Training twice a day

Dalius

Hi,
I'm not English, thus sorry for mistakes.
Recently I started training two times a day on Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun (only once a day - ride): early morning - short (~20-30 min) but hard resistance training, after work - ~60 min intervals on a indoor trainer (at the moment, due to much snow outside). The intervals always vary. Sometimes I do longer ride on Sundays, but my races usually last for about 1:30h.
So I wanted to ask for your opinions about that training program. So far I feel fairly well, it seems that my legs are getting stronger faster. Does anyone do like that, or is it better to avoid such combination?

jibberjim

If you only have time to do two sessions, then splitting it will cause you no problem. It doesn't matter a whole lot how you get your total volume, just that you get it. As long as the double days don't have you doing more than you're ready for, I'd keep doing it.

ut_och_cykla

I found doing two shorter (but not very hard) sessions on the turbo was a good alternative to doing one long session last winter - mostly less mentally wearing! I think as long as you are recovering and coping with the work you should be fine but there could be a cumulative effect after a few weeks - that you getvery tired/ an unexpected cold/overuse injury for example. Try varying the volume over the month - more some weeks than others etc?
Are you in Sweden BTW?

Dalius

Thanks for replies.
I am Lithuanian I always take a recovery week after 3 or 4 intensive weeks and I try to have a good rest between workouts. It's a good notice about boring long sessions on a trainer. Therefore I decided to do two shorter but intensive workouts.
Actually I am preparing for cross country races, MTB marathons, etc., therefore I included some resistance training to strengthen muscles

Herbsman

As far as I'm aware it's fine to split training into two sessions a day if its for harder aerobic intervals, muscular force / muscular endurance etc, but for the base endurance type rides it's best to do one long one

Zoomer37

Recently been doing around 2hrs out on the road each morning and 30-40 mins on the turbo in the evenings and really enjoying it.

If you have a good diet and a job in between thats not to physically demanding on the legs then its all good.

Dalius

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

Pseudonym

Dalius wrote:

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

that would probably depend on the intensity of the workout, but if you are able to recover enough to train effectively again the next day, there's probably no reason why you shouldn't do it.

Zoomer37

Dalius wrote:

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays have been my 'double days' and also done a few Saturdays, but the afternoon session then is normally more of a recovery spin than training time.

Boat load of protein, warm baths and Ibuprofen. Job done :twisted:

mrbrightside

I'm currently commuting which is one hour each way, with a gym session at lunch. feels fine...

As above though protein, protein, protein...

Herbsman

Zoomer37 wrote:

Dalius wrote:

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays have been my 'double days' and also done a few Saturdays, but the afternoon session then is normally more of a recovery spin than training time.

Boat load of protein, warm baths and Ibuprofen. Job done :twisted:

Ibuprofen? You mad?

bonkstrong

Ahhh, good old "Vitamin I" - we used to neck bucket loads of the stuff on climbing holidays to sort out sore joints and tips... then I got wise to that being a fairly bad idea. Worked a treat over a 10 days period though!! )

Zoomer37

Herbsman wrote:

Zoomer37 wrote:

Dalius wrote:

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays have been my 'double days' and also done a few Saturdays, but the afternoon session then is normally more of a recovery spin than training time.

Boat load of protein, warm baths and Ibuprofen. Job done :twisted:

Ibuprofen? You mad?

Yes I do take Ibuprofen every now and then. Sorry, my previous post reads like I sit there munching through a box of them after every ride. I dont. Had some recent issues with over working my knee and an inflamed sciatic nerve.

Would never take them before or during a ride.

amaferanga

I 'train' at least twice a day during the week: 40min L3/L2/recovery ride to work, recovery ride home, 1-2 hour proper training in the evening (turbo mostly at the moment). The key is to not ride too hard on the easier rides so it doesn't compromise your ability to get the most out of the harder sessions.

SBezza

Fairly easy to train twice a day, I do it a fair amount. Just need to make sure you fuel up adequately between sessions. That is if session are harder than Z2 session, shorter Z2 sessions wouldn't need much more than a normal diet to recover from each session.

Herbsman

Zoomer37 wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

Zoomer37 wrote:

Dalius wrote:

How often do you do workouts or how long do you recover before another "double day"?

Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays have been my 'double days' and also done a few Saturdays, but the afternoon session then is normally more of a recovery spin than training time.

Boat load of protein, warm baths and Ibuprofen. Job done :twisted:

Ibuprofen? You mad?

Yes I do take Ibuprofen every now and then. Sorry, my previous post reads like I sit there munching through a box of them after every ride. I dont. Had some recent issues with over working my knee and an inflamed sciatic nerve.

Would never take them before or during a ride.

Ha, I thought you meant for muscle soreness!

I took quite a bit after races for lower back ache. Not sure if it actually worked though because my back still hurt.