What are ideal times for workouts? Morning or evenings? I have been doing workouts in evenings ( after work ) but not sure if there is any advantage of doing these workouts in the evening over morning. One of the main reasons I do this in evening so that i accumulate enough energy by eating food throughout the day.
Do them whenever suits you the best. Many people do morning workouts because of work life balance.
I do them early morning because I do not have time in the evening (work + family).
I prefer to do them in te evening after work. I have a very busy work life (50h a week typically). I go indoor during the week around 4-5 PM for 1h-1h30. Then, I can be tired and still do some work like answering e-mails.
I don’t like doing it in the morning, because I always feel hurried because I have work to do.
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Mornings - high intensity efforts affect my sleep negatively.
Whenever you can do them consistently!
Personally, mornings work best for me work/ family/ training balance wise. Mid-volume, mid week are generally only an hour and half. Fuelling that day isn’t that important, more the day/ evening before, and then top up before (or early) in the workout if you feel the need.
It did take a while to get used to the intensity early in the day, and to adjust sleep patterns, but when I have to schedule evening’s now, I feel it hangs over me. Also, with mornings it doesn’t matter what stresses/ challenges/ curveballs the day brings - job done by breakfast suites me better now.
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In an ideal world, high intensity early evening, muscles are closer to being able to product peak contractions and endurance sessions in the morning.
Early morning here also due to family/work. If it’s a shorter workout and I need to sleep in because of working late I do it over lunch. During the summer I really love mornings because it’s cooler and less humid (my pain cave is in the garage). During the winter it sucks but builds character!
One problem with mornings is as mentioned above warming the legs for intensity. If you feel extra stiff you can always extend the warmup before getting into it. Dynamic stretches also help, and coffee of course.
I also find that fueling can be an issue for the really intense efforts and the first few intervals can feel pretty flat. So on bike nutrition is very important if you’re riding early. Also you have to make sure you are in bed early enough or you will sell yourself short due to lack of sleep. I have a strict lights out at 9:30 policy and am up no problem at 4:30 to start my morning with TR.
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Evening - I think there was podcast discussion on this topic regarding muscles etc. But personally, I feel more comfortable and strong afternoons between 4 and 6
There have been studies on it… tis true.
Intervals are more productive in the afternoon / early evening.
Endurance work, metabolic efficiency, mitochondrial biogenesis (production of mitochondria) in the morning when typically less glycogen is available.
Personally I do nearly all my sessions early morning but that is just because life and after work there is a chance I will have too or will skip a session.
Perfect scenario would be… my endurance sessions morning and intervals (not the same day) in the afternoon. PS I can add 10 - 20 watts to VO2 intervals early evening over the same workout in the evening, not sure if that makes any difference if I can rev the heart to the same degree AM vs PM.
Two a days is a bit different.
I’d need to search, but they did do a pro-con segment in the cast. The morning won out in most cases on a purely ideological “list” basis.
But as mentioned here and other threads, it’s more complex and can vary widely based on a number of factors they didn’t cover.
I do my in the evening around 5 when I get off work. I would like to do them in the morning but I have to be at work at 7am and with mid night feedings of the baby I need that extra time in the morning to wake up.
It can be hard to workout in the evening. My setup is in my garage and with the heat it can be a real challenge to cool myself even with fans. It can also be hard to have the workout looming over my head.
From a sleep perspective I would always avoid 3 hours before bed - that has been researched fairly extensively from my understanding i.e., impact on sleep. Includes also nutrition too late too. However, getting in some sport is ofc important as opposed to avoiding, so work around your schedule.
(more info on sleep look up Matthew Walker)
Has to be early morning!
Eat a good amount of carbs the day before - i like porridge in the evening
One gel and a nice large coffee or caffeine pill as soon as i wake up
Fuel the workout with lots of sugar
I dont know how any of that would be possible in the evening after work without really messing with my sleep.
I ride in the evening after work. Im off at 4:30 and usually on the bike at 5-5:15pm. Riding in the morning is not an option since I have to be to work at 7am and it takes me roughly 20 mins to get there.
Pros and cons to both. This upcoming week is going to be hard because it’s supposed to be in the >100F and I train in my garage with a fan. I might try to get up extra early and see if I can’t do a couple workouts in the morning.