Weight training times

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dalerst
dalerst Posts: 174 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm after people's opinions on how long a good session on the weights should last? I've read many different things on the internet from 30 minutes per session to a couple of hrs.

I've also read that any longer than 1hr then your waisting your time as it has no benefit once you reach the 1hr Mark. Be interested on your thoughts.

Replies

  • WindSparrow
    WindSparrow Posts: 224 Member
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    I bet it depends on the individual's goals. I'm lifting weights because I don't like feeling weak. (I am a professional caregiver, but when I took a promotion, I wasn't lifting people anymore, so now it's weights.) My long term goal is to find out just how much can I lift. When I started out a few months ago, I was working out for an hour at a time. But I had some muscle strain and exhaustion that told me I was pushing too hard. So I took it down a few notches and now I'm doing 20-30 minutes three times a week. I feel good, and I am starting to see muscle definition that makes me happy. I'm sure competitive lifters have more intense training times than that, though.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
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    Anywhere from 45 minutes to three plus hours. Average would be about two hours. My coach gives me my workload and it's takes as long as it takes. If I'm doing near max work, resting 5-10 minutes between 30 second work sets is completely appropriate. And if I'm in a hypertrophy phase, resting 45 seconds for high rep sets is appropriate.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    Arbitrary times are pointless when it comes to this sort of thing.

    It takes as long as it takes to achieve what you want to achieve.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    Some of my sessions take 45 minutes and some take 90. It depends on the programming, volume, and rest times.

    If you're lifting for two hours just to say you did it then it would make me think you probably could have been more productive with your time.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Takes me 45 minutes to 90 minutes. I'm done when I'm done.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    i like weight rooms, so i can happily spend a few hours in there. i do what i'm in there to do, but once i settle in i sometimes don't feel like i want to leave yet. so i find myself inventing other things to do too just to defer the moment.

    but leaving that part aside, i agree with everyone else that lifting is not like cardio. you don't measure it by time spent. it's more about having a specific thing to get done on that day, and then getting it done.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Whoever you read that stated "any longer than 1hr then your wasting your time as it has no benefit once you reach the 1hr mark" is a myopic fool and should be consigned to the bit bucket.

    It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

    I typically take an hour but that's because I'm often constrained by time available. When I'm shooting for maximums I need more than an hour to adequately recover between sets.
    Someone doing a load of isolation / high volume lifts (to suit their individual goals or preferences) may well need far longer than a hour.

    Same applies for cardio, often I only have an hour but when I'm training for 8hr events I obviously need far longer sessions for effective stamina building.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
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    It currently takes me about 45mins to 1 hour to get through my routine. But as my weights get heavier I'm sure it could end up stretching to 90 mins due to extended rest times.

    I'm basically in the camp of, it takes as long as it takes.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    30-180 minutes is a pretty typical range.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
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    My opinion, no more than an hour. Unless you are lifting heavy, 5x5 for example. In which you are taking longer rest periods.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    It all depends on what your goals and fitness level is. I don't think there's a definitive answer on the time frame for the workout but it's more the efficiency of the workout. I see guys at the gym lifting heavy and they'll take a couple minutes in between sets.

    As far as I'm concerned I'm a big fan of Tony Horton and his muscle confusion principle. Normally my workout sir not longer than an hour unless I'm having one of those days where I'm working my way through it and then it may take an hour and a half. But like I stated 99.9% of my workouts are about an hour or less

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