Is half an hour of resistance training enough?

telepathe

Hello - just a quick question. I'm currently strength training three times a week for half an hour. I sweat my *kitten* off and at the end I'm always quite wiped out (and out of breath LOL). Is half an hour enough? Or should I push myself to 45 minutes/1 hour?

micheleb15

My training sessions are only half an hour. If you get the job done, then it's done.

Pinkranger626

Are you using a challenging weight? Are you doing a circuit style workout where there's little to no rest in between exercises? Are you hitting all the major muscle groups (or mucles groups you're planning on working that day, if you do splits)? If the answer is yes to all of these then 30 minutes is plenty. You don't have to be in the gym for hours to get results if you're going for weight loss and strengthening. Muscle mass building is a slightly different formula. If you're looking to add mass then 30 minutes probably isn't long enough since you should be doing heavy weights with 1-3 minutes of rest between sets etc.

TheEffort

If you feel the extra 15 - 30 minutes will help you achieve greater gains / losses then go for it.

thegilly6

TRITE SAYING ALERT!

It's not the time you put in, it's what you put in your time.

No_Finish_Line

yeah time is somewhat irrellivant for lifting.

i mean i see a lot of people spending time in there doing nothing lol.

i'd say your goal should be do the most you can in the least time.

If your primary goal is strength or powerlifting then you'd want to rest more between sets.

but if the goal is increased muscle mass or losing weight, high intensity (more work in less time) resistance workouts support either goal depending on how you're eating.

55in13

It certainly can be. I don't go that often; I mostly run. When I do go, I feel driven to always be doing something. I flit between open machines, paying attention to getting some core, chest and shoulder centric machines in a rotation of sorts so that I am switching to a different muscle group every time I go to another machine. I use a setting I have to struggle to do 10-12 times. My gym has an indoor track along the outside wall, so when I push myself so that I can't repeat the circuit without a break, I take that "break" running a couple of laps and then hit the machines again. A half hour of that crushes me.

rileysowner

It can be plenty. There is little reason for you to change if this is working for it. If it isn't, then you need to consider changing things. Frankly, from my years in the gym lifting, people can waste a lot of time in a lifting session pushing the rest times too long. I have seen people resting 5 minutes between sets even when they did not have to. Sadly I did the same thing at times as well. As stated, if your workouts are working for you and achieving the goals you desire, there is really no need to change them.

jacksonpt

Time matters very little. What really matters is effort and muscles hit.

One could very easily get in a great workout doing 4-5 heavy compound lifts in 30ish minutes. One could also get a very sub-par workout in 90 minutes doing 1000 isolation lifts with relatively little weight.

alwayskungfu

Yes 30 min is plenty if its intense, thats how I train, 3 progressive sets with max 20 second rest between sets with free/machine and body weight exercises, doing a total body routeen 3 times a week. Iv'e had Vgood results for endurance and strength that have greatly helped my martial art.