Gym in the Morning or Night?

I'm a big fan of the morning gym session before work mostly due to the fact that I know when I need to be in work by but never know when I may leave at night. I just want to hear peoples different opinions on when they exercise and why? Have had this discussion with people in my office and it's always interesting to hear different points of view.

 

Lately I've been trying to in the morning for the same reason you stated. Over the last few years, as I've gotten older, I've found I don't always have as much motivation after a long day to go to the gym. With that said, I do feel like I train better in the evening. Maybe it's that I'm not fully awake at 5:00am, or that I still have caffeine working it's magic after work when I lift in the evening, I am not sure. I just know I have more great workouts mid day or evening than right after waking up. Some people says its not the best for your CNS to work out late... Don't have any research on that but have been told it's out there.

 

I think the key thing that helps me here is I take preworkout with a decent amount caffeine. Definitely helps me wake up quickly. It also took a a few weeks to get into the rhythm of waking up super early to get in a workout. I've heard that you're not suppose to work out later too, but haven't seen anything concrete on it.

Love, abigreguy
 

Up at 4:30 at the gym by 5am. Throughout college I lifted at night and definitely felt relatively stronger / more awake / looser. Gotta warm-up now in the mornings and notice that when I go to the gym later in the morning on weekends I feel stronger after having eaten / properly woken up.

Having said that, I make it to the gym every morning... not sure how often I'd be motivated to go to the Gym after work / a relatively late night. I also absolutely hate working out at peak hours due to all the congestion. Takes twice as long to get a session in...

Not sure if I'd be able to stay consistent at night so being at 80% strength every morning > 100% strength only making it a few nights a week in my mind.

 

When I was in school I would also gym in the evening because I knew when I would be finished and I usually used the morning to cram, but when I got to work it was the opposite. In the past two weeks I've gotten off anywhere from 6PM to 9:30PM and managed to workout every morning. I definitely couldn't have done that if I was working out after work.

Love, abigreguy
 

Waking up explicitly to work out doesn’t allow you to make as many excuses. It’s pretty easy to make up an excuse not to go in the evening. Plus there are more physical and mental benefits of getting a sick pump in the AM

 

I definitely have an easier time with heavy lifts and night and prefer it but end up working out in the AM for the reasons you described. I don't think it's really possible to work out in the evening/at night that consistently. I used to do it when I had a home gym but I have not been home for about a year and now have a gym that takes 10 min to get to which sounds dumb but it adds up....

 

Depends on the commute for me.

Long commute (current) makes it impossible to do it in the morning, so I do it after work. This generally works well as stress relief and so long that you eat well and are in shape, I haven't noticed any particular drop in terms of energy for the workout. I arrive to the gym mentally tired, I leave physically tired but mentally relaxed, it works well.

Before this I used to do it in the morning and it worked very well because it's at my peak energy for the day, so if you can I'd recommend that.

Never discuss with idiots, first they drag you at their level, then they beat you with experience.
 

I worked out in the mornings before work for years. Had a friend that I'd meet at the gym, and that made it easier to get up and get myself there. But job changes for both of us made it harder to do the early mornings. So for the past couple of years I've been going to the gym in the evening after work.

I like not "having" to get up that early anymore, but evening workouts are definitely easier to skip after a long day of work.

 

I personally enjoy doing it in the evenings. After a good workout you feel a bit tired and ready to go home. The last thing I'd want to do personally is start off my day already half tired. Not that I could really even get a good workout being awake so early. I also find it easier to meet people in the evenings since they usually have some time afterward. In the mornings everyone is in a rush to start the day.

Array
 

Schedule permitting, night is always best for me. More steam to blow off leads to longer sets with heavier weight. As strange as it sounds, I even noticed that my taste in music was different with morning vs night lifts

 

I spend the morning with my family so have to work out at night. The only advantage is not many people using the equipment late at night, especially compared to the busy mornings. I never have problem finding a squat rack, benchpress, deadlift platform etc. they are always open at 9 PM.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

LA monkey here. Any gyms other than equinox? Seems like such a ripoff...

 

Century City Equinox is a gigantic ripoff at $300/month but there are no other options anywhere nearby (aka you won't go). You could join somewhere near where you live but you may not go as much (especially at night or between turns/comments). Just have to bite the bullet and cut down on coffee or $15 lunches.

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

Unless you're a complete morning person by nature, getting a workout in before you hit the office is a game changer for energy and focus...but I absolutely hate lifting in the morning and I have no idea why, I just do. Right now I do cardio every morning to wake up and get going. The formula that works best for me is mandatory cardio in the AM and then 3-5 quality lifts a week in the evenings where I can fit them in.

I look and feel better now than I did when I was an athlete in college. I attribute most of that to consistent daily exercise regardless of what or when it is. Getting my diet right was probably even more beneficial.

 

bruh - I load big workouts with pizza, ice cream, cookies, candy bars ... anything high cal goes into the fire.

Marathoners don’t eat a ton except for people like Jim Walmsley because his volume is so high.

https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a30858395/jim-walmsley-oly…

The dude eats pizza pretty much everyday:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.si.com/.amp/edge/2020/02/06/jim-walmsl…

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

This week I’ve been going for on average a 10 mile run at lunch, then a 40mi cycle in the evenings. So 30.7mi since Mon running and 121.6mi cycling in the past 3 days.

I’m not typically a morning person - I’m usually up late.

I might swim a couple hours Thurs or Fri and should go to Muay Thai on Fri too. I’ve been so focused on endurance lately that I’ve neglected Muay Thai. I do strength / core / jump rope a couple times per week too.

I like the indoor row too - I usually do 2-3 30min sessions on it per week.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Most Helpful

I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I’ll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

Interesting thread. I don't know if anyone else feels a lot sharper in the morning, but I'd say for about 2 hours after waking up I have a certain clarity that I never get back until the next morning. Any messy problems get solved in that time. So I try to take advantage of that and knock shit out in the morning.

But as anyone might guess, that puts the rest of the day at the mercy of boss, coworkers etc and leads to a situation where 80% of days I can't make it to the gym.

So I'm thinking about working out first thing because (like OP) its the only way to make sure it happens. But curious if anyone else feels a morning mental rush that they don't want to sacrifice.

 

I’m the same way but when I work out that clarity lasts longer than when I skip it

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

Wake up early, before you even brush your teeth take preworkout and some BCAA - then go brush your teeth and do your morning routine. In about 20 minutes you will be ready to crush it in the gym and something that really helps is having a gym in your apartment, so you can just wear your gym clothes and take the elevator down and back up to get ready for work.

 

Ok serious questions from a religious morning workout person to your night owls:

  1. How do you fall asleep at night? Zero pre-workout or caffeine beforehand? In the mornings, caffeine intake is just part of waking up, so it's natural to wake up, drink caffeine of some sort and eat some simple carbs, listen to a podcast or something, then go to the gym.

  2. What do you do about a social life or after-work commitments? I'm working until 7, and then at least once a week, if not more, might meet up with friends or go to dinner or drinks for work. In the mornings, I'm not exhausted first of all, my meals aren't a mess because of an inconsistent schedule, and no one else is even awake, much less doing anything.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

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