When is the best time of the day to do resistance training?
Whether you train once or several times per week, you want to ensure you're getting the most out of your training. So, one question you might have asked is – when is the best time to train?
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Naturally, we're going to review the science to answer this question, and when doing so, we're best looking at systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarising all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria. A meta-analysis uses statistical methods to summarise the results of these studies. Essentially, these provide us with a summary of the totality of the research.
What does the science say regarding the best time to do resistance training?
A systematic review and meta-analysis by Grgic et al. reviewing "The effects of time of day-specific resistance training on adaptations in skeletal muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength." has the answer to our question. Here are the findings:
at baseline, a significant difference in strength between morning and evening is evident, with greater strength observed in the evening hours;
resistance training in the morning hours may increase strength assessed in the morning to similar levels as strength assessed in the evening;
training in the evening hours, however, maintains the general difference in strength across the day, with greater strength observed in the evening hours;
when comparing the effects between the groups training in the morning versus in the evening hours, increases in strength are similar in both groups, regardless of the time of day at which strength assessment is conducted; and
increases in muscle size are similar irrespective of the time of day at which the training is performed.
In short, we're stronger in the evenings, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to more strength or muscle gains. When you dig into individual studies, you could argue there might be some slight advantage to training in the evenings, but when reviewing the overall body of evidence, we can see it's not statistically significant.
So, if there's no muscle building or strength gaining advantage to training in the evening vs the morning, or at least, nothing worth getting excited about, what time should we train?
Good question! Pick a time that best suits you — a time you feel good, strong, and a time you can stick with!
You want to avoid training sporadically if you can, as there is merit to training at the same time each day – it really allows you to solidify that habit!
Personally, I train around 3 pm each day. Why? A couple of reasons:
I don't feel strong in the mornings – those 30kg dumbbells feel like 40's at 5 am
In the morning, my body is weak, but my brain is strong, so I commit the morning to doing client programming – I do enjoy coffee and programming more than I enjoy 5 am split squats
Later in the day, I'm well-fed and therefore feel stronger than when I train fasted, which I tend to do if I train first thing in the morning
Though it's important to remember that I'm not you – you might love training in the morning as it wakes you up and makes you feel amazing, energised, and ready to grab the day by the horns. For many, starting the day with one thing that is very conducive to your health creates a snowball effect resulting in making better/healthier decisions throughout the day. Or, you might enjoy training in the morning because if you trained in the evening, you'd be exhausted from a day's work. Which often results in skipping the gym altogether – this doesn't happen when people train in the mornings. I remember from my 1-1 personal training days in Chester Total Fitness – big shout out! That the most consistent people in the gym were the ones who came first thing in the morning. The evening faces constantly changed, but the faces you saw in the morning never did. There could have been a blizzard, and they'd be there – rocking up in their ski goggles and axes looking like they've just conquered Mount Everest! Consistency is always something you need to consider, even if future studies show statistically significant benefits to training at a certain time, resulting in the totality of the evidence leaning more towards one or the other. These benefits couldn't possibly overshadow consistency – consistency is key!
Summary
In summary, train at a time that best suits your schedule, a time you feel good, strong and a time you can stick to religiously!