When is the best time to exercise to maximize performance?

    Researchedby:
    Mike Murray
    Last Updated: October 13, 2024

    Exercise performance tends to be better in the late afternoon/early evening (1–8 p.m.) than the morning (8–10 a.m.),[1] particularly for short-duration maximal exercise (e.g., a 30-second Wingate test or tests of jump height, repeated sprint ability, or maximal voluntary contraction).[2][3][1] Currently, there is limited evidence to suggest that a specific time of day is best for endurance exercise performance.[1]

    The main mechanism that underlies this finding is core body temperature, which reaches a peak in the evening hours.[4][5] An increase in core body temperature may improve exercise performance by enhancing metabolic reactions, increasing the extensibility of connective tissue, reducing muscle viscosity, and increasing the conduction velocity of action potentials.[6] Moreover, using cold water immersion to decrease core body temperature before evening exercise has been shown to decrease muscular strength and repeated sprint ability.[7][8][9]

    While exercise performance may be better in the evening than the morning at baseline, consistently training in the morning can offset this natural diurnal variation in performance. Indeed, long-term resistance exercise interventions that have participants train in the morning or evening report similar increases in strength and hypertrophy.[3] This suggests that training at a consistent time each day is more important than the time of day training takes place. Therefore, an individual interested in maximizing exercise adaptations should choose a time of day that suits their preferences and will facilitate long-term training adherence.

    Besides consistently training in the morning, there are acute strategies that can diminish the natural diurnal variation in exercise performance, including exercising in a warm and humid environment,[10][11] performing an extended warm-up (e.g., 12 minutes of cycling at 50% of VO2max interspersed with brief accelerations of 5 seconds),[12][13][14] ingesting caffeine,[15][16] and listening to music.[17][18]

    References

    1. ^Raphael Knaier, Jingyi Qian, Ralf Roth, Denis Infanger, Timo Notter, Wei Wang, Christian Cajochen, Frank A J L ScheerDiurnal Variation in Maximum Endurance and Maximum Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysisMed Sci Sports Exerc.(2022 Jan 1)
    2. ^Mirizio GG, Nunes RSM, Vargas DA, Foster C, Vieira ETime-of-Day Effects on Short-Duration Maximal Exercise Performance.Sci Rep.(2020-06-11)
    3. ^Grgic J, Lazinica B, Garofolini A, Schoenfeld BJ, Saner NJ, Mikulic PThe effects of time of day-specific resistance training on adaptations in skeletal muscle hypertrophy and muscle strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Chronobiol Int.(2019-04)
    4. ^G Atkinson, T ReillyCircadian variation in sports performanceSports Med.(1996 Apr)
    5. ^Kusumoto H, Ta C, Brown SM, Mulcahey MKFactors Contributing to Diurnal Variation in Athletic Performance and Methods to Reduce Within-Day Performance Variation: A Systematic Review.J Strength Cond Res.(2021-Dec-01)
    6. ^Chtourou H, Souissi NThe effect of training at a specific time of day: a review.J Strength Cond Res.(2012-Jul)
    7. ^Robinson WR, Pullinger SA, Kerry JW, Giacomoni M, Robertson CM, Burniston JG, Waterhouse JM, Edwards BJDoes lowering evening rectal temperature to morning levels offset the diurnal variation in muscle force production?Chronobiol Int.(2013-Oct)
    8. ^Racinais S, Blonc S, Oksa J, Hue ODoes the diurnal increase in central temperature interact with pre-cooling or passive warm-up of the leg?J Sci Med Sport.(2009-Jan)
    9. ^Pullinger SA, Oksa J, Brocklehurst EL, Iveson RP, Newlove A, Burniston JG, Doran DA, Waterhouse JM, Edwards BJControlling rectal and muscle temperatures: Can we offset diurnal variation in repeated sprint performance?Chronobiol Int.(2018-07)
    10. ^Racinais S, Hue O, Blonc STime-of-day effects on anaerobic muscular power in a moderately warm environment.Chronobiol Int.(2004-May)
    11. ^Racinais S, Blonc S, Jonville S, Hue OTime of day influences the environmental effects on muscle force and contractility.Med Sci Sports Exerc.(2005-Feb)
    12. ^Nizar Souissi, Tarak Driss, Karim Chamari, Henry Vandewalle, Damien Davenne, Abdelkader Gam, Jean-Robert Fillard, Eric JousselinDiurnal variation in Wingate test performances: influence of active warm-upChronobiol Int.(2010 May)
    13. ^Racinais S, Blonc S, Hue OEffects of active warm-up and diurnal increase in temperature on muscular power.Med Sci Sports Exerc.(2005-Dec)
    14. ^Taylor K, Cronin JB, Gill N, Chapman DW, Sheppard JMWarm-up affects diurnal variation in power output.Int J Sports Med.(2011-Mar)
    15. ^Souissi M, Abedelmalek S, Chtourou H, Atheymen R, Hakim A, Sahnoun ZEffects of morning caffeine' ingestion on mood States, simple reaction time, and short-term maximal performance on elite judoists.Asian J Sports Med.(2012-Sep)
    16. ^Souissi Y, Souissi M, Chtourou HEffects of caffeine ingestion on the diurnal variation of cognitive and repeated high-intensity performances.Pharmacol Biochem Behav.(2019-02)
    17. ^Belkhir Y, Rekik G, Chtourou H, Souissi NListening to neutral or self-selected motivational music during warm-up to improve short-term maximal performance in soccer players: Effect of time of day.Physiol Behav.(2019-05-15)
    18. ^Chtourou H, Chaouachi A, Hammouda O, Chamari K, Souissi NListening to music affects diurnal variation in muscle power output.Int J Sports Med.(2012-Jan)