Train in the AM or PM?

I ride late all the time as I tend to get up at dusk. Seeing as I work nights and sleep by day I find myself riding at night in the dark. But I don't use a trainer and I go out on the road even in Winter.

konajoe said:

I am trying to build fitness after a season of slacking but my time is limited. I have been riding the trainer with tapes and TV, I usually start around 8:30 PM and ride from one to two hours. My question is this. Is there any evidence to argue the benefit of riding late in the day or early, around 4:15 AM???? Does riding at night aid recovery as I sleep right after I eat.

konajoe said:

I am trying to build fitness after a season of slacking but my time is limited. I have been riding the trainer with tapes and TV, I usually start around 8:30 PM and ride from one to two hours. My question is this. Is there any evidence to argue the benefit of riding late in the day or early, around 4:15 AM???? Does riding at night aid recovery as I sleep right after I eat.

Riding early in the morning is better if you're trying to lose weight. If you're out on the roads the traffic will probably be lighter too.

Riding later in the evening can lead to problems getting off to sleep properly for some people. If you're riding evening races (club 10's or crit's) however, then it's useful to be training at the same times of day as you race so your body adjusts.

konajoe said:

I am trying to build fitness after a season of slacking but my time is limited. I have been riding the trainer with tapes and TV, I usually start around 8:30 PM and ride from one to two hours. My question is this. Is there any evidence to argue the benefit of riding late in the day or early, around 4:15 AM???? Does riding at night aid recovery as I sleep right after I eat.

Afternoon. Your body core temperature is at its maximum at about 4.00pm. It is reported that a person is 11% stronger at that time than when rising in the morning. A Japanese study concluded that training in the afternoon produced greater Vo2 max gains than in the morning.

Most speed/power record attempts are scheduled at this time for these benefits.

konajoe said:

I am trying to build fitness after a season of slacking but my time is limited. I have been riding the trainer with tapes and TV, I usually start around 8:30 PM and ride from one to two hours. My question is this. Is there any evidence to argue the benefit of riding late in the day or early, around 4:15 AM???? Does riding at night aid recovery as I sleep right after I eat.

G'day konajoe, all the reply posts are what you might say correct, however it does depend on whether you are a morning person or a night time person?

I'm a early morning person as I was born early in the morning, l well that's what my birth certificate said. I always trained early morning, out on the road by 4.30am back home by 6.30 then off to work and start by 7.30am.
Winter and summer, rain hail and shine, mainly because I was married and the family demands were easier if I left early in the morning rather than late in the afternoon.

My mate on the other hand however always went out after work, he wasn't married and it suited him fine. I made a compromise and started to go with him for a bit of competition in training, training for racing is racing. That also worked for me too, so the choice really is what ever suits you, if you feel like early morning then get out and do it, but if you want to go later in the day then do it also. You'll find that whatever you do willl be beter than not doing anything at all?

Which makes sense, it depends on where you live and how bad the traffic is at a particular time of day on your training route, fighting with tin tops is not fun and can defeat the hardest trainer. Don't worry about it, Just do it?

Just keep the wheels in motion, and don't look back unless it's to see who you dropped on the last climb?TBC

Thank you for the input guys. Can HR be affected by the time of day or is that just a reflection of how tired I am at that time in the evening? The reason for the crazy hours is family and work constraints. Has any one seen the latest DVD from Spnnervalls Aero Builder I? It seems the gearing and the RPM coupled with the HR he wants maintained seems rather off, or I just suck.