Training Twice a Day – What Are the Benefits of Doing Two Workouts?

With many of us leading busy lives, we don’t always have the chance to fit in the type of workout we would like. So, it’s not uncommon for people to split these workouts into two a day.

Splitting the training into twice a day allows us to complete our planned workout. So, is there a benefit to training twice a day? or should you stick to doing one workout every day instead of two?

In this article, we discuss the benefits of training twice a day and how it can benefit you in the long term. So, keep reading to find out more.

 

Training Twice a Day – What You Should Know

Working out twice a day is a great way to keep yourself from being too sedentary. Many studies have found that a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, weight gain, heart problems, and more. So, by workout out in general, you are reducing your chances of becoming unhealthy and ill.

However, for people that want to make performance improvements in their chosen sport, training twice a day can help them do that.

If you are in the gym, lifting weights twice a day allows you to focus more time on certain muscles in the body. This allows you to focus on the legs in the morning, and then core in the evening. It can also help you fit more cardio into your weight training plan. By using a second daily session to improve your cardiovascular fitness and increase weight loss, without taking time from your weight training.

Many studies have found that training twice a day in the gym can accelerate muscle growth, mass, and strength. So, to put it bluntly, working out twice a day will help you reach your goals faster in the gym.

For others that work out each day on the bike or running, adding a second training session can benefit you greatly.

Runners though must be careful about adding another run to their plan each day. Overdoing the mileage can end up in injury, and burnout. Instead, try adding an extra recovery run twice a week, and on the other days focus on strengthening your core, or some type of weight training. This will help your running, without putting extra stress on your shins, muscles, tendons, and bones.

Cycling on the other hand is much easier to add in a second session each day. Since cycling is a low-impact form of exercise, the body can withstand more. So, if you are a cyclist, try to add an extra recovery ride of 60 minutes to the days where you focus on intensity. On the other days, try splitting up your long rides into two sessions. It will greatly improve your recovery time in the long run.

Benefits of Working Out Twice a Day

There are many benefits of working out twice a day and these include:

– Increased volume of training
– Faster recovery (if done right)
– Increased strength, speed, and muscle mass
– Increased cardiovascular fitness
– Faster weight loss

These are all general benefits to training twice a day no matter the sport you are doing. However, each sport will provide slightly different benefits when doing two workouts a day.

Below gives you a rough idea of why you should start adding in a second training session each day:

Weight lifting
– More time to do cardio workouts
– Increased strength and muscle mass
– Can focus on two different areas of the body each day
– Faster weight loss

Running
– Provides time to strengthen your core
– Adds time to do running drills to increase economy
– Easy way to increase weekly mileage
– Builds aerobic fitness quicker
– Increases weight loss

Cycling
– Ability to increase volume easier
– Increases weight loss and builds stronger muscles
– Provides time for cycling drills to improve efficiency
– Ability to add in more specific sessions i.e. sprinting

As you can see there are many benefits. But the most common one is the ability to focus on two specific parts of your training each day. This can be endurance + core, speed + recovery, volume, and even lower body exercises + upper body exercises.

This gives your body time to recover while still giving you the ability to focus on another part of your body or fitness.

Even though the benefits of training twice a day may get motivated to start doing this, it is important to slowly build into it. That means adding an extra one of two training sessions per week, rather than just doing another workout on top of your regular one each day. By doing this you are less likely to get injured or burned out.

Weight Training Twice a Day

Doing weight training twice a day can be more beneficial in the long run than only lifting once a day. Studies have shown that lifting twice a day can help you build better strength and muscle. It also helps to speed p the process of weight loss, as your protein synthesis and anabolic output are increased.

Since working out in the gym twice a day is good, you have to be careful to plan inadequate recovery time. Working out the same muscles twice a day will end up causing issues of overloading, injury, and fatigue. So make sure you vary the muscle groups you are training when doing two workouts in a day.

Training twice a day also gives you an important opportunity to fit in more cardio, that you would usually have time for.

It is also wise to plan for a complete rest day each week. This helps you gain the benefits from training more than once a day. It also helps shed any built-up fatigue and soreness.

So, if you plan to increase your training time in the gym to more than once a day, make sure you plan enough recovery and focus on different body workouts. By doing so, you will start to see a rapid improvement in strength, stamina, and muscle mass.