I recently read somewhere that one can increase metabolism by exercising 2x per day. Anyone heard of this? I went to a strength training class this morning at my local YMCA and am thinking of going to Zumba this evening. Am I crazy??? Or am I onto something?

Living the dream!,

Laura

I sometimes walk in the morning and run at night. Or walk twice a day.

Just depends on how energetic I am feeling. NOT today tho!! LOL!!

Kelly

If you have the energy to exercise 2X per day, I say go for it. If you are doing serious weight lifting, you need to give your body a break, are you lifting to that extent? If not - enjoy and watch the pounds / inches disappear!

Weight/strength training and cardio are 2 different types of exercise. Cardio is for burning fat and strengthening your heart/lungs while weight training is solely to increase muscle mass which will, in turn, help you burn more calories at rest. I cant speak it's effectiveness in raising metabolism, but I do a cardio work out 5 to 6 days a week and add weight training 2 days/week for double exercise on those days.

Have you looked into burst training (interval training)? My trainer has me do this when I use the elliptical to help speed up my metabolism and keep it elevated for a longer period after I'm done working out.

http://www.draxe.com/burst-training/

No heavy lifting here! I used small weights in the class as it was my first time. I really liked it tho...I am going to try this twice a day thing for the next week or two and see what happens... It sure was fun. Now that I have a little bit of endurance and am not huffing and puffing all the time, the exercise is alot of fun. I love my ZUMBA classes!!

Living the dream!,

Laura

It can help you especially when plateau-ING. You can even break a regular 45 min work out in 22 min. 2x per day and boost your metabolism. It stokes the fire and can help your body release more fat/burn more calories for longer. Yay for you for having the health and energy to want to!! Joan

I think it's an ok strategy if you have an event in a week or two, but otherwise, I think it's a little excessive - assuming you mean challenging workouts rather than simply walking or something else low impact. Good pointers above on making sure your morning and evening sessions are different, e.g. cardio in the AM and weights in the evening, or lifting weights for different body parts in the AM vs. PM. Make sure you don't overtrain - your body becomes stronger during rest periods, not workouts, so excessive working out is not necessarily the most efficient way to go about fitness.