Napping 1h before workouts

[Torobestia]

Hey, AM. What's the word on taking naps an hour or so before workouts? Is there any science or long-term practical experience that shows this helps/hurts/is neutral?

This might all be dependent, too, on when you work out. Maybe taking a nap before you work out at 11am if you woke up at 6am might not be beneficial whereas napping at 4 before your workout at 6 might be. I fit the latter case - I was doing laundry, and I thought it was too early to go to the gym at 3am. I also felt tired, so I decided "hey, I should take a 30 minute nap. Why not?" I did, and I actually had an incredible gym session (after I took my stimmed-up PreWO).

Just wondering if this was a fluke or if this is something I should do more regularly if I feel tired before going to work out. And maybe there's really nothing to it.

 

[ponysteak]

This is purely anecdotal, but I used to have a job where I worked 6AM-3PM. I'd always feel dead after getting off work so I'd come home and eat then sleep (on the floor most of the time lol) for an hour or so, then take a dose of EC stack and hit the gym. I never felt it was any different than not taking a nap. But then again, this is just based off my observation.

 

[Geoforce]

I would say the most important thing is if it helps your workouts or not. If a pre-workout nap leads to a better workout consistently for you then by all means nap. If it leads to poorer workouts, don't nap until after your workout is done. I'm not aware of any real studies on this, but undoubtedly its a good thing if it improves your workout quality.

 

[Torobestia]

Yeah, I might start being more consistent about this, but I'll make sure to take short ones that don't interrupt my sleep. I'm just pretty tired these days during the week (no problem on weekends).