weight lifting in the morning, im talkin first thing in the morning!!

W

WOLVERINE1

0
i've always wondered about this, and I cannot think of any thread that addresses this issue:

is it good to weight lift right after you wake up? Let's say you wake up at 10:00 am, eat a healthy breakfast, and start weightliftin around 10:30-45?

Reason I ask is because I want to start doing that. So I'm curious if this would have any negative / positive effects on the bod. And plus, what would be the perfect breakfast, as in carb to protein to fat ratio? And for carbs, would u want simple or complex?
 
From the reading I have done, it should be about 90 minutes between your last carb meal and the time you hit the weights because of the insulin spike and performance. You'd be better off going ahead and grabbing a protein shake if you're training that closely to waking time and then having your PWO meal, followed by another meal 30-60 minutes later.

Since we're on the subject of time, here is some research conducted by Armstrong in 2000 relating to time and the way the body functions-
Armstrong (2000) presented the following data (1):

Daily Peaks in Factors Affecting Athletic Performance

Circadian Rhythm
Time of Day

Blood Catecholamine level
6-10AM

Blood Cortisol Level
6-10AM

Short-term Memory
8AM-1PM

Speed and Accuracy of Motor Performance
12PM

Logical Reasoning
2PM

Trunk Flexibility
2PM

Self-Rated Vigor
3PM

Maximal Ventilation (breathing) Rate
3PM

Lowest Fatigue during Maximal Exercise
4PM

Peak Esophageal (core) Temperature
4PM

Grip Strength
2-6PM

Maximal Oxygen Consumption
3-8PM

Eye-Hand Tracking Control
8PM



Adapted from Armstrong, 2000.
Time of day is also significant with respect to injury risk potential, as there's a diurnal variation in spine length due to the in- and outflow of the fluid within the intervertebral discs. At night, while you’re lying horizontally and the spine isn’t loaded, fluid enters the disc; when you wake up and start moving around, fluid begins to leave the disc. By the end of the day, you’re actually shorter!

Oddly enough, you’re safer in the "short" scenario. The increased fluid content present when you first wake up is associated with increased stiffness of the spine when you bend (because the discs have expanded). Because the muscles can’t just adapt to compensate for this alteration to spine length, the discs and ligaments take on more of the stress.

Body temperature is also lower upon rising, so range of motion (ROM) is compromised even further. As the day goes on and you move around more, body temperature increases and the fluid flows out of the disc, improving ROM and reducing ligament stress. McGill (2004) noted that in the morning, disc-bending and ligament stresses during forward flexion were 300% and 80% greater than when performed later in the day. Moreover, lumbar flexion ROM increases by 5-6° during this same time period (2).

Basically, you need to give your spine at least thirty minutes in the morning to "wake up," and I’d prefer that you wait at least three hours to train. This recommendation is largely based on the increase in body temperature that you experience in this time. The data from Armstrong presented above actually shows that maximal grip strength and body temperature peak at approximately the same time of day (~4PM). Speaking anecdotally, this is the time of day at which I seem to have my best training sessions. This would obviously be influenced by how early in the day you arise, though. If you’re up earlier, this time would likely be shifted forward a bit.

That being said-try it out and see how it works for you. I find I have my better lifts later in the afternoon.
 
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when i was in highschool, i had weight lifting 1st period at 730am. lol. i enjoyed it at the time but now im lazy and get up late!
 
**** that was in highschool. i usually work out anywhere from 4-7 now... why do you get up so early!!!! just fits ur schedule??
 
Yeah, it would be great to be able to start at 10:00 am! With a one hour, one-way commute to work and three kids, about the only opportunity I get to go to the gym is 5 am. That article does present some very interesting information; thanks for posting!
 
evolution said:
Since we're on the subject of time, here is some research conducted by Armstrong in 2000 relating to time and the way the body functions-
Armstrong (2000) presented the following data (1):

Daily Peaks in Factors Affecting Athletic Performance

Circadian Rhythm
Time of Day

Blood Catecholamine level
6-10AM

Blood Cortisol Level
6-10AM

Short-term Memory
8AM-1PM

Speed and Accuracy of Motor Performance
12PM

Logical Reasoning
2PM

Trunk Flexibility
2PM

Self-Rated Vigor
3PM

Maximal Ventilation (breathing) Rate
3PM

Lowest Fatigue during Maximal Exercise
4PM

Peak Esophageal (core) Temperature
4PM

Grip Strength
2-6PM

Maximal Oxygen Consumption
3-8PM

Eye-Hand Tracking Control
8PM



Adapted from Armstrong, 2000.
Time of day is also significant with respect to injury risk potential, as there's a diurnal variation in spine length due to the in- and outflow of the fluid within the intervertebral discs. At night, while you’re lying horizontally and the spine isn’t loaded, fluid enters the disc; when you wake up and start moving around, fluid begins to leave the disc. By the end of the day, you’re actually shorter!

Oddly enough, you’re safer in the "short" scenario. The increased fluid content present when you first wake up is associated with increased stiffness of the spine when you bend (because the discs have expanded). Because the muscles can’t just adapt to compensate for this alteration to spine length, the discs and ligaments take on more of the stress.

Body temperature is also lower upon rising, so range of motion (ROM) is compromised even further. As the day goes on and you move around more, body temperature increases and the fluid flows out of the disc, improving ROM and reducing ligament stress. McGill (2004) noted that in the morning, disc-bending and ligament stresses during forward flexion were 300% and 80% greater than when performed later in the day. Moreover, lumbar flexion ROM increases by 5-6° during this same time period (2).

Basically, you need to give your spine at least thirty minutes in the morning to "wake up," and I’d prefer that you wait at least three hours to train. This recommendation is largely based on the increase in body temperature that you experience in this time. The data from Armstrong presented above actually shows that maximal grip strength and body temperature peak at approximately the same time of day (~4PM). Speaking anecdotally, this is the time of day at which I seem to have my best training sessions. This would obviously be influenced by how early in the day you arise, though. If you’re up earlier, this time would likely be shifted forward a bit.

That being said-try it out and see how it works for you. I find I have my better lifts later in the afternoon.
Click to expand...

That's great info Evolution, where'd you get that from??
 
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