How long should your workouts be?

[Jesda]

I am doing about 25 minutes now but I am just starting and am super scrawny.

[dmaipa]

Originally Posted by Jesda

I am doing about 25 minutes now but I am just starting and am super scrawny.

what's your workout like?

[Kuytrider]

Originally Posted by Disciple X

2-2.5 most days lol. thats all i wanted to get across is that its not a set in stone rule that can not be broken... i'm finding more and more that the unbreakable rules work, but so does other stuff. I eat twice a day, the six meal nazis think i should be wasting away! I squat 5-6 days a week, i should be overtrained and getting weaker, i'm setting all time PRs. The list goes on and on... "passion trumps everything" - dave tate.

Mind if I ask what those two meals consist of? (Curiosity )

My training now consists of 5 heavy singles and 5x5 of same exercise which takes me anywhere from 40-55 minutes depending on the exercise and includes warm up sets. I do core work after and some cardio but I am keeping the main weights session under and hour for now. As the weight gets heavier, it may get as high as 75 minutes I reckon once PR territory comes into view.

[5kgLifter]

The last workout I had was 5 minutes in length and it was a taxing workout; it's all about getting the most out of what you're doing and not being overly concerned with the time duration aspect.

Does cortisol impact after a certain length of time, no idea really; we see people that workout for a good number of hours and still make great progress and they can't all be the exception to the rule about the effects of cortisol. Do the length of breaks make a substantial difference as to how and when cortisol actually kicks in? Again, no idea, and I doubt there are any studies which have taken all these variables into account anyway.

There are lots of varying approaches, from the posts above, and they all seem to be working and that's the most important thing.

If workout time is cutting into other areas of your life or you find you just cannot drag yourself away from the gym, that's the time to reassess.

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by 5kgLifter

Does cortisol impact after a certain length of time, no idea really; we see people that workout for a good number of hours and still make great progress and they can't all be the exception to the rule about the effects of cortisol. Do the length of breaks make a substantial difference as to how and when cortisol actually kicks in? Again, no idea, and I doubt there are any studies which have taken all these variables into account anyway.

Cortisol is a healthy part of our bodies reaction to stressors. It actually has some positive benefits and played a role on our survival as a species. When cavemen were running around sometimes they would get chased by an animal that wanted to eat them. They'd get stressed out then 5 minutes later they'd either be dead or out of danger and the stress response would go away. It's all a part of the flight or fight response.

The issue is that in our society people are stressed out either a little or a lot almost all the time. There are some people who have cortisol in their systems every second, and it destroys them. People don't know how to relax anymore. They go to a stressful job, then get time off for the holidays during which they are as stressed as ever, then they get a weeks vacation where they stress the whole time because they want to take advantage of the little time off they get.

It's a never ending cycle.

If someone is exposed to cortisol only a few times a week while still getting good, restful sleep, then it basically won't effect them. If we learn coping skills and don't stretch ourselves thin with our daily schedule then cortisol won't be a problem at all.

That being said, as lifters we want to maximize everything that can help us and minimize things that can hurt us. Testosterone is very good, and cortisol really doesn't help us ith our specific lifting goals. The studies that have been done show that test is maxed out between 45-60 minutes into a lifting session.

In the end, you have to weigh the importance of everything. Maxing out test and minimizing cortisol are good things, but if you worry too much about doing those things then not only will you lose the benefits, you may actually hurt yourself.

People who train the way they want to train and get stronger tend to be happy people. They are also confident in themselves, which makes them less stressed out. The importance of these things cannot be downplayed, and don't we all want to be happier people? If someone gets a stress release from being in the gym, then spending 3 hours in there may actually leave them less stressed and more relaxed in the long run. It also may leave them MORE stressed if they feel like they have to squeeze everything within an hour and are worried about getting everything done.

. . .Just some things to think about. . .

[Disciple X]

Great post! I, for one, absolutely love being in the gym! I love training. I love the atmosphere. I love hearing 45 clanging together. I love seeing people better themselves. I also live a pretty low stress life Maybe thats why i thrive on longer workouts...

[Disciple X]

Originally Posted by Kuytrider

Mind if I ask what those two meals consist of? (Curiosity )

My training now consists of 5 heavy singles and 5x5 of same exercise which takes me anywhere from 40-55 minutes depending on the exercise and includes warm up sets. I do core work after and some cardio but I am keeping the main weights session under and hour for now. As the weight gets heavier, it may get as high as 75 minutes I reckon once PR territory comes into view.

I follow a very loose "lean gains" eating style. Look it up. Its a style of intermitten fasting with 16 hour fast and 8 hour feeding. I could eat more times during the 8 hours, but i experimented a lot with it and i do fine the way i am now. I eat around 1:00 and then eat post workout- 9:00 ish. I eat BIG both times. I had great success with it when i was cutting weight earlier this year. I dropped a solid 10 lb with it. I still follow it loosely, but i have been putting on weight lately. My strength is skyrocketing, and i've been eating even bigger with tons of carbs etc to make sure it continues. I'll cut later

I follow it now more for convienence than anything. I only think about food twice a day. Less stress and its actually WAY easier for me to control weight, etc because it is only 2 meals. Cut carbs on earlier meal, lose weight! Eat more post workout, get stronger and recover faster.

[runwithme]

I do a lot of running and the do about 30 minutes of weight training.

[Shadowschmadow]

Originally Posted by runwithme

I do a lot of running...

Never would have guessed...