Killing yourself in the gym just because you had pizza or missed a day is a bad idea — it’s counterproductive and can actually push your goals further out of reach, according to fitness trainer Lera Logunova.
In a post on her Telegram channel, Logunova urged people trying to lose weight not to treat exercise as punishment for dietary slipups.
She said she decided to address the issue after seeing a social media post from someone who wrote that they had missed a workout, eaten pizza that evening and planned to train twice as hard the next day.
When twice-a-day workouts make sense
Logunova emphasized that training twice a day can be appropriate in certain situations. However, she said it should generally be reserved for experienced athletes who understand how to manage their workload and are following a structured training program with carefully planned volume, intensity and recovery.
Why “working it off” backfires
According to Logunova, suddenly increasing the intensity or duration of workouts out of guilt triggers an unhealthy mindset. Instead of viewing exercise as a tool for improving health and fitness, people begin to see it as punishment for eating or taking a day off, increasing the risk of burnout.
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She also warned that an unplanned spike in training volume places unnecessary stress on the body. During a second workout in the same day, technique and concentration are more likely to deteriorate, raising the risk of injury.
Logunova added that body fat cannot be “burned off” in a single day. Trying to compensate for overeating with excessive exercise is more likely to cause muscle inflammation, water retention and elevated cortisol levels than meaningful fat loss.
As a result, the number on the scale may even increase the following day, which can lead to frustration and a loss of motivation.
She also said the body may respond to excessive training by reducing overall daily activity as it recovers, leaving people sore and fatigued for several days and slowing, rather than accelerating, their progress.
A better approach
According to Logunova, eating more than planned or missing a workout on occasion will not undo months of consistent effort.
Instead of trying to “make up” for a lapse, she recommended simply returning to a regular training and nutrition routine without guilt or attempting to “work off” extra calories.
