Most people who go to the gym regularly, including myself, usually work out for 45 minutes to an hour, three to four days a week. However, I have noticed that some people spend hours at a time in the gym. So, is the length of your exercise important? How long do you need to train each session to see results? The answers may surprise you.
How long should exercise last?
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Your ideal length of exercise, as well as how often you should train, will depend on a number of factors, including:
● Training experience
● Goals
● Age
● Time available for training
● Training style – for example, straight sets against supersets, whole body split against body part, upper / lower vs bro, and intensity of techniques
● Rest time between sets
● How much practice time is wasted doing other things like snapshots, checking social media and texting
● How crowded the gym is
Basically, this is simply too many factors to give an overall recommendation. That is true of training programs in general. Not all programs (or even all exercises) are right for all coders.
In addition, the length you work out reflects the quality of your training. For example, two lifters take two hours to complete a workout. Lifter X is an elite powerlifter whose training usually involves heavy lifting. As such, Lifter X requires long rest periods in order to regain strength before the next work set. If you’ve ever trained with heavy loads on the deadlift near your max one rep, you know it can take up to 5-10 minutes to fully recover and feel ready to try another drum set.
Lifter Y is your average lifter who hits the gym three to four times a week just to get fit. Lifter Y also takes 5-10 minute breaks between sets, always talking to friends; mindless retouching set after a set of cores, but without pushing anywhere near rep max.
While this is a tremendous exaggeration, it makes a point. Just because you’re in the gym for a long time doesn’t mean you’re training hard or you’re training effectively, let alone efficiently.
The truth is, you should be less worried about how much time your exercise takes than you are with using that time to work hard and recover from the last workout. That means adding weight to the bar, increasing the number of reps, or reducing the amount of rest you take between sets, to name a few methods.
The time to worry about the duration of your workout is when you have a severe time crunch. In that case, you need to make the most of every moment you are in the gym, a situation that requires techniques such as supermarkets, short rest periods, and / or circuit training.
Does that mean you can take as long as you want to work out, provided you have the time? Of course not.
Everything has a limit and just because you have three hours to train doesn’t mean you should take as long. The main goal in weightlifting is to stimulate (not destroy) muscles so that they have a reason to adapt and grow bigger and stronger.
Use the rest of your time to heal, relax, work and spend time with friends and family.