Benefits to Working Out Twice a Day

I’ve started working out twice a day this month. I used to struggle to get my butt to the gym just two times a week and now I actually look forward to it.

I’ve always hated going to the gym. I dreaded it and because I’ve always hated working out, I never found a regular pattern of exercise. I hated working out like I hate doing the dishes. It was drudgery.

In America, we often see these pumped-up overly driven individuals torturing themselves at the gym to look and feel great. These people are intimidating to even watch and you automatically assume that’s what you’re supposed to do too. So I’d sign up for tortuous workout programs, only to realize that I’m not the masochistic type. I don’t care about pushing myself physically, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you if you don’t either. In fact, it’s probably normal.

I derive no sense of accomplishment by holding a plank for two minutes. It makes me just want to give up and replenish those moments of misery with the joy of cheesy biscuits. But there is a middle ground.

As we get older, our bodies change and we need to stay in shape and preserve muscle tone. There’s really no other way around it and I like to eat. The typical American lifestyle is rather sedentary and our foods are heavier. We drive from place to place and sit at our laptops working all day. This wrecks havoc on our health overtime. I’ve gained seven pounds alone since moving back to America, hence the reason why I’ve become a gym junkie.

But, you don’t need to push yourself to the brink of passing out from pain to actually reap serious benefits from regular daily trips to the gym, or even just a run or mild thirty-minute walk. You don’t need to be a classic gym rat, and you don’t even have to declare yourself a fitness enthusiast. Just do your own thing!

I hate the bike at the gym. I can’t stay on it for more than 5 minutes without getting bored, so I always use the treadmill. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I want it to be over, but generally, when I’m working out it feels good now to be moving and to know that I’m losing weight and getting healthy. I bring a book, listen to music, and alternate between brisk walking uphill and running until I burn 300 calories.

The important thing is that just by going, I’ve reaped the following benefits.

Benefit 1: Boost In Memory & Brain Function

My memory over the past two years has gone downhill and for a while, I simply blamed it on aging.  But, I’m not that old. I shouldn’t be having memory problems at my age.

My short term memory was just terrible and I struggled to even remember some long-term thoughts. In some respects, this even started holding me back in terms of productivity.

And then I started remembering shit. I feel like George Costanza in that one episode of Seinfeld where he’s dating the woman with mono and he can’t have sex. George discovers sex makes him stupid, but after a dry spell, he suddenly recalls where he left his glasses back in middle school and starts immersing himself in books. My brain as well just kinda “turned on” again so to speak.

I’ve struggled to recall a particular hair product I used about six years ago, but it recently just popped into my head as clear as day. I finish an average of two books per week now and I can read and retain things a lot faster. I’ve found that I need to re-read things a lot less and I grasp things a lot faster which has done crazy things for my overall productivity.

I think working out two times a day goes hand-in-hand with eating better, eating less simple carbohydrates, and less sugars that potentially wreak havoc on my blood sugar and affect my cognitive functions. All these super productive gym bunnies we secretly love to hate are truly on to something.

Benefit 2: Significant Increase in Energy Level

I’ve found that I have a lot more energy the next morning after a night session and working out in the morning gets my blood flowing well. I don’t drink coffee or much tea. I can’t have caffeine because I’m hypersensitive to it and I’ll start having palpitations. My work has always been a slave to my low energy levels and I knew it was holding me back. Working out twice a day has done wonders for sustaining my energy levels and increasing my productivity.

Benefit 3 of Two Workouts a Day: Weight Loss

Of course, if you eat well and work out more, then you will lose weight. If you want to lose weight, then eating super clean and working out twice a day will do the trick.

Benefit 4: Increased Self Esteem

If you can’t work out twice a day, then one a day is just as well. One of my favorite benefits of working out twice a day is seeing an increase in self-esteem. It’s an accomplishment every time you go to the gym and if at the very least, you’ve accomplished this today. Somedays I feel terrible if I don’t get a lot done or feel like I’ve made any progress. Working out twice a day not only gives you a can-do-attitude, but it also improves your sense of accomplishment. It gives you more confidence to tackle the rest of the week and your day.

Benefit 5: You Actually Start to Like the Gym

It’s true. Your body starts to crave that extra movement and you’ll find yourself liking the gym. It becomes a healthy cornerstone of your lifestyle and this makes you feel pretty good.

Benefit 6: You Can Eat Bad Things Without As Many Consequences

Of course, working out twice a day doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want, but if you eat a 500 calorie cupcake and a bucket of fried chicken on your cheat day, then you’ll in all likelihood not gain any weight. Ordering room service on the road isn’t so bad if there’s a gym right downstairs! Maybe a 2000 calorie slice of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory is pushing it though…yikes!

So what if you don’t have a gym at home and don’t have the time to workout twice a day?

I’m only reporting from my own experience, but I’m pretty sure just making sure you fit in a workout just once a day is more than good enough to reap the same rewards.