What part of the day do you lift?

[Pittbug]

A couple of months ago I switched from late evening to early morning and have suffered 3 injuries so far. I think my body isn't awake enough to handle morning workouts. On the other hand, by the end of the day, I'm too tired to work out effectively. Yawning between sets.

When do you work out?

[Wakal]

Morning.

Too early to be awake, but the afternoon is too easy to get stuck on "...just one more project" (and thus out of the gym) and evenings are for pre-bedtime naps

Alex

[Jay870]

Back when I was hard-core into it I did my serious workouts in the evenings. When I was extremely tired the difficult part was convincing myself to get to the weights... once I was there I'd just fire up some good lifting music and by the time I was through with stretching and warm up sets I was 100% in attack mode and rarely had problems with energy.

I could do cardio and "recovery" type stuff in the mornings, but not the real work.

[03k64]

I lift after work in the early evening. I tried the morning thing but just couldn't get it going consistently. Plus I would be falling asleep by noon time.

[CJDOUBLETAP]

Early morning.

If you are hurting your self while lifting my guess is that you weren't warmed up enough...

[Airedale]

20 years in the Army=early morning.

Can't/don't want to break the habit.

Dave

[kranzjdw]

I hear you on the ARMY deal im a morning person also.

jeremy

[BritinUSA]

Straight after work during the week, and mornings on Saturday/Sunday unless there's a match on it which case it's post-match.

I agree with the earlier post, if you are getting injuries in the morning then you are not warmed up... Try doing 20-30 minutes of cardio before lifting, gets your heart rate up, warms up the muscles etc.

[tripwire]

I don't know if it is feasible for most people, but lunchtime workouts are the best for me. I take an hour and a half for lunch and just stay an extra half hour late to make up the time. I'm not much of a morning person, so early wake ups were not happening. I would often be too tired or busy for after work sets. So lunchtime is the best of both worlds. I'm awake, and still have energy to do it.

Though, the best part of it is how it breaks up the day. Once I get back from the gym, I eat lunch at my desk and knock out the last part of the day. And I am still getting home earlier than I would if I went to the gym after work.

Works for me.

[UW Mitch]

After work, after a light snack, I try to get in 30 minutes before a 50 minute spin class.

~Mitch

[Bergie]

Mornings Monday - Friday before work.

Usually try to ride the stationary bike and stretch on weekends before every matches.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Bergie

[Micah]

Mornings hands down. Even after stretching at home, hitting the gym at 445 my brain is still in a fog which allows me to focus less on distractions and just pay attention to the lifting. I prefer lifting before cardio, but if you are not getting loose enough perhaps beginning the workout with cardio may benefit you.

[Pittbug]

Thanks for the responses.

From a mental perspective I like the morning workouts. My brain is not yet filled with issues and I can concentrate on working out. I guess perhaps I need to do more stretching before I start pushing hard. I do some cardio before I hit the weights, but I think that's not a true warm up, because all that does is get some blood pumping and doesn't get the muscles/ligaments ready to work. I guess it's like getting in the car in winter and revving the engine. The engine warms up, but the tranny, bearings and suspension are still cold.

[RangerTrace]

AM workouts for us. I hate it, but it is the only way I can be sure to get it in. Here is how we do it round here:

Alarm goes of at 5:00 AM

I get up and make NOxplode drinks for my wife and I

I drink the pre-workout drink and enjoy the Enos site while my mind/body wakes up

We then workout from 5:45 to 7:00 AM (P90X style)

I do not like working out in the morning, but P90X gives you plenty of time to warm-up and stretch before it kicks your Axx.

By the way, I was VERY skeptical about P90X, but we just completed week #6 and I've lost 12 pounds and two inches from my gut. I'm sold on this thing now and I've been a gym rat for 20 years .

[XRe]

You need to do dynamic warmup, not "some stretching" followed by "some cardio". Also, be certain you're using good form - if you're that asleep that you can't stick with good form, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, you're still going to hurt yourself...

[CJDOUBLETAP]

You need to do dynamic warmup, not "some stretching" followed by "some cardio". Also, be certain you're using good form - if you're that asleep that you can't stick with good form, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, you're still going to hurt yourself...

+1

My weight lifting coach has us grab a 10 pound weight in each hand then do 6 hang-snatches, overhead squats, jerks, etc... for a warm up. Along with 1/4 a mile and 3 minutes of jump rope. We don't stretch at all, until we're done lifting.

[Pittbug]

You need to do dynamic warmup, not "some stretching" followed by "some cardio". Also, be certain you're using good form - if you're that asleep that you can't stick with good form, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, you're still going to hurt yourself...

When you say dynamic warmup, do you mean lifting light weights, then incrementally working up til you get to your actually work sets? If so that's what I do now. For example, if I'm going to do 3x12@200lb squats, I'll start with with 1x12@90lbs, then 1x12@130lbs, then 1x12@170lbs.

I've very conscious of my form and will go lighter if I have to. I train by myself so I'm not trying to impress anyone and am not trying to break any records. For example, I have no idea what my 1 rep max weights are because I will never attempt them.

[sirveyr]

I'm up at 4:14am and in the gym at 5:00am and at work by 6:30am. Some days I'll treat myself and sleep in until 5:37am and go to one of my other gyms. The best part of the day is my post-workout breakfast of hash browns and grilled chicken breast.

I used to train in the evening, after work, but it was much easier to skip those workouts. I've found that I have much more control over my schedule in the morning. I do seem to be much stronger in the evening though, so I will occasionally sneak some evening workouts in when I'm in a mass gaining phase. Doing super heavy dead lifts and squats at 5:00am sucks. Hell, doing heavy dead lifts and squats at 7:00pm sucks, too, but at least they play better music at that time of the day.

edit: I spell like an idiot, but I only realize it after I "post"...

Edited July 19, 2009 by sirveyr

[Jake Di Vita]

Switch it up and keep it varied.

You aren't ready for work sets until you break a sweat.

[ParaGunner]

I like mornings, about 1-1\2 hours after a good breakfast. I feel my energy is the highest after a good night of sleep. Workout early then recover the rest of the day.

[cowpuncher]

I work a swing shift, from 3P-11P, and despite 7 years in the army, am not, and never have been, a morning person. I lift at midnight. I get off, and get to the house five minutes later, chow down on something, get changed, and I'm off for an hour or so of lifting, and twenty minutes of HIIT for cardio, then home to read for an hour or so before bed.

I've tried switching it around, and going to bed within an hour of getting off work, but I still don't want to get up and get to the gym before 11AM.

[Rob D]

My workout times change every week. I usually get to the gym around 9AM if I have to work in the evening, or 6PM if I have to work in the morning. I prefer to work out in the evenings so I don't have a time limit. I get better workouts when I can make myself go until I'm too beat to lift anymore. In the morning, I always end up having to leave the gym with a few exercises in mind that I wanted to do but didn't have time to fit into the workout.

I think the best time to work out is whatever time that will keep you working out consistently. I tried doing early morning workouts for a long time, but I just can't make myself get up that early consistently unless there's a match involved.

[XRe]

You need to do dynamic warmup, not "some stretching" followed by "some cardio". Also, be certain you're using good form - if you're that asleep that you can't stick with good form, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, you're still going to hurt yourself...

When you say dynamic warmup, do you mean lifting light weights, then incrementally working up til you get to your actually work sets? If so that's what I do now. For example, if I'm going to do 3x12@200lb squats, I'll start with with 1x12@90lbs, then 1x12@130lbs, then 1x12@170lbs.

No, no weights. Here's one example:

- the idea is to get the muscles warm and limber before you start loading them up. There are a probably a lot of good examples out there. You might want to do a couple minutes on the bike or jogging first, then go into something like this... basic stuff, but it gets you ready to go. Then, start into your warmup sets, etc...

[VegasOPM]

Late morning, 10:00am or so. I don't work until noon or 1pm- so it works for me.

[xsniper]

I do my cardio in the morning (I alternate between bike and run), and then hit the gym right after work (about 5PM). I am only in the gym 3 days a week, but I do cardio 5 days a week.