Working out longer than one hour?

[Zipz]

Is it true you shouldn't work out longer than one hour?

[Zipz]

I forgot something! Everyone says that over-training is hard to do and I am confused because others say you shouldn't work out longer than one hour.

[MikeC]

It might be hard to over-train but that doesn't mean we need to train for 2 hours a day. BTB once said if you can't work your body hard in an hour you have no business training longer. I have applied this to my workouts and now try to make every set a quality set.

[Shadowschmadow]

Go in and do what you're there to do... Don't leave until your finished.

[Soldier]

I have 2 things to say about that. The first one is that depending on what your goals are, if it takes you longer than one hour 5 or 6 days a week to train then you're probably resting too long and training too light.

The second thing is that when you train you want to maximize testosterone and HGH while minimizing cortisol. The shift from test to cortisol tends to happen about an hour after you start training. This is a simplified explanation of a complex reaction, but that's why most people go by the 1 hour rule.

Personally, I'm spent after about an hour and it's useless to push it any further. Hit it hard then head on home.

[Violent Volume]

I train 90 minutes a day but it took me years to build up my daily volume. When you're beginning man there's just no reason to leave your balls on the gym floor. What I mean is that you will make gains just working hard 3 days a week and hour or so at a time.

[Off Road]

You can workout hard or you can workout long. Harder is better.

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by Off Road

You can workout hard or you can workout long. Harder is better.

While this is true, it's a very HIT orientated point of view. I think Jones said this originally.

Where it gets interesting and transcends the fairly one dimensional view of HITers is pushing the amount of useful volume while still working hard. HIT states working harder is better to the point where volume can and should be reduced.

For me balancing the volume with frequency and varying it is vital to progress.

[Fazc]

Back to the point though, take as long as your program needs. This will vary based on experience/needs.

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by Fazc

While this is true, it's a very HIT orientated point of view. I think Jones said this originally.

Where it gets interesting and transcends the fairly one dimensional view of HITers is pushing the amount of useful volume while still working hard. HIT states working harder is better to the point where volume can and should be reduced.

For me balancing the volume with frequency and varying it is vital to progress.

I wasn't speaking in a HIT sense. I was refering more to the fact that if you worked your way up to a max set of squats, followed by a bit of volume, and followed that up with the same intensity on a couple of upper body movements, there'd be little left in the tank. I also believe in what Wendler dubs the "Jack Shit" workout, where you just work a big lift into the ground, set a good PR, and leave.