Which is better? 1 or 2 workouts a day.

62 rep

MemberEugene, OR

I'm trying to lose fat and weight. I'm a 29 year old male, I weigh about 235 (down 5 pounds in 7 days). I just joined AF and I'd like to burn as much fat as possible. I can devote about 35-45 min a day to exercise at AF.

My question is this: Is it better to a) treadmill 35-40 minutes each night (9-10pm) or b) treadmill 20 min in the early morning then 20 min at night?

I guess a few bonus questions: should I run or walk uphill? I seem to sweat a lot more when I run vs a solid uphill walk. And second bonus: should I be focused mainly on cardio and not weights at this point? My only concern is losing fat. I am plenty muscular beneath my padding.

62 rep

MemberEugene, OR

I guess I should add that I know diet is one of the biggest factors and I've very much done a 180 with my diet. This alone is going to help me tremendously.

397 rep

MemberStreamwood, IL

I am a big guy who has had weight problems my whole life. Diet has been very important and has made or broken my successful weight loss even with consistent exercise. I have been successful with a light strength training in the morning, 3-4 times a week, and walking for 10-15 minutes several times a day. The strength training will boost your metabolism for a longer time than the cardio. But you still need cardio at least 20-30 minutes a day every day of the week. Also vary your calories, don't be consistent. Give yourself extra calories a few times a week to help keep your weight loss from plateauing.

Only you can learn what works best for you with regards to what time of the day or what type of exercise to perform during that time. I recommend figuring out what works so that when you want to go to sleep, you can. I can't sleep well if I do my cardio in the evening. I prefer early morning cardio and strength training in the afternoon or early evening.

I wouldn't take the amount of sweating into consideration, but for weight loss you want more consistent, light exercise. If your heart rate is over your 75% of maximum (220-age) you are getting into the cardio conditioning. Keep it beteen 60-75% for 20-30 minutes for best weight loss, otherwise you are burning more sugar (from your liver and muscles) and less fat.

Another important consideration is keep the weight off once you have reached your goal.
Weigh yourself regularly and don't let yourself get more than 5 pounds over your goal.
It is a lesson I've learned the hard way by yo-yo dieting and I hope my age and experience will prevent me from having to repeat my mistakes over again and again and again from now on.