AM Lifting

[Beefy]

I've always heard hard lifting was bad early in the day because cortisol levels are high and your body is in a very catabolic state when you first wake up. In that line of thinking, evening is the best time for lifting. I'm too tired to get a good work out in after work, so I think I'll start lifting before work at about 6 am. I'm concerned about doing more harm than good, though, if it's true that early morning lifting isn't a good idea for growth and strength gains. I'm hoping some one with some knowledge on the subject can help me out. Bob Smith, where are you?

 

[big roid]

Make sure your eating a protein-carb rich breakfast.Also, 5 grams of glutamine before working out can be anti-catabolic. Morning is best for cardio and fatburning on an empty stomach.

 

[Madcow2]

I haven't looked at the info in a long time and there might well be something revolutionary out now (I kind of doubt it) but as I recall test peaks overnight and is at a high first thing in the morning - I don't know many who would associate that with a catabolic state especially since a good proportion of recovery gets handled during sleep. Also recovery and adaptation happen over much longer periods relative to a single day so the exact time one applies the stimulus is fairly insignificant. The idea of you doing more harm than good isn't something to worry about.

From experience, I used to wake up before 4:30 and be at the gym lifting by 5:00. On the plus side, it really kicks off the day great and serves as excellent motivation to keep the good momentum going. It can also fit in more easily with family and work. On the negative side, I find it pretty hard to rally the CNS for max or difficult lifts. I found a morning stimulant like coffee really helped out in this regard and of course you need to have something in your stomach for energy too (I guess I could have woken up earlier and given myself more time before the gym too but waking before 4:30 is fairly hard). For me, to lift at my best - it's damn hard to roll out of bed and do it within 30-35 minutes. That said, if there isn't a competitive career on the line the difference this is going to make will be negligible in the face of other factors.

 

[Beefy]

So I should be okay as long as I eat good? Eating is never a problem for me.

By the way, since you're up on the acne, let me ask you:

I'm 22 and I've never juiced. I've lifted for over 8 years now and made great progress. I'm considering a test only cycle later this year, but I'm not sure how I'll tolerate it. I'm already very acne prone. In fact, in high school (and probably now) people always thought I was a user because I was so strong and made gains so easily and I had acne. What's your advice on that? Should I wait a few more years on the gear or take precautionary measures before and during cycle? By the way, it's not a matter of if I'll juice, only a matter of when. So don't worry about talking about my diet and training cause I already take that very seriously. Thanks, bro.

 

[Freddy]

I haven't looked at the info in a long time and there might well be something revolutionary out now (I kind of doubt it) but as I recall test peaks overnight and is at a high first thing in the morning - I don't know many who would associate that with a catabolic state especially since a good proportion of recovery gets handled during sleep. Also recovery and adaptation happen over much longer periods relative to a single day so the exact time one applies the stimulus is fairly insignificant. The idea of you doing more harm than good isn't something to worry about.

From experience, I used to wake up before 4:30 and be at the gym lifting by 5:00. On the plus side, it really kicks off the day great and serves as excellent motivation to keep the good momentum going. It can also fit in more easily with family and work. On the negative side, I find it pretty hard to rally the CNS for max or difficult lifts. I found a morning stimulant like coffee really helped out in this regard and of course you need to have something in your stomach for energy too (I guess I could have woken up earlier and given myself more time before the gym too but waking before 4:30 is fairly hard). For me, to lift at my best - it's damn hard to roll out of bed and do it within 30-35 minutes. That said, if there isn't a competitive career on the line the difference this is going to make will be negligible in the face of other factors.

This is a good post.

A lot of the best athletes in the world train very early in the morning. The "AM crew" at Westside Barbell trains very early, and its filled with only their best lifters.

Like Madcow said, I really don't think there is necessarily a "best time". Train when you are awake and ready. Thats most important.

 

[big roid]

So I should be okay as long as I eat good? Eating is never a problem for me.

By the way, since you're up on the acne, let me ask you:

I'm 22 and I've never juiced. I've lifted for over 8 years now and made great progress. I'm considering a test only cycle later this year, but I'm not sure how I'll tolerate it. I'm already very acne prone. In fact, in high school (and probably now) people always thought I was a user because I was so strong and made gains so easily and I had acne. What's your advice on that? Should I wait a few more years on the gear or take precautionary measures before and during cycle? By the way, it's not a matter of if I'll juice, only a matter of when. So don't worry about talking about my diet and training cause I already take that very seriously. Thanks, bro.

I would run accutane for 5 months before my first cycle if I had it to do over again. I was very prone to acne also before I juiced. I broke out with painfull cyst acne and now have scars all over my chest from it. Accutane is some harsh shit on your body but it's damn worth it not to end up with scars. You could just do a low amount like 250mg a week and see how you tolerates it. You could just do deca it doesn't cause acne bad like test. Some guys say just deca is bad but no problems for me. If you start getting acne cyst that hurt the get in your car and go to a dermatologist as fast as you can go!

 

[Slammer]

The past 8 months I've been training around 5:30am-6am, because my training partner misses to many workouts from work. So we go before. I'll be honest(Might be stupid) But I work out on a total empty stomach(well, I drink water through out the workout) and I am getting the best results I have ever had. My BF is Dropping, my skin is gripping my body tight, and it has me pumped for the whole day. My body and brain just seem wide awake.. Sucks getting up that early at 1st, but you adjust. Always take my shake after workout. Just feels like the body takes in so much more, compared to eating through the day, then taking it. I Love morning training..

Slammer

 

[GDSGFT]

Sorry to hijack the thread but it has relevance to it.

We've discussed AM workouts, what do you boys think about PM workouts? And by PM, I mean about 1 hour before bed.

I can't do morning workouts because I'm still suffering from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Sydnrome) which I've had for a few years now due to glandular fever.

I used to workout after work and before dinner which was around 6ish. Now I'm going to get a second job and was wondering if it would hinder gains at all by working out at say 11pm and going to sleep at 12am?

I'm not too sure where I got the piece of information from, but I read on an article somewhere which said that you should be up for at least a few hours after a workout. Is this complete bullshit?

Thanks in advance

 

[Girth]

I'll agree with those above in regard to, "training when you feel most awake." The caveat being outside factors (family, job, etc.) I don't think it matters much at all. The only few things I could think of would be....

- Morning workouts can only be missed due to one's not waking up and not your job or other evening activites you can't control.
- Stimulants have been show to cause insulin resistance and thus, taking them before your workout could interfere with the glycogen refilling PWO.
- A job of great detail (data admin. or the like) can drain your CNS throughout the day, making evening workouts quite tedious.
- Morning cardio may or may not be most efficient....Bob Smith will say it doesn't matter.
- I also recall a study showing that going to bed immediately PWO is a no-no. Sorry I can't cite it.

 

[Beefy]

Sorry to hijack the thread but it has relevance to it.

We've discussed AM workouts, what do you boys think about PM workouts? And by PM, I mean about 1 hour before bed.

I can't do morning workouts because I'm still suffering from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Sydnrome) which I've had for a few years now due to glandular fever.

I used to workout after work and before dinner which was around 6ish. Now I'm going to get a second job and was wondering if it would hinder gains at all by working out at say 11pm and going to sleep at 12am?

I'm not too sure where I got the piece of information from, but I read on an article somewhere which said that you should be up for at least a few hours after a workout. Is this complete bullshit?

Thanks in advance

I do have experience in this area. I used to work midnite shift, and I would work out right after work (around 8 am) then have a post work out shake w/ creatine, dextrose, and protein. By the time I got home from the gym (around 10:30) I was ready to sleep. I did this for about 7 months, then I got sick of my job and quit, but I went from 215-220 to around 235-240 and very little of that weight gain was fat. Some people have a hard time sleeping after lifting hard, but it works great for me.

I'll start the am workouts tomorrow morning, and see how that goes over the next few months. Thanks for the posts.

 

[Madcow2]

GDSGFT: personally I can't fall asleep very well right after I workout so that would be my biggest problem. However, a lot of this stuff is based on optimality - meaning getting that extra 1-2% or some such equivalent. I do remember reading the rational against training right before bed but for a lot of people there are bigger fish to fry. The 95% factor is that you train hard, have a good program, eat an adequat diet to support growth, and get a decent amount of rest. Like I said before, if there is a serious competitive career on the line a small margin may be meaningful providing everything else is pretty close to perfect. If that's not the case and a late PM workout allows you to live a more balanced life and to take better care of the 95% factor group I laid out a few seconds ago, try it and see how it works out. Caveate - get your post workout nutrition in before bed.

 

[RxMan]

This topic applies to me as well. I started AM workouts about a year ago after the birth of my 2nd son. I go at 6:00am. Somedays I go without eating anything. Sometimes I will drink a diet coke on the way to the gym. Sometimes a protein bar before or a banana. I'm not sure any of it makes that much difference. The main thing for me is to try to get 7 1/2-8 hours of sleep each night meaning I am to bed very early.
I am starting 5X5 tomorrow. I am concerned about the intensity that will be needed and having enough fuel to get in a max effort workout.
Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[Ramstein II]

I lift in the morning--nice and early. I get tired of it after a while and switch to PM lifting only to get tired of that time even quicker. Here's my observations:
I don't eat before the workout. My pace is fast and hard with little rest, so food would just make me sick unless I can let it digest for 1.5 to 2 hours which ain't happening before work. Lifting on an empty stomach is fine as long as you are getting adequate nutrition and eating adequate levels of carbohydrate, which you should be doing if you're a high volume trainer (IMO). The fuel you burn is stored in your muscle--creatine phosphate and glycogen primarily. So, food in the stomach is not really in use--it just gives your body something else to mess with while your lifting. In other words, it is what you eat the day or days before your workout that will most affect you during the workout. Maybe some juice will give you a little blood sugar kick to make you feel better. Coffee helps a lot. What I like most about lifting in the morning is the feeling you have all day. Also, you feel like you're nurishing your muscles all day with food whereas when you lift in the evening you typically eat 1 or 2 times and then go to bed.

I swear by the results of the metabolic boost from AM lifting. I have found that it makes me leaner without trying. Many others get this same effect.

 

[Girth]

I know this is probably a dead subject, and to each their own, but I have a question for which I need empirical evidence. I switched to the morning training some 6 months ago. I too like what it does for the remainder of my day, and the associated responsibilities I have to work and family.

However, since switching, I have developed bags under my eyes that have only gotten worse. Most would say, go to bed earlier. I have, and still do. I get the same amount of sleep now, as I did prior, with the evening workouts. I also am sure to get a meal in prior to the morning workout.

Throughout this time frame of morning workouts, there have been stints (3-5 days) in which I could not work out in the AM. In every case my eyes began to look better by about the 3rd day. Even now as I write this, I haven't worked out in the morning for 2 days, and the bags are deflating? Has anyone else seen/experienced this?