Split Workouts or Two-A-Days

Today I will be doing a split workout or what in sports circles is called a "two-a-day" workout.  I don't do split workouts very often because I usually can't fit two workouts into my days.  I'm NOT an early morning workout person, nor am I inclined to workout after 8pm.  So, 95% of the time I do one workout a day.  Today, I have the time to do 2 workouts.

When I feel like I need an extra fat and calorie burning boost (or back when I was training for half marathons), I do a split workout.

The advantage of a split workout is that you will burn more total calories over the course (and after) the workouts than if you just do a total workout once a day.  For men, the advantage is increased muscle gains (muscle hypertrophy)over a shorter period of time.  If you are a body builder, or are lifting for gaining size on a regular basis then you can take more days off for total rest.  For women, we will burn more fat overall and we girls need that. 

There are a million different ways you could do a split workout.  I won't go into the intricacies of some of the diffferent ways.  I prefer to do my cardio for one workout and my strength training for my second workout. 

If you decide to start doing splits, keep your workouts to about 30 - 40 minutes each (this includes warmup, cool down and stretching).   Also, make sure you have 5 - 6 hours of rest between workouts.

A good way to incorporate split workouts into your regular routine is to do two-a-days once a week, do your regular routine the next day and take the third day off, resuming your regular workout schedule for the rest of the week on the 4th day. 

Give it a try!