If you work out twice a day, what's your routine? If you had time to work out twice a day ...

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distinctlybeautiful
distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
... what would be your routine?

With school starting up, I'm about to start work again, and with only one car, I'm at the mercy of my husband's schedule. That means dropping him off at 6:00am and picking him up at 5:00pm. I work from 8:00am to 2:30pm in the same neighborhood, and we live fifteen miles from where we work, so there's no going home in my free time. It's just too far to be practical.

Last year I would go to the gym in the morning and sometimes after work. My husband and I also go to the gym together after he gets off. We spend about an hour in the weight room, and some days we do a little cardio on top of that (jogging/running or the elliptical). I used my mornings and afternoons to do cardio and some stretching.

Now, I don't intend to be at the gym three times a day every day of the week, but I imagine it's going to happen, especially because a coworker of mine and a new friend have talked about wanting to go after school. I guess I'd just like to know what people think about how to split up workouts. Thanks!

Replies

  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Dont overdo it. Dont injure yourself, do recover properly. I always get lifting in first as I have most energy at the beginning. The rest is just pacing, bit of variety, bit of relaxation. I make sure i have adequate nutrition for each and have cooled down properly.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    It's fine. In several ways is actually better. How you split it is up to you. Sometimes for me it's cardio in the am and lifting in the evening. Other times it's legs in the morning and arms in the evening. But short workouts where I don't have to worry about maintaining intensity for 90+ minutes can be nice
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    About 3 days a week I lift for about an half hour in the mornings and walk briskly for about 4 miles at night. Works great for my schedule and fitness goals.

    Listen to your body though and rest as needed.

    Good luck with your schedule!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Ok some variables that I think about:

    - What time of day is best for me in terms of concentration (i.e. when am I more likely to be sloppy)? Some things are easier to do when you're still half out of it than others. Like for me, I can do stationary cycling at an "ebb" time (bc the movement pattern is restricted), vs. some other cardio where I might do something dumb bc my body's not really awake. Or resistance stuff, where it's important to focus on form.

    - What time of day is best suited to a given activity in terms of its effects on sleep? This doesn't matter for everyone, but it does for some.

    So with you - are you saying the logistics are such that you can go to a gym near your work in the morning, after you drop off your husband? And you want to lift with him after work?

    (Right now, I'm able to start the day with stretching and bodyweight stuff about an hour after I get up, and then either do cardio right after or later in the afternoon/evening. But your situation is different.)
  • RAmelia63
    RAmelia63 Posts: 32 Member
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    Don't worry about going twice. Just make the one time you go really count!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    If I had the opportunity to exercise twice a day, I'd probably do cardio in the morning and lift later. Lately I've felt like my evening lifting has gone better than morning lifting. Cardio feels the same no matter what time I do it.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    If I had the opportunity to exercise twice a day, I'd probably do cardio in the morning and lift later. Lately I've felt like my evening lifting has gone better than morning lifting. Cardio feels the same no matter what time I do it.

    And by the same, you mean awful, right?
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
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    Weekdays, I do 35 minutes of cardio in the morning, and 35 in the evening. Every other day, I do (light) weight training after cardio in the evening. I also have a 10 minute body weight routine that I used to do everyday, but got out of the habit (trying to revive it).

    If you need to split it, I like cardio in the morning, because it wakes me up, and makes me feel energetic. The first 10 minutes are a pita (doing anything at 6AM sucks, tbh), but after that it's great.
  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    If I had the opportunity to exercise twice a day, I'd probably do cardio in the morning and lift later. Lately I've felt like my evening lifting has gone better than morning lifting. Cardio feels the same no matter what time I do it.

    And by the same, you mean awful, right?

    Yep!

    Anyway, OP, I would definitely do cardio or a class (yoga, spin, boot camp) in the am and lift in the evening. Depending on where you live, and your interest, it might be a great opportunity to get outside and do something. Of course that's personal preference and based on some bro-science I just haven't gotten rid of yet.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    Every Wednesday I work out twice a day. I have Zumba in the morning and boot camp that night. Those 2 classes are only offered on Wednesdays and I love them both so much I just do them both.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
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    Thanks for your replies! Lifting was always going to be an evening thing.. my husband and I lift together, so that has to be after he gets off. It was mostly my mornings and afternoons I was thinking about. I've decided that mornings will be for jogging/running, core work, and stretching. We haven't worked core stuff into our lifting routine, so that'll be good. On the odd days that I'll go after work before my husband gets off, I'll probably just walk or slowly ride the bike.. I like that because I can read to pass the time. Anyway, thanks again! Work starts Wednesday, and I'll see how this goes!

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