Dear Coach,
When I have two workouts in a day. Which one should I do first? Does it matter?
-Double Day Debbie

Thanks for the question Debbie. In my opinion, workout order typically does matter. If you have two easy workouts on one day (like an hour easy spin and an easy jog) then it does not, but if you have one hard or particularly long workout and an easier workout, then you want to prioritize the harder of the two and do it first. For example, if I had a hard spin with intervals in addition to an hour run in zone 2 then I would want to do the spin in the morning when my legs are fresh and my energy is high. Then, I would run in the afternoon, treating the run as a recovery (or what I like to call a “detox” workout) in the afternoon.

You would also want to do the workout in the discipline that you struggle most with—either motivationally or form—first. Believe it or not, I struggle with swimming. Consequently, I do most of my swims in the morning so that I can get it out of the way and not risk skipping the workout or not be able to hit my splits because of poor form.

Of course, if time allows, you can always combine workouts and do them back to back like transition runs and bricks, which can save you time and the need to take two showers. Even in this case, unless specified by your coach or program, you would want to keep the same rules and do the harder workout first.

If you have a question for the TSC team, feel free to send it to [email protected]

Enjoy your training,

Chris and Kev

Words of Wisdom:
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Workout of the week:
Warm up 200 swim, 200 drills of choice (as 4×50), 200 swim

Main set:
4×250 as 50 build, 100 easy, 100 build 30s rest,
100 easy,
4×150 as 25 build, 50 easy, 75 build 20s rest
100 easy
4×100 fast
Cool down: 100 easy