Training 3hrs: How do you balance it with your life?

agentvargas2012r

Hey there,

I'm writing this post because I've finally have gotten to the point where my workouts are really, really, really long! As I continue to shock my body, I'm definitely starting to see the results I want, however, my sessions are becoming up to 3 hours (I usually end up rotating some of the things I do just because of the time).

How do you handle your training sessions and fit it in with everything else?

SierraElegance

It's not easy, for sure! My trainer says no longer than an hour and a half at at time. Split it up into two workouts, or you won't see the same benefits. Are you able to do that? Maybe change your splits? That seems like overkill for almost anyone....and I love to work out!

BeautyFromPain

why are you working out for 3 hours/ what are you doing?

skinnylove00

pretty much thats how i got injured. i recommend you train really carefully and work different body parts when you do that. but truthfully, there is no really good reason to be exercising for that long every day. you`ll wear yourself out eventually, and its important to make the most of whenever you go to the gym

usmcmp

My workouts last less than an hour. I push myself hard the entire time and get a great workout. You shouldn't have to spend 3 hours in the gym a session to get results. Look into new methods and new workouts.

SammyKatt

Easy! I go to work at 7, get off at 3, home by 3:15, walk my puppies for 30 mins, then do my HIIT, then cook dinner and enjoy my night.


But I'm also one of those people who will never spend longer than an hour working out. Why workout for 60+ mins when I can get an ever better workout in less than 30 mins!?!?

I have started walking more so between the walking and my HIIT, its a little over an hour, but I have super hyper-active pups that need to be worn out.

Just_Dot

Um. I dont work out for over 80 minutes. (And that's a very, very, VERY occasional max)

RahBuhBuh

From my limited knowledge, here are the reasons why you shouldn't be working out that long every day.

1. Injury. The strain on your muscles and joint will hurt you now or later
2. Cortisol. When you place your body under that kind of stress you release cortisol, which helps you to store fat.
3. Pointless. Do you need to burn that many calories? I can burn 1000 in an hour. I think that is quite enough.

I do my best to end at the 1 hour mark. I workout Mon, Tues (rest Wed) Thurs, Friday, Saturday, (rest Sun). I think I have gotten some pretty good muscle tone and have lost weight and size. No need to spend 3 hours a day at the gym.

rockerbabyy

i never work out more than an hour a day - anything more than that i feel is overkill.

susanb573

There's no way I could. I work 13 to 15 hours a day and have 5 kids and a husband. If I'm lucky I'll get to the gym. If not I'll take a quick run and do pushups and planks. I envy you...I wish I had time to work out every day for an hour or so. Someday....three of the kids are already moved out and the younger two start high school next year.

tenunderfour

the only time I work out for that long is if I am marathon training..... and then it only amounts to one long run per week. The rest of the days I go for 30 mins to 2 hours max. Usually around an hour. I understand though..... there are lots of things I want to do in a week in terms of running, biking, weights, yoga classes, etc. I just have to pick and choose what's important to me and how it affects my family.

Glucocorticoid

You should not be exercising every day, let alone 3 hours every day.

pclarinetto

sometimes my sessions last 2-3 hours, but i wouldn't say i'm active the entire time. usually i start out with treadmill/elliptical for an hour and then i hit the weights/trx. there is rest time between sets and i usually do three sets of everything.

i do a rotation of core, upper body, and lower body but i do cardio everyday. rahbuhbuh i don't know what you do in an hour to burn 1000 calories, but it takes me an hour and a half to burn that much and i'm not skimping on my workouts.

for the month of march i was going to the gym a few times a week for an hour and lost only inches but no weight. for the month of april i went to the gym everyday for 2-3 hours and so far i have lost almost 10 lbs and 8 inches. i'm seeing results, feeling results, and quite honestly i love it.

i rotate my cardio to avoid injury. i was doing a lot of treadmill/running outside and my knee started to feel funny so i moved to the elliptical and found a happy balance between the two so nothing hurts. i think it's possible as long as you're not killing yourself with the same thing everyday.

to answer the original question: i force myself to find the time. i'll wake up real early or stay up real late. if i know i can't get in my full workout/burn a lot of calories then i adjust my calorie intake. that has been working for me.

good luck op!

agentvargas2012r

Wow, great comments. Well, here's my reasons for considering working out for so long. I'm actually conditioning myself for aquatic sports. In other words, while I like working out; there is much more to it than that.

My current workouts are about an hour and a half so according to everyone's comments here, I'm in line. Primarily, this consists of running and strength training on long days (not every day either). So why the question about 3 hours? Well, I'm looking to incorporate some swimming into the mix. Because of the swimming, this might bring me up to about 3 hours if I where to do all different components on the same train.

I do like sierraeleganc's suggestion about splitting this up and maybe that's the answer I'm looking for.

tenunderfour hit it right on the head, sometimes when you are training for a endurance event, you can easily hit up to 3 hours. A marathon training event could definitively run longer than 2 hours.

I definitely understand the points about injury and think careful training is always necessary.

Thanks for your thoughts!!