I have heard many times that it is counterproductive to exercise for more than 45 minutes (1 hour max), but I do not see how it is possible to spend less than 1 hour. Sure, assuming one does only one or two exercises, it is doable, but I think a moderate routine consists of at least 4 exercises. For example, here is what I do on Mondays.
2.5 minutes rest between sets, 5 minutes rest between exercises. Dips (4 sets), military press (4 sets), barbell curl (4 sets), upright row (4 sets). I start with a 10-minute warm-up. To complete this, it takes me 1.5 hours. So, who are these people that spend only 45 minutes or less in the gym? What am I missing?
I spent 45min or less all of the way through the military. One of the posters here can confirm that because he used to make fun of me for it because I was bigger than him and he spent way more time
I also trained pretty much every day.
Also, training one body part a day and using about 4 exercises works just fine for many people.
This has more to do with your entire life style than JUST how much time you spend in the gym.
know guys right now who are in the gym 2-3 hours a day but haven’t gained shit (in spite if good genetics) because they don’t put anywhere near that sort of focus into their EATING.
That “less than 45 min or your t levels drop” is pure fucking bullshit. Don’t get caught in this type of questions, just do your eating, lifting, sleeping, and other things that don’t fuck it up.
[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
That “less than 45 min or your t levels drop” is pure fucking bullshit. Don’t get caught in this type of questions, just do your eating, lifting, sleeping, and other things that don’t fuck it up.[/quote]
Agreed, best not to overthink things. I remember when I first started, I was so worried about questions like this, thinking if I didn’t have 2g protein/lb BW I wouldn’t grow and a whole other load of bull shit…“You need a meal within 1 hour of lifting or that workout was a waste.”
I think less, know my body better, and have been making better progess with less stress in my life due to overthinking…haha
I’m always in a hurry that’s why I only train for 45 minutes or so every other day. I’d love to train for about an hour/hour and 15 min 5 days a week, but my at home time is more important.
[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
What does everyone else’s rest times look like?
OP you say you take 2.5 minutes. That’s quite awhile. And why 5 min in between exercises?
Not at all saying there’s anything wrong with this at all though, just wondering.
I don’t personally time mine, but go by what feels right, which usually is 1 minutes to 2 minutes.[/quote]
i was actually thinking the same thing. 5 minutes between exercises seems like a lot to me. if you do 4 exercises that likes 20 minutes of sitting around right there!
I tend to do 3 “big” exercises (squats/deadlifts/pressing/etc.,) and then two-three “smaller” exercises (cable crunches/curls/etc.,) and I’m usually in and out between 30-40 minutes. I try not to rest too much. If I’m doing a volume heavy workout that day I give myself around a minute or so between sets. If I’m doing an intensity heavy workout my rest periods are as long as it takes me to add more plates to the bar or get some water. I used to take much longer rest periods and I was in the gym a lot longer as a result, but I’ve been trying to really speed it up recently. I kind of have to really, just because of some other constraints here.
Three words: German Volume Training. You can be in, train, shower, and out the door in 45 minutes. But you can’t run that program forever. It is a nice change though. Say you have a “busy season” at work. Perfect solution to getting training squeezed into a tight schedule.
It’s defintely possible, especially if you pair a ‘big money’ exercise such as dips with an isolation movement such as curls etc…massively reduces idle time in between sets & it’s unlikely to hamper your progress unless you pair two exercises together that interfere with each other too much.
[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
What does everyone else’s rest times look like?
OP you say you take 2.5 minutes. That’s quite awhile. And why 5 min in between exercises?
Not at all saying there’s anything wrong with this at all though, just wondering.
I don’t personally time mine, but go by what feels right, which usually is 1 minutes to 2 minutes.[/quote]
Well, I am an ectomorph. I have read that ectos perform better when they take longer rest periods - i.e., 2-3 minutes vs. 60-90 seconds between sets, which, of course, means nothing because it is a generalization and different people respond differently. However, in my case, it appears to be true. I have tried different rest periods and for me, 2.5 minutes between sets and about 5 minutes between exercises works the best.
stop to worry about that, When I enter in the gym the time stop, I focus on what I should do and do it with a lot of intensity.
Make sure you do your exercices with energy, hey you are in a gym… the time there supposed to be hard but without checkin it
I could probably spend 45 minutes in the gym and see progress, but that isn’t how it usually goes for me. I work out in a crew that can range from just me and 2 other people all the way up to 7 other people. Days where we have 8 guys lifting together can be hectic, but I love the atmosphere. When the group gets to 5 or more people, we get two benches/squat racks, etc going instead of all trying to cram into one. Nobody gets to pussy foot around on those days.
I know a lot of people here love to work out alone, but the competitive atmosphere and the motivation brought with a small group is unparalleled for me. It especially helps that a few of us are getting ready for competitions. When you’re dieting down and struggling to make it through a workout, it helps to have people with experience on your side, motivating you and keeping you on task.
Don’t get feed up with this “stay only X minutes in the gym”, spend the time it takes for you to get things done with quality.
If you have 5 sets and 5 exercises for the day, do one set, rest, do another set, rest and so on. No need to rush things over because you are going over your time limit.