If you’re chasing specific fitness goals, you may wonder if training twice a day will help you achieve them twice as fast. Once a relic of high school sports training, twice-a-day workouts are now all over social media and even included in some popular lifestyle programs. But should two days be part of your workout routine? Does it double the gain or double the risk to train twice a day?
Are there benefits to training twice a day?
When it comes to the benefits of two-a-day workouts, “there really aren’t any unless you’re an elite athlete,” says Trevor Thieme, CSCS. “If you have enough gas in the tank to get through two workouts a day, chances are you won’t be doing enough in either to optimize your progress toward your goals.”
To be clear, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t train more than once a day. “If you’re too busy to complete the entire workout at once in a few days, go ahead and split it up,” says Thieme.
You can also do some moderate-intensity cardio on the same day as strength training, or vice versa—though it’s probably best to do them on different days entirely if you’re serious about endurance and/or muscle gains. strength.
But divide and conquer isn’t your only option when you’re pressed for time. “You should also consider doing a higher-intensity, shorter workout rather than a longer split workout,” suggests Thieme. “When you hit them right away, training intensity trumps training duration.”
What are the disadvantages of training twice a day?
Unless you split a workout into two parts to fit your schedule, training twice a day is more likely to hinder your progress than speed it up.
1. Increases the risk of overtraining
In order to adapt to the training stimuli provided by your workouts, your body needs sufficient time to recover between them. “Pushing yourself too often can put you on the fast track to overtraining,” warns Thieme. “Not only can this lead you down a training path, but it also increases your risk of injury.”
2. Decreases physical performance
Burnout caused by overtraining will include a decline in your performance during workouts. What’s worse, the effects of overtraining can spill over into your daily life and include mood swings, insomnia and loss of appetite.
3. It negatively affects muscle growth
Building muscle mass is a process of creating micro-damage in your muscles, which triggers repair and adaptation processes that make you stronger and fitter than before. But overtraining hinders muscle repair, recovery and growth. If you’re not building muscle effectively, you’ll have a more challenging time reaching your goals.
Should beginners train twice a day?
In general, it is not advisable for beginners to train twice a day. “There’s almost no reason to do two days,” says Thieme. “Besides, most people have a hard time 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 are at the same risk to train as everyone else. That’s because overtraining “occurs when you push yourself too hard, too often for your fitness level, whatever that fitness level is. No matter what your fitness level, overtraining will stunt your gains and increase your risk of injury.”
3 ways to achieve your goals faster
“When it comes to fitness, more is not necessarily better,” says Thieme. Instead of training twice a day, consider the following training ideas so you can train smarter, not harder, to reach your goals faster.
1. Focus on the quality of the workout, not the duration
like long you train is much less important than HOW you train. “As long as your workouts are in line with your fitness goals and you challenge yourself several times a week, you’ll reach your goals,” he says.
2. Prioritize rest
Rest days are just as important as your workouts, and you should prioritize them. Even if you’re already taking a break from the gym, you should watch out for signs of overtraining such as increased fatigue, insomnia, reduced athletic performance, mood swings and a drop in motivation.
If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s time to dial back your training volume and intensity and activate your post-workout recovery until your performance is back on track.
3. Increase your daily activity level
A daily workout does not counterbalance an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. This is why it is essential to become more active in general.
“Focus on increasing your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which is all the calories you burn during the day outside of exercise,” says Thieme. “If your goal is to lose weight, or even if it’s just to be healthier in general, you should give NEAT as much attention as exercise.”
