A while back we talked about the benefits of working out before work or class; and it's clear that people fall into two groups: early risers and everyone else. I could be proud of belonging to the group of people who wake up early, put on my running shoes, and go for a workout first thing in the morning. But I'm also aware that some people think I'm crazy for not staying in bed a few more minutes.
Whatever the excuse, I always prefer to train early. So I have free machines and I don't waste my time waiting.
Our bodies are governed by the circadian rhythm . Sleep cycles, energy levels, and body temperature all vary according to these rhythmic cycles. And as some of you may have experienced, these cycles can also impact training. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research sought to understand how the time of day and circadian rhythm affect physical exercise.
24 hours with different cycles
The circadian rhythm is the most important factor in biological cycles. It has a 24-hour frequency and is "controlled" by an internal clock that adjusts according to external stimuli. For example, light is one of those stimuli that makes us understand the sunrise and sunset.
Since light dominates the circadian rhythm, the variations that affect our training will vary depending on the schedule of any given day. But these variations should remain constant over time. So if you tend to train at the same time every day, you may have noticed this effect. In this study, the researchers examined the influence of the time of day on body temperature and energy production. Since keeping your body warm is supposed to be good for sports performance, the best time might depend on your body temperature.
Do we have better sports performance in the morning?
The researchers confirmed that temperatures were lower in the morning than at night, which was expected. And they also found that sports performance was higher at night in the 16 people who participated in the study.
Since the night test was carried out on the same day as the morning test, we could doubt if fatigue accumulated from the first training session. But apparently fatigue didn't come into play, although there could be a boosting effect as well. Perhaps an investigation carried out on different days could have produced more accurate data.
For those of us who exercise early, the good news is that consistency during training probably mitigates the effect of fatigue somewhat. On the other hand, if you are a professional athlete, you must exercise at the same time as the competition.
Even so, the study finds that most people could get better athletic performance from training at night.