Physical performance peaks in the late afternoon and early evening.

(Knaier et al., 2022)

There’s always the question, “is there a best time to work out?” If you can target a specific time that increases your performance, you can train harder in the gym and perform better in sports.
 
Most world records in sports are broken in the early evening (IMO, this doesn’t say much since most sporting events are scheduled in the early evening due to television demands). But it’s also the time that the body temperature & alertness tend to be highest (hiddinga et al., 1997, Dijk et., al 1992).

Knaier et al., 2022, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 63 RCTs, investigated variations in maximum endurance and strength performance at different times of the day.

There was no significant difference in endurance type of exercise between different times of the day. In contrast, peak performance in strength and power type of training occurred between 1pm and 9pm.

Take-home points:
-Should I schedule my workouts in the afternoon and early evening? If it fits your schedule, why not.
-There are a few factors that can influence the timing of peak performance, including at what time you usually exercise and circadian rhythm. If you consistently train in the morning, you will be able to close the performance gap.
– I usually like to train in the morning and get my workout out of the way. It’s better to get the workout done rather than trying to optimize the timing and miss the workout.

Reference:
Knaier R, Qian J, Roth R, Infanger D, Notter T, Wang W, Cajochen C, Scheer FAJL. Diurnal Variation in Maximum Endurance and Maximum Strength Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2022 Jan