Night vs Morning Workouts

[stuword]

Hey everyone! Last week, I switched from lifting at 7:00 pm to 7:00 am and I wanted to get everyone else’s opinion and advice.

The reason for the switch:
I loved lifting at 7:00 pm but too many people kept talking to me and ruining my workouts, and I’m very socially anxious and non confrontational so I never said anything. I switched to mornings to get more focused workouts in lol.

The morning crowd is definitely more focused, which is exactly what I wanted! I like to have long workouts, so I’ve had to adapt to cutting my time down to get home in time for work. Of course, I had to adjust my sleep schedule, but now I’m in a routine and it’s been great. I like starting my day off with a workout. It’s been good.

The one thing I have not been able to overcome is the feeling of light headedness and nausea I get when working out in the morning, ESPECIALLY during lower body or cardio. I and drink water before I go and take vitamins before bed every night. I didn’t have this happen at night, so it’s definitely something that is frustrating me.

I’m curious what everyone else prefers? I know there’s a lot of people that also like to go mid-day, so I want to hear your opinions on other times too!

Morning work out people, any tips to make the most of it?

 

[andrew2737]

@stuword I'd love to workout in evening or night but sadly I can only afford to workout in morning as I am still in highschool and have homework and shit. I once tried working out 30 minutes after reaching home from school (4pm) but I was too tired and skipped many days plus, I would usually be done with my workout around 6 and rest + post workout meal would take up another half an hour plus I don't really like doing homework and the worst part is i have tests like every fucking day.

But in the morning, when I wake up, I feel like "now that I woke up why not workout?" and it feels damn good during the day knowing your workout is already done. (Though at first it required quite a bit of willpower to not go back to sleep again)

So basically if you have a busy schedule during the day, try morning workouts otherwise I guess afternoon workouts or night workouts are good.

 

[wmc21157]

@stuword Ahh morning workouts 1500mg of caffeine and literally kill yourself at the gym

 

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[wmc21157]

@aprilpm Lmao

 

[dawn16]

@stuword I wish i can hit the gym at night. It will exhaust my body and it will help me go into a deep sleep. But sadly, i go during the day :/

 

[effervescenteye]

@stuword Aviso minha experiência muitas destas coisas vão ser no meu caso

De manhã

(vantagens)

maior foco

corpo descansado

(desvantagens) no meu caso

Escola

E as vezes acordo meio dolorida por causa dos treinos do dia seguinte

De noite

(vantagens)

eu não tenho escola

eu já peguei o ritmo do dia

e mais fresco

(desvantagens)

As vezes da sono

a minha academia geralmente está mais ocupada a noite

esgota por causa do dia (as vezes)

Se você for igual ou parecida comigo na semana recomendo mais treino noturno e durante a semana treino matinal nos fins de semana.

 

[noogah]

@stuword In addition to the tips you already got, your body gets used to it with time. I try to eat before I go, but now that I’ve been doing it consistently it doesn’t really matter as long as I ate a good dinner.

 

[stuword]

@noogah That’s assuring to hear, it definitely has not been a long time by any means.

 

[faith2011]

@stuword I definitely prefer going to the gym in the morning. Luckily I work from home, most days and my gym is less than 10 minutes walk. So it’s easy to get up at 6:00. Go down for 7:00 do an hour and then be back for 8:30 to shower and get ready for work.

Found that the evenings are just busy and will be even worth for the next few weeks as you get a ton of people joining the gym for their “new years” resolution. It’s much quieter in the morning and so much more enjoyable.

Also found in more focused for work having been up and exercised.

For now we’ll last year I also started doing Karate in the evenings so I tend to double train. Weights in the morning then going to my Karate club in the evening.

 

[stuword]

@faith2011 That sounds like such a solid workout schedule! Evenings are definitely already so busy as it is, you’re right- will be so much busier with the New Years crowd

 

[mazzei]

@stuword I haven’t seen anyone suggest those cliff bars? I take one mini peanut butter crunch bar on the way to the gym with my pre workout at 5:15 am. That or a banana. The mini cliff bars are perfect size IMO and pack a energy punch.

 

[stuword]

@mazzei Those taste so good!

 

[jacobs]

@stuword For the lightheadedness, try an electrolyte drink in the morning. I used to teach a morning spin class, and sipping the electrolyte drink during the workout helped soooo much to stave off headaches and fatigue afterward.

Lots of options out there. For a low-sugar option, I liked Nuun a lot.

 

[artesllady]

@stuword You might do well with an ‘adrenal cocktail’. There are tons of recipes, but they’re great before a workout because they replenish all your electrolytes, give you an easily digestible dose of carbs, hopefully some vit c, and you can add collagen powder for additional protein.

I also cannot workout before eating something, I think it has to do with cortisol issues and PTSD fucking with my adrenal response. Quick increases in heart rate without enough low increases prior trigger my adrenal response, so I’ll literally puke. Eating something as early in the morning as I can keeps my cortisol down, and that helps reduce my adrenaline response too. I also don’t drink caffeine on an empty stomach, so def no pre-workouts.

 

[brokenchristianwomen]

@stuword I'm in the very early morning workout camp, and I prefer to train either fasted or only have a coffee/other hot drinks before training.

Having a nutrient dense evening meal definitely makes me train harder/feel stronger in the mornings.

Eating immediately prior to training doesn't work for me, unless I actually feel super hungry and then I will have something light.

 

[curiousatheist]

@stuword Like many others here I'm also in the gym early, 6AM from Monday to Friday. I love it - it's much quieter and everyone is focused on their workout. Yes we nod hello to each other but that's it, otherwise we just do our thing.

I don't eat before but I do use a simple electrolyte mix in my water bottle to avoid getting a headache.

 

[stuword]

@curiousatheist Definitely much quieter. Electrolytes is something I’ve been seeing in this thread a lot, will be adding it into my morning for sure.

 

[cheesuslover69]

@stuword Good for you! There are days when I’d really like to be able to do a morning workout but I haven’t found them to be as productive as my afternoon and evening workouts.

I’m susceptible to low blood sugar so I’m hyper aware of getting enough carbs, protein, and hydration before working out. Even when I’ve been mindful of this before an AM workout, I feel sick, sluggish, lightheaded, and not at all confident. The same day I could do a workout after 3:00 PM and I kill it!

I decided that I just need a whole day’s worth of calories, hydration, and protein to do my best.

 

[stuword]

@cheesuslover69 Thank you! I’m noticing a similar thing too, my workouts in the morning are just not as heavy or strong as my evening workouts, although it feels good after to have it done. Someone had mentioned to eat a ton the night before and wake up a tiny bit earlier to eat more, so I’ll be trying that to see if it’ll help