Is exercising twice a day bad for your body?

If you’re chasing specific fitness results, you might be wondering if exercising twice a day will help you get there twice as fast. Once a relic of high school sports training, two-a-day workouts are now all over social media and even part of some popular lifestyle programs. But should two days be part of your training? Does exercising twice a day double the gain or double the risk?

Are there benefits to exercising twice a day?

As for the benefits of two-a-day training, “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 you through two workouts a day, you probably won’t be going hard enough in either one to optimize your progress toward your goals.”

To be clear, this does not mean that you should never exercise more than once a day. “If you’re too busy on some days to complete the entire workout at once, 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—although it would probably be better to do them on separate days if you’re serious about building endurance and/or strength.

But divide and rule isn’t your only option when you’re pressed for time. “You should also consider performing a shorter training with higher intensity rather than a longer one split in two,” suggests Thieme. “When you come down to it, training intensity trumps training duration.”

What are the disadvantages of two-a-day exercise?

Unless you split one workout into two parts to accommodate your schedule, working out twice a day will delay your progress rather than speed it up.

1. Increases the risk of overtraining

Your body needs enough time to adapt to the training stimuli that your exercise provides recover between them. “Pushing yourself too often can put you on the fast track overtrainingThiem warns. “That can not only get you to a. training heatbut you also increase the risk of injury.”

2. It reduces physical performance

Burnout caused by overtraining will include a reducing your performance during training. 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 the process of creating micro-damage in your muscles that triggers repair and adaptation processes that make you stronger and fitter than before. But overtraining prevents regeneration, recovery and muscle growth. If you are not building muscle efficiently, you will have a more difficult time reaching 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 two days,” says Thieme. “Besides, most people have trouble finding the 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 of overtraining as everyone else. That’s because overtraining “occurs when you push yourself too hard, too often for you fitness levelregardless of fitness level. No matter what your fitness level, overtraining will stunt your gains and increase your risk of injury.”

3 ways to reach your goals faster

“When it comes to fitness, more is not necessarily better,” says Thieme. Instead of working out twice a day, consider the following training ideas to train smarter, not harder, to reach your goals faster.

1. Focus on the quality of the training, not the length

As long exercise is much less important than as you exercise “As long as your workouts align with your fitness goals and you push yourself multiple times a week, you’ll reach your goals,” she says.

2. Prioritize rest

Days of rest they are just as important as your workouts and should be prioritized. Even if you’re taking a break from the gym, you should watch for signs of overtraining, such as increased fatigue, insomnia, decreased 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 dial it down recovery after training until your performance is back on track.

3. Increase your daily activity level

Daily exercise does not balance an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, it is necessary to be more active in general.

“Focus on increasing yours non-exercise 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 just be healthier overall, you need to pay as much attention to NEAT as exercise.”