I do a pretty intense cardio-kickboxing class every morning -- ive been doing it for about 9 months now and enjoy the heck out of it.

now, im looking to shed about 15 more pounds, and im looking for another challenge. my thought is to do 2 of the one-hour sessions 3-4 days a week...

my question is, is it better to do the two one-hour sessions back to back or do one in the morning, and one at night?

not sure which would be more effective...

thanks for any clarification!

My gut instinct is to say break them up. I would think you would start getting pretty tired in the second hour, back to back, and possibly not burn as much as if you were fresher. But ultimately, I think whatever works best for you.

R

Completely agree. Do what works best for you and you can fit in. I do think breaking them up would be most beneficial, because your metabolism speeds up for hours after a workout. But, if can also be a pain working out twice a day (showering twice for one thing). So, what works is going to be best for you.

i do remember reading somewhere that after 45 minutes, you're basically wasting your time...so maybe splitting it up is the way to go?

Not sure what you mean? Calories keep burning for the entire time you work out.

Not arguing, but just not sure what you mean? There are definitely benefits to splitting it, for continued calorie burn once you are done. But I don't see how it is a waste of time to work out past 45 mins.

some interesting reads -- evidently after 45 minutes, your body starts creating hormones and whatnot that can actually inhibit progress..

http://www.newbodytrainer.com/tips.html

http://www.efit-today.com/public/292.cfm

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...01084132AACLx7N

Thanks for the links. I don't take stock in those though, because I have proof with myself (I think BL contestants can dispell that idea too!).

The thing is, it is iffy finding reliable info on the internet. You can find anything (and I mean anything) to support what you want to hear, depending on how you enter it into Google!

Could be completely valid, but I just don't believe it. I do believe there are benefits to breaking up workouts though, throughout the day. I just don't believe it is detrimental in any way to work out longer in one shot, provided you are healthy. Chance of injury could increase I guess. It all depends on the individual, but the hormonal thing is not something I'd take stock in.

No doubt, working out and working hard is good no matter how ya slice it -- but there can be serious consequences to OVER training. i dont know how they do it on the show -- but i imagine, since they're there and all they really have to do is workout that they would probably workout 2-3 times a day, but with breaks in between...id be almost certain of that...wonder if anyone knows? Bob, jillian, you on here? j/k

Overtraining is different from working out cardio longer than 45 minutes though.

I think one has to train quite hard to actually overtrain cardio (although it is easy to overtrain if you are talking about weight lifting). I think you would be amazed at what the body is capable of. Just think of what the contestants are put through from day one! I'm sure, if they were at home on their own, they would never ever think it healthy to work out til they actually throw up. But on the show they do, and they survive! That's what trainers do for us: they push us past our fears. They know how much we are able to withstand, and it is more than we realize.

Sensible working out is a must, but it is not useless to work out cardio for longer periods of time if the body is not injured and no health problems prohibiting. Course, those same rules apply to working out any amount of time.

However, all that said, splitting workouts definitely has a lot of benefits so if that is what works for you, do it!

I work out 6 days/week, twice a day on 3 days, once in the early am and again in the early evening. Although I am able to handle 2+ hours of continuous exercise, I find that as I tire I get sloppier (posture, form, etc.), which significantly increases the chances that I will hurt myself. In fact, most of my muscle strains, twisted joints, sore back, etc., have come when I've pushed on in spite of being too tired.

I'll have to jump in and add my two cents' as well. Definitely break up your cardio on days where you double up. A good friend of mine who is a celebrity fitness trainer told me that the most effective second cardio is in the evening after a light dinner.

That way, you push your body into a fasting state earlier, and burn more through the night. Then he normally does a cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. This is what he does to help the gals who do fitness competitions drop body fat quickly, and it works for me when I can schedule my workouts that way.

If you're not already strength training, I would definitely add that before a second cardio session. If you're already lifting, I'd split up the cardio sessions.