You’ve heard about competitive athletes exercising multiple times a day, but can you work out twice a day just to improve your fitness? Two-a-day workouts have their place, but it’s all about being careful and intentional with how you incorporate them.

Understanding Two-a-Day Workouts

Some people wonder how often to go to the gym and if it’s safe to work out twice a day. The answer is—it can be! Working out twice a day can help you reach fitness goals faster, but only if you’re already working out regularly. Incorporating two workouts in one day is best for people who are already in very good shape and are looking to increase their fitness performance. 

Exercising twice a day doesn’t mean doing two intense, full-hour workouts back-to-back. If you typically spend an hour at the gym working your way through different circuits, that doesn’t mean you should then spend an hour in the morning and another hour at night. This could result in overexertion or injury. So, how can you work out twice a day safely? Split up your workout into two shorter sessions, allowing your body to rest in between. Planning and balance help you incorporate high-intensity exercise without burning out.

Benefits of Two-a-Day Workouts

The question is, can you work out twice a day for better results? Absolutely, as long as you’re careful about it. When your workouts are well-planned, you can enjoy several benefits. 

Higher Training Volume and Intensity

Two-a-day workouts allow for increased training volume and focus. By splitting your sessions, you can concentrate on specific areas or muscle groups in each workout, leading to faster gains. This approach lets you push harder and recover more effectively, avoiding the fatigue of cramming everything into one workout.

Increased Endurance and Strength

With this increase in exercise volume and intensity, you’ll see accelerated growth of your lean muscle mass. Your ability to focus on specific areas without excessive fatigue will benefit your strength, and spending more time per day working out will improve your endurance and stamina, improving your performance gains. 

More Endorphins

Daily exercise doesn’t just improve your physical health—it benefits your mental well-being, too. The endorphins released with exercise help combat stress and boost your mood, fighting the symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD. These endorphins also improve sleep quality, energy levels, resilience, cognitive function, and memory. Twice the workouts mean twice the endorphins, so you’ll feel the boost to your mental health.

Better Overall Fitness

Incorporating more movement throughout the day means less time sitting and staring at your phone—a very good change. Studies show the more time you spend sedentary, the higher your risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and all-cause mortality. Yikes! Interrupting your sedentary behaviors with physical activity has immediate and measurable positive impacts on your health, body, and overall fitness.

Risks and Considerations for Twice-a-Day Workouts

If there are so many benefits to exercising twice a day, how can it be bad to train twice a day? It all depends on how you train. Working out puts your body under stress, and increasing your exercise volume puts your body at greater risk of overtraining or injury. Pushing too hard or skipping rest days to recover adequately isn’t good for your neuromuscular system, increasing risks such as:

• Disrupted sleep
• Extreme fatigue
• Injury
• Mood changes
• Muscle and joint pain
• Reduced performance or endurance
• Suppressed immune system

Then, is it safe to exercise twice a day?

As long as you adjust the way you work out once you make the switch to two sessions per day, it should be safe. Balance is the key. Focus on recovery, listen to your body, and scale back if you experience any of these symptoms.

Structuring Your Two-a-Day Workout Plan

How can you work out twice a day with more energy? The key is to wait to introduce two daily workouts until you’ve been consistently exercising for at least six months. At that point, slowly introduce twice-daily sessions, one day at a time. Do higher intensity or longer workouts earlier in the day so you have the time to recover properly. A good rule is cardio in the morning and strength training later in the day. 

Try the following methods to incorporate two-a-days safely:

• Allow at least six hours between sessions with moderate or high intensity. This gives your body a chance to recover adequately.
  

• Incorporate lighter-intensity workouts, too. Alternate between high, moderate, and light-intensity workouts so that you’re able to recover fully.
  

• Don’t do twice-a-days for more than two days in a row at first. Give your body a chance to adjust to this higher demand.
  

• Take better care of yourself. Focus on excellent nutrition with increased calories after workout sessions. Stay hydrated at all times and improve your sleep time at night or with naps.

Is Working Out Twice a Day Right for You?

Exercising twice a day can be beneficial for people who have the time and motivation to do so. That said, you should consider your current fitness level and your fitness goals before deciding to pursue two-a-days. If you’re not sure whether this is the right choice for you or you don’t know how to begin, talk to a coach who can help you make a plan and achieve your goals.