Tips to Finding The Best Time of Day To Exercise
By Jim Rutberg,
CTS Pro Coach, co-author of “Ride Inside“, “The Time-Crunched Cyclist”, and “Training Essentials for Ultrarunning”
As the number of daylight hours change through the fall and spring we receive lots of questions about the best time of day to exercise. Some people absolutely love training in the early morning. Others feel sluggish in the morning but powerful and energetic in the afternoon or evening. And some people have the flexibility to choose when they exercise while others must fit training in wherever they can. If that’s you, don’t worry about time of day. Consistency will be more beneficial for you than any advantage that time of day could confer. If you have choices, here are some guidelines to help you schedule your training sessions:
Exercise time of day does not optimize performance or health
Time of day has little to no physiological impact on your training. Every few years someone comes out with a study that says you’ll burn more fat or get a boost from this hormone or another by training first thing in the morning, in the middle of the day, or late at night. Research, including recent systematic reviews by Janssen et al., and Bruggisser et al. don’t find compelling evidence for performance or health benefits tied to training at specific times of day. And when you look over the long haul, the the claims about an optimal time of day to exercise haven’t really changed the way athletes or coaches – even at the elite level – approach training.
If there were a significant and measurable benefit to training at a certain time of day, elite athletes looking for even the tiniest of gains would reschedule their lives to take advantage of it. Rather, it’s more important that the time you choose fits seamlessly into your lifestyle so it doesn’t cause more stress in your schedule, with your family, or with your career. Even if there were incremental benefits from training at a particular time of day, those benefits pale in comparison to the positive impact that a less stressful schedule has on an athlete’s training and overall well being.
Exercising before work vs. mid-day
Many people who work full-time jobs prefer to train first thing in the morning so you start your day off on a good foot and get your workout done before your day gets hijacked by some unanticipated demand. But beware the productivity gurus who claim there is an inherent advantage to early-morning workouts. The primary benefit is consistency, which is great, but if early morning workouts are misery for you, it’s not a moral failing or a weakness of character. Perhaps your training is out of sync with your chronotype, for instance. The type of work you do may also influence what works best for you.
Scheduling training for Creatives vs. Managers
People have all kinds of careers and daily routines. A distinction we sometimes see from a coaching perspective is between task-oriented jobs and creative or flow state jobs. The difference is in how easily or effectively someone can start and stop working during the day. The Creatives are people like graphic designers, writers, and media producers. These tend to be people who have difficulty being interrupted once they’ve started. Many times, our coaches who work with Creatives hear about skipped workouts because they just couldn’t tear themselves away from a project when they were on a hot streak. Doctors and other professionals whose work cannot be interrupted sometimes fit into this category as well. As a result, early morning exercise may be the best option for Creatives.
The Managers tend to be executives, business owners, and people who can segment their days into distinct time blocks, as they do for meetings and phone conferences. They can also benefit from training in the morning before work, but they are more likely than the Creatives to be able to schedule mid-day training sessions and actually accomplish them.
Exercising After Work
Some people are great at training after work (like CTS Athlete Dean Pierson), and others struggle to be effective during workouts after a full day at the office. Group training sessions are often helpful for making late-day exercise more effective. Evening group rides and training criteriums – either online via Zwift or in person – are great options because the group atmosphere can often shake off the haze of the workday and energize an athlete. These rides sometimes transition into cyclocross practices in the fall, or indoor cycling classes any time of year. Regardless of the time of year or even the weather conditions, athletes often struggle more with motivation when they’re trying to go out solo after working 8+ hours at the office.
If you are training solo in the afternoons or evenings after work, athletes train more consistently when they have a routine with minimal downtime. In other words, you want to minimize the opportunities for distractions that will derail your intention to train after work. Some athletes do this by going to the gym or a cycling class directly from work rather than going home first. Others arrange their clothes or pre-workout snack so they don’t get distracted by other things (the mail, SportsCenter, taking out the trash, etc.) when they get home.
Nutrition for early-morning workouts
If you’re going to get out of bed early and get work out with the rising sun, you’re going to need some food before you go. This is especially true if your intention is to complete a high-quality interval workout. Overnight you’ve burned through most of your liver glycogen, and although you have full muscle glycogen stores, you’ll quickly run low on blood sugar and start feeling hungry, weak, and unfocused. You have enough stored carbohydrate in your muscles for an effective 60-90 minute workout; the pre-workout calories you consume before early morning workouts are mostly for fueling your brain.
When you get out of bed – before you get into your gear – fuel up on a light meal/snack that’s rich in carbohydrate and contains a bit of protein/fat to keep you from feeling hungry again soon. Suggestions include: A banana and half a bagel with peanut butter. Granola with almond milk (maybe heated in the microwave). A cup of coffee or a shot of espresso is probably a necessity for some of you, and that’s fine too. The point is, you want something relatively small that will digest and settle quickly.
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Nutrition for late-day training sessions
For many athletes, exercising after working all day means your training session is going to start 4+ hours after you ate lunch. Therefore, an afternoon snack is in order, not because it’s going to add to your muscle glycogen levels, but because no one performs at their best when they feel excessively hungry. Your afternoon/evening pre-workout snack is more about bumping up blood sugar and managing hunger and alertness, so you don’t need much in the way of calories. A 200-ish calorie snack that’s rich in carbohydrate about 30-60 minutes beforehand will get the job done. If you experience symptoms of reactive hypoglycemia from this strategy, consider snacks that incorporate more fat and protein.
What about caffeine to perk you up for a late-day training session? Caffeine is effective for improving performance through increasing alertness and focus. However, some athletes struggle with disturbed sleep when they consume caffeine late in the day. And keep in mind, you develop a tolerance to caffeine through chronic consumption, meaning it takes increased dose to see experience an ergogenic aid. If you consume caffeine more sparingly throughout your lifestyle, you may be able to achieve an ergogenic bump from lower amounts when you choose to use it.
Pre-exercise hydration any time of day
Hydration is another consideration, no matter what time of day you’re training. Before morning workouts you want to take in some fluids, but many athletes find that they feel bloated or too full when they consume 16-20 ounces of fluids between waking up and getting on the bike. Instead, try sipping on fluids as you get your gear ready and aim for at least 8 ounces prior to getting out the door or on the trainer.
For late afternoon and evening workouts, hydration is critically important. If you’re good at staying hydrated during the workday (visit the bathroom 3+ times in 8 hours), then you should be good to go for an after work training session. If you’re one of those folks who barely drinks water during the workday, that’s a habit you really need to work on changing if you want to have effective afternoon and evening workouts.
References:
Bruggisser F, Knaier R, Roth R, Wang W, Qian J, Scheer FAJL. Best Time of Day for Strength and Endurance Training to Improve Health and Performance? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Med Open. 2023 May 19;9(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s40798-023-00577-5. PMID: 37208462; PMCID: PMC10198889.
Janssen I, Campbell JE, Zahran S, Saunders TJ, Tomasone JR, Chaput JP. Timing of physical activity within the 24-hour day and its influence on health: a systematic review. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2022 Apr;42(4):129-138. doi: 10.24095/hpcdp.42.4.02. PMID: 35481335; PMCID: PMC9116725.
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Comments 24
Not everyone has this luxury, but as I get closer to a race (or ‘event’) I try to get in some quality workouts in at that time of day. To me this is a circadian rhythm correlate of “nothing new on race day”.
All of these responses have value. What works for one person might not work for another so it is good to keep an open mind. Personally I am the typical early morning person. I wake up around 3:00 a.m., usually consume a small cup of applesauce, do a 30 – 90 minute ride on Peloton bike, shower, then go to work. I sometimes end my day in the sauna. Weekends are long rides and time at the spa ( steam room, hot tub, cold tub, massage. Anyway, seek to find what works best for you. Consistency is the key.
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Possum Powered Coaching
Many good points but we should all be open minded rather than defensive about other people’s ideas of training and eating strategies. I think for the most part everyone is throwing out productive ideas that we can consider or disregard if they simply do not fit our lifestyle.
I work 5:00 to 5:30 be it a.m to p.m or vice versa so I do not have a lot of sympathy when someone gets upset about trying to squeeze in a workout after a “tough 8 hour day”. Many days I do not get off of work on time and I am just too haggard to work out, period. Commuting to work at 3.30 -4:00 a.m is tough but I am always happier when I can get up and do it. I always eat a light breakfast of egg and tortilla with coffee pretty much regardless of what the day holds. If I can’t commute I force in an after work painful endurance -tempo trainer ride at least once or an evening ride with lights. Hit a group ride any time once a week if I can, do a solo ride whatever pace or distance I feel like (fast, slow, short, long, intense, at, hilly whatever makes me smile and relax) once a week, or whatever the heck fits between work, home, 3 kids, multiple competative sports and finding a dull moment to crack open a frosty beverage. I consider myself a professional at my real job working in a warehouse, aren’t you all professionals at whatever you do for a living? That’s why they pay us right? I am also a parent, have been a competative coach for sports like soccer, softball, currently coach some MTB, road cycling and I am very time crunched! So in short, be happy, ride whenever you can that makes you feel good about it! Share the fun with your friends and family and keep the rubber side down!
Totally agree with that last paragraph…get out & ride when ever you can & stay safe..
Are there any more specific details if your job is more physical demanding than just working at an office? And what about nutrition for post-work workouts in this case. I guess you need something extra to cope after 8 hours of work (with only a good breakfast in the morning).
Are you for real? Do you think there are a substantial number of people who have the luxury of being able to work out in the middle of the day??? Most people work for a living, which means they get up in the morning, they go to work at 8 or 9, they get an hour perhaps for lunch and go back to work until 5 or 6. Work out in the middle of the day….get real
Kevin – keep in mind a lot of executives ‘middle of the day’ is infact 4 or 5 then they go back to work for a further 6 hours.
I find that “the best time” is whenever I can squeeze in a workout. For me that means getting up at 430-445am, hop on the rollers or the trainer (depending on type of workout) and get going. My stomach won’t take any food and very limited amount of drinks at that time of day, so I end up drinking water for my 90-120min workout or a watered down sports drink.
For trainers/rollers I find a bunch of cycling videos on YouTube to keep me entertained or Sufferfest videos.
Advice to any soon to be moms and dads, remain flexible in your plans! No shocker – kids change a lot in your schedule. You will have (many) nights when sleep schedule doesn’t go according to plan because somebody was up, sick, bad dreams, etc. 🙂 Adjust and try to get something in and enjoy the parenthood ride! Might have to change your focus to quality, not quantity. Chris – this would be a great subject for a future article, as I bet a lot of folks struggle at this point in their lives with the keeping to fitness schedule/commitment while enjoying becoming a parent. I know I sure did!
I ride early in the morning and will switch to trainer workouts probably in mid November. I have found that I can’t eat that early. I’m up at 4:30 and just get dressed and roll out the door. I’ll bring a gel so if I feel like I need an energy boost once I get going but I usually don’t need it. It’s a hard group ride that’s 25 miles, lasting about an hour and fifteen minutes. I suppose if it went longer I’d need to eat first.
Schedule wise for me, the time that works in the winter is after the kids go to bed so starting roughly 8:30 or 9. I’ve found that coming home from work an then hoping on the trainer or going out for a ride does not go over well to the rest of the household, and I would see the kids for 30 minutes. Plus, there is generally something going on or that needs to be taken care of between 6 & 8 PM.
I’ve tried morning, and like some others have noted could never get it in gear hard enough that early. The downsides of later at night are it takes a lot of motivation to get going, the most I can go is 1.5 hours, and of course I’m wired & tired come 11:00 PM so by Friday i’m usually roached at work. I’m usually able to start work at 8:30 AM, so in general I’m still getting 7 hours a night, but def do better with 9. After it warms enough & the snow is melted (I’m in Buffalo) I will usually bring my bike with me & stop on the way home for a 1 hour PI type ride…many times I am riding within a mile of my house. But if I go home I’m not getting out on the bike!
There are those words again….”career professionals”. I have read several CTS emails and watched the videos contained in some of the emails and every single time, “career” and or “professionals” are referred to when it comes to CTS services. In fact, in one of the videos where Chris is talking about his bucket list rides, he says “these rides are geared towards “professionals” such as doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, executives, etc”. Really? What the heck does a persons profession and yearly income have to with wether or not that person is an athlete or can do a bucket list ride? Just because a person is not a “professional” at something does not mean they don’t have the financial ability and the physical fitness to do CTS training or do a bucket list ride even though it appears to me that those are the only kind of individuals that CTS wants.
Author
You make some good points. The reason you see “career professional” and “working parent” in many places throughout CTS content is that for years the leading misconception was that we only work with professional/elite athletes and/or really hard-core athletes. The truth is that the majority of the athletes we coach are time-crunched men and women who have full-time jobs and often have families. The irony of your comment is that we include phrases like “time-crunched”, “career professional”, and “working parent” to be more inclusive of athletes at all levels of ability and time commitment, not more exclusive to a particular career or income demographic. You raise a good point, though, and we can certainly take another look at the words and phrases we use to be as inclusive as possible.
Jim Rutberg
Pro Coach and Media Director
CTS
I understand the rationale of a snack ahead of an afternoon workout. But leaving the office at 5pm, getting home 5:30pm, out the door 6pm, returning home 7pm, what sort of dinner do you recommend at 7:30pm?
I’m a 47 year old cat 3 physician and I definitely have more power at midday. My two times to train are 5 am and 11:30 am. My field tests and interval work outs are so far superior at noon compared to my 5 am efforts that I only do endurance rides early anymore. I’m just tired and sore in the early am and need to eat, walk around and sip coffee between patients before a quality ride can happen. Rip it on the lunch break! BTW CTS nutrition advice is spot on.
One thing that is tough for some of us is those who use mass transit for commuting. I use a bike commute that will take me about 1.5 hours each way (including prep time) but in the winter the ice on the bike paths and the darkness make it unlikely so since a pre-work workout would mean getting up at 3:30 to get an hour in on the trainer, and after work meant missing time with family (and with an 8:30 – 9:00 bed time there still wasn’t much) it really meant working out at work. The key here is availability and making it part of your day. Yes you have to bring lunch and don’t expect to be able to workout and then go grab something, you just won’t have time. Next is optimizing your workout. 45 minutes is about the best you can get between getting ready to workout and showering and dressing after so your workouts can’t include a lot of ‘lounging’ time. Still, if you make it part of your schedule and people expect you to be gone during that time you can be pretty good at keeping that mid-day workout a regular part of your day, even if you work in a job like mine that means critical issues come up that have to take priority. Some days you may need to move the workout an hour or two, other times you might just move it and take ‘lunch’ to end your day. But the key is to not just blow it off if you miss it. Try to fit it in, even if it means doing a conference call from a spin bike (thank goodness for mute buttons).
Another option, if possible… commute by bike and use one leg of the commute for a workout. I am spoiled in that I have a 30 mile Class A bike path that goes by my house and work.
I’m sure this thread will become an interesting look into what compulsive athletes do to get in their workouts, and there will probably be as many different replies as there are athletes.
I suppose I would fit into the “Creative” category. I’m a physician with a work day that starts at 7 AM. I don’t have any free time during the day and I’m pretty toasted by the time I’m done at work which is 5PM or later depending on the day and the schedule. So my workouts start before work, in the dark.
I hate the trainer, but use it as a last resort. Fortunately for me, one of our large city parks has a 24 hour lighted 1.2 mile loop that is closed to traffic where I do my interval workouts during the week. I’m usually on the bike at 4 AM for 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the workout. That means getting up at 3 AM to get ready and get there. Needless to say, I don’t get in the prescribed amount of sleep, but over the years I gotten accustomed to that.
If I had the opportunity, I would think about training a little later in the morning after more sleep as I “feel” as if I have more power, but the numbers don’t really change that much when I do get to do that. Right now though, if I’m not out there by my usual time, I feel like I’m already behind (I’m off today , it’s 6AM and I feel like I’m playing hookey).
One advantage of starting so early is that I usually get my high power intervals in without having to worry about slowing for other cyclists, who usually don’t start showing up until after 5 AM. The only things to contend with are rabbits, squirrels, possums and the occaisional coyote.
I think it is worth mentioning the importance of sleep when considering early morning.
I personally don’t think food is needed first thing in the morning before you ride, especially if your only doing 1.5-2hrs. You have enough stored fuel, Also for the afternoon. If I’m doing a 5 or 6pm ride eating lunch just a tad later will do just fine. Especially if your eating enough fats and less carbs.
Author
Thomas, yes, you have enough stored glycogen for these workouts. However, many athletes benefit from a small pre-workout snack that increases blood sugar for alertness. Essentially, they’re powering their brain, which primarily uses blood sugar for fuel. For moderate-intensity Zone 2 endurance rides, perhaps you don’t need a lot of brain fuel. But it’s helpful for improving workout quality if you’re doing high-intensity work. On the other hand, there’s a lot of individual variability in fueling strategies, so if less fuel has been working for you, stick with it! – Jim Rutberg, CTS Pro Coach
Of course many don’t “need” food before intermediate duration workouts, but “need” is not really the issue. Much evidence shows that taking on some calories (within individual gut tolerance of course) helps most athletes optimize the quality and benefit of those workouts, especially over the weeks & months of a training cycle.