I should have gone with rock, paper, scissors.People challenge me to do stupid things and I do them. This was more a problem in my youth than now although The Primal Blueprint Challenge is evidence that I’m still swayed by peer pressure. (Disclaimer: I’m only saying the PB was stupid for me. I know lots of you love it and it is not a bad program.) Heaven help me when my kids discover that all they have to do is say “I challenge you” and I’ll do almost anything.
This predilection for idiocy was what found me one afternoon seated across from my burly hammer-throwing (who actually went to the Olympics but didn’t win) college neighbor about to have an arm wrestling contest. Being a gymnast, I thought I was strong and so when he challenged me to arm wrestle him, allowing me to use both my arms to one of his, I accepted. The stakes were too good: if I won – which I was sure that I would, much to the amusement of his roommates and the horror of mine – he had to let me drive his sports car. If he won, I had to give him a back massage. The end of the story was I ended up sitting cross-legged on his back (his back was so broad I couldn’t straddle it) working 100 knots out of his back and shoulders for an hour while his roommates tortured me with Sports Center. Ignominious defeat. (Actually the real end of the story was that my roommate ended up dating him and so she got to drive the sports car. Okay, the real end to the story was when my roommates lost another bet to him and had to serve him and his friend dinner in their bikinis. That they laced with ex-lax after stealing all their toilet seats. Which led to them stealing all our furniture. My roommates had the last laugh though when they stole their television remote. Ah, college.)
But, parenthetical ramblings aside, it might have all ended differently had we wrestled a few hours later! At least so says a new study that find that people whose circadian rhythms peak at night – a.k.a. night owls – get stronger as the day gets longer. While larks’ strength remains consistent throughout the day, night owls actually have a strength peak later on.
The study was a small but interesting one to me as I have often thought that workout timing was more a matter of schedule preference than a biological preference. Most fitness professionals tell people to work out first thing in the morning because then you have it done and are less likely to skip it at the end of a long day. You also have the added bonus of an early morning endorphin rush to start your day off right. But this may not be good advice for people who are genuinely a night owl. Researchers found that these people’s strength peaks around 9 p.m. Larks, however, showed no peak during the day but rather being consistent from morning ’till night. One of the study’s authors, Olle Lagerquist, said:
“Researchers don’t know whether this means evening people who are athletes are necessarily better off. Although night owls may maximize their strength in the evening, they are at a serious disadvantage if they have to compete in the morning. Morning people, on the other hand, would have the same average performance regardless of the time of the competition. Based on the findings, Lagerquist recommends that people who struggle athletically in the morning try going to the gym at night, as they may feel more awake and perform better then.”
As to whether or not this information would have helped me win the sports car, I am unsure. My most productive hours being between 9 pm and midnight, I’ve always thought I was a night owl but that may be more because that is when my children are sleeping rather than due to a natural circadian rhythm. After reading about true night owls – people who have such problems adhering to a normal daylight schedule that they lose jobs, have insomniac tendencies and have otherwise severely altered lives – I’ve decided I’m probably a lark after all. Which is probably for the best as I do 90% of my workouts in the morning and truth to be told, I don’t like weight lifting at night. I’m tired. Plus, I don’t like vampires and zombies.
Are you a lark or a night owl? When do you schedule your workouts? When do you feel you are strongest? Anyone else ever lost a stupid bet?
It's the age-old "work out at the time that suits YOU the best"!
Me, I'm a morning person. I like working out first thing in the morning. Then if I do exercise later on, it's bonus, but if I don't, it's all good because I already did my exercise for the day.
Exercising first thing energizes me. But I know lots of people who CAN'T wake up early and they prefer to get in some activity in the evening. Usually about the time when I'm nodding off 🙂
i usually work out at around 6pm, and i feel my strongest at that time. in the morning i feel like the kinks havent worked themselves out yet and not everything else is awake yet- but too late at night and im just exhausted from the day
oh yeah- HAVE YOUR BABY ALREADY!
I'm SUCH a night owl. To the disrupted-schedule point. And I'd noticed on my own that I'm stronger and better able to do workouts later in the day. I'm also hypoglycemic, so it takes a while for me to get going in the morning after hours of not eating overnight; a double strike against morning exercise!
Hmm.. I'm a total insomniac, and I do my best schoolwork at night- but I need to exercise before 3pm or so, otherwise I really won't sleep at all at night. I wonder if I'm actually a morning person who's convinced themselves that they're a night owl…
Also, university is indeed fraught with challenges and dares, many of which are not fit to be added to your family-friendly blog. Though I will say that undergrad seemed to have a lot more shenanigans than law school does.
No idea what I am; I'm tired all of the time. Guess it doesn't matter for me much.
Im 100% a lark but for the same reason as you mentioned toward the end: husband and daughter are slumbering–GUARENTEED.
The nighttime? Ive no confidence in when either of em will go to bed so I snag my me time (and my workout time) in the morning.
as far as strength? IM NOT SURE!
I havent lifted at night in, well, ever 🙂
I'm a night owl. With the insomnia and disrupted schedules and all. I prefer doing my workouts after supper, around 7:30-8 pm; not only do I have more energy then but it also forces me to eat a lighter supper, which is often the biggest meal in our house. But then I'm wide awake when it's time to go to bed because of work the next day…
That's funny, because I'm more of a morning person but work out best in the afternoon. My workouts are stronger and I'm more likely to do them if it's an afternoon thing!
I guess I'm just kookie. Wait, I already knew that! 🙂
Lark here, and I get larkier the older I get!
If I don't do my exercise in the morning, it doesn't happen. Don't know if it's physical or psychological, but I can't face it later in the day.
Definitely a morning person and love to work out in the mornings. I can work out in the afternoon, and I usually feel good when I do, but the motivation is just not there.
Morning person here! I used to be a night person, but I had a conversion called "become a doctor" 🙂
Lark here. From stories, I was born a night owl, but somehow converted.
I work out in the late morning-early afternoon. It's what feels right to me. (10-2). Fortunately I have the kind of schedule where I can do that.
Your college bet story had me thinking it would finally end with one room mate from each side getting married – sort of the ultimate challenge. Think I watch way too many romantic comedies.
I'm a morning person and work out in the morning. However, I do find that I am stronger and seem to work out harder if I do it in the evening. Unfortunately, that doesn't work out well with my work schedule, my tot, and my desire to be in bed by 9 🙂
I am not now, nor have I ever been a morning person. True, I get up at 5am for work, but there is no way I would ever exercise vigorously in the morning. I tried it several times, when I was really dedicated to losing weight, but once I hit my goal, that was it for the morning. I don't mind a nice, peaceful yoga class in the a.m. Stretching out the sleepy muscles is good. But beyond that, count me out.
Always have been a night owl, which worked well when our daughter needed several bottles of supplemental formula a day after she was born early. My wife could sleep at night, and I would use the time to give her the formula bottles. Everyone was happy. Worked well in undergrad, too. I did all my work at night in the studios when everyone else was asleep; no interruptions. It was most excellent. In the three years it took me to do undergrad, I had one class that started before noon. I showed up almost every time in pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers; Arthur Dent style.
I like to work out when there is the least chance possible for someone to watch me. This usually means after everyone in the house is asleep. The dog doesn't judge, so he doesn't count.
Strongest? It used to be late afternoon, but since I've been getting up at 5 am 99% of the time for the last 5 years, strength starts earlier. It's on the same time frame as before — when it was 4-5pm — but has shifted earlier with the work schedule and actually lasts longer, so that's a plus.
Lost a stupid bet? Many, many times. One of my favorites cost me my hair. Details aside (not "family-friendly"), I had to shave it clean down to skin. That was also the same night I met Matthew Broderick. Quite the impression I made, especially since I was walking around NYC with a shaved head and full 'stache and goatee. (Aside: I left NYC two days later (December 2001) and was stopped four times in LaGuardia Airport between the bus and the plane. Profiling much?)
Used to be a night owl – left to my own devices I would sleep til 3 and stay up til dawn. I remember in college I told my parents I wouldn't work at a job that started before noon. Funny how credit cards to their limit and needing to pay rent changes priorities.
I transitioned to sleeping earlier (midnight) and getting up earlier (8-8:30) about the time I started running and gave up most caffeine, but still preferred evening exercise after work. Oddly enough after turning 30 a few months ago I prefer my morning workouts to evening ones (though I can usually go a little harder intensity-wise at night).
Now, I'm up around 8-8:30 unless I fell asleep super late (and sleeping past 10 is VERY rare). Trying to get me up in an hour that starts with 7 or earlier is not usually very successful.
I like working out at night. I tried the work-out-first-thing-in-the-morning-thing, and it just did NOT work for me. I work out harder at night, and definitely feel stronger. (Plus, I think it helps me sleep better.)
This is why that one-size-fits-all workout/diet advice drives me crazy!
Night, but I am trying to switch to early morning running because that's when most races are.
On the topic of Zombies, I get out of my car by the beach last night to see a HUGE crowd of people walking down the twilight street towards me. They were talking so we concluded that means they couldn't be zombies, right?
I guess I am both.. Well, I am a morn person meaning I feel better then & think better then.. BUT, saying that, we have 24 hour gyms & I work out at some crazy hours so.. I can be considered both!
Oddly enough, I am a morning person, who wakes up early sans the alarm clock, but for some reason can't ever seem to get motivated to exercise early. I'll leave that one for the other 'early birds'.
I'm a morning person. If I were to work out in the manner of which you speak, it would be in the morning. But I don't. Work out at a gym, I mean.
I just work.
Hard physical labour.
Sometimes.
🙂
I'm a big time night owl. My best workout time is 10pm… (I love running at night, mostly because it's a great time to peep (j/k)) My natural body rhythm is to operate from 10am to 2am. I loved working swing shift in college and high school because it fit my body schedule perfectly. Those were the best days of my life (as far as health is concerned). The demands of a normal career and family have pushed me out of whack, so I operate from 5:30 am to about midnight, and my workouts are at 4pm. Less old people at the gym in the afternoon, but more cranky 9-5'ers, getting their frustration out on some exercise equipment.
I'm a nightowl who flies in the second wind that incidentally usually blows through right around the kids' bedtime. Left to my own devices, I'd likely sleep from 3-10am as I get my best work down after dark. In college I forced myself to keep lark hours because even though I naturally tend toward owlish habits, I am far more productive as a lark. I work out in the mornings. If my day isn't mostly done by 10am I don't get as much done, even if I stay up late.
If I confine my arm wrestling challenges to the pm hours, as most college kids do, I'm sure I'd be more powerful and win. But who cares if you're stronger during a PM workout if you skip so many that you're weaker than if you just did an AM showing? What I like about this study is it's saying, "Do what works for YOUR body and YOUR schedule!" I hate people telling me what to do!
I am and have always been a night owl. I used to try to do stuff in the a.m. but was never successful… just like I tried to "run" and have never been able to keep that up.
When I was in college I realized I could go to bed at 9 p.m. and wouldn't feel right until 10 a.m.– or I could go to bed at 2 a.m. and would feel perky at 10 a.m. The amount of sleep wasn't the issue– when I slept was!
Right now I take dance classes for exercise and they are usually in the p.m. at 6 or 7. I have no problems getting through the workout, and in fact get a better workout than if I try for the a.m.
I'm working on trying to get a career that enables me to sleep until 9 a.m. every day… that would be "THE LIFE"!
I don't like to go to bed that late and I don't sleep in. Rarely do I sleep past 10. I find I am a morning person and most productive then.