We’ve all been there—missed a workout and then missed the following day. While it’s easy to feel guilty about missing workouts, it’s bound to happen. But, should you go on with your exercise routine or try and double up two workouts in one day?
It really depends on your workout goals and if you’re an athlete training for a sport. The truth is that if you’re used to intense workouts, you’ll most likely physically feel the results of missing a workout. This is due to your muscle fibers. To put it simply, there are two types of muscle fibers, type I (slow-twitch), which contributes to endurance training, and type II (fast-twitch), which helps your body with high-intensity exercises and strength training. Even if you miss a workout, your type I muscle fibers continue to be used during your daily activity, but your type II muscle fibers start to break down.
If you’re an athlete, then twice-a-days can increase your strength, endurance, power, and muscle mass, while decreasing your body fat percentage. If you’re not an athlete, there’s no reason to double up. In fact, two-a-days can put you at risk for overtraining and injury.
In general, you should always listen to your body and be on the lookout for signs that it’s time to take a rest day. Know that when you miss a workout, it’s not that big of a deal and it’s even more motivation to keep to your training schedule.
