[Will]

So when is best to exercise or does it not matter?

Currently I can either exercise right in the morning before breakfast or in the evening after dinner. When is best? Sometimes I am hungry in the morning but generally after dinner it interferes with my sleep so what should I be doing?

[Chet]

Constantly varied

[Franz29]

If you work out in the morning, can't you chug a protein shake 30 minutes beforehand? Give you a bit of energy to be working with? Works for me.
I agree on the night thing though, if I workout late my sleep is interrupted, have to then have at least 90 minutes afterwards to come down off the high enough to sleep. Also make sure not to watch TV before sleeping after a workout, it keeps the cerebral cortex active and stops you relaxing for that much longer.

But as to the question, what Chet said - mix it up. Although I have to admit, I can either work out at 7 am or 8-9 PM and usually choose the former. If I workout late I am generally ruined for the next morning. Try out different times and see what works best for you.

[Chet]

Also mate, if you are working out after dinner, do you have something else to eat after training?

[Will]

yeah bedtime snack lol. why?

[KyleM]

FWIW in the old days before crossfit I switched a few times from working out in the morning to night and there was always a distinct, noticeable and consistent difference in my performance. No matter if I had my protein shake, amino acids, oatmeal and banana or nothing at all I just couldn't lift as much nor run as fast/far in the morning. Even still, I'm a fan of mixing it up as well.

[Gubernatrix]

If I had a choice, I would work out around mid-late afternoon as that seems to be where my cicadian rhythm peaks. However, work gets in the way of that, so after work tends to be best.

Like Kyle, I do notice a difference between morning and afternoon/evening workouts. I'm not really a morning person!

Anyway, my conclusion is that the best time to work out is whatever the best time is for you.

[Will Walshe]

Mornings? Never heard of them.

[Mister C]

One of the many great things having kids has done for me is to drag me, often kicking and screaming, into being a morning person. I now prefer to work out at 7am, then I'm good for the rest of the day. I'm never hungry first thing, so my morning routine is get up, cup of tea (Tetley Extra Strong for preference - inly caffeine I tend to drink these days), feed kids & cats, get my ar$e down to the shed for a workout.
Once that's done I really feel like I've earned my breakfast and have set myself up for the day.

[Schwinners]

I've recently started training first thing in the morning, which for me is 6 to 6.30am.

As I start work at 8 and commute, there are no local gyms open early enough, except Virgin Active which I refuse to go to! Gyms are busy in the evening, and the parks become overrun with yobs! So morning seems the best time.

I tend to wake up, grab a glass of water and some fruit (usually raisins), quick stretch, then walk to the park. So far, I've possibly not been at my best, but I think this has to do with me getting used to the early mornings. I have posted PBs on my 5km (this morning), magic 50, but not so well on others (like warrior challenges), but I think this will improve in time.

I felt better this morning having had some oats, protein, berries and milk shortly before bed time - felt more energetic. I will carry on with this and see over time if it does make a difference, or whether I just had a good night's sleep last night!

Agree with Chris though - training in the morning makes you feel like you've deserved your brekkie, and sets you up for the day. But as Gubes says above, go with whatever suits your timing, see if it works, and if not then try to rearrange.

[Will]

I tend to do it in the morning its just sometimes I wake up and I just need to eat because I am so hungry and if I don't I get a really bad stitch really quickly but I think I will try some oats before bed and see how that works out over the next week or so as the morning is much more convieniant

[BUSTER]

I have just started doing short workouts in the morning, i find it hard at first to get going but once i'm up it's cool.

Usually try and do a longer session after work at least once a week to top things up.

BUSTER