how long is too long??

[triple-j]

how long are you supposed to stay in the gym? i hear all kinds of times!
for me i stay about 45mins to an hour. is that good?

[Trans_Isomer]

What I always hear and have personally adopted:
"Keep it short and intense"

Mine is usually about 45 minutes. Ive read that if your workout is over an hour long, it really puts a lot of stress on your body (rising cortisol levels, the hormone that breaks down muscle).

[Ibanez]

I'm with Trans on that too... I try and keep it to a maximum of 1 hour... When I first started getting back into gym after a long layoff, I was doing whole body routines, so my muscles could get used to the concept of weight training again. It took about 1 1/2 hours but the training intensity wasn't the same obviously as what it is now.... I was doing 1-2 exerciese per bodypart with a couple of sets each. Now I work on a 4 day split and tend to hit each muscle area from different angles with intensity. Each split day works two bodygroups...like shoulders/triceps, chest/biceps etc... a 1 hour workout let me hit each muscle group hard and spend myself physically by the end of that time.

The other thing for me, is because I am trying to gain as much muscle as possible and make each workout count, I like to get back home after the workout immediately so I can uptake my protein etc. If I was to spend hours in the gym, apart from being obviously lacklustre for the last hour or so, my body would long be needing a protein fix and not getting it.

Hope this assists you some!

[max von]

45 minutes at the most, work hard and smart and you will be in good shape

max von

[snakemw]

mine normally last about 45min.-hour if with a partner and about 30-45 if by myself. if you work out really hard and intense dont know if you can go that much longer, at least i cant.

[wedgylx]

how long are you supposed to stay in the gym? i hear all kinds of times!
for me i stay about 45mins to an hour. is that good?

For th emost part, if you're in the gym for over an hour you're either overtraining or talking too much

[mcsteveof2h2h]

12-14 sets for major muscle groups
6-8 sets for minor muscle groups
no rests longer than 120 seconds
rules of the master blaster Joe Weider
under an hour like you all said is a good cut off