The biggest reason why morning exercise feels difficult

Your alarm goes off. Somehow you get ready, get yourself to the gym and start doing squats.

But why does it seem so difficult? Your legs are heavy and the weight you lifted just a few days ago – in the afternoon – feels almost impossible.

No, you are not imagining it. There is a lot of evidence that most of us are stronger, more powerful and have better stamina at the end of the day.

There are many reasons why exercising first thing in the morning may seem more difficult. Here’s why, and how you can adjust your morning exercise routine if you need to.

Your circadian rhythm affects your workout

Your body has a natural 24-hour clock that regulates hormonesBody temperature and when you feel most awake or ready to sleep.

This clock is called your circadian rhythm. It is controlled by the brain but can also be influenced by external factors such as sunlight. This may explain why morning exercise in the winter can be especially difficult for some of us.

Research shows that your circadian rhythm is clearly linked to exercise performance, which follows a daily pattern.

Most people reach their peak between 4 and 7 pm. This means that we are stronger, faster and more powerful in the afternoon and evening.

We don’t know exactly why this is. But there are some possible explanations.

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body temperature

Your core body temperature is lowest around 5 a.m., and continues to rise throughout the day. When your body temperature increases, your muscles contract more efficiently. We believe this is why people are generally stronger and more powerful in the days afterward.

hormonal fluctuations

Insulin – the hormone that regulates blood sugar (glucose) levels – is highest in the morning. This causes a decrease in blood sugar, which means your body can use less glucose as fuel, potentially affecting how hard you can work out.

nervous system function

Although we don’t know exactly why this is, there is some evidence to suggest that your nervous system is better at sending signals to your muscles throughout the day. This allows you to use more of your muscle fibers during exercise, which essentially makes you stronger.

But what if I’m a morning person?

Your sleep schedule can also affect exercise performance.

This describes your natural inclination toward sleep and wakefulness during certain parts of the day – basically whether you’re a “morning person” (“early bird”), or feel more productive and alert in the evening (“night owl”).

Research shows that night owls who exercise late do significantly worse when exercising in the morning than people with early chronotypes.

Although we don’t know why this is, it may be that night owls experience small fluctuations in hormones and temperature throughout the day – although this is just speculation.

Interestingly, sleep deprivation has a greater impact on physical performance in the afternoon than in the morning. So if you’re staying up late and not getting enough sleep, it may actually be easier for you to exercise the next morning than the next afternoon.

So, does time matter?

Whatever the time of day, if you can feel yourself working out you’ll make progress – for example, increasing muscle strength and improving aerobic fitness and cardiovascular health.

So if you’re exercising to get bigger, stronger, and fit, time doesn’t really matter.

Additionally, motivation and comfort often suffer when we exercise. If you like to exercise early in the day and that works best for you, there’s no reason to change.

But you can adopt it if you need

If you have a sporting event coming up in the morning – and you usually train in the afternoon – you may want to prepare by doing some early exercise so you’re at your peak.

There is evidence that training more frequently in the morning can reduce the difference between your afternoon and morning performance.

Basically, your body can become accustomed to exercising at a particular time, although it will take a few weeks to adapt.

Finally, if you find that exercising too close to bedtime makes you feel too alert and is disrupting your sleep, you may want to try doing some more light exercise at night and/or exercising earlier in the day.