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.

It it sounds too much but I'm probably just as active most days with job and DC's hobby without actually doing any planned exercise so it's hard to say if it will actually do any harm. I do need down days though like today, I'm working this evening but spending they day doing precisely noting in preparation

@SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc I read a whole book on my recent holiday, bliss! Not been able to do that in yrs. I still can't read in car journeys though 🤮

@Allsweep @SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc I'm the opposite. I'm now obsessed with lifting, I would do it every single day, I have to restrain myself. It's my go to if I need a mental health boost. I am genuinely excited every time I get to train. This is entirely different to how I was 18 months ago before I found lifting. I would not have got why people would want to exercise, why they enjoyed it, why it made them feel good. And I tried all sorts.

So is it innate but I just hadn't found the right very specific stimulus? Or learnt? It certainly feels addictive and maybe that is to do with capacity increasing. But then my training never gets easier, just heavier. I love seeing the numbers go up though, love I can see clear progress and evidence I'm doing well. That is something I recognise in other areas of my life too. So maybe that is innate (or learnt through childhood experiences) so it was about finding the right stimulus? I don't know the answer but I do find it fascinating, and wonder why it shifted so massively, and seemingly sustainably. I expected the enthusiasm tail off, but it hasn't.

Really? On your lunch break?

I don't get the don't have time thing. It's not the lack of time, it's the priorities. People prioritise differently but there's no such thing as lack of time.

What do we mean by exercise? If it's walking 10k steps a day AND going to the gym to workout or do a class or have a swim then yes. Probably most days a week.

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.

I did lots of team sports & dance as child/teen/young adult. I would happily spend hours doing back to back street dance/ballet/latin classes or an afternoon of rounders/hockey but equally always liked down time/reading etc.

I still love the team aspect of exercise so I do struggle with doing a jog or stationary bike session as I do not enjoy it half as much. I would have loved to have been a professional dancer but risky money wise.

@gamerchick sorry I don't understand what your post about lunch break means?

Doesn’t sound too much. Well done you, wish I had your motivation. I’m a lazy git sadly.

You say most people socialise on a weekday . Sounds nice but I doubt my boss would be happy.

I exercise 2 sometimes 3 times a day on weekdays but not at all Saturday or Sunday. I walk the dog and swim everday run 3 times a week, do a tap, ballet and line dance class once a week each.

@gamerchick No, I said many people who say they have a social life would mean they also socialise on a weekday.
As I already said if you go into a restaurant/pub/cafe/cinema/museum/gallery/theatre etc on a weekday you won't find you're the only person in there. Have you experienced that?
And in all my years of working it's the norm to have work events/activities on weekday eg Thursday because people have other social commitments on a weekend.

I don't understand why your boss dictates your social life though...

@RayKray that's great to hear and fascinating!

Yea, I don’t know the answer. My bias is that I think an individual's attitude to exercise as a whole is unlikely to be innate. Certainly, immediate feedback (heavier, faster, further) is more motivating than distant goals like ‘be healthy’ and ‘reduce disease’. Long-term the most motivating experience is feeling good prior to, during and immediately after exercise - this is where a lot of people get it wrong. Too much, too hard, too soon.

Overall, we see in exercise science that there’s evidence for something called self-efficacy transference - gaining competence in one area of exercise leads to self-belief in other activities. So, as you get fitter and more skilled, you get enjoyment through trying more and new activities. But, it requires that you stick at something and make progress long enough to get fitter and skilled.

@peelyjuice yea, people all have what we call different ‘antecedent preferences’ for exercise i.e. liking/disliking group exercises, showing off/shying away, empowerment/damage, pride/honour/shame/guilt, competence/incompetence and interest/boredom. Often shaped by experience in PE class or elsewhere early in life.

Overall, we see in exercise science that there’s evidence for something called self-efficacy transference - gaining competence in one area of exercise leads to self-belief in other activities. So, as you get fitter and more skilled, you get enjoyment through trying more and new activities. But, it requires that you stick at something and make progress long enough to get fitter and skilled.

that's really interesting. When my dc are more independent I really want to try & do some new things eg photography/upholstery

I think that's definitely true. It gives you a sort of extra inner confidence too.

@SportsAndExerciseMedicineDoc your posts are so interesting!

I don't understand why your boss dictates your social life though...

Wut does yours let you out to go socialising during the working day like? because that would be cool.

@gamerchick what are you going on about?

Are you getting confused because I said weekday?

You know that a weekday just means Monday - Friday?

I'm lucky if i exercise twice a year 😂

I used to before I was married. I walked three miles to work, sometimes back too, and did a video workout in the evenings (Cindy Crawford's Next Challenge was my favourite). These days I just do two PT sessions a week and a pilates class.
my son goes twice a day. . At the gym before work then either gym again after, or kick boxing, or he goes for a run.

I think it's fine. People are freakingout about it being 7 days but it could be yoga in the morning and then a long walk with family or dog in the evening or a swim in the morning then a nice bike ride later.

To not think of a 2 kilometre swim as exercise is not within the normal range of what the majority of people would believe.

The only people I've heard of with such an extreme belief are people with serious eating disorders.

OP what is your BMI?

You would have to be eating, what 3000 cals a day to maintain weight on that kind of exercise regime?

No, but I have done in the past when I had more time. Never 7 days a week though as I need recovery time. I think the fact that one of your core choices is Pilates makes it more sustainable as it is low impact.

Recovery time from strength work, that is. I am not an expert but don't think recovery from cardio is needed.