Less is More; Don't Stay Too Long at the Gym

Photo Credit: Jasysk on Flickr.com

I’ve got a friend, who I used to see at the gym all the time. Whether I went morning, noon or night it seemed like he was always there working out. One day, I asked him about how long he stayed there each time. He replied with an astounding five hours. I looked at him in disbelief knowing that I, myself only ever stayed for about an hour. This got me to thinking; is there any advantage to staying a long time in the gym, or should workouts be a quick in and out event? I did a little bit of research and here’s what I came up with.

According to fitness experts it is ideal to try and work out for about an hour. Anything beyond this is not beneficial to your body. Certain adverse affects can come from working out too much. After about 45 minutes your body starts to release cortisone which is one of the factors in storing excess fat. In women, training too much in the gym can actually increase the risk of infertility. Another serious effect, fitness wise, is that training this long can become discouraging. Who looks forward to four hour workouts in the gym every day? Time is a valuable thing and I for one, can’t spare that much of it to finish a workout.

Some people already abide by this one hour rule, but here are two major things to remember for those of us that stay at the gym too long.

Talk less. Remember that you’re at the gym to work out, not talk with your friends. Save that for after the workout and your time in the gym should shrink dramatically.
Cut down on certain workouts. It’s not necessary to do five different types of bench press before moving on to the next body part. Try to shoot for only 3-4 exercises per body part.

When it comes to going to the gym, less really is more. By spending the right amount of time training, not only will your results be better, but also the negative effects on your body can be minimized. I know that I’ll be maintaining my hour-long workouts from here on out, and I’ll be sure to pass this information along to my friend.

Compiled with Information from

Work Out Plans

Muscle Mag Fitness