Two a days

Onedaywriter
Onedaywriter Posts: 324 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I went from 308 down to 195Lbs. I kind of went back to 202 because I felt weak at 195 and was happy there. But the snack demons were hard to fight off while home for COVID and I gained back to 214!

My gym is sort of open-I’m doing outdoor workouts for 45 minutes sessions of CrossFit style y 5x/week. But I want to burn more calories per day to shed the weight I gained so I’m thinking about running for a half hour or bicycling for an hour four or five times a week in addition to the gym thing. I’m 59 years old.

I’m afraid of burnout and/or injury. Does anyone out there successfully do two workouts per day? Any “mature” folks tried two a days?
Thanks

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I do two-a-days sometimes, usually as part of a specific training plan. For context, I'm 40. When I'm doing them, we're talking maybe 3-5 times a month.

    I would also be concerned about burnout or injury with frequent two-a-days with the goal of burning extra calories. I would find it easier to lose some weight by creating a small calorie deficit by consuming less food.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited July 2020
    I've been trying to do them, not always successfully. I do cardio (mostly rowing machine) six to seven hours a week. I've been working to add in lifting 3X per week on top of that.

    I don't always get all the lift done and some days I've missed completely. I go by feel and how my body is reacting. I'll be 56 in a few months.

    What I've found is that you really have to do the cardio lighter at least four days a week. I push pretty hard two days on the cardio. I like to do one HIIT workout a week and one AT (anaerobic threshold) workout. I also like to do one longer slow workout (like 90 minutes).

    I do think that if I didn't row so much, the lifting would be easier. Rowing is a fairly hard muscle workout as well.

    What I've found over the years from getting to know people in the rowing world that are way fitter than I will ever hope to be is that training load is dependent on history of training experience and how smart you are. Seems like, to me, just from observing, that is someone stayed fit all of their lives, they can handle more training. I, on the other hand, reach a breaking point. 3X HIIT a week and I'm either sick or injured in no time. I can do that like for 3 weeks or so.

    It's very individualized. I wouldn't add it in all overnight. Try one two a day for a month and see how it goes. Then, if well, try one more. But as Jane said above, it's more about calories. You can't outwork a crappy diet.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,937 Member
    Two a days are generally easier/less stressful for me if I use one of them for strength training and one for cardio.

    I agree that using exercise as a way to burn calories isn't the most efficient way to lose those 12 pounds. It's more about the food.

    I had to examine the reasons why I ate when I was stressed or bored or mad or whatever. I did that with a journal and I wrote about what was going on when I over ate.




    If hunger isn't the problem, food isn't the solution.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,413 Member
    58 female.

    Today’s schedule
    *Walked 6.5 miles
    *45 minutes weight training- a PR today, btw
    *60 minutes vinyasa flow class
    *1.5 mile walk (killing time between classes)
    *60 minutes Pilates class
    *May or may not do a 1.5-2.75 mile walk after dinner, depends on weather.

    Walk to each gym is about a mile roundtrip, too. Will have over 20,000 steps under my belt by bedtime.

    I do a variation of this schedule almost every day, except the weight training, which is usually 3-4x a week.

    I realize I may sound kind of crazy, but I enjoy moving. Have drastically increased activity during Covid to keep from going bonkers and because my mat classes have been shortened to 60 minutes and aren’t hot classes right now, so I can’t knock down as many calories in a class these days.
  • AwesomeSquirrel
    AwesomeSquirrel Posts: 632 Member
    I’ll often double up, but one of my workouts is yoga. Granted, it’s ashtanga yoga and pretty sweaty stuff but it’s very different from running or playing padel. For cross training from CrossFit I’d probably do bicycling rather than running since it’s lower impact (but having never done CrossFit my idea of what’s involved might be wrong).

    Can you fit in more non-exercise movement? If you currently drive for transportation, is it possible for you to walk or bike instead? I recently got an electric bike to replace public transport and I try to walk as much as possible, sometimes taking public transport one way depending on the distance.

    I agree with previous posters that looking at food intake is key in losing weight and will likely have a bigger impact than trying to burn large amounts from exercising. But I find that increased movement helps me be more responsible with my eating, regardless of the calorie burn involved. Probably because it reduces the time available for boredom eating or passive (snacky) hobbies 😊

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited July 2020
    I'm 60 and train twice a day sometimes - cycling outdoors and strength training in the gym typically.
    Like yesterday for example, 23 mile brisk cycle ride in the afternoon and gym in the evening.

    However, crucially I built up to that level steadily (over years) and have have maintained a high exercise volume for many years.
    That 40hrs of cycling a month plus strength training is good for me clearly doesn't mean every 60YO could and should be doing it. Same reasoning follows that just because other old farts do a lot more doesn't mean more would be better for me.

    Yes you should be concerned about injury and burnout, recovery does get worse with age. Be aware of building fatigue, aches & pains and take steps to address them way before it becomes an imperative. I have learned you do need to listen to your body even when you don't like the messages you hear.

    Overall please don't look at exercise as a weight loss method, yes it can help if done sensibly but you need to be focussed on both diet and training. You will also find your capacity for good exercise performance and recovery from that exercise can be badly affected by trying to lose quickly / having a big deficit.

    (Personal annecdote - when training hard in the build up to an important event when I also want to trim a few pounds about 5 weeks at 1lb/week deficit is about the most I can sensibly tolerate before clear signs of overtraining / poor recovery emerge. A smaller deficit when slowly losing my "winter fluff" has virtually no impact on my exercise performance.)

    PS - increasing your general activity can be a kinder and more sustainable way to raise your calorie expenditure.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,972 Member
    I've done 2 a days sometimes, since becoming fairly routinely active in my mid-40s (now 64). I'm not doing them now, unless you count back-to-back rowing machine & lifting. Physically, I'm quite sure I could handle it (with properly managed phase-in), but it would screw up my overall life balance (there are other ways I want to spend that time and energy right now).

    I'd second what others say about building up slowly, and limiting higher intensity to a condiment rather than a main meal as you ramp up, plus monitoring yourself closely for any signs of overtraining. As I get older, my performance hasn't so far degraded much, but my resilience under stress is not what it was decades ago. If I make errors in managing stressors - overdose exercise or calorie deficit, under-do sleep or short-change nutrition, in various combinations, for example - it has worse consequences than it used to, and takes longer to recover. In other respects, aging has been NBD (and I hope it stays that way :lol: ).

    I completely agree with sijomial about not using exercise primarily as a weight loss tool. I guess that works for some people, but it seriously wouldn't for me. Mostly, that's because I think activity should be enjoyable, and health-affirming, not some kind of grim duty. Also, for me, it's quick and easy to change my eating habits by a hundred or few calories daily, but adding equivalent exercise needs to be managed from a time and dosage standpoint, so it's more complicated. YMMV.

    As others have said, you might want to consider trying to increase your non-exercise activity: People report that adding up to a couple of hundred daily, possibly more, if they work at it diligently. It's not really something you can estimate and add into your calorie goal, but your body counts it, so it'll gradually show up in true TDEE and affect the scale. There's a thread here with ideas for increasing non-exercise activity:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

    Other than a little mind-share to figure out how to do it, it's close to zero cost, in terms of time or perceived energy.

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