How Long Should My Workouts Be?
If you want to get fit, lose weight or add muscle, how long do your workouts need to be? The answer depends on who’s asking and what that person’s exact goals are. But here are some general guidelines to help you decide on the right amount of time for you.
The average Joe that wants to improve general fitness and health can accomplish a lot in 60 minutes. This is a good amount of time for a solid 10 minute warmup, a programmed workout, and a cooldown. While 60 minutes is good, it doesn’t mean you can only train in 60-minute blocks. Keep in mind that you usually won’t spend all 60 minutes “working.”
Some individuals who warm up quickly and perform circuits, find that about half an hour gives them all the time they need. And some people will train for 60-120 minutes or more—think about a runner who’s preparing for a half-marathon, or a powerlifter for example.
Your style of training will also affect workout length. Endurance training often takes more time. If building strength is your goal, it can take a long time to warm up to very heavy loads and then perform five or more work sets with longer rest in between each set. High-intensity workouts are often much shorter (more on that below).
Whatever you’re trying to accomplish, the key is to ensure you warm up properly, to avoid injury. Then do enough work to make your body respond and get those muscles working.
If you don’t work your muscles enough, you won’t get any results. Think about lifting a light weight 10 times: it won’t have the effect on your body like lifting a 40-lb. dumbbell 10 times will.
On the other side of the coin, if you do too much work, your body will be so sore that it makes a proper recovery impossible. Causing you to take additional rest days to recover. Imagine running a marathon: you probably wouldn’t run for two hours the day after right? We’ll, I hope you won’t!
If you do the right amount of work in the right time frame, you’ll challenge your body without beating it up. It will respond to the exercise by adapting and changing. You’ll gain muscle, lose weight, improve endurance, and so on. Being so sore you can’t walk is an old school mentality.
It can be hard for an inexperienced person to know exactly how much to do and how much time to spend in the gym. Some people are inclined to do way too much, and others tend to take it so easy that they don’t get results.
The solution: work with a trained coach who will tailor your program to your history, goals, and time available to train. A pro can do this very quickly, even our 1:1, 30 minute sessions are sufficient at FFG. Because our coaches will monitor your results, recovery, and progress to ensure you’re always on track. Then we will adjust the program regularly as needed.
How Does Intensity Affect Workout Length?
It’s important to note that workout length isn’t the only factor to consider. Intensity is important, too. Think of the light weight again. Even if you lift that weight for 40 minutes straight, your body won’t change very much. But if you lift a heavy load eight times in good form, rest for 60 seconds, and repeat that cycle two more times, you can expect your body to respond.
Another example: a fit person might walk for 90 minutes without many benefits. But if you pushed the same person to run 1 mile as fast as possible, he or she could expect improvements in aerobic conditioning.
It’s not always about how long or how much you work. Progress is made by working at the correct intensity for the correct amount of time, then resting appropriately. So don’t judge your workouts only by the clock. We’ve seen four-minute TABATA workouts that packed an incredible punch and two-hour workouts that weren’t very effective at all.
For Best Results, Consult a Professional
The best plan is to talk to a coach about your exact fitness goals. One who will get your training history, obstacles, and take into account the time you have available to work out. A professional can put together the perfect plan and make sure it’s always pushing you toward your goals.
At Faith Fitness Gym we offer FREE No Sweat Intro Consultations and would be happy to make a plan with you. To talk to us about your goals, book a consultation today HERE.
Inspired by Stacy Boil at Faith Fitness Gym