Compensatory Exercise

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sheps1990
sheps1990 Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Today I went over my goal and never did my usual one hour swim. Tomorrow I'm thinking of swimming for two hours to compensate. I've looked up about what to do after a binge or heavy food day and many sites go against compensatory exercise and suggest just doing a normal workout. Is it really that problematic to do twice the workout the next day?

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I wouldn't do anything... just do your normal workout tomorrow.

    One day without a deficit won't make that much difference in the long run.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,449 Member
    edited May 2017
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    Think about your weekly goals rather than daily. If you go over today, eat a little less the next couple days (or do nothing - it won't matter in the long run). Don't punish yourself.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Are you actually able to swim for 2 hours? Not many people can.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    dewd2 wrote: »
    Think about your weekly goals rather than daily. If you go over today, eat a little less the next couple days (or do nothing - it won't matter in the long run). Don't punish yourself.

    I'd just echo this.
  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    edited May 2017
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Are you actually able to swim for 2 hours? Not many people can.

    I stayed in a pool for 15hrs once and only got out because my parents made me (I was a teenager). I swam 1/3 of the time. I LOVE swimming.... It would be great for weight loss if I was willing to be seen in a swimsuit lol
    sheps1990 wrote: »
    Today I went over my goal and never did my usual one hour swim. Tomorrow I'm thinking of swimming for two hours to compensate. I've looked up about what to do after a binge or heavy food day and many sites go against compensatory exercise and suggest just doing a normal workout. Is it really that problematic to do twice the workout the next day?

    I think 2hrs is fine :)
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,676 Member
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    I can think of two reasons not to do it: 1) if you aren't used to that level of exercise, you could get injured or find yourself unable to do your workout the following day, 2) it creates a mindset where exercise is punishment, which is counterproductive in the long run. Exercise should be something you do because it feels good, not because you were 'bad'.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    sheps1990 wrote: »
    Today I went over my goal and never did my usual one hour swim. Tomorrow I'm thinking of swimming for two hours to compensate. I've looked up about what to do after a binge or heavy food day and many sites go against compensatory exercise and suggest just doing a normal workout. Is it really that problematic to do twice the workout the next day?

    I mean, personally I usually try to compensate. Not COMPLETELY (i.e. don't go swimming for 2-3 hours to make up for it) but maybe swim for your hour and then try biking for 30-40 minutes. Just a little something to make up for what was missed and maybe even activate some new muscles!
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    I can think of two reasons not to do it: 1) if you aren't used to that level of exercise, you could get injured or find yourself unable to do your workout the following day, 2) it creates a mindset where exercise is punishment, which is counterproductive in the long run. Exercise should be something you do because it feels good, not because you were 'bad'.

    Beautifully stated this is a long-term Journey not some short little quick thing. Never look at exercise as punishment. For this to work it has to be sustainable and one binge day is not going to ruin your long-term
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    Are you actually able to swim for 2 hours? Not many people can.

    Indeed. For me, in an hour I'll cover just over 2 miles. I'll not cover the same distance in the second hour so I'll probably just reach 4 miles.

    The same as anything else, going into that much of a step up is rapidly in the realm of diminishing returns as well as seeing form getting worse, leading to potential issues.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    The problem I see with compensating by exercising is that you may be pushing yourself past what is safe for your current level of training. It's one thing if you are used to two hour swims and you're just altering your training schedule and quite another thing if you've never done that before.

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