A.M. or P.M. Training?

SemperFi 0321

New member
Is there any difference between training in the morning or evening as far as your health or the amount of gains is concerned? I have always been a morning person, or at least since the Marine Corps, and thus train in the morning. Is there any reason that I should train in the evening instead? The reason I ask is that all of the diets posted in the diet forum show the post-w/o shake in the evening.

Semper Fi
 
many train evening simply because of work schedules....i think in terms of strength, evening is better....body is saturated with many meals by then...i myself train in the morning after a big breakfast
 
I personally am stronger in the late afternoon, not to mention cortisol levels are lower the closer you get to bedtime. Not sure if it's significant, though.
 
I have a stressful job, requiring much of my energy (not physically, but mentally stressing). When I get finished in the afternoon or evening, I feel like eating and sleeping. I guess the answer to my question is just whenever your body says it feels the best, that's when you train. As far as the cortisol levels go, shouldn't one workout when cortisol levels are high? Doesn't cortisol help the body metabolize the food you eat? And if stress plays a part in lowering cortisol levels, I would think with a stressful job, my levels would be extremely low in the evening. So I guess the morning is a better time for me. What do you all think?

Semper Fi
 
SemperFi 0321 said:
I have a stressful job, requiring much of my energy (not physically, but mentally stressing). When I get finished in the afternoon or evening, I feel like eating and sleeping. I guess the answer to my question is just whenever your body says it feels the best, that's when you train. As far as the cortisol levels go, shouldn't one workout when cortisol levels are high? Doesn't cortisol help the body metabolize the food you eat? And if stress plays a part in lowering cortisol levels, I would think with a stressful job, my levels would be extremely low in the evening. So I guess the morning is a better time for me. What do you all think?

Semper Fi

Morning sounds good for you.

I'm not 100% sure on the cortisol thing. More cortisol means less anabolic, but I don't know if that would really be a real factor. I think just eating something, carbs and fast protein, as soon as you get up will help reduce the cortisol a bit, but I'm just guessing.
 
70w30 said:
Why do you guys make things so complicated

Nothing complicated about it. One wouldn't want to inject oil without a hormone, and in the same light, one wouldn't want to train when the body says it's not up to it. Neither one will get the results you want. My question was, when is the body more prepared for training? To want the most from my hard work means I'm being complicated? To learn what scientific studies show about a subject in order to make an educated decision is being complicated? Thank God someone is complicated enough to think about these things for us. Otherwise we would all be lost!

Semper Fi
 
Anabolic ...cortisol...gimme a break......the guys better off to train on his days off when he can focus and concentrate on his workouts..a three day split would work for em.....one day workout during his work schedule.....preferablly AM........
 
...if you get up early enough to have a good pre workout meal.....and you are fully awake everyone is different ....my best hours of training are between 1 and 4pm...
 
I am on a 3 day split, and I'm never "off" from work. I work every day. Like I said, it's a mentally stressing job. I plan people's financial futures for a living. With their success resting on my shoulders, at the end of the day, I want to sleep. Not train. But in the morning, I want to start my day off with as much energy as is possible.
 
Ok then ...you are better off starting your day early....and turning in early....otherwise I do not see any other way around your situation....
Myself I have a stressful job ..I run my own business and work long hrs...I cut 2 days a week short in order to train.........during my work week....and train on the the weekends.....
Stress is totally conterproductive to training...beleive me I know
 
I've found that the times I do train in the morning (i.e. cross country practice back in hs) I make MUCH better gains than when I train afternoon or evening. However, I'm not a morning person at all, so getting up in the ams is my problem.
 
From the diversity of opinion in this thread alone I suppose the conclusion is that time of training is as individual as any other aspect in this game.
 
Originally from Victoria, lived in Carrollton (Dallas suburb) for a few years, lived on South Padre and in Harlingen. Been all around man.

Where in East Texas? Got some family in Palestine. Love that place. Right now, I live in West Virginia..........wife's from here. Can't wait to get back to Texas. This place is so small.
 
SemperFi 0321 said:
I have a stressful job, requiring much of my energy (not physically, but mentally stressing). When I get finished in the afternoon or evening, I feel like eating and sleeping. I guess the answer to my question is just whenever your body says it feels the best, that's when you train. As far as the cortisol levels go, shouldn't one workout when cortisol levels are high? Doesn't cortisol help the body metabolize the food you eat? And if stress plays a part in lowering cortisol levels, I would think with a stressful job, my levels would be extremely low in the evening. So I guess the morning is a better time for me. What do you all think?

Semper Fi

Uhh, then just come home, eat, sleep, and then go to the gym. Unless you like training in the morning.....
 
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