Lifting all day?

Micah_Johnson

So I'm a graduate student right now, and spend all day in my basement studying. I've just got back into lifting (the last three weeks or so, after an eight-year break). I do an upper body routine three days a week, and do squats two days a week. On my upper body days, I'll knock out three or four sets of the same exercise with maybe four minutes or so between sets, but then I might wait twenty or thirty minutes before beginning the next exercise. I do this because I'm reading my homework between sets. So I end up doing a reasonable routine that includes one exercise per muscle group, though I mix up those exercises from day to day (EZ bar curl one day, dumbbell single-arm curls the next). I tend to do six to eight exercises per day, and tend to do three to four sets per exercise.

So, the thing is, it takes me about four and a half hours to get through my routine, because I'm doing so much studying between sets. It feels great, because my muscles are fully rested between sets, and I feel great after the workouts. I'm just wondering if there is any downside to lifting this way. Would I benefit from just dedicating an hour from my day to cranking out the workout in a more intensive way?

usmcmp

http://www.bodybuilding.com/content/what-is-the-optimal-time-between-sets-for-muscle-growth.html

SonyaCele

i didnt look at that link above, but it does say optimal time for "muscle growth". Muscle growth is just one type of workout. What are your goals? if your goals are just to be fit and healthy and get your studying done, you are probably fine exercising in any way that works for you and your schedule and makes you feel good. but if you have serious specific goals, such as muscle growth/bodybuilding, or being strong as you can be , or running a marathon next month, there are ideal ways to train. Without knowing what you want out of your exercise, its impossible to tell if thats the ideal way for you. But It sounds like school and studying is your goal right now, and since this way is working for you, then your workout is the best way for you. There are no downsides to what you are doing, in fact my program calls for lots of rest between sets and can take me 3 hours to complete. although i dont rest so long that my muscles start to cool down, thats my only concern with resting too long.

usmcmp

The link addresses various lifting goals, not just size gains, and there are some studies cited.

mgalovic01

If you were to condense everything into an hour session it would have greater cardiovascular implications, because there would be less rest time. Also, you would be building on each set that came before it, making each subsequent set more difficult and thus more effective. I also found, when you start slow and get into the swing of things you can be quite productive before cooling back down. Whereas when you just do a set here and there, you're always just getting started. That being said, I often do not feel like dedicating an extended period of time to a workout when at home, so I'll do a set or two here and there as I go through the day. Still better than nothing.