Too much time in the gym is destroying your results

[FrankieTowers]

Hey!

A big mistake I see many beginners make is spending too much time in the gym. I used to do it myself. But that is one big mistake.

If you spend 2 hours or more in the gym, it's very likely that you are doing something wrong.

There are a few things to avoid in order to make sure you are not wasting your time in the gym:

1- The gym is not the place to make friends. If you go to the gym with the thought of making new friends, you don't have the right mindset in place. You have to go to the gym thinking you only go there to train hard and go out as soon as you are done.

If you waste time talking to your partners or the people you meet there, you are not going to see the results you expect to have.

2- Do not get distracted too much between series and exercises. I see many guys going one set and then they go walking and talking for 5 minutes and then come back. Come on! You need an intense workout and getting distracted too much like that is not helping at all. The same goes to the time you rest between exercises.

3- Leave your phone at home or in your car. This annoys me so much! I once had a partner that talked on the phone on every single workout. I didn't wait for him to hang up the phone... I just continued my workout just like I was supposed to and when I was done he was still talking on the phone. I quit working out with him after 1 week of seeing the same thing from him.

Please! Leave your phone at home or just leave it in your car or gym locker. It also gets annoying when someone is talking on the phone and lying down on a bench!

If you talk on the phone at the gym, please stop! It's not getting you any results and you are annoying people. Seriously!

4- Stop talking! There's so many people that talk so much in the gym. The worst part is when a group of 3 to 5 people gather to talk around a bench or machine you are about to use.

There was one time when I asked a group of these guys if they came to train their tongues or some other muscle... They stopped talking almost instantly

Avoid these 4 things and your workout will be much more productive and you will be less annoying haha! Seriously... Follow these 4 advices and you will see much better results in no time.

I hope it helps.

Frankie Towers

[bruteforce]

Not that I disagree with a whole of of what you said, but who are you trying to help with this?

Just to get some clarification around some of these points, can you address a few issues?

1. What is wrong with spending 2 hours in the gym? While I agree with the sentiment expressed by BendTheBar that if you can't destroy yourself in an hour, you aren't trying, I also know that implements training sessions can easily run 3-4 hours. I just want your take on time limits.

2. Do you allow more rest depending on training style? I need a good 3-5 minutes between sets of balls out squats or deadlifts before I feel it's safe to get back under the bar. Is this written with a specific goal in mind?

Again, in general, I agree with most of the stuff here, just curious what your take on the above points is.

[BendtheBar]

Just giving you my honest opinion, not hating or flaming.

Time in the gym chattering really won't hinder results. That's probably not in the top 10 reasons why guys fail.

If someone is dedicated, has a good workout, is eating right and focused on progression, then a few extra minutes between sets over the long haul isn't going to hinder results.

[Squatter]

What is wrong with making new friends? Heck, I met my wife of 17 years at the gym while I was squatting!.

I also do think you do not have the right to tell someone to shut up unless they are being rude or offensive.

I also take 3-5 minutes of rest sometimes. Call it instinctive resting if you want, but I agree with Brute as I am not going to get under a heavy squat until I am ready. I get siked up for the lift immediately before the lift. I have zero problems focusing on the lift. Often I will be chatting with my crew but it is usually about the lift just completed by a team member.

While I agree many people waste alot of time, especially when they are training in groups, but over time, if they are serious about training, they will learn to naturally pace themselves.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by FrankieTowers

There was one time when I asked a group of these guys if they came to train their tongues or some other muscle... They stopped talking almost instantly


Frankie Towers

If they were bigger than me, I'd let them talk


But, everything in moderation, no issue with people making friends, gassing whilst resting between heavy sets, etc...mobile phone for emergency purposes (it can happen). As long as you don't interfere with someone else's workout, it really doesn't matter. Making friends in the gym isn't really a mistake since you could bump in to someone that could advance your training by years, if only you'd taken the time to say "hi!".

[FrankieTowers]

Originally Posted by bruteforce

Not that I disagree with a whole of of what you said, but who are you trying to help with this?

Just to get some clarification around some of these points, can you address a few issues?

1. What is wrong with spending 2 hours in the gym? While I agree with the sentiment expressed by BendTheBar that if you can't destroy yourself in an hour, you aren't trying, I also know that implements training sessions can easily run 3-4 hours. I just want your take on time limits.

2. Do you allow more rest depending on training style? I need a good 3-5 minutes between sets of balls out squats or deadlifts before I feel it's safe to get back under the bar. Is this written with a specific goal in mind?

Again, in general, I agree with most of the stuff here, just curious what your take on the above points is.

I'm trying to help mostly beginners with this post as I said in the OP.

1- I have read studies that indicate that testosterone levels (unless juicing) are at an optimum level for a maximum of 45 to 60 minutes of a workout. So the closer you get to that time-frame with your workout, the faster your body will start balancing test levels again. On the other hand, if that does not happen, your test levels could suffer delay and so do your muscle gains.

2- It really does not depend on training style. When someone needs 5 minutes or more to recover from a set, it's highly probable that that person needs to work on stamina.

However, my point was not based on recovery from set to set. I was talking about going off to chat or get distracted for too long between sets or exercises.

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Just giving you my honest opinion, not hating or flaming.

Time in the gym chattering really won't hinder results. That's probably not in the top 10 reasons why guys fail.

If someone is dedicated, has a good workout, is eating right and focused on progression, then a few extra minutes between sets over the long haul isn't going to hinder results.

Yes, you are right. What I meant was chatting for too long. I have seen groups of people talking for as long as 15 minutes and not doing any training for that period of time. And disturbing other people from working out.

So not only would that group of people hinder their own results, but they could also be hindering other people's results.

Originally Posted by Squatter

What is wrong with making new friends? Heck, I met my wife of 17 years at the gym while I was squatting!.

I also do think you do not have the right to tell someone to shut up unless they are being rude or offensive.

I also take 3-5 minutes of rest sometimes. Call it instinctive resting if you want, but I agree with Brute as I am not going to get under a heavy squat until I am ready. I get siked up for the lift immediately before the lift. I have zero problems focusing on the lift. Often I will be chatting with my crew but it is usually about the lift just completed by a team member.

While I agree many people waste alot of time, especially when they are training in groups, but over time, if they are serious about training, they will learn to naturally pace themselves.

My point is wasting too much time chatting or making new friends and getting distracted from the workout. There's nothing wrong about it unless you do it for extended periods of time.

And you got a point... if they are serious about training. So I want to help beginners and people needing advice about their workout time so they can make the best out of each workout.

I replied to bruteforce about rest between sets and exercises...

Originally Posted by 5kgLifter

If they were bigger than me, I'd let them talk


But, everything in moderation, no issue with people making friends, gassing whilst resting between heavy sets, etc...mobile phone for emergency purposes (it can happen). As long as you don't interfere with someone else's workout, it really doesn't matter. Making friends in the gym isn't really a mistake since you could bump in to someone that could advance your training by years, if only you'd taken the time to say "hi!".

Haha! Yeah, well they don't scare anyone... Chatting ain't helping them.

Good points. Moderation is key.

[FrankieTowers]

Edited the opening post to clarify some things that may have led to misunderstanding.

[bruteforce]

Rest timing very much so depends on training style. I compete in Strongman. I have a full power meet coming up in February. Short rest times are useful for reps, but maximal effort singles need plenty of rest between them. This isn't about conditioning, I feel ready to go in 75 seconds or less, but my Central Nervous System won't have recovered to the point where that sort of weight can be used again.

Since this is aimed at beginners, and I can only assume also aimed at people who are exclusively into increasing sex appeal (I won't call it bodybuilding unless they are going to step on stage) I can see some of your points. Here's the thing. This sounds more like a pet peeve list than an article to help people. You want to help beginners? Here's some tips.

Get your form straight before you go heavy
Progression in key - add weight or reps when you can
Don't get greedy - this is a long game. Adding too much too soon can leave you injured
Eat. Adjust as needed.
Focus. Gym time is work time. Socialization is fine, but spend time under the bar.
Don't buffet train - You don't need to hit your biceps from 8 different angles, you need to get your primary lifts up.
Get brutally strong - your chest isn't impressed with 15 pound flyes. Get your lifts up and good things will happen.
Have fun - if you hate your time in the gym, you aren't likely to make much progress.

[FrankieTowers]

Originally Posted by bruteforce

Get your form straight before you go heavy
Progression in key - add weight or reps when you can
Don't get greedy - this is a long game. Adding too much too soon can leave you injured
Eat. Adjust as needed.
Focus. Gym time is work time. Socialization is fine, but spend time under the bar.
Don't buffet train - You don't need to hit your biceps from 8 different angles, you need to get your primary lifts up.
Get brutally strong - your chest isn't impressed with 15 pound flyes. Get your lifts up and good things will happen.
Have fun - if you hate your time in the gym, you aren't likely to make much progress.

Excellent tips.

What I did was break down one of your tips... Focus. Just broke it down into the possible things that might be affecting focus through bad time management in the gym

The smallest things can affect the biggest things...

[5kgLifter]

I have to admit, on the few occasions I've been to an actual gym (fitness centre) or outside it waiting on a film to start, I have seen a group of guys chatting at the dumbbell station for well over 45 minutes, I was astounded, mainly because it seemed pretty pointless their going there at all.

I've also seen a female on the treadmill, on her mobile, not sure how she does that without falling off yet again a stupid endeavour.

I think I took my mobile in once, switched on, but only because I didn't know whether I would get a call from the hospital about hubby being transferred or worse; went in, did my 20-30 minute session, even asked the staff to let me know when the 1/2 hour was up, in case I overlooked it, and then went off to visiting time at the hospital.

The problem with time is, it flies by quickly when you're not aware of it which is something a lot of people don't realise, and 1 minute can easily turn in to 10 minutes, if you're not paying attention. I do agree, on that score, that if people approached me during a workout, just for a chat, I would not be a happy bunny and would be eager to get back to the barbell.