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I have recently started going to the gym daily (except Sunday) and am just trying to establish my rhythms. I have been doing this for 3 weeks.
On Tues/Thurs/Sat I do Cardio. I started out at about 2 miles running/jogging, and have worked myself up to 3 miles now. This takes me about an hour, which I know isn't super fast, but I am going from no excercise to daily excercise, so I am working my way up.
My question is when I do weight training. I do that on Mon/Wed/Fri, and I use the weight machines at the gym. I do about 8 excercise machines, and do 3 sets of 10 reps each. I use as much weight as I can so that I feel tired and can "feel" in my muscles by the last set.
The things is, doing 8 machines, at 30 reps each, only takes me rougly 35 minutes. Sometimes more if I have to wait for a machine. I know I go faster because I try not to take breaks inbetween my sets, but a friend told me if you spend less than an hour in a gym you might as well not have gone to begin with.
I am not wimping out on the weights, I am doing the most I can and really pushing myself. But am I going to fast? Should it take me an hour to do weight training? Or more? Am I doing something wrong? I am increasing the weight week by week, but I dont think I can do anymore than what I am doing, and If I could, I am afraid I will hurt myself just so I can say I spent an extra 20 mins in the gym.
What do you all think?
And please no pissing contests about how much weight YOU can lift. This is not about you, it's about me.
The 8 machines I do are the Incline Bench Press, one that says it's for the back, I pull down on a bar with weights, Tricep Pulls, Bicep Curls, Shoulder excercies (can't remember name), the Squat machine, the calf machine, the pec fly. If that matters.
I have recently started going to the gym daily (except Sunday) and am just trying to establish my rhythms. I have been doing this for 3 weeks.
On Tues/Thurs/Sat I do Cardio. I started out at about 2 miles running/jogging, and have worked myself up to 3 miles now. This takes me about an hour, which I know isn't super fast, but I am going from no excercise to daily excercise, so I am working my way up.
My question is when I do weight training. I do that on Mon/Wed/Fri, and I use the weight machines at the gym. I do about 8 excercise machines, and do 3 sets of 10 reps each. I use as much weight as I can so that I feel tired and can "feel" in my muscles by the last set.
The things is, doing 8 machines, at 30 reps each, only takes me rougly 35 minutes. Sometimes more if I have to wait for a machine. I know I go faster because I try not to take breaks inbetween my sets, but a friend told me if you spend less than an hour in a gym you might as well not have gone to begin with.
I am not wimping out on the weights, I am doing the most I can and really pushing myself. But am I going to fast? Should it take me an hour to do weight training? Or more? Am I doing something wrong? I am increasing the weight week by week, but I dont think I can do anymore than what I am doing, and If I could, I am afraid I will hurt myself just so I can say I spent an extra 20 mins in the gym.
What do you all think?
And please no pissing contests about how much weight YOU can lift. This is not about you, it's about me.
The 8 machines I do are the Incline Bench Press, one that says it's for the back, I pull down on a bar with weights, Tricep Pulls, Bicep Curls, Shoulder excercies (can't remember name), the Squat machine, the calf machine, the pec fly. If that matters.
That quote about working out for less than an hour is far from the truth when it comes to strength and resistance training. If anything, your testosterone levels drop after anywhere from 45-60 minutes of strength training. The only thing that matters is the quality of your regimine. Your sets, reps, volume, and movements. I've fit in some great strength workouts in as little as 20 minutes. You can work up your way to longer workouts as you become more experienced and your body can handle more volume. But if you're a beginner, listen to your body. 30 minutes is fine for resistance training, and it looks like you've got a full-body workout going.
That quote about working out for less than an hour is far from the truth when it comes to strength and resistance training. If anything, your testosterone levels drop after anywhere from 45-60 minutes of strength training. The only thing that matters is the quality of your regimine. Your sets, reps, volume, and movements. I've fit in some great strength workouts in as little as 20 minutes. You can work up your way to longer workouts as you become more experienced and your body can handle more volume. But if you're a beginner, listen to your body. 30 minutes is fine for resistance training, and it looks like you've got a full-body workout going.
I totally agree with this post. Unless you are a body builder, in and out of the gym within an hour is sufficient if doing strength and resistance training and no cardio on that day.
I am a bit confused about the cardio. I WALK 2 miles in about 30 minutes, 3 miles in 45 min. Not sure how you can be jogging/walking in an hour. I think you need to increase the speed/intensity. I think its in people's minds, a brisk walk is not something one needs to necessarily build up to.
As for weightlifting, sometimes I do 30 min, other times 60 min, depends on the routine. However your workouts being intense enough is really what is important. I would invest in a heart rate monitor so you can track your exerted energy and be sure you are working hard. Best of luck.
Terrible advice from your “friend”, if your weight training only takes you 30 minutes than good for you! I can normally get in and out of the gym within an hour, including a proper warm and cool down/stretching. I go hard on every set I do, I am at the gym to put in work, not socialize with the fellas.
If you are just starting out training you should aim at resting between 1 – 3 minutes between sets, this will allow your muscle the maximum amount of repair time without getting cold and risking injury.
Great advice from observer and ClarenceBodiker.
Bottom line: do what works for you. If you are getting a good pump and feeling it, then that’s all that matters.
If you are trying to engage in "weight training" like your title indicates, and are looking to gain muscle, size and strength, it will take longer than a few weeks to see results.
In the beginning stages, lifting for longer periods of time is necesary as you're building a foundation. As you progress, you can decrease the length of workouts.
The most important thing about weight lifting is your diet.
My upper body routine is about 40-45 minutes and my lower body routine is about 35 minutes. On most days you should be in and out in under an hour. If you're not exhausted after 40 minutes of weight training (or cardio) then you're not pushing hard enough. That's my strategy and I'm sticking to it.
My question is:
am I going to fast? Should it take me an hour to do weight training? Or more? Am I doing something wrong? I am increasing the weight week by week, but I dont think I can do anymore than what I am doing, and If I could, I am afraid I will hurt myself just so I can say I spent an extra 20 mins in the gym.
What do you all think?
I just bench pressed two elephants carrying baskets of anvils in their trunks...
Just kidding.
Some people like the gym a lot, and get wrapped up in the Arnold Schwarzenneger era / Muscle & Fitness trends. Spending an hour in the gym is not a bad thing, but do what fits your lifestyle better. You can even make your trip to the gym shorter by increasing the weight enough so that you hit complete muscle failure (couldn't possibly lift it another time) at one set of about 20-30 repetitions. The lifts should be deliberate, and across the complete range of motion. This kind of workout is great on a machine, as you can 'fail' on the lift without having to drop a bar full of weights (which is frowned on in Globo-gyms).
This is a Body by Science technique.
My goal is just to build some muscle so I don't look like an 8 year old.
I am not really concerned overly much about gaining strength. It really is just aesthetic for me. I will never have occasion to wrestle a bear in the woods.
I lost 40 lbs over the last year (211 to 171) with just diet alone, but now that I am thinner, I would like to just build up my chest and arms some. I am doing full body work outs because I figure as long as I am there, I might as well work out everything. I was also under the impression that working out all my muscle groups would increase my metabolism. Also, I was under the impression that all muscles are interconnected, so working on my legs, indirectly, helps me with my aesthetic upper body goals.
I am not "social" in the gym either, I tend to want to get in and get out. I don't really want to gab with people, mostly because I am out of breath and after doing cardio sort of afraid I might vomit. That may be why I tend to move so fast.
I am not expecting immediate results of course, I know this is a lifestyle change and not a "I just lifted a dumbell, so do I look like a body builder now?" type of thing. I have a really ectomorph body type anyway, so I know I won't build a lot of "bulky" muscles regardless of what I do.
I was just looking for advice to make sure I was doing excercises the right way and not risking injury.
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