Morning lifting

[MISSINGLINK]

just be careful lifting anything heavy that early in the morning, unless you are already up for about 2-3 hours. actually, even being careful didn't help me.

Can you please provide evidence for this? I get up at 4:45am and start lifting at 5am M W and Friday and have set numerous PR's in the deadlift, bench and squat. I am currently running the intense portion of the Full Smolov Squat routine without any ill effects.

[Baker]

Can you please provide evidence for this? I get up at 4:45am and start lifting at 5am M W and Friday and have set numerous PR's in the deadlift, bench and squat. I am currently running the intense portion of the Full Smolov Squat routine without any ill effects.

i used to get up at 4am & be starting by 4:20. I did this for about 8-9 months & injured my lower back 3 times, twice during warmups. i had pre-existing lower back issues so take that into consideration. the past 3-4 years i train in the evenings & have had zero (knock on wood) lower back incidents (& like you, am lifting more now than i was then). if you haven't had any issues, then maybe you never will. i just said be careful.

anyways, see page 6 number 4---> http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~mcgill/...adersguide.pdf

scroll down to "take it easy in the morning"....
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/articl...ealth+Magazine

[galapogos]

Tell me about the Spinal Synovial Issue.

I'm quoting from someone else here

Best Time to Train
What is the best time to train? First and foremost, when you can! However, research on circadian rhythms (your body's internal clock) indicate that
the summation of several important (anabolic) hormones peak at 3 and 11 hours upon awakening. What does that mean in plain english? Well,
according to science, if you wake up at 6:00 am, you are at your strongest at 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. And, according to Olympic Strength Coach
Charles Poliquin*, your joints (specifically, the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints) require about 3 hours to reach an optimal level of warmth
which will help improve performance while decreasing the likelihood of injury. Also, some people require a meal before training (remember to allow at
least 1 hour for digestion) to maintain adequate energy levels throughout their workout particularly in the morning; others don't. However, there is a
difference between ideal conditions and reality!Reality dictates that we train when we can regardless of what time it is. The important part is to get
your workout in. Today's lifestyle is quite busy and hectic. Many people have a tendency to jeopardize their workouts later in the day because other
priorities get in the way. For these individuals, I suggest working out first thing in the morning and getting it out of the way. Actually, some authorities
believe that training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will facilitate weight loss.

[Mark Rippetoe]

A common problem in analysis is the confusion of correlation with causation. Baker illustrates this nicely for us. Lots of people, all of whom are crazy as hell, train early in the morning without problems. Coffee becomes more important than testosterone in this situation.

[Polynomial]

Best Time to Train
However, research on circadian rhythms (your body's internal clock) indicate that the summation of several important (anabolic) hormones peak at 3 and 11 hours upon awakening. What does that mean in plain english? Well,
according to science, if you wake up at 6:00 am, you are at your strongest at 9:00 am and 5:00 pm.

It's not clear to me how elevated levels of anabolic hormones are significantly relevant to strength during a workout. During recovery - hell yes - but while working out?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Testosterone levels contribute to motor unit recruitment efficiency, through neural mechanisms that I am unqualified to explain. Acute levels of the hormone produce these effects, while chronic levels influence recovery through the more familiar mechanisms you recognized.

[galapogos]

I quoted the entire paragraph, but I really meant to highlight the comment from Charles Poliquin, since that's the part that talks about the synovial fluids.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Okay: "And, according to Olympic Strength Coach
Charles Poliquin*, your joints (specifically, the synovial fluid that lubricates your joints) require about 3 hours to reach an optimal level of warmth
which will help improve performance while decreasing the likelihood of injury. "

How is it possible that the rest of you gets warm but your synovial fluid takes 3 hours? Is it somehow insulated from the rest of your tissues? Does it not conduct heat as well as the other tissues, all of which have about the same water content? How would the same processes that prepare the rest of the surrounding tissue fail to also prepare the synovial fluid?

[Duck]

Interesting discussion from my point of view as I get up at 5am and start training around 5.45-6am. I do this as having a full-time job and three kids makes it near on impossible to train in the arvo/evening and when I've tried, far too many things get in the way. In the morning, it's done and dusted, then I go to work and relax!!!

All that said, it is a struggle at times and caffeine is my training partner! I have pinged the facet joint's in my lower back a few times, but I worked out that if I didn't do back extensions as part of my warm-up, I didn't have any issues. I reckon I would have had the injuries anyway as what caused them each time was fcking up a clean and a fckd up clean is a fckd up clean!

I'm also with Rip on the synovial fluid taking 3 hrs to warm up. What's that all about??? I would have thought that warming up your body in general and performing a few mobility movements as well as going through full ROM squats etc or whatever your doing that day with just the bar would get the fluid warmed up and moving nicely. How does everything else warm up, but not the fluid. I know that your spinal discs can take some time to re-hydrate after a night in bed, but a proper warm-up and avoiding things like back extensions too early wil sort that. I always do about 10-15 mins of warming up/mobility stuff before getting into my workout for the morning. Works for me anyway.