Workouts twice a day?

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pettit62213
pettit62213 Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone. I am a new mommy so it's hard for me to workout more than 30 minutes at a time. I would love to be able to do an hour at a time but that's not quite possible with a 4 month old. My question to you is, would it be better to try and get two 30 minute workouts in a day or should I just stick with one? I'm new at working out and I'm just not sure what I should be doing. My husband got me a treadmill for Christmas so I've been doing C25K on it but I just feel like maybe I should be doing more.

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  • owen1826
    owen1826 Posts: 53 Member
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    Yes! You can even break it up into 10 minute segments of that works for you. But take it slowly at first to let your body get used to it while you build strength and endurance.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    It really depends on your goals.
    For the sake of weight loss - a calorie deficit is what drives weight loss, so you don't *need* to exercise to lose weight. It can help though.
    There is nothing wrong with 2 workouts a day if that's what you want to do, but you don't *have* to either.

    I would suggest keeping any exercise within whatever you are willing and able to do for the long term. Doing as much exercise as you can to drop weight can be problematic when you reach goal and stop exercising.
    If you plan to keep an hour a day exercise up, it wouldn't hurt to break it into 2 30 minute sessions.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    It really depends on your goals.
    For the sake of weight loss - a calorie deficit is what drives weight loss, so you don't *need* to exercise to lose weight. It can help though.
    There is nothing wrong with 2 workouts a day if that's what you want to do, but you don't *have* to either.

    I would suggest keeping any exercise within whatever you are willing and able to do for the long term. Doing as much exercise as you can to drop weight can be problematic when you reach goal and stop exercising.
    If you plan to keep an hour a day exercise up, it wouldn't hurt to break it into 2 30 minute sessions.

    This!

    Also make sure if you are doing two workouts a day, you're not tiring yourself out! Keep a routine that you can consistently maintain!
  • MaryGLamons
    MaryGLamons Posts: 1 Member
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    Working out is important for your long term muscle and bone health! It's not allllllll about the number on the scale. I'm so glad you're motivated and working hard. You must be really tired taking care of a four month old, so the first advice I have is concentrate on a healthy diet. Then, walking uphill on a treadmill will burn fat by keeping your body in a "fat burning" range. Walk or run as much as you feel you can, watch your nutrition, and you'll be able to feel yourself have more energy. Breast feeding burns lots of calories too!
  • pettit62213
    pettit62213 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thank you all so much!
  • Meaganmac16
    Meaganmac16 Posts: 23 Member
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    I know I am a couple of days late on this one, but just wanted to add in that I am currently doing the 21 day fix. I LOVE the workouts and the eating plan is SO simple. I am feeling fantastic (have been doing it since October 2015 and am down 16lbs and 16in.) and it sounds like the workouts are exactly what you are looking for. They are daily 30min. workouts in which each day is a different workout, so the variety is very nice. Definitely consider it as an option :smiley:
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    You can, but depending on what you do, it can be really exhausting, especially if you have a tiny human depending on you for everything.

    Maybe start with 30 minutes for a month to work your way into it, and then up it to 2-30 minute sessions. Good luck.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    If you exercise you want to exercise for at least 10 minutes at a time. After that, it doesn't matter if you break it up (to an extent, if you have a goal of running 30 minutes straight, then 3 10-minute runs aren't exactly the same thing, but will still help you reach your goal).

    As for does it make sense for you to do 2/day? It depends. Exercising the same muscles 2/day may be too much and you may not have sufficient recovery. Recovery is just as important as the exercise. If your 2nd 30-minute session is mostly legs it may lead to fatigue and failure to reach the 5k in C25k. But, you can always give it a try and see what happens.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,007 Member
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    Sure, I walk and hike at lunch most days and go to the gym 3 x /wk.

    Sounds like you're doing all the same thing though - if you're up for 30 min x 2 of walking, go for it, and if not, build up to it.
  • fitdaisygrrl
    fitdaisygrrl Posts: 139 Member
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    pettit62213 wrote: »
    Hey everyone. I am a new mommy so it's hard for me to workout more than 30 minutes at a time. I would love to be able to do an hour at a time but that's not quite possible with a 4 month old. My question to you is, would it be better to try and get two 30 minute workouts in a day or should I just stick with one? I'm new at working out and I'm just not sure what I should be doing. My husband got me a treadmill for Christmas so I've been doing C25K on it but I just feel like maybe I should be doing more.

    I'm a mom too and find it hard to find time to workout longer than 30 minutes at time. I'm doing the C25k too though and on non-running days, do a shorter strength training or low-impact cardio workout (HASfit over on youtube, 21 Day Fix dvd, Sparkpeople free videos, etc). Something to cross-train that isn't too daunting time wise.

    Oh, if you are home with your baby, and the weather is permitting, nothing is as awesome as getting out for walks with the stroller. That's how I lost my baby weight.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    If you are new to working out you don't want to start off too hard and burn yourself out. So 30 minutes is perfectly fine. If you get used to that and want more, a second workout is fine if you want one. I often run in the morning and do something else for a workout after work.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    If you are new to working out you don't want to start off too hard and burn yourself out. So 30 minutes is perfectly fine. If you get used to that and want more, a second workout is fine if you want one. I often run in the morning and do something else for a workout after work.

    pretty much this...

    and if you get into more intensive work and longer work, you'll be best to stagger two-a-days to allow for proper recovery.
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
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    I have been doing two workouts a day since my youngest was a baby. So 8 years now. When I was starting out I guess I really did not consider them workouts I just considered it a necessity. The workout was a 20-30min video usually or running on the tread, and the necessity was a hilly walk pushing the stroller. I never really thought of the second as a workout because I enjoyed it and to me it has always been a hard rule that we got out everyday. So I guess my suggestion would be to do your "workout" and for the second one make sure to start easy, and find something that burns calories while having some enjoyable time.

    Currently I walk/run almost daily, plus either weights or a video, really whatever I feel like. My body is used to it though. Start small so you don't get burned out.

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