Are twice a day workouts good or bad?
This is always an ongoing question surrounding ambitious gym-goers and the people around them. Often times, people criticize others because they perform two or more workouts per day.
To be completely honest, working out twice per day can be beneficial or detrimental depending on a number of things such as the following:
- What is the person’s age? Are they young? Are they seniors?
- What is the person’s history of injuries? Have they ever had a major surgery?
- What is the person’s history of exercising? Have they been working out for their entire lives and are very in tune with their bodies?
- What is the person’s medical history? Have they ever had any heart issues? What is their family history?
- What is the person’s current fitness level? Are they a beginner to fitness? Are they a collegiate or pro athlete?
- What kind of workouts do they want to do? Cardio and strength training? CrossFit? Boot camp? Are they planning to work out the same body parts in both workouts?
- What is the person’s goals and why do they think they need two workouts per day? Is that person an athlete looking to make the high school varsity team? Or are they looking to lose a certain amount of weight by a certain time?
- How long do they plan to do this for? Two weeks? Six months? A year? Indefinitely?
- What is their diet like? Are they counting calories? Are they getting enough protein?
- How much time do they allow their body to recover between workouts? Are they doing their workouts back-to-back? Are they spacing their workouts out to the morning and evenings? Will they be stretching too?
- How much water are they drinking? A gallon? Two gallons?
These are all very important questions that someone has to ask themselves before they determine whether or not to exercise multiple times in the same day. These are not even all of the questions that one should consider!
Generally, many can’t handle two workouts in the same day. However, there are some people who can. One would recommend against most of the population doing two workouts in the same day, but it just depends on the goal and the person’s current and past health.
Recovery is extremely important when evaluating the ability to exercise twice per day because you do not want to get hurt, and exercising twice per day definitely increases your likelihood of getting injured. Working out twice per day is most likely not sustainable for the rest of your life but one could definitely have a healthy exercise program that consists of two workouts each day as long as they are smart about it.
They should not overly exhaust the same muscles each time and provide themselves with a strong nutrition plan in order to stay healthy. There should also be plenty of time to recover between workouts while maintaining a deadline of doing “double days”.
So can you work out twice-a-day? Sure you can!
But, as always, before beginning any new exercise program, especially one as strenuous as two workouts in the same day, always consult with your physician to make sure that you are healthy enough to perform this routine.
Below is a healthy sample of a twice-a-day workout program for optimal fitness performance and results.
Workout #1 – Cardio (6 a.m.)
- Running on a treadmill or outside
- Riding a stationary bike
- Using an elliptical
- Hiking
- Any other form of cardio
Workout #2 – Total Gym Exercises (12:00 p.m.)
- 30-minute circuit including the following six stations with 45 seconds at each station and 10 seconds of transition.
- Recover for 30 seconds between rounds.
- Make two rounds total and perform as many reps as you can during each station.
Station 1: Total Gym Chest Fly
- Sit up straight with good posture facing away from the Total Gym.
- Grab onto the handles, slightly bend the elbows, and start with your arms straight out to the side.
- Then bring your hands together in front of you in a clapping motion to complete your first rep.
- Repeat the exercise to complete the set.
- Remember to squeeze your chest together fast but to release slowly to the starting position.
- Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and then you repeat the exercise to complete the set.
Station 2: Traveling Push-ups
- Start in the push-up position.
- Perform your push-up, then laterally “walk” both hands one direction into the next push-up.
- Do five push-ups in one direction, then laterally walk both hands and perform five push-ups into the other direction.
Station 3: Single Leg Hurdler’s Drill
- Stand behind one end of a bench anywhere between 12 – 30 inches high while balancing and hopping on the left leg.
- You can also use a chair or a coffee table.
- Raise the right leg in the air and “clear” the top of your bench, moving the right foot from the left side to the right side of the bench, going back and forth and still hopping on the left leg.
- Switch legs on the second round of the circuit.
Station 4: Standing 3 Point Leg Swings
- With core engaged, balance on right foot and swing left leg forward as high as possible until you feel a stretch and engagement of the core.
- Draw the left leg back into the starting position without touching the ground, then immediately swing the leg out to side until you feel a stretch in the inner and outer thighs, glutes, and obliques.
- Return left leg to starting position without touching the floor, then swing the left leg backwards as high as possible, engaging the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
- Repeat the entire sequence as fluidly as possible, perform all reps on one side before switching and repeating with opposite leg.
Station 5: Step-up Knee Raises
- Stand beside a sturdy weight-room bench with the right foot on the bench and the left foot on the floor.
- Keeping the right foot stationary, pull yourself up, raising the left knee in the air.
- Return to the starting position.
- Switch sides halfway through the allotted time.
- Switch legs on the second round of the circuit.
Station 6: Total Gym Pike
- Place both hands on the Total Gym platform with your head facing towards the ground.
- Then place your feet onto the bottom of slider with your tippy toes while keeping your heels in the air.
- Your body should resemble an upside down letter “V” while you are in the starting position.
- While in this starting position, extend the full body outward so that you are completely straight, then bring the slider back in with your feet to go back to the upside down letter “V”.
- Repeat this sequence to complete the first rep and repeat the exercise to complete the set.
