AM vs. PM workouts - recent study info

M

malkore

2
Pulled from a synopsis of this months' Muscle and Fitness:

"In another study, 16 trained lifters worked out either before 10AM or after 6PM. Workouts were 45 minutes of weights followed by 45 minutes of cardio. Over the course of 10 weeks, the PM group increased lean muscle 3% and dropped 4% body fat.

The AM group had less than a 1% increase in lean mass and actually added 5% body fat. Strength gains were about the same. The added fat loss in the PM group is suspected to be due to metabolism being boosted at a time of day it would normally decrease."

Keep in mind it says "trained lifters"...not newcomers.
I've never really been a fan of AM weight training. Cardio is ok, but weights suck at 7am. The CNS takes 90 mins to fire up to full force after waking up, and the only thing worse than 7am workouts is getting up at 5:30am to prepare for them!
 
WOW!

Thanks for the info! Going PM all the way!

=)
 
Yeah, not exactly ideal, but the general point is that early morning workouts on an empty stomach are NOT superior like some claim...and in fact quite the opposite.
 
malkore said:
Yeah, not exactly ideal, but the general point is that early morning workouts on an empty stomach are NOT superior like some claim...and in fact quite the opposite.
Click to expand...
I agree. I would never weight train in the AM.
 
I work out(weight train) in the AM and love it. It gets me going for the whole day, and I am seeing good results. If I put it off till after work, I'd lose my motivation and I don't think mentally my intensity would be there because I would be thinking about all the stuff that happened at work that day.
So I'd probably get worse results in PM than AM because my heart wouldn't be in it. Plus working out in the AM doesn't cut into the time I get to spend with my kids.
 
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Did it give anymore details?

Did they do the same workout?... Was this 45min WT and 45min cardio more/less than their current workout?

Did they have the same diet?

Were they relatively the same lean mass vs. body fat % to start?

Really hard for me to give much thought to saying

" 8 guys who worked out after 6pm gained 3% muscle and lost 4% fat where the 8 guys who worked out before 10 am gained less than 1% muscle and added 5% fat."
 
i lifted in the morning for years. i'd wake up at 4am and lift from 4:30am till 5:15am. it was either do it at that time or dont do it at all. i did fine and it got me going for those 12 hour work days at the time.
 
I would almost be of the mindset, that if you are more motivated to work out in the AM or the PM, do what works for you.

I have always heard cardio is the best first thing in the morning before you eat, but like many people I have not found the power to test that. Perhaps this summer.

You can probably find a study to back up any stance you want, every person is different and there are a lot of body types out there. Find what works best for you both mentally and physically.
 
I agree Scott. I think WHENEVER you can do it is the BEST time!
 
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