6am workout or 6pm?

[faxanadu]

For the majority of my life my sleep schedule has been (11/12pm) to (7:30am).

For the last two weeks I've been trying to workout at 6am. It's nice because there is hardly anyone at the gym. However, i feel pretty sluggish and don't seem to be at my peak.

I can workout in the afternoon/evening but the damn places is crowded as can be. As long as I get good sleep at night i usually feel pretty good in the afternoon/evening. The downside is i have to wait for machines and stuff.

I like the idea of a morning workout. Less people, better block of free time in the afternoon, quicker workout, etc.. I just wonder if I'm hindering my progress if I'm all sluggish? I am trying to get to sleep by 9 or 10pm.

Maybe i just need to give it more time...

[xsizo]

Are you bulking or on a cut?

[ironwill2008]

Maybe i just need to give it more time...

As long as you're well-fed the day/evening before, it may simply be a matter of getting used to the new time.

Personally, I'd make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to avoid the gym knuckleheads and get in a solid session.

[SDSammy]

I think it has a lot to getting used to the new workout schedule. Since you said that for the majority of your life, you have been getting up at 7:30am, your body is simply not used to getting up earlier than that. Usually, it takes your body about a month to get used to a new schedule. Give it a couple more weeks and I'm sure your body will adjust.

Personally, I have always preferred to work out first thing in the morning rather than in the evening. On days that I am feeling a bit sluggish, I'll drink some Crystal Light Focus. It has just enough caffeine to give me the boost I need but not anywhere near enough to get me jittery.

[faxanadu]

Are you bulking or on a cut?

I guess you could say I'm bulking.

[faxanadu]

As long as you're well-fed the day/evening before, it may simply be a matter of getting used to the new time.

Personally, I'd make whatever sacrifices are necessary in order to avoid the gym knuckleheads and get in a solid session.

The biggest thing that drove me to switching were the knuckleheads just sitting around on equipment watching girls go by. I'll be sticking it out for another 2 weeks and see how i feel.

[59QUiCE]

my favorite time to exercise is 6am ish

[brudman]

I train at 4:30 am because it's the only time I can. The first week or two I had a lot of trouble adjusting, but now I'm pretty sure I will never train any other time of day.

[ironwill2008]

The biggest thing that drove me to switching were the knuckleheads just sitting around on equipment watching girls go by. I'll be sticking it out for another 2 weeks and see how i feel.

You're likely to find out that once you get adjusted to the new hours, the increased freedom in the gym from having to dodge the slackers, lemmings, fanboys, etc. is going to raise the quality of your training to another level.

[FAO]

I prefer the 6am time, it is a lot less crowded, and usually only has serious lifters at that time. Nobody just screwing around gets up at that time, lol. I do notice that it took a while, probably around a month or so to get into the hang of it. The thing I have realized is that I can somewhat be on autopilot at that time a day, so the mind/muscle connection is a little slack, somthing I notice much more when I lift in the afternoon. Its just a tradeoff...