that sometimes my schedule will not allow me to train in the morning and i am significantly stronger in the afternoon but that does not mean that im building more muscle just because im stronger. Progressive strength at a consistent rate at a similiar time is all that counts, not overall strength.

I used to train at night for the last few years and as of 3 months ago I train @ 6 am. I find it to be so much better. I always felt like my muscles couldn't stretch enough training late at night and I had an uncomfortable soarness as opposed to the normal training delayed soarness. Whatever works for you is the best answer for the question but mornign routines once they become routine are wonderful. Not to mention less people in the gym and no sharing equipment!

aflexaholic

remember strength is all relative. heres an example.

week 1 (6am workout) or (5pm workout)
bench press max 250 275

week 2
bench press max 255 280

week 3
Bench press max 260 285

so either way you look at it the person obtained the same amount of strength whenever his workout was. I know that sometimes my schedule will not allow me to train in the morning and i am significantly stronger in the afternoon but that does not mean that im building more muscle just because im stronger. Progressive strength at a consistent rate at a similiar time is all that counts, not overall strength.

For me I find that if I'm not getting stronger, than I'm not growing.

As lifting heavy & eventually being able to add more weight means IMO your muscles are growing as any time you put pressure on a muscle, it will grow.

The more pressure you put on the muscle, the better chances are that your muscles will grow.

So I want to train at a time where I'm the strongest, but I will never train late in the evening or late at night.

the thing that is beter about morning training is you have the rest of the day to feed your body, if you train at night you will only be eating once or twice after the work-out.

Not to mention less people in the gym and no sharing equipment!

johny,

what you say is interesting, id be curious to see if there are any studies on the timing part of it. anybody got anything? coach?

As lifting heavy & eventually being able to add more weight means IMO your muscles are growing as any time you put pressure on a muscle, it will grow.

The more pressure you put on the muscle, the better chances are that your muscles will grow.

So I want to train at a time where I'm the strongest, but I will never train late in the evening or late at night.

your theory is flawed in the sense that, there is no time of the day where you are not as strong, its all mental. your body is capable of anything and to make an excuse like, well its a certain time of the day is just that. your mental capacity is the factor that we are overlooking here. I personally train in teh afternoon/evening b/c I stay up late and am not at all a morning person, so training at like 1:00 or so is early for me, but I still forcemyself to become prepared for the most part.