Is exercising twice a day bad for your body?

If you’re looking for specific fitness results, you may be wondering if working out twice a day will help you achieve them twice as fast. Two-day workouts, once a relic of high school sports training, are now all over social media and are even included in some popular lifestyle programs. But should twice a day be part of your exercise routine? Does exercising twice a day double the benefit or risk?

Are there benefits to exercising twice a day?

When it comes to the advantages of training twice a day, “there really aren’t any unless you’re an elite athlete,” says Trevor Thieme, CSCS. “If you have enough gas in the tank to do two workouts a day, chances are you’re not working hard enough on either of them to optimize your progress toward your goals.”

To be clear, that doesn’t mean you should never exercise more than once a day. “If you’re too busy to complete all your training at once on some days, break it up,” says Thieme.

You can also do some moderate intensity cardio on the same day as strength training, or vice versa, although it’s probably best to do it on completely different days if you really want to gain endurance and/or strength.

But “divide and conquer” is not your only option when you are short on time. “You should also consider doing a shorter, higher intensity workout instead of a longer one divided into two parts,” suggests Thieme. “At the end of the day, training density trumps training duration.”

What are the disadvantages of doing two workouts a day?

Unless you split a workout into two parts to fit your schedule, working out twice a day is more likely to slow your progress than speed it up.

1. Increases the risk of overtraining

To adapt to the stimuli provided by your workouts, your body needs enough time to recover from each other. “Pushing yourself too hard too often can put you on the fast track to overtraining”Warns Thieme. “That can not only lead you to a situation training routinebut it also increases the risk of injury.”

2. Reduces physical performance

Exhaustion caused by overtraining will include a Decreased performance during training.. What’s worse, the effects of overtraining can spill over into your daily life and include mood swings, insomnia, and loss of appetite.

3. Negatively affects muscle growth.

Build muscle mass It’s a process of creating microdamage to your muscles, triggering repair and adaptation processes that leave you stronger and fitter than before. But overtraining prevents Repair, recovery and muscle growth. If you are not building muscle effectively, you will have a harder time achieving your goals.

Should beginners exercise twice a day?

In general, it is not recommended for beginners to exercise twice a day. “There’s almost no reason to do it twice a day,” Thieme says. “Plus, most people have trouble finding time to do one workout a day, let alone two.”

When you’re just starting out, focus on being consistent, not overzealous. Adding a second workout to your day can actually hinder your goals.

Thieme explains that beginners run the same risk of overtraining as everyone else. This is because overtraining “occurs when you push yourself too hard, too often for your fitness levelwhatever that fitness level is. No matter what your fitness level, overtraining will slow your achievements and increase your risk of injury.”

3 ways to achieve your goals faster

“When it comes to fitness, more doesn’t necessarily mean better,” says Thieme. Instead of exercising twice a day, consider the following training ideas so you can train smarter, not harder, and achieve your goals faster.

1. Focus on training quality, not duration

As long exercising is much less important than as you exercise “As long as your workouts are aligned with your fitness goals and you challenge yourself several times a week, you will reach your goals,” he says.

2. Prioritize rest

Rest days They are as important as your workouts and you should prioritize them. Even if you’re already taking rest days at the gym, you should watch for signs of overtraining, such as increased fatigue, insomnia, reduced athletic performance, mood swings, and decreased motivation.

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s time to reduce the volume and intensity of your training and adjust your post-workout recovery until your performance returns to normal.

3. Increase your daily activity level

Daily exercise does not counteract a sedentary lifestyle. That’s why it’s essential to become more active in general.

“Focus on increasing your Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT)which are all the calories you burn throughout the day without exercising,” says Thieme. “If your goal is to lose weight, or even if it’s just to be healthier in general, you should pay NEAT as much attention as you do exercising.”