how many hour in the gym

I will be curious to see what suggestions come through for the "ideal" workout regimen as well!

I think you supposed to alternate different muscles groups. Like you should do arms and and shoulders on MN-TH- St. Legs schould be TU- FR-SN. When we work out we elongate our muscles and create micro-tears. As they heal- they become stronger. You need to give them time to heal. :blushing:

I used to go to the gym every night and I would start with about ten minutes of warm-up on the treadmill or some type of cardio machine. Then I would do my weight routine which would take about an hour. Then after that I would do about 30 min to an hour on a cardio machine. Some days I would be at the gym for two hours, some days half an hour less, and others maybe even longer then two hours.

It depends on your routine, and just how hard you are hitting the gym.

It is good to start out with a weight plan that does your entire body. Then once you feel like you understand how the machines or free weights work, and you are confident on your sets and reps, then you take it a little further and set your workouts for three times a week, concentrating more on upper body and lower body, only three times a week. Rotating during the week. Mon-Wed-Fri, Upper-lower-upper, then the following week Lower-upper-lower...etc...

I recommend looking into the body for life web-site; they have a lot of really good information that is free.
Also go to the library or book store and look for weight training books, ones that have programs that start out for beginners and then advance from there.

I really like the body for life plan, and "Weight Training workouts that work" by James Orvis. You might find something out there that works better for you.

But how much time you spend at the gym, is totally up to you and what you want to achieve.