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    Compensatory Exercise

    Posts: 26 Member
    edited November 2024 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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    Replies

    • Posts: 35,719 Member
      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.
    • Posts: 2,445 Member
      edited May 2017
      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.
    • Posts: 11,463 Member
      Are you actually able to swim for 2 hours? Not many people can.
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      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.
    • Posts: 3,307 Member
      edited May 2017
      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 :)
    • Posts: 3,771 Member
      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'.
    • Posts: 2,018 Member
      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!
    • Posts: 867 Member
      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
    • Posts: 7,865 Member
      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.
    • Posts: 4,925 Member
      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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