Has anyone done two workouts a day?

bluesheeponahill

I am thinking of doing two workouts a day, one the morning and one in the evening. the morning one is a gym workout class of one hour and evening would be a run on my treadmill at home for about 45 mins (including warm up and cool down). Would there be any issues with this? I'm keen to kickstart the weight loss. I'd make it more of a 90 min one go but I have kids and need to work around them.

estherdragonbat

A lot depends on your fitness level and workout intensity. (How fast will the treadmill be? Hill mode or incline? What kind of workout class?)

My cardio is mostly walking; I shoot for 2 hours per day, but not necessarily all at once. Today I had to be downtown for an appointment. I walked both ways, 90 minutes each way with a roughly 90-minute rest in the middle. When I got home, I did my strength-training workout (30 minutes to do lower body, plus 5 minutes warmup and 7 minutes cooldown stretches). I'm fine doing that, but I've been exercising for two years, the walking wasn't intense for me, and I waited about two hours after I got home to do the strength. For me at this stage? Perfectly fine. Go back two years to when I started at Obesity Level 3 and I probably could have done the walk one way at a slower pace. And I don't think I'd be lifting any dumbbells heavier than 8lbs, as opposed to the 25s and 30s I did today.

See how you do. And if it feels like too much, don't feel bad about cutting back till you're ready.

bluesheeponahill

thanks! I don't drive, so I walk a fair bit. my average walking per day is 10km when exercise isn't included, but it seems I am still too fat! (even my stomach agrees), I was thinking I might need a bit more of a boost while the holidays are here and it's most achievable. Once I've reached my ideal weight I'll take it back to once a day workouts to maintain that.

796fra

I hit the gym for weights and cardio in the am and attend an exercise class most evenings. Try it, your body will let you know if you over did it through soreness and/or exhaustion.

NorthCascades

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

thanks! I don't drive, so I walk a fair bit. my average walking per day is 10km when exercise isn't included, but it seems I am still too fat! (even my stomach agrees), I was thinking I might need a bit more of a boost while the holidays are here and it's most achievable. Once I've reached my ideal weight I'll take it back to once a day workouts to maintain that.

What you need is a calorie deficit. Exercise is a fantastic contribute because it burns calories and has all kinds of wonderful side effects. But the sad thing is it doesn't really burn that many calories, so most people still need to watch their diet too.

lorrpb

It sounds like you're doing zero workouts now, am I reading that correctly? If so, then start with one workout 3x week. Do that for a month, then add one more workout to your weekly schedule each month. Too much too soon is a recipe for burnout and injury.

bluesheeponahill

Doing one work out a day for the last two weeks plus my regular 10km walking throughout the day.

Keto_Vampire

Usually not a huge deal to break things up due to schedule (ex) cardio in the AM, weight lifting in the PM). Might want to consider which workout has higher priority though based on your goal(s).

Consider issues with recovery/failing @ progressive overload goals (say if you were doing 2 lifting sessions in one day there will likely be a compromise in intensity for one of the workouts...depends on energy levels/activity & eating times); less of an issue/more balanced if you were doing say a weight lifting session in the AM & a LISS session/aerobic activity in the PM.

MikePTY

Sure if it fits in your schedule. I used to when I had the time to but now it's a struggle with the schedule to get even one work out in a day sometimes.

Many moons ago when I played football in high school we had two 4 hour practices per day lol.

But make sure to listen to your body. You don't want to overtrain and injure yourself. Then you won't be able to hang workouts. If you are feeling like 2 a day is too much for your body, cut back on them.

bluesheeponahill

Thank you for all the advice and suggestions!
I was doing C25K for a while but stopped around 5 week mark for some reasons . Think I will restart that so I’m not doing it every day but 3 times a week and see how I go from there. I don’t want to burn out, but I do want to see results too.

fatmonsters

Good idea. Don’t overdo it based on your excitement for weight loss (I am kinda the same way). The best way to keep going For the long haul is to stay injury free. Even overdoing treadmill work can lead to knee irritation.

bluesheeponahill

For sure, I’ve already busted both knees at some point the last one was in September 2017 and it took until March 2018 to get it completely recovered. I’ve already broken a toe too 2 months ago (thank you children for leaving you things around) but I cannot stand being chubby. I want to get back to looking and feeling good once again.

scorpio516

Used to. Ran 5 mornings a week then 3 days a week at lunch, then 1 evening and Saturday and Sunday.

Then got a new job that killed my free time

pierinifitness

Take your pick - duration (which may include two workouts a day) or intensity because you can’t have both.

If you’ve got some training under your belt, I’d invite you to experience some training on the intense side. Short and intense, i’ve done duration and doubles, it’s time consuming.

janejellyroll

I did two workouts a day for a while, but it was for specific fitness reasons (I was training for an overnight relay race). It was fine because it was for a limited time period, but it was sometimes challenging to make the time and it required me to cut back on some other things that I was doing. It was also harder on my body than working out just once a day.

I personally wouldn't start my weight loss efforts with a plan that I didn't think was sustainable for the long term. For me, working out twice a day would be in that category.

ritzvin

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

I am thinking of doing two workouts a day, one the morning and one in the evening. the morning one is a gym workout class of one hour and evening would be a run on my treadmill at home for about 45 mins (including warm up and cool down). Would there be any issues with this? I'm keen to kickstart the weight loss. I'd make it more of a 90 min one go but I have kids and need to work around them.

I usually weight train in the morning, and run and then dance in the evenings. (My running fatigue is actually worse the day AFTER weight training rather than the same evening).

Tacklewasher

NorthCascades wrote: »

But the sad thing is it doesn't really burn that many calories, so most people still need to watch their diet too.

Just for fun, a couple days ago I did the math on this.

I'm 210 and run. In order to burn 3,500 calories (one lb of fat), I need to run 42.6km, or slightly more than a marathon. All based on Weight * .63 * .6214 (to convert to KM)

Some highlights from my spreadsheet.
210 42.6km
205 43.6km
200 44.7km
190 47.1km
180 49.7km
170 52.6km
160 55.9km
150 59.6km
140 63.9km

So, right now I would need to run 42.6km to lose one pound. My wife needs to run 63.9km to lose one pound. I'm not telling her this.

Kimmotion5783

Occasionally I'll do that (exercise twice a day). Once on my lunch break and once at night at the gym. Both cardio. There's nothing wrong with working out twice a day so long as you don't overdo it and end up injuring yourself. It depends on one's physical ability.

Sunshine_And_Sand

Back when I taught aerobics I often taught 2 plus classes multiple times per week without any issues. But I was much younger and fitter then.
Now, I sometimes do a yoga workout as well as a spin class.
It really depends on your fitness level. If you are new to working out, it may be better to start slow at first.

pierinifitness

I have a saying: “The cardio pony can build a stallion appetite.”

Another one: “The calories burned in one hour of exercise can be eaten in five minutes.”

I find not being as ravenous when doing short and intense workouts. Your mileage may vary.

GottaBurnEmAll

It's something, as had been noted, that you need to ease into.

As has also been noted, controlling your calorie intake is going to do more for weight loss than exercise will.

Becoming fit and active is, however, an essential part for many people of maintaining weight loss. So, getting into the habit of exercising now will be a good thing.

Saying that, habit is a key word here. One of the best ways of forming a habit is gradually introducing something into your life in incremental steps so that you have time to adapt to the changes and make them habitual.

A lot of people work out twice a day, or split one long workout into two shorter sessions, but no one starts out there. Trying to take on too much at once when you haven't been working out is a recipe for burnout and potential injury.