How much time do you spend strength training?

Thinupgirl86

For those of you focused on toning/strengthening: how much time do you spend on weight training?

My current workout is:
-15 min. of cardio to warm up followed by 1 hour to1 hour and 15 min of full body strength training on MON/WED/FRI
- 1 hour of cardio on TUES/THURS/SAT

Wondering if I should spread out strength training/increase or decrease as I am looking to lose inches in addition to lbs.

SW on JAN. 6/202 : 215 LBS.
CW: 192 LBS.
GW:150

quiksylver296

Are you using a proven progressive strength training program or are you just winging it? If you're using a 3 day a week program, like Stronglifts 5X5, then you're probably good. If you're winging it, doing whatever exercises strike your fancy that day, then you're probably not.

As for comparing my lifting to yours, that's apples to oranges as I'm a competitive powerlifter and have been lifting for years with a coach writing my program.

ETA: You lose pounds via a calorie deficit. Working out is great, but it won't do anything if you aren't creating a calorie deficit within your diet.

DancingMoosie

My lifting generally takes about 35 min. I do full body twice a week. I do my cardio in separate workouts

dbanks80

I do 24 mins cardio and 1 hour of full body weight lifting M-F and just Cardio on Sat.

cwolfman13

I run a full body free weight program on Sunday and Wednesday that take me about 40-45 minutes. I workout with a trainer and my wife every other Friday and that is 60 minutes.

sardelsa

I do glute focused full body training 4x per week, it usually takes 35-45 min not including warmup. No cardio for me right now, but typically 1-2x per week on the other days, 15-30min moderate intensity.

I would also recommend following a program if not already and focusing on strength training if your goal is to retain/build muscle and strength. If you find your cardio is interfering with your lifting recovery and progress you might want to do more steady state or cut it down.

SlayLikeAWarrior

I do 40-50mins lifting with a 20-30 sec rest in btw sets. Cardio is extra 20mins intense before or after lifting. I lift only 5 days a week off on weekends. I Work each body part twice a week.

I lift heavy one week and light another alternating. On heavy week, my reps are 6 -10 reps (4 sets) and light weeks my reps are 15-20 reps (3 sets) or higher depending on the particular exercise. After 6-8 weeks I do take a week off from lifting.

MidlifeCrisisFitness

Calisthenics every day. Push ups and Squats. (Good for a male, suggest you research the right full body weight exercises for female)

High Intensity cardio for 20 min twice a week after which I lift moderately for 35 - 55 minutes.

Diet is the key though. If you are eating too much you will not see the muscles you are building. But don't starve you still have to fuel the muscle development. Muscle burns fat after your cardio.

watts6151

Usually 12 hours per week in the gym lifting
That’s about it

mim619

I'm running focused. I do a full body circuit Tues and Fri about 45 min each. And run on Mon, Wed, Thurs, Saturday. My goal is to run marathons, not power lift. Your goals determine how much is enough.

Courtscan2

30-35minutes 3x per week.

jdhcm2006

This week ends a 3 day full-body progressive lifting program, so about 6-8 hours a week. Next week, I may change to a 4-day program or repeat the 3-day program. It depends on my evening/weekend work schedule (which I am still waiting on )

Terytha

I do 10 minutes of cardio as warmup and the SL5x5 program (45-60 minutes) on Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. Sometimes I follow with 10 more minutes of cardio if I'm waiting for my gym partner to finish.

I often do an hour of cardio on Saturday.

SW March 2019: 272
CW today: 198
Waist Inches lost: Around 10

psychod787

4 full body hypertrophy workouts a week. about 75 mins apiece.

BrianSharpe

Not enough in my case.......about 90 min a week, the rest of time is sunning, biking,rowing etc.

sijomial

Varies but on average.....
3 x 60 - 70 minute sessions a week mostly upper body and core focussed as I also cycle 6hrs a week so legs don't get a lot of work in the gym.



"Wondering if I should spread out strength training/increase or decrease" - don't see how people can answer this without knowing what you are actually doing in the time you spend, your fitness goals, your capabilities or restrictions.
Losing "lbs and inches" is primarily down to a calorie deficit not how long you spend in the gym

jjpptt2

None. I *kitten* hate lifting, so I've decided to quit fighting it, adjust my goals/expectations for myself, and worry more about doing the things I enjoy and being better at the things I want to do (cycling, running, basketball, hiking).

ritzvin

Slightly under 30 minutes 2-3x per week. I almost solely stick to the basic compound lifts, 3 sets of 5.

Enough that I'm happy with my muscle definition and increased strength outside the gym.

Chieflrg

Mine wouldn't be relative to you because we have different goals and are different people in general.

Follow your program. If you are unable to recover adequately for you next session or time is a factor...either find a different program or start practicing redesigning the template to fit your needs.

nighthawk584

I'm 55 and I do full body weight training 2-3 times a week . Spend about 30-40 min total with little rest between sets and that is plenty for me to get a killer workout. I also do at least 30-45 min of cardio every day...on my non lifting days, I do chin ups and push ups and finish with cardio. I'm pleased with how my body is developing..I don't life overly heavy and I don't have to lift for a long time to get good results.

ritzvin

. (nevermind -misread the time divisions)

cupcakesandproteinshakes

OP with the greatest of respect, this isn’t a great question. We all have different goals and are at different stages. My sessions are 5 a week and I have split up the volume over 5 days specifically so I can get them done in about an hour because I don’t want to spend longer than that in the gym 5 x hourly sessions a week might not be needed or appropriate for you.

I’m an intermediate trainee. My needs around training are different now than when I started out and they will change again at some point as I advance.

amybg1

Depends on my time allowance but between 45-90 minutes

JBanx256

A normal training session for me is in the ballpark of 1.5hrs (a little more or a little less depending on what I'm training and where in my mesocycle I am). But I'm going to bet we have drastically different goals & training histories.

midlomel1971

I do the Express Circuit at the gym every other day. It's a 40 minute circuit with intervals cardio and the various strength machines.

monkeystikx

Weights 4 days a week, upper body lower body split. Focus on compound lifts. It takes about 1.5-2 hours, mostly because I enjoy longer breaks between sets.

Jiu Jitsu 3-4 days a week, which is for sure strength training. 10 min slow sparing/rolling 1 hour instruction, drilling followed by 25-30 min hard sparing.

Cardio 3-4 days a week, but usually only 1 or 2 hard days. For about 35-45 min

tcunbeliever

Measuring strength training in wall time is pretty difficult to get anything consistent.

In theory, I spent 90 min a week strength training (15 min 6x/week) - if all of my lifts are at tempo and all of my rests are 5 seconds.

In reality, those latter sets/reps of any given exercise are close to failure and my rests get longer and my tempo gets slower as I sacrifice time in the name of maintaining form.

It's the same amount of lifting, and therefore the same muscle growth, 15 min or 30 min, it doesn't matter the work is the same. Work is not really consistently applicable to wall time.

If you are strength training to grow muscle, then inches are likely to go up if you are measuring a muscle you are working. If you are looking to lose fat and grow muscle, then calipers might be more helpful than a tape measure, so you can measure fat without including the muscle in the measurement.

Losing fat is something that happens in the kitchen, not the gym. You have to create a deficit by controlling food consumption.

InsanityFan1

I do body pump tone class 40 to 60 min 3x a week, then on those days i do additional weights on my own, 30 to 35 min. Rope slams, dead lifts, medicine ball stuff, pull ups, kettle ball, etc. I swim 3 to 5x a week varying that intensity and on non weight days i do insanity, spin, sprints, etc, vary it up. I am feeling good, its working for me. I basically do elliptical each day, 15 to 30 minutes for warm ups, cool downs, etc.

KickassAmazon76

I do about 20-45min on the treadmill every day (to get my steps) and then stronglifts 2 or 3 times a week (depending on my kids schedules).

The lifting sessions are anywhere from 45 min -1.5 hour and I add in some additional tricep, bicep, and ab work as time permits.

I'm very busy, so I do what I can to make time.

deputy_randolph

When I was training for powerlifting, I would spend upwards of 2 hours just on squat day (but heavy squats alone were taking an hour).

Now, bench, shoulder, deadlift, and heavy leg day (no squats) usually about an hour (maybe more, maybe less) each day.