Are twice daily twice a week workouts for me?

October 22, 2012 5:48 PM

Fitness experts, especially those with scientific background, I'm looking for impartial advice about a scheduling glitch in my classes. I'm a 44 year old woman with a BMI right around 24. I've never been athletic, but my functionality and appearance are important to me and I enjoy exercise in general. I do a boot camp style class in the evening twice a week, and an intermediate non-apparatus Pilates class twice a week. Starting in November, Pilates is scheduled for noon on the same days as Boot Camp in the evenings. How much will I loose/gain by doing two a days like this? I'm thinking of doing it and doing a light cardio/weights hour on Fridays. What can you tell me that my self-interested as business people instructors won't about this plan of action?
posted by rainbaby to health & fitness (8 answers total)

For the average exercise class, doing two in the same day is not much harder than only doing one. It doesn't significantly add to or detract from the overall experience; if that's what fits in your schedule then I would do it.
posted by anaelith at 6:00 PM on October 22, 2012 [1 favorite]

Boot camp is likely to wipe you out, unless you're used to doing 90 minutes of exercise. If you know you can sleep in on the days following, and/or have a good recovery/relaxation strategy in place, and have actually been exercising recently at this kind of level, I don't see any reason not to do it.

From a physical health standpoint, 60-90 minutes a day is often recommended for losing weight, and 30-60 minutes for maintaining, and ideally you should get 300 minutes a week, so.
posted by SMPA at 6:48 PM on October 22, 2012

I'd do a heavy weights day once a week, and then add in some cardio when it's convenient. Lifting heavy does more to make you stronger and fitter than anything else. I love Pilates, but weights are the real deal.
posted by Ideefixe at 7:55 PM on October 22, 2012

I think the only downside, aside from perhaps being really tired going into the boot camp class after doing pilates earlier in the day (and perhaps skipping it, if you're not really motivated), is the potential risk of injury due to overtraining. You just need to know yourself and back off if you start to feel something get tweaky.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:04 PM on October 22, 2012

I guess I'm worried about not getting optimal benefits from the boot camp class by being always fatigued going in, but I know I can handle both classes in a day, in terms of working through them.
posted by rainbaby at 9:08 PM on October 22, 2012

Rest, recovery work (walking, light stretching) and fuel/nutrition are all very important when you start 'stacking' workouts like this. Also drinking water.

Other than that, you should be fine.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:10 AM on October 23, 2012

I guess I'm worried about not getting optimal benefits from the boot camp class by being always fatigued going in

There are a lot of different values for "optimal" here. You will likely get different benefits than you would if all you were doing was boot camp and you had plenty of time to recover between workouts. In my experience with two-a-day workouts, they always really develop my endurance and my capacity for work. Individual workouts can seem harder when on a double day, but stepping back even a little bit (like at the end of a training cycle) allows me to see how much stronger I've become, and individual workouts often seem too easy. I would not be concerned about the schedule you are proposing at all.
posted by OmieWise at 6:22 AM on October 23, 2012

A Pilates mat class is kind of relaxing and not that strenuous unless it's an advanced class. Main thing is your recovery between workouts so make sure u have a nice protein shake after Pilates and eat a balanced meal of whole grains/fiber/ and lean protein before your boot camp to stabilize your energy. Try it out, if you feel u don't have stamina to finish then just alternate one day Pilates one day boot camp. Listen to your body. Make sure you get enough protein and eat enough throughout the day.
posted by Summer Fall at 5:32 PM on October 23, 2012