Night vs Morning Workouts

[kooper]

@stuword I'm an evening lifter myself.

Most cause I'm NOT NOT NOT a morning person. I mean my preferred bedtime is around 2-3AM. I worked night shift as an RN for decades cause I'm a night owl, and it paid better LOL.

I feel better in the evening, I lift better/heavier in the evening, I'm happier in the evening.

But that's me. My hubby, is totally a early bird. He feels better starting his day off with a workout.

The best time to workout, is when it fits your schedule and when it feels good for you.

 

[urrayo]

@kooper I agree. Working out in the evening is much better for some people. If people keep talking to you, can’t you just wear headphones and ignore them?

 

[stuword]

@kooper That is so fair! I was going to bed at 1/2am before switching to the morning, I rearranged my sleep schedule and it was not easy haha. All of your reasons for loving the evening lift definitely make sense, my workouts are not as heavy in the mornings for sure

 

[kevinrobbins]

@stuword LOVE midday/early afternoon workouts. On days I have school/work I just get my session in as soon as I get home. But I also have a full gym at my house, and don’t have to worry about other people

 

[stuword]

@kevinrobbins That definitely seems like the best setup, if it worked into my schedule, I would totally be doing midday

 

[jaz2001]

@stuword I can’t do either. I hate waking up early (plus I love morning snuggles with my kid) and I either have masters swimming at night or I’m not leaving the house. Luckily I’ve been working from home since 2019 so I go around lunch time, which is perfect for me.

For running, especially in the summer, I do that earlier in the morning and I’ll eat a piece of bread or banana with peanut butter sometimes. I usually prefer an empty stomach though so I don’t have the issue you do. I grew up swimming and rarely ate before morning practice so it’s normal for my body, I guess.

Side note, who are all the people talking to you at the gym? Put on some headphones and a resting bitch face, haha. I go to a chain gym where no one knows me so it’s an alien concept that anyone would be talking to me.

 

[stuword]

@jaz2001 I literally have a baseball cap and headphones on, it’s crazy! It started with this one person asking me a question about an exercise I was doing a while back, and they were part of a big group of people, so they introduced me to everyone, so it spiraled into waving hi to them every time, to a tiny bit of small talk, to knowing everything about each other’s days lol and then more people got brought into the circle. The breaking point was when this girl monopolized my whole workout to talk to me about how horrible her boyfriend was, and I tried to end the conversation by saying “well I’m going to go do cardio on the treadmill now, I’ll see you tomorrow!” And she said “oh I have to do cardio too, I’ll come with you!” And ruined my cardio session too lol

And I honestly am so socially anxious and non confrontational that I moved my whole schedule around lol

I grew up swimming too! I always used to never eat before cardio workouts, so I think when it came to lifting, it was definitely different. I’m glad you get to go at lunch though, best of everything.

 

[jaz2001]

@stuword Honestly, I would just wave and point at my headphones and shake my head but I’m bitchy without abandon. I definitely wouldn’t reschedule my whole workout plan. Good luck!

 

[urrayo]

@jaz2001 This, and work on your RBF!

 

[joshac]

@stuword It took me time to figure this out- an egg (boiled or scrambled), a small pc of toast and a protein shake (2 scoops plus 6-7 oz milk) work great for me. YMMV

my trainer advised me to have protein and carbs before working out - I have to make myself eat it as I am not very hungry in the morning.
Good luck!

PS I would save the PB and J for post workout due to the sugar and fat. That would make me nauseous too pre-workout.

 

[stuword]

@joshac Thank you!! I’ll definitely have to get used to eating more in the mornings for sure but scrambled egg and toast before the gym sounds perfect. I do save the protein smoothie for my post workout meal just because I have ibs and would be soooo incredibly bloated for my workout haha but I always look forward to it

 

[notsparedtherod]

@stuword I usually work out in the mornings because I just can’t drag my butt to the gym after work…my problem is I end up ravenous all day and overeat, especially if I do cardio. If anyone’s found the secret to minimize this please let me know! I love morning workouts since my apartment gym is almost always empty and it starts the day on such a great note.

 

[dawn16]

@stuword I definitely feel you!! Switching to a morning workout definitely switches up the atmosphere you’re in in the gym. I found that focusing on a carby-protein rich breakfast helped me a lot before hitting the gym in the morning to prevent that lightheadedness. It isn’t the easiest thing because I wasn’t used to eating after waking up, but it really does help. I avoid eating fatty food before working out because I observed a stomach upset.

This is just my personal experience and I am by no means an expert, just an avid gym lover!

 

[stuword]

@dawn16 I definitely gotta swap out my peanut butter for carbs in the morning, I think that’ll help the nausea a bit. Sometimes experience is the best advice!

 

[dawn16]

@stuword If you love peanut butter like I do and don’t really wanna limit your intake of it to post-workout times only, you could try buying some PB2 which has significantly less fat and more protein/carb than regular peanut butter. I hope this helps! I’m confident you’ll find a solution to your problems.

 

[stuword]

@dawn16 Thank you so much!!

 

[mymondays]

@stuword I think the real beauty of a morning workout is that it’s like you already did something good for your health at the start of the day and it will increase your chances of carrying it on throughout the day such as choosing healthier meals and any additional exercise you do is gravy aka added bonus.

 

[stuword]

@mymondays That is such a great way to look at it

 

[dawn16]

@stuword At some point in my life I’ve worked out at just about every time of the day, just due to how my schedule falls. My absolute favorite is lunchtime. I do that now and I hope I never have to go back to anything else. It’s perfect for me…I’ve had a couple snacks, so I have a little energy but I’m not super full. I am nice and awake. It’s a great way to break up the day, and I never feel sleepy in the afternoon at work. Plus I don’t have to worry about feeling motivated to go after a long day. The gym is typically not very busy at this time.

When I did do early morning workouts, I just tried to eat something light before I went. Maybe some toast or rice cakes or something. I’m not super hungry in the morning. Coffee helped also. I really just felt a lot weaker in the morning though probably because I’m not fully awake.

 

[stuword]

@dawn16 The afternoon time is so amazing, the gym is empty. I am totally with you on feeling weaker in the mornings. I work from home so now you have me thinking of ways to incorporate afternoon workouts into my schedule haha