What works better? A morning or evening training?

What is better for your performance? An evening or a morning training? Below you will find an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.

Is there a difference?
Scientific research shows that there is a clear difference between the effects of morning or evening training [1] . One athlete performs better in the morning while the other performs better at night. To explain the difference between a morning and evening training I make a distinction between strength and endurance sports.


What is the difference in muscle strength?
Research seems to indicate that people who exercise in the evening have more muscle power than people who exercise in the morning [2] .

It is striking that if you divide subjects into two groups where you let one group practice in the morning and the other in the evening, there is no significant difference in the strength development of morning and evening athletes. Apparently the body adapts to the moment you train.

One of the possible explanations is that people who train in the evening may train more musically and therefore have more muscle strength.

What is the difference in muscle growth?
For the time being, no significant difference has been found in muscle growth between morning or evening training [2] . However, the  meta-analysis  that investigated this consists of 5 studies of mixed quality. It is therefore difficult to draw clear conclusions here. Future research should show whether evening or morning training is better for building muscle mass.

Are you focusing on building muscle mass or muscle mass? Then I advise you to choose a training moment that you feel good about and what you can keep full.

Endurance sport
Research shows that there is a big difference between endurance athletes who are used to working in the morning versus those who play in the evening. The difference in performance between morning or evening training can be up to 26% [3] .

The difference in duration performance has to do with your chronotype. In other words, whether you are more of a morning or evening person.

The training moment is out
Morning people perform best with endurance performance 5 to 6 hours after awakening. This is often around or just after noon. Evening people perform best 11 hours after waking up. The difference in the period is mainly dependent on physiological processes. The body gives off stimulating substances at other times, so that you can perform better as an evening person by the end of the day.

Your durations are therefore dependent on whether you are an early morning, afternoon or evening type.

It is striking that most successful endurance athletes are morning people [4,5] . It may be that this is a selection effect. Because competitions are often played in the morning, talents often surfaced with a morning rhythm. To find future talents it is wise to take more account of their chronotype. It is certainly possible to adjust your chronotype.

It is striking that several studies show that the VO2max and performance are better at sports such as swimming and cycling later in the day. The researchers indicate that the increased body temperature is the main reason for this phenomenon [6-11] .

However, these studies do not correct for the chronotpye. This means that it is difficult to really determine whether this training method is really more effective.

Are you competing?
Is your race at a different time than you normally train? Then train a few times on the match time, so you are prepared to perform at a new time. So you are more accustomed to the situation and you perform better.

Are you a top athlete and do you have an international competition? Then take this extensive article about jetlag .

Difference for gender and age
From the aforementioned studies it is not yet clear whether the extent of the effect differs between the elderly, young people, men and women. There is a chance that there will be a difference between groups because of a different chronotype and other hormonal effects. Always look carefully at your own training and progression and decide what you like. Do you like it better to exercise in the morning? Keep doing this then. This way you can keep the sports regime for longer and you'll get more fun out of it.

Which factors influence the difference?
The moment at which you perform the best depends mainly on your internal clock, also known as the circadian rhythm ; it affects the hormones, which changes your performance. Your internal clock regulates your day and night rhythm and the moment when you are the sharpest. This internal clock affects, among other things, your [12] :

body temperature
metabolism
the release of hormones such as the sleep hormone melatonin
and finally the stress hormone cortisol.
Below I discuss the most important pieces.

Body temperature
Sports performance has a direct link with body temperature. If you are warmed up, you will achieve a better performance. The main reason for this is that your muscles function better when they are warm. The muscles contract faster so that you move more efficiently.

The body temperature of people is higher in the evening than in the morning. Hence the idea that people get more out of their sports session in the evening.

Cortisol and testosterone
In addition to your body temperature, the hormones cortisol and testosterone also have a big influence on your performance. In contrast to your body temperature, cortisol and testosterone are most useful for sports performance in the morning [13] . This is therefore contradictory with the advantage of the increased body temperature, later in the day [14] .

Can you change from a morning to an evening person?
You often hear people bless that they are not a morning person and therefore can not exercise in the morning. But this is a habit that you can change. You can adjust your rhythm when you go to bed early and get up early on. Not everyone will like this right away, but after a while you will get used to a sporting morning.

Want to know more about this? Read more about the concept of morning versus evening people here . Do you want to know how your habits change? Then read this extensive article about habit change.

Benefits of training in the morning
In the morning it is nice and quiet in the gym and on the street. Even the bench press has no queues on the Monday morning! This way you can efficiently do your workout because there is virtually no distraction from other people.
Your first focus point on the day is your training. And maybe you are less focused after a long day of work.
Benefits of training in the evening
You have had more moments to eat. This can be useful if you are doing a sport that requires a lot of energy.
It can be nice to end your day with it. For a while, or a focused exercise after a day of work.
Important points if you train in the morning:
Provide a good warm-up . Especially if you train in the morning it is important to warm up your body.
Some people struggle to train in the early morning because they have eaten little. Make sure you eat enough for your training. Do this at least 45 minutes before your training.
Important points if you train in the evening:
Make sure you have eaten a good meal at least 2 to 3 hours before your training so that you have enough energy to exercise.
If you train too late, it may be that you are too bred and difficult to fall asleep. Watch this if you regularly have this. Then choose a different training moment or train less intensively.
Do you want to know what to eat before and after training? Read this extensive article about sports nutrition .

Conclusion
Ultimately, you really have to do what you feel good about and what fits your lifestyle. Choose a sport rhythm that you can keep full.

Share this post