Does it matter what time you workout?

T

travisc

0
I am either at work or traveling to and from work between 7AM and 6PM so obviously these are times I cannot work out. I've read in the past that it's beneficial to do cardio in the morning and weight train after work before dinner.

Ideally for me I'd prefer to do everything in the morning or the opposite. (Weight train in the morning and cardio at night). Reason being there are a lot less people in the gym in the morning and I can do cardio at home (I have an ellipitcal). So, if my goal is to put on weight and get in good shape am I going to slow my progress by waking up before work (5AM?) eating something quickly, then working out and then going to work vs. the traditional workout after work that most people do?

Thanks,
 
In my experience, it's never mattered. I used to work out at night and now do it at about 6 am. I say go when you can get the best workout for you, considering time, gym space, energy level, etc.
 
the problem with early a.m. workouts is two-fold:

1. you've been fasting in your sleep for 8 hours, so you need nutrition first thing in the am to avoid catabolism. catabolism is the opposite of putting on muscle.

2. it takes about 90 minutes for your central nervous system to start firing all cylinders...this equates to sloppier muscle control, and less ability to exert force through the muscles.

I can lift more weight after work, than early in the morning. and lifting heavy stuff is what makes the body want to put on muscle (along with diet).

its not impossible, but as anecdotal evidence, I see more guys with better body's at 6pm, than 6am at the Gold's I go to. most of the 6am crew is just exercising, while the 6pm crew is 'bodybuilding'
 
Yeah, good point. It's definitely tougher to manage pre and post nutrition in the morning, but I've gotten used to it. I think the gym state is part of the reason I like the morning better. It's easier to manage supersets, etc., since there's less of a crowd around. More work in less time, etc., etc.
 
travisc said:
I am either at work or traveling to and from work between 7AM and 6PM so obviously these are times I cannot work out. I've read in the past that it's beneficial to do cardio in the morning and weight train after work before dinner.

Ideally for me I'd prefer to do everything in the morning or the opposite. (Weight train in the morning and cardio at night). Reason being there are a lot less people in the gym in the morning and I can do cardio at home (I have an ellipitcal). So, if my goal is to put on weight and get in good shape am I going to slow my progress by waking up before work (5AM?) eating something quickly, then working out and then going to work vs. the traditional workout after work that most people do?

Thanks,
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I wouldn't worry about morning training sessions in any way.

During my younger days at university playing hockey, 6:00 a.m practices were the norm...ditto when I moved into coaching. Been coaching kids of various ages with 5:30 / 6:00 a.m. practices for years...and these 5:30 / 6:00 a.m practices are hard.

Also, one of my roommates at university was on the varsity rowing team and they did some form of training ( on the water or dry-land ) as earlier as 5:15, 5:30 a.m....another buddy of mine was on the varsity swim team.....again, in all cases, hard training first thing in the morning....I think they got the idea of morning training from Marine boot camp :)

And, I wouldn't don't worry to much about catabolism IMO. All you need to do is make sure your glycogen stores are topped up - i.e by eating 5-8 small meals throughout the day ( i.e in the days before exercise ) and as far as glucose goes, you just need a very light snack as soon as you get up just to get your blood sugar back up before you train.

I know, once I had kids, I had to get up at 4:30 a.m if I wanted to train - did it for years.
 
I NEVER lift weights on an empty stomach as explain above you are in a catobolic state. So I will have a good size protein carb meal and head off to the gym and then have some amino acids during my workout and a protein carb meal after. I did this through the summmer and got great gains. Workout when you are mentally prepared to give it your all. But make sure that you have the fuel in your body to get a good and productive workout
 
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BigStew said:
I NEVER lift weights on an empty stomach as explain above you are in a catobolic state. So I will have a good size protein carb meal and head off to the gym and then have some amino acids during my workout and a protein carb meal after. I did this through the summmer and got great gains. Workout when you are mentally prepared to give it your all. But make sure that you have the fuel in your body to get a good and productive workout
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Totally agree.
 
agree with wrangell,dont worry about it as long as you get there thats what matters,take a protein shake before and a sports drink.
 
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