Morning workout vs night workout

[bryan324]

I started working out in the mornings because when i go to the gym at night, i tend to **** around with my friends and I am less effective at getting stuff done. But when i workout in the mornings around lunch time i just crash. Is there any benefits to doing workouts in the morning vs at night? Can anyone recommend things i can eat/drink that will help me from crashing? Also should i eat breakfast before working out? I have just been drinking a protein shake after my workout and maybe thats the cause. thanks in advance for your advice.

[igglesphan]

There is no benefit to working out in the morning vs. night... do it when it is convenient for you. As far as eating first, that is a personal preference as well. If you like to eat first, go for it... I prefer to workout on an empty stomach.

[bryan324]

There is no benefit to working out in the morning vs. night... do it when it is convenient for you. As far as eating first, that is a personal preference as well. If you like to eat first, go for it... I prefer to workout on an empty stomach.

alright man thanks for the insight. i guess ill try to eat before working out to see if it helps as far as energy goes. i feel better working out on an empty stomach but it sucks getting tired at work.

[carlson61]

Preference -- you may choose to beleive the following or not, but this is what ive gathered over the years from reading / listening; Ive never applied it so thus dont know if its true or not.

Mornings Lifts
+ everything you eat for rest of day is all recovery food
+ Due to bodies mechanics = best time to workout for burning calories due to metabolism
+ Gets it done and over with so you dont have the rest of the day to run you down, or for things to come up which will prevent your night workout from happening


- Have to get up earlier or delay rest of day by X amount of time
- Doesnt leave much time for a pre-workout food / supps
- May indeed tire you out for rest of day

Night Lifts
+ Give you the day to focus, energize, or use supps
+ Sleep soon after = best form of recovery
+ Can sleep in a little later or get out of work on time

- day may tire you out or allow urself to talk out of the gym
- Some find it hard to sleep soon after working out hard due to ur body "waking" up
- Not much time remaining for recovery foods.

[Majest1c]

I personally work out during both mornings and nights...

If I got no morning shift at work I'm at the gym around 8 am for 2 hours and can just keep going.. For me I think morning is good because I got tone of energy.. I am one of those early morning people can wake up at any time and have energy

When I work out during nights, I'm there for about an 1.4h-1.3h just depends who I go with and how long they work out for.... but I would say that the work out goes a bit different for me, not going so explosively during the workouts......

In your case if you are crashing you need to figure out the time of the day when You got tone of energy always... When I go in the morning I dont eat anything, some I know eat because food will give you energy.... maybe try taking a pre-workout drink???

I take VPX NoShotGun... good stuff been taking for about 1.2 years,, I use it to give me more strenghts and those extra reps during workout,,, really works

[bryan324]

alright thanks for the advice guys. i like the morning workouts too because like i said im more focused since i don't have my friends that aren't taking things as serious as me there to distract me. I will check out that pre-workout and see if its somethign that would be good for me.

[LeanMuscleCity]

It's tough with a 9-5 job, but I love working out in the mornings, that way I feel great all day, like I really got up and brought it early on. I am personally more productive at work after a morning run, cardio session or weight lifting P90X DVD. I work out on an empty stomach, or with a 1/2 of a Powerbar in me. Just enough to keep me going but not enough to make me feel full, bloated or having the possibility of cramping. Working out at night is good for the weekends when I need to blow off some steam or I know I can stay up late. I don't like dreading a workout all evening and then finally getting done late and have to go to bed shortly after. But do what makes YOU comfortable.

[Nealwanderfoot]

if you're going to exercise in the morning try eating something really light before bed like fruit or a protein shake. when i was lifting in the mornings i would eat a half cup of oatmeal (also tried out lettuce) before heading to the gym. oatmeal is very easy to digest, so even though i only had about 20 mins to let it sit before i started exercising at such a small amount i never felt bogged down or sluggish. try it out, helped me get over the "worn out" feeling post workout.

train hard

[Shin0bi1]

If you can, I recommend working out during lunch time. It makes the work outs short and seriously intense since you have limited time. I drink mad coffee in the mornings, eat an oatmeal (1 hour before workout lunch time)... work out like crazy for 40 min and then save the other 20 min for traveling to gym and eating lunch u brought from home.

-Shin0bi1

[sid007]

It's tough with a 9-5 job, but I love working out in the mornings, that way I feel great all day, like I really got up and brought it early on. I am personally more productive at work after a morning run, cardio session or weight lifting P90X DVD. I work out on an empty stomach, or with a 1/2 of a Powerbar in me. Just enough to keep me going but not enough to make me feel full, bloated or having the possibility of cramping. Working out at night is good for the weekends when I need to blow off some steam or I know I can stay up late. I don't like dreading a workout all evening and then finally getting done late and have to go to bed shortly after. But do what makes YOU comfortable.

Yeah I rather work out in the morning too but can't because my commute to work is too long as is and cant' be up earlier.

So evenings it is but that works out well too.

[petemane]

try No Xplode. Does miracles for waking me up for the morning lifts. I always have a Protein shake before and after as well. Of course I mix with water not milk so the calories are low. Tastes like crap though

[martinelli]

Preference -- you may choose to beleive the following or not, but this is what ive gathered over the years from reading / listening; Ive never applied it so thus dont know if its true or not.

Mornings Lifts
+ everything you eat for rest of day is all recovery food
+ Due to bodies mechanics = best time to workout for burning calories due to metabolism
+ Gets it done and over with so you dont have the rest of the day to run you down, or for things to come up which will prevent your night workout from happening


- Have to get up earlier or delay rest of day by X amount of time
- Doesnt leave much time for a pre-workout food / supps
- May indeed tire you out for rest of day

Night Lifts
+ Give you the day to focus, energize, or use supps
+ Sleep soon after = best form of recovery
+ Can sleep in a little later or get out of work on time

- day may tire you out or allow urself to talk out of the gym
- Some find it hard to sleep soon after working out hard due to ur body "waking" up
- Not much time remaining for recovery foods.

Good points. Just one thing to add. . .

The biggest & most variable issue is how the timing of formal exercise causes individuals to behave later that day. Studies show some people to lower their NEAT for the rest of the day, either as a conscious or subconscious compensatory response to the exercise. Often, overall daily expenditure drops. Activities of daily living (ADL) are arguably the prime behavioral buffer preventing weight gain in the average person. And for some, exercise diminishes this chance to create a comparatively greater energy expenditure than an hour or two in the gym could.

It's a phenomenon that I experience, which is why I tend to train in the evening, when I personally become more inactive anyway. The workout gives me one last "bump" in expenditure before I hibernate.

It's either that or deliberately trying to keep yourself busy after your morning session, if you have that problem. So if you have a morning shift, that's a plus.

[cubezombie]

I had a problem with crashing during my evening workouts...Now I eat a couple of Honey Oat bars with a cup of green tea about an hour before and I feel pretty good throughout my workout..ymmv...