Instyle.com reports two-a-day workouts (doing two workouts in a day, usually separated by a number of hours) aren’t necessary according to experts including HSS exercise physiologist Pamela Geisel MS, CSCS.

Generally speaking, Geisel doesn’t recommend hardcore two-a-days for the average person looking to improve their fitness. “Any bout of exercise is a dose of stress on the body,” she explained. Usually, the stress we experience from workouts is actually a positive thing that helps us get stronger. “However, too much exercise or too many other stressors (work hours, personal distress, new baby, new puppy, financial struggles, an upcoming move, etc.), tip the scale the other way and result in burnout or injury,” she added. As an alternative to working out twice a day, Geisel prefers if her clients focus on getting in one quality workout that makes sense for their life, rather than exercising more frequently to burn more calories or earn active minutes.

“If someone works a desk job for 10 hours a day, they could benefit from an AM strength session and a PM cardio or mobility session, since they may simply not be moving enough during the day,” cited Geisel, advising to start with just one day a week, and keep it low-key. She suggested choosing a moderate-to high-intensity workout earlier in the day, and then perform a lower intensity workout later in the day. “In between, be sure to refuel and hydrate appropriately,” she continued.

Geisel underscored the importance of understanding what purpose you hope to achieve with your workouts, how you’ll get there, and counseled against using celebrity social media for workout inspiration. “Anyone can portray themselves as knowledgeable on the internet as long as they look good in spandex,” she said. “You never know what else is going on ‘behind the scenes.’”

Read the full article at Instyle.com.