When Do You Guys Work Out?

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
It’s okay by the way for shakes to be pre-mixed and kept in the refrigerator (many worry about this.)

Also the lengthiness of what I described is due to also having the amino pulsing in there.

I expect if you are up by 5 AM and immediately hit a premixed drink, you can get the full benefits of the protocol for the 6 AM - 7 AM workout. (Minus the amino pulsing which really is a separate thing and can if desired be done at a differing time of day.)[/quote]

Thanks Bill. I am looking forward to learning more about the pulsing protocol. I will figure a way to get in what I need to before lifting (I am preparing now as I just ordered a bunch of SWF, Surge Recovery & some Finibars). If I can avoid injury, I feel like I am a path to making some of my best gains (I am 37) ever.

yep I just recall that the article said it is about the body temperature. It suggest working out around peak time of your body termperature.

[quote]Ace Rimmer wrote:
In the case of pure strength rather than hypertrophy,it seems less to do with testosterone levels and more to do with Circadian Rythyms (i.e. your ‘bodyclock’) affected by light levels,sleep,etc. and also CNS activity/alertness.

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
I’ve lifted as early as 5am and as late as 1am and every hour inbetween. but prefer about 7pm.[/quote]

1AM that’s impressive

[quote]namor wrote:
I wake up at 5.30am and am at the gym at 6.30am, finish at the gym at 8am and am at work by 9am.

It took a lot of getting used to but if you want to be consistent you do what you have to do.

Peri-workout nutrition makes all the difference as well in getting you primed that early in the morning.[/quote]

yep one of my concern is, if I get up and go to gym an hour later, how am I supposed to eat during this hour? breakfast + pre-workout meal?

I have done sessions in during 1 Am to 3 AM. It was during finals week, so I needed to relax! haha. However, usually lift in the morning around 10 AM.

Thank you very mcuh, Bill. I really appreciate your advice. Well, I dont have so many different kinds of powder… So,I think equivalently you are suggesting:
meal 1: supplements + casein
meal 2: protein + carb (I dont know what’s in Surge Recovery…never tried that)
meal 3(prework out): protein + carb
meal 4:protein + carb ?what is Anaconda for?
and post work out.
Am I right?
Also, when you are cutting,do you still get strength increased? Making new PR?
I am asking this because during my last cutting phase I did not improve a single pound on my lifting. It is so frustrating.

[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
I work out in the morning, which as personal opinion I think works together best with nutrition, but if a person’s schedule doesn’t allow this that hardly means all is lost. Nothing like it.[/quote]

I work out in the morning - fasted cardio and lift weights in the evening.

[quote]hhxk18 wrote:
Thank you very mcuh, Bill. I really appreciate your advice. Well, I dont have so many different kinds of powder… So,I think equivalently you are suggesting:
meal 1: supplements + casein
meal 2: protein + carb (I dont know what’s in Surge Recovery…never tried that)
meal 3(prework out): protein + carb
meal 4:protein + carb ?what is Anaconda for?
and post work out.
Am I right?
Also, when you are cutting,do you still get strength increased? Making new PR?
I am asking this because during my last cutting phase I did not improve a single pound on my lifting. It is so frustrating.[/quote]

I’m keeping on schedule with my program which has everything slowly increasing. In terms of 1RM that hasn’t been measured but various lifts have, slightly, been the best for that number of reps.

The supplements mentioned are pretty specialized and can’t be broken down into just looking at protein and carbs. From the standpoint of doing that, which is a valid thing to want to do, a principal finding – which I didn’t make but was found in the development of these products – is that the old idea that post-workout is most important is not right.

Having the muscles well loaded with carbs and amino acids – which can be done though less well with just plain carbs and protein – and then well supplied during the workout too is better.

So if breaking it down to more commonly available ingredients this would mean being well carb loaded before the workout, though not in a way that has your stomach slowing things by being heavy with food that takes a long time to empty, and continuing to fuel the workout with carbs and aminos (or protein, faster acting the better) during the workout.

In Christian Thibaudeau’s forum there’s some discussion of this.

Before school ended I use to wake up at 4am to get to the gym by 5am. It made the rest of my day so much better knowing I hit a PR and i always started first period with that endorphin high. Ahhh good times

train at 7 pm. not a morning person so that is out of the question. work 9-5. get home eat and hit gym at 7 with my wife. have pwo meal 8:30 in bed at 10.

stop reading bodybuilding.com

7 AM. The time is dictated by my school schedule, and because I ride a motorcycle to school in full leathers/boots/gloves/helmet and want to be on the road before it gets warm.

I think there was an article on here recently about when to work out. If I remember correctly, the article stated that working out less than two hours after you wake up is detrimental. The spine needs about two hours to “decompress”. Once decompressed, you are able to get the most out of your body’s neurological capabilities. With a fully decompressed spine, the spinal column can more efficiently send impulses or whatever it’s called to your muscles and maximize your motor recruitment.

I usually lift in the mornings because I have a squat rack and bench in my garage and it’s about 100 degrees everyday in the summer here, so 8 or 9am is about as cool as it’s gonna get for me unless I wait until at least 9pm. I just hang from my pullup bar for 15 seconds or so a few times to stretch out the spinal column. I used to work out at night when it was cooler, but I notice that if I have a couple cups of coffee and stretch out the spine, I can put out max force just as well as at night, and I rarely get up before 7:30, which gives me less than two hours to decompress.

Crap, I get out of bed at 5 AM, lift at 7 AM, but don’t wake up till about 10 AM.

Seriously though, you have it backwards. The spine uses that time to compress. That’s why you’re taller in the morning.

[quote]bwhitwell wrote:
Some people are morning people and some are evening people. I wake up before the alarm clock goes off almost everyday between 4:30 and 5:00 am and usually pass out by 10:00 pm, wife is complete opposite. Thrive on 6-7 hrs sleep a night. Wake up and ready to train within 30 min after coffee on an empty stomach.[/quote]

yeah you look like u lift on an empty stomach

[quote]quiksilver6 wrote:
bwhitwell wrote:
Some people are morning people and some are evening people. I wake up before the alarm clock goes off almost everyday between 4:30 and 5:00 am and usually pass out by 10:00 pm, wife is complete opposite. Thrive on 6-7 hrs sleep a night. Wake up and ready to train within 30 min after coffee on an empty stomach.

yeah you look like u lift on an empty stomach[/quote]

Not sure if you’re trying to be a dick, it sure sounds like it though…and you aren’t shit yourself at a nice and skinny 5’10" 170.

There’s no magic power hour, but your body functions best on a consistent schedule, so the most important thing is to choose a time and stick to it.

I usually start my workouts fairly late, like 8pm-10pm. Mainly because it works ok with my schedule, and partly because the gym starts to clear out.

I have, a few times, worked out uber late/early, like 1am-3am. Generally because of an early morning (or late night) plan flight I gotta take. Those are nights when I pretty much give up on sleep anyway, so the workouts aren’t really optimal.

It doesn’t really matter when you workout, it’s more a question of convenience and consistency. I like mornings, because I can control my schedule by getting up early enough to workout before going to work. I have good strength/energy in the morning, and it feels good to have a solid workout under my belt when I start the day.

[quote]josh86 wrote:
quiksilver6 wrote:
bwhitwell wrote:
Some people are morning people and some are evening people. I wake up before the alarm clock goes off almost everyday between 4:30 and 5:00 am and usually pass out by 10:00 pm, wife is complete opposite. Thrive on 6-7 hrs sleep a night. Wake up and ready to train within 30 min after coffee on an empty stomach.

yeah you look like u lift on an empty stomach

Not sure if you’re trying to be a dick, it sure sounds like it though…and you aren’t shit yourself at a nice and skinny 5’10" 170. [/quote]

easy tough guy. wasn’t trying to be a dick. he’s impressively lean for how much muscle he has. as for you, maybe you should have waited to see if i was “being a dick,” before you started throwing stones.