> and also a 1.5 to 2 hour intense weightlifting workout (primarily focused on your thighs/legs[1][2], since they are the biggest muscles.
being nitpicky here but we shouldn't be promoting "time in the gym" as a measurement of a workout's success. frankly, if you're doing an "intense" workout for "2 hours" something's wrong.
"being nitpicky here but we shouldn't be promoting "time in the gym" as a measurement of a workout's success. frankly, if you're doing an "intense" workout for "2 hours" something's wrong."
Some background, and you can adjust to fit your personal situation ...
I am 39 years old and in order to do (relatively) heavy squats and deadlifts I require about 45 minutes of prehab, stretching, warmups and accessory exercises.
I also have 3 kids so I can't do two weight workouts per week.
Therefore, I "lift weights" for two hours each week, the first 45 minutes of which is a fairly intense and comprehensive lead-up to two (yes, just two) sets of squats, followed by the rest of my leg/back exercises, then 15 minutes of upper body prehab/stretching/warmup and 30 mins of actual lifting.
So yeah - 25 and no kids ? By all means, enjoy your hour long workout :)
"Intense" here means lifting weights close to the maximum you can lift for certain number of repetitions. This kind of workout can easily take 1.5 to 2 hours, and IMHO qualifies as intense.
If you are actually following set, repetition and rest period guidelines it should probably take quite a bit less, depending on how many exercises you can fit in. Since I never seem to be able to hit the 30 second rest period between sets, and I can't always get to the machine I want immediately after my last exercise because it's in use, I always seemed to average 10-15 minutes an exercise. I haven't been to the gym in months though. :/
3-5 minute rest periods are not unusual at heavy weights, although I personally try to keep it to two minutes to save time. With warm-up sets and some waiting for equipment I often find myself spending 1.5 hours at the gym. Super setting would help a lot but it's impractical at most gyms :(
being nitpicky here but we shouldn't be promoting "time in the gym" as a measurement of a workout's success. frankly, if you're doing an "intense" workout for "2 hours" something's wrong.