Occasionally I'll have to do a harder workout in the morning. I've noticed that though my effort is the same as in the evening, my pace is definitely off. Am I still getting the same benefits if my effort is the same, even though I'm running slower?
Occasionally I'll have to do a harder workout in the morning. I've noticed that though my effort is the same as in the evening, my pace is definitely off. Am I still getting the same benefits if my effort is the same, even though I'm running slower?
Of course not. You stimulate your muscles less while expending more effort.
teller of truth wrote:
Of course not. You stimulate your muscles less while expending more effort.
Of course not is an overstatement. If you're expending more effort then obviously some part of you is getting a better workout. Like your heart for instance.
Your endocrine and your nervous systems get better "workouts" yes. Not what you want.
Time of day has a measurable effect on performance. For endurance sports, your peak performance time is somewhere between 4pm and 10pm, probably near the later end. There aren't any direct studies on well-trained runners that I'm aware of, but based on studies using swimmers and other athletes, the effect could be as much as 1-2%. This, of course, assumes that weather, wind, temperature, etc., are all equal. One factor appears to be efficiency of heat loss—your body is better at getting rid of excess heat in the afternoon and evening. Other factors, like your nervous system and hormone levels, also probably play a role.
So strictly speaking, the same effort should elicit a slower pace in the morning than the evening. This is partially why most world record attempts are held at night, though weather is also a factor there. I do wonder why there aren't any top-tier marathons after sundown, though—seems like you could go a lot faster.
So am I not getting the full benefits by running at a slower pace, though my effort is the same? i.e. it's a lot better to do workouts in the evening?
Economy/efficiency tends to improve as the day progresses.
Of course you have to take the weather into account also when measuring effort.
Why do we tend to be less efficient in the morning? I think a lot of it has to do with muscle tension. If your legs feel weak on rising and strong a few hours later, then that is a perfect example of what I mean.
Muscle stiffness generally equates to muscle springiness which generally equates to better fuel economy.
Too much muscle stiffness is a problem after a hard race or workout, but common sense will tell us that if our muscles are very sore, we should back of the pace.
Someone mentioned harder workout for the heart, which is an interesting point. In the morning we tend to have a greater blood plasma volume which means that the heart has to work harder to deliver oxygen. But this also helps us cope with heat/humidity. Have you ever noticed that sometimes, in cooler conditions your heart rate is much higher but it feels easier to breathe? If the weather is cool in the morning you can have a very good workout or race, but only with the appropriate warm up.
If you don't drink, eat or sleep for a couple of days, your "effort" will be the "same" when you run at a crawling pace. It's not going to stimulate your muscles or heart or anything important, just wear you down.
Always run in the best condition you can. Get used to pain by racing or doing hard workouts, not by abusing yourself in other ways.
That said, your body will adjust to morning workouts. How much it adjusts is individual.