Some very interesting recent studies have shown that there actually are "morning people" and "night owls". And our bodies are different.
This reminds me of the book Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. There's lots of talk about how such and such a knight had the power of "three men," but only in the morning or whatever. The book was published in the 1400s, so apparently we've known about morning people and night owls for a long time!
Herb's reply reminds me of a question that sometimes occurs to me. Even though many people swim and do exercise in early morning, I wonder if it is really good to do intensive physical exercises right after you just got up from a long night's complete rest? I mean, from the most restful 8 hours or so, to suddenly engaging the most intensive physical activities? :rolleyes:
Some very interesting recent studies have shown that there actually are "morning people" and "night owls". And our bodies are different.
Morning people have a fairly flat strength response across the day. They can hit the gym or pool first thing and they're fine.
Night owls, like me, have a strength response curve that's lowest in the morning and increases through the afternoon through evening. For me, morning exercise is difficult and painful. I imagine you're in that group, too.
Some very interesting recent studies have shown that there actually are "morning people" and "night owls". And our bodies are different.
Morning people have a fairly flat strength response across the day. They can hit the gym or pool first thing and they're fine.
Night owls, like me, have a strength response curve that's lowest in the morning and increases through the afternoon through evening. For me, morning exercise is difficult and painful. I imagine you're in that group, too.
That's why I just hate getting up early for early swim meets. :afraid::afraid: I swim just fine in the afternoon and evening. Do you have links to any of those studies?
As I recall, Racing Weight, the book Tim referred to, says that you need 100 grams of food before working out to get the max benefit from the workout. Or else you won't have enough energy. I don't seem to have much of a problem eating before I swim. If hell froze over and I was an early morning person, I'd at least eat a banana and some sport drink on the way to practice.
I just found an article that may be one Sharpsburger was referring to:
Morning People And Night Owls Show Different Brain Function
I never had problem swimming late in the day (anywhere from noon to evening). Occasionally I did get up 5am to go swimming, trying to become a "morning person", but that never lasted long, and I would be back to my feel-at-home late swimming. :)
Another factor is that I can't relax so much in morning swim than evening swim. In the morning, there is a whole day's work ahead, you would just want to finish in time so as not to be late for something important. In the evening, no time pressure, swimming is a great way to end a busy day.
Perhaps the morning swimmers do not need relaxation from swimming? :rolleyes:
That's why I just hate getting up early for early swim meets. :afraid::afraid: I swim just fine in the afternoon and evening. Do you have links to any of those studies?
As I recall, Racing Weight, the book Tim referred to, says that you need 100 grams of food before working out to get the max benefit from the workout. Or else you won't have enough energy. I don't seem to have much of a problem eating before I swim. If hell froze over and I was an early morning person, I'd at least eat a banana and some sport drink on the way to practice.
I consider myself a morning person and have no trouble working out in the morning. I eat breakfast before I work out. However, I also swim faster later in the day, it's just a fact. So for morning meets, I drink 16-24 ounces of coffee. I normally don't drink coffee so the effect is significant.:weightlifter:
If I let my body do what it wants, I'll go to bed around 1:00 a.m. and get up about 9:00 a.m.
Yep, that's my natural rhythm as well. I had a chance to test this out when school was cancelled for a 10 day period, and that was my sleep schedule. Otherwise, I'm forced to get up at 7:30, which isn't that bad. I've forbidden my kid to attend 4:45 practices, at least if I am the intended driver. My body just can't hack it. I don't think it's particularly swell for her either, as teenagers tend to stay up late naturally.
I just found an article that may be one Sharpsburger was referring to:
Morning People And Night Owls Show Different Brain Function
I never had problem swimming late in the day (anywhere from noon to evening). Occasionally I did get up 5am to go swimming, trying to become a "morning person", but that never lasted long, and I would be back to my feel-at-home late swimming. :)
Another factor is that I can't relax so much in morning swim than evening swim. In the morning, there is a whole day's work ahead, you would just want to finish in time so as not to be late for something important. In the evening, no time pressure, swimming is a great way to end a busy day.
Perhaps the morning swimmers do not need relaxation from swimming? :rolleyes:
That's the one I would have linked to, specifically this part:
Using magnetic resonance imaging-guided brain stimulation, scientists tested muscle torque and the excitability of pathways through the spinal cord and brain. They found that morning people's brains were most excitable at 9 a.m. This slowly decreased through the day. It was the polar opposite for evening people, whose brains were most excitable at 9 p.m.
Other major findings:
Evening people became physically stronger throughout the day, but the maximum amount of force morning people could produce remained the same.
I tried working out in the morning for a while, and just couldn't. As a kid, for a time I was forced to do morning and evening swims -- the morning swims in an unheated outdoor pool, no less -- and it was extremely difficult for me, and I absolutely hated it.
If I let my body do what it wants, I'll go to bed around 1:00 a.m. and get up about 9:00 a.m. Once I'm trained to it, it's pretty easy to sleep from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., but I just cannot make my body perform in a workout during the morning.
I am a morning person to a ridiculous degree - usually wake up at 4 AM without an alarm, absolutely bouncing off the walls to go. I can't eat, however, before my 5 am swim - It's just too upsetting to my stomach. I do drink about a quart of water on the way to the Y, though. If I have a long open water race in the AM, I've found that eating 1 or 2 PROTEIN bars (not carb/energy bars) no later than 2 hours before a race is tolerable. The protein seems to help keep the blood sugar level whereas the carb bars seem to provoke a blood sugar rush followed by a drop and consequent sluggishness.
Your mileage may vary.
-LBJ
