+ 1 AM vs PM training
So work is a must for must as is lifting right? For years I lifted after working ten hours a day in the construction industry, eating at regular intervals along the way, carbing up to fuel the machine. I had great intense workouts; of course I was in my 30s and indulging in the gear plenty as well. As of late I work crazy shifts and have got my ass up early enough to hit the gym pre-work shift, at about 4:45 in the AM and then go to work. For the most part even with a pre-workout NO concoction,and some recently started E-300, my workouts blow and I just feel like I'm going through the motions and not getting much out of it. I know it has got to be the fact that I don't get to grub( and shit)several times before I throw the weights. I like getting the training in and done before work but that's the only thing I like about it! Anyone feel me on this? Any happy medium or trade-off? I just personally do not see how anyone can get a full potential, ass kicking, vein popping, skin stretching pump as soon as they roll off the mattress. I believe that fueling up before taking that trip is key. Am I wrong???
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Ive experimented with am and pm training a good bit over the years. My best results are in the am, first thing. My energy levels are higher and recovery between sets is better. Im also stronger in the morning, but that probly has to do with the fact that I also have a very physically demanding job. Being tired in the pm from busting ass all day takes away from my training no matter how much I try to carb up. Really, it comes down to when you feel best and strongest. The mind muscle connection and focus will be better if you think its better. Probly said something about that in another of your posts? Gonna go read that one too.
first, man up.
2nd, u will get used to it. i did it for over a year. u can try eating a bigger dinner or focus on peri workout nutrition. when i was bulking 2 scoop when prework then some bcaa and powdered carbs intra helped lot.
RustycanPrish dude, yea I'm already on the man up just had to get that ass up about 30 earlier to get some carbs down the pipe.... It's getting better. Thanks bro
Mr KfizzleWell I can kinda relate but my schedule is really all kinds of jacked up. See I work from 6pm to 6am, 4 days a week. I have done my workout before and after work. After the crowd is very thin but I'm dead tired by the time I get there and not as pumped as on my days I don't work. I do enjoy that if I am in the mood and feeling it I can keep on going as I'm not pressed for time like when I go before work. Before work is best for me but I have to sacrifice sleep on my days I work because of gym and work location being 30 minutes from home. So if I only sleep 5 hours 6 at most on days I work I can wake up eat a couple meals within a couple hours of each other and I'm good to go and get in a great workout. Food is key for me as well not sleep, I been on crazy work schedules since I was 18 and I'm almost 31 now I'll sleep a lot when I can and might even get 10-12 hours in when my body has finally had enough. This just works for me the best and I have had to toss things up several times trying to figure out how to get my damn workout in but I will continue to toss it up I'm sure because I will get bored with the same gym the same people the same blah blah blah , I just Can't roll like V man lol not in my blood. Find what works best man just keep changing it up til u are in the zone! Make something work for you! Maybe a lifting partner is needed if you're into that for that extra push. Maybe whole new workout routine even? Maybe the drive and motivation is gone, yes you're going and getting it in "going through the motions " but you have to WANT to go and to reach your GOALS (have u set Any goals recently?) Thats all I got Bro while I sit here taking my break at work with bodybuilding on my mind all night long learning new shit!
I'm still in the construction industry which makes getting meals in easy. I however work four tens hitting the gym in the early am on my 3 days off per week. 8 hours of sleep is the key for me, being rested and restored. As far a intensity in the gym and the ability to push your body to its limits, for me it is in my head. I recall as kid running track and in my mind I would imagine a gun pointed at my back, literally like I was running for my life in my mind. I try to transfer that mental push into the gym. If I know I will be eating low carbs that day while cutting it is no excuse to not push as hard as I can. To sum it up it was put best in the movie Cool Hand Luke, "you're gonna get your mind right."
BigBmajFor me it all has to do with carb intake. Eat two cups of pasta tomorrow morning before your workout and see what happens, 160 grams of carbs is what I Iike. I can't train well without carbs. I like pasta much better than oats pre workout. I like to keep fast carbs around workout times. Even if I were dieting I would so this.
Glycogen levels won't even be close to full with a small serving of oats. A large serving with lots of sugar on it may work well but it sits funny in my stomach.
RustycanYeah been eating a cup of oats with the protein and the pre-workout concoction since I posted this. Can already tell somewhat of a diff. I'm already a big pasta eater, plain pasta of course, I know from exp it'll put some lbs on you and carb a workout right on up! The AAS is getting there too so these 4:45 AM training sessions are getting better by the day. PS I feel you on the "sitting funny on your stomach" gotta smoke a sardine before I leave the house maybe twice, then shit sometimes b4 I ever touch a weight then once I start pushing I'm def gonna have to be dropping some fkn wolf bait at the gym!!!! Lol!!'
evenings... prefer actually after 10 pm....im relaxed and
there are less people in the gym. nice quiet..
jiimytattoo75530am at the grindhouse !!!! then by 8 im ready to head to my job and my diet is alot better too cause i know if i put junk in my body i wasted my workout !!!
My ideal time of day for the best workout is 11.30am... usually by this time i am 2meals and a snack powered and energy levels are high!.... i have to alternate times like we all do at some stage but that time is my favourite and works well with the rest of my day which is usually planned to the minute... i am a creature of habit and can live happy doing the same old grind day in day out lol.... i suppose that is why i have been doing this lifestyle for so long because it demands a type of "grounghog day" approach to keep things consistant... boring for most but i love the bright lights and dream tan days!... that has always been my short/middle and long term goal and i hate failure and thrive on success.
RustycanI like this time as well I get to do it on the weekends sometimes
RustyhookerAm rules! Gotta fuel right preworkout
Cooked oats, whey,coffee
Blender the cooked oats, add 50g of whey and 2cups strong coffee 30+ mins preworkout. Carbs...protein and caffein zing. I add a yogurt too sometimes.
RustycanI love the oats I'm just rushed and in lieu of coffee I've been doing like a pre workout NO creatine mix you know the caffeine is in there. Anybody use it like it
The most important thing is that you train regardless of the time of day or night. As for as motivating the body it is purely mental not the time of day. You have to discipline your mind to focus on the goal not the feelings that your body sends the mind. Like "I have no energy" or "I haven't eaten". I know this works because I have had to do it for over 23 years for work. Is there more energy if you get to eat before...yes there is but still you can maximize a workout without the extra energy as long as you will it.
Due to my work schedule and my wife working from home and three little ones at home running around, I got no choice but to do the home gym. I hit it hard when I get home. Just me and my dogs in the garage. Put on some tunes and get after it. When I'm done I'm already home and can go play DAD, lol. And the wife will come down if I need a spot. Which sometimes leads to some "extra" reps on the bench if you know what I'm saying ;)
RustycanNice!!!! Yea I don't have the space for it at my current home and good equipment comes with a big price tag but I someday hope to have a home gym good enough to get it done and blow off all the madness at the walk-in circus.
Well I was lucky enough to get mine from my Dad. He had a ton of shit in the house when I was growing up so when I moved out he let me have one of his setups. Pretty Nice Free weights and pulley system also. Pull up bar and dip station. Got about 600 lbs in free weights. Not to bad. I've only been to a gym a couple of times like vacation or something, just not for me. I got a buddy that'll come over and train sometimes.
I switch off and get it when the schedule allows, but I prefer morning training. It kicks my endorphins in overdrive all day and I sleep like a baby. If I train in the evenings, I'm lucky to sleep. My body can be wore out to exhaustion and my arms shake holding a glass of water and ill still stare at the ceiling.
Different for different people. I train at crack of dawn when it's empty, I just can't be doing with my workouts being messed up due to waiting for equipment etc when it's busy in the evening. I can lift heavier later in the day, but my intensity is better in the a.m.
RustycanI feel you on both accounts( waiting on equipment in evening and intensity in the AM)
Reg Park was a 4am lifter. and plenty other guys too. Caffeine first thing in the am is probably more counter productive IMO as it will spike your already high morning cortisol levels which will make a pump difficult an make you feel week.
I really don't think its a matter of just getting amped up. When I did my early am's I would take 3 boiled eggs and some fruit and a tiny bit of oats about 30min before. and 15-20 minutes warming up doing ab work and light stretching and light weight BP movements. For me personally my best am workouts were caffeine free and a solid warm up.
Try it out, you might just be one of those guys whose cortisol runs high.
this is how manage early am workouts. Take caffeine upon waking, wait 15min then drink 3/4 of a high glycemic carb and protein mixture, saving the remaining 1/4 to sip during workout to prevent a hypoglycemic rebound effect. I'm at the gym within an hour of waking, and get good work in.
RustycanI feel you on the coffee on throwing on some good hard music and getting it done; I'm just as some of the others replied weak, weak weak that early in the AM. I guess there's no replacement for food. FOOD IS POWER!!
I tried training before work a while back and I just couldn't ever get it going. Thought i would get used to it but I never really did. I didn't like being rushed because I didn't want to be late and I didn't like not being able to rest after I was done training. I was always a lot weaker. Plus come about 2 PM I was tired as shit!! Afternoon / evening is best for me. I agree with you that it has a lot to do with the fact of not having had three to four meals prior to training like I do now that I'm back to my regular schedule. That's just me though.
I hit my gym at 5am every weekday and love it now. I hate weight traing at night when gym is packed. I get my coffee before I go in and drink it as I work out, throw the headphones on and blast away.... Funny thing is up until recently I was never able to weight train early, ,now I will never stop doing it this way, love it!
I take my hat off to anyone whom trains before they start work. I have 0 energy, 0 dedication and 0 motivation but then again I'm not a morning person. Training after work however I have fueled up in regular intervals during the day and pumped myself up looking forward to it. All those things are the perfect ingredients to cook a decent workout.