Does anyone exercise twice a day?

[GymEnthusiast]

i exercise twice a day 7 days a week. I swim 2k or do a Pilates session in the morning. I then do a cardio session in the evening after work. I keep being told this is too much (mostly by people who never exercise) , but I spend the rest of my time sleeping or sitting behind a desk at work. I don’t have a specific goal, I only want to keep fit, healthy and slim.
Anyone else do twice a day sessions? Please share your routines with me.

To be honest, my priority after work would be family. I probably do find it a bit excessive that you delay going home every single work day to do a second exercise session. Before anyone jumps on me, I’d say the same about a male making the same choice.

.I would have an issue if my dh was doing this day in/day out, every single day. And if I then spent the same about of time out of the home on my hobbies we would have very little family time & couple time. I work & also have friends/wider family that I spend time with. It also gives very little room for spontaneity.

I have one DD away at Uni and one DS who is 17 who isn’t really waiting at home for me. My DH is usually home around 8 pm from work. So no one is sitting at home missing me while I am in the gym. I go to the gym with DH at the weekends. This is not about prioritising the gym over social life/ family time though we are not a family who sit in front of the Tv and never have been.

I am impressed you can find the time/energy. And I don't watch much TV either - less than an hour a week - and we have a cleaner so I am not doing that much housework either.

@GymEnthusiast I was replying to another poster & obviously it's a bit different if your dc are older however it's not the case that people who don't exercise twice a day are sitting watching tv. That's a weird assumption!

Does your DH exercise morning & evening every single day? Do you all eat together?

@peelyjuice , my DH goes to the gym mostly in his lunch break. I swim In the mornings and go to the gym after work. We do eat together, but we eat late. We always have done. My comments about TV was just what I assume people do in the evenings when they don’t do anything active. I sit still at work all day and then sit on the tube home on my commute for nearly an hour, so I think if I didn’t exercise twice a day, I wouldn’t move my body a lot.

@randomsabreuse I really liked your post.

I walk around 6 miles a day with the dogs (two walks) and Weight train three times a week for an hour. Compared to most on this thread it’s not a lot but partly due to other commitments and partly due to recognising that I need the active recovery days I had to cut back. I used to do Pilates, Yoga, Karate, HIIT and dance.

@oliviabonnet what are the ballet exercises that you do? I think that I would love to try ballet but unfortunately we have no classes nearby.

@GymEnthusiast as long as you can recognise when to stop and it’s working for you I don’t see a problem.

There are quite a lot of things that aren't exercise or watching TV!

@Allsweep , yes I am aware as I also do other things. I have plenty of time to. I am just responding the the posters who find it strange that I have the time to go twice a day.

I don't think there's anything wrong with it if you can fit it in, I'm just amazed that you have the time!

I don't watch much tv either, but housework, cooking, socialising and general life admin take up most of my evenings

But you did basically say that's what you assume people who don't exercise twice a day must do with their time

@GymEnthusiast so he exercises once a day?

I have a desk job but if I'm in the office & using the tube I can get my steps in as I do move from said desk & have to walk from tube/house etc. There's just no way DH & I could spend 2 hrs each every single day on gym or hobbies without compromising family time, us time & wider social circle time.

My comments about TV was just what I assume people do in the evenings when they don’t do anything active

I don't really understand the above. You say you have a social life so surely you are aware that the alternative to being active in the evening is not just watching tv?

@peelyjuice , I am in the pool swimmigg by at 6 am when my DH and DS are both asleep, so not compromising any family time.
There are lots of things people do which takes them away from spending time with family so I think that’s a different discussion to be honest. We are happy as a family how we live our life so that’s all that matters for us.

But I was asking if your DH spends the same amount of time exercising/on hobbies?

Do you come home after your swim?

I'm not questioning whether you are happy or not. I simply have said for my lifestyle & the ones of my peers it would not be possible for both partners to do what you do. And it's not because everyone is watching too much tv 😆

@peelyjuice , I probably spend more time exercising than DH, but he has his golf so I think it evens out. We both work from home a few times a week too and then tend to go to the gym together, so a bike ride or play tennis.

I don’t come home after my swim if I am in the office. My pool is next to my office so go straight there. I do at the weekends obviously, but I am usually home before the others are awake anyway.

I already explained that I go to the gym with my friend and sometimes with DS too so it’s also part of my socialising.

I go to zumba & yoga with friends but I don't class that as socialising as we are not chatting. We socialise after or before.

Anyway it's your life to do as you see fit.

@peelyjuice , i don’t count it as proper socialising either, but we chat in the car there and back which is nice and I would not generally socialise during the weekdays anyway so it’s just a bonus.

Anyway, title of my thread was asking for people who DO exercise twice a day. I wasn’t asking why people are not doing that.

I would also never go to the gym twice a day. I swim in the mornings. I don’t really count swimming as proper exercise eventhough I know it is. I have been doing it all my life, used to swim competitively when younger and it’s just a way for me to switch off now.

There are some good points brought up here.

‘I am impressed you can find the time/energy’ - if exercise continually sucks energy out of you, you’re doing it wrong. Almost certainly you’re choosing too high an intensity.
‘I simply have said for my lifestyle & the ones of my peers it would not be possible for both partners to do what you do’ - this may be true. Both of us train and activity is a key part of our life and our social life. We do activities with friends who are also active.

Lack of time is rarely the real blocker, especially if you take the attitude that all movement counts and exercise doesn’t just mean getting into gym gear, a drive there and back and an hour of intense training. In my case, it can be an hour on the bike trainer watching TV while negotiating with a teenage daughter about when she needs to come home.

On a day to day basis, being fit increases my capacity for non-exercise related work, helps me to do more with the family for longer and enhances my ability to enjoy more activities.

And, the data is stark. As we get older, we actually need to do more and for longer to keep our level of fitness. We see this regularly in metabolic lab testing. The average woman in her 40’s has a VO2 max somewhere around 30. This means that already everyday things like playing with kids, moving furniture or carrying groceries will start to become unpleasant. The world of things they can do is shrinking.

I would not generally socialise during the weekdays anyway so it’s just a bonus.

Fair enough but the reason some are questioning how you fit it in because for most people a social life involves socialising on a weekday.

@SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc the thing that comes across from your post and the OP's is that you really love exercise and it's a way for you to bond with others. That's genuinely good for you.

But for other people, they have other stuff going on as well. I am a trustee for two charities and a school governor, for example, on top of my full time job. I could give those up to exercise more but I don't want to. I also enjoy hobbies which aren't active - I like to go to the theatre and to read. Again, I could give those up to exercise more but I don't want to. I still manage to exercise 3-4 times a week and I am fine with that balance

Fair enough but the reason some are questioning how you fit it in because for most people a social life involves socialising on a weekday.

@peelyjuice Really? How do you know this?

Lack of time is rarely the real blocker, especially if you take the attitude that all movement counts and exercise doesn’t just mean getting into gym gear, a drive there and back and an hour of intense training.

We take the above approach that everything counts because we can't take the time to drive to gym etc every day. I was out yesterday with dc & did a ton of walking. DH normally does something on Friday but work was busy & he met friends after so he got off the tube early.

I got up early today to do a online body pump class today because we are off to stay with some family & it's a long car drive (nearly over!) & then tmw everyone will do a long walk.

Thanks @Allsweep sounds like you live a full life. Btw, I too like to go to the theater (cinema more frequently!) and to read.

One thing I do think would be interesting for future research is whether or not our preferences are partly driven by our capacity. So, as we lose fitness, do our preferences around how we prefer to spend time change. If we get fitter, do our preferences change.

@samthebordercollie as I already said based on my own experience & that of my peers.

Personally if I go to a pub/restaurant/show/museum insert any activity on a weekday there's other people there 🤷🏻‍♀️

I count housework and gardening as exercise. I hate spending time in the gym when I feel like I could be using that time and energy to do something productive.

I think they probably do a little but I think some of it is innate.

I have a cousin who just loves exercise - if she is stressed, it relaxes her. She has always been that way. After a busy day at work - and she is a surgeon so her days are really busy! - what she craves is a run or a swim or whatever. I am just not that way, I do exercise because it's good for my health but I don't enjoy it, at best it's neutral. If I have had a rough day at work, I want a cuppa and a good book.