Abstract
Background and Study Aim. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding the relationship between daily training time, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance. The connection between daily training time, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance continues to be a subject of research debate. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate whether maximal strength performance is affected by daily training time routines.
Material and Methods. This cross-sectional study involved a total of 36 male bodybuilding athletes, who were divided into three equal groups (n=12); Noon Group, Afternoon Group, and Evening Group. The distinguishing feature amongst the groups was that they had been training at different times of the day for the past 6 months, and within each group, athletes had been training at the same time of day (Noon Group 12:00-14:00; Afternoon Group 17:00-19:00; Evening Group 21:00-23:00). A one-repetition maximum squat test was administered to each group with there being a 72-hour interval between the tests.
Results. The findings from the research indicate that there is a relationship between athletes' daily training time routines and maximal strength performance. Athletes perform at their best during the time that corresponds to their daily training routine. The analysis reveals a statistically significant advantage in 1-RM squat performance for athletes adhering to their daily training time routines at various times of the day (p <0.001). Notably, Group Noon, Group Afternoon, and Group Evening achieved their highest 1-RM squat performance when following their respective daily training time routines.
Conclusions. Results underscore the importance of aligning training schedules with athletes' natural rhythms, enhancing performance optimization strategies. It is believed that effective planning for training time by coaches and conditioning experts, taking into account competition times, would be a valuable strategy.