3 hours too much for full body weightlifting 3 days/week?

@learnandbloom
That looks like the body builder profile Marty Gallagher write’s about in The Purposeful Primitive.
Click to expand...

This. Such a great book, for the price on Kindle its almost a steal. Couldn't put it down. Its making its way back up the re-read list again!!
 
@godisworking101 I lift 3 hours a week full body. Your routine is terrible inefficient and loaded with tons of wasted exercises. U do not need 3 variations of curls. Hell u don’t need curls at all to grow biceps.

Do u have access to a pull up bar?
 
@godisworking101 Several things:
  • You have almost 50 TOTAL sets in this program. 48 to be exact. The range is 20 WORKING sets (not including warm ups) with a rare maximum of 25. 4-5 exercises per training day, and maybe 6 on special circumstances…you have nearly 20
  • What are your goals? As I have not idea what you are trying to achieve and accomplish with this program. Are you building strength? Or muscle size? And if you do create goals, just be specific.
  • 3 hours of training is absolutely excessive. 45-90 mins per training session is ideal.
  • How long do plan on implementing this program? 8 weeks? 10? 12? 16?….forever? And how will know the program is actually working?
 
@fingerprintsofgod yes, sorry i should be detailing these things

my main goal is to look better aesthetically better. obviously i would like to be stronger, but i feel the strength i am gaining by focusing mainly on aesthetics is enough for me

i am currently cutting and plan to do so for a few months (my specific target is to have a six pack at least once in my life lol). once i reach that level of body fat, i plan to bump up my calories and focus on growing muscle size. i can see an outline of my abs, as well as a decent shape overall so i believe i am not too far from that goal

as far as seeing the program working, i have seen my body fat decrease noticeably and i feel much healthier and stronger. for example, i wore 36" jeans in february, and now wear 30". also, i used to tire out from 30 minutes of yard work in the texas heat, now i can work hours without feeling overexerted. i can also see much better muscle definition in the mirror despite not realistically gaining much muscle (i've been doing cutting and body recomp basically, not having a caloric surplus)

i currently have a work-life balance where i can continue this routine indefinitely
 
@godisworking101 Too much for what? It sounds like you’re running a body building program, and if you’re seeing results and able to recover and you’re motivated, it’s not too much even if it’s not super efficient. If you’re not seeing results, or if you want to reclaim the time for other reasons and become more efficient, doing more volume on compound movements (I’ve found 5x10 is pretty effective) and finishing with isolation burn outs will help. It’s going to be hard to put in maximum effort for all lifts three times a week, so some split will help with that (maybe a prescribed program). If you want to gain strength, you should start a prescribed 3 day program. You can still do body building accessories after your strength sets.
 
@godisworking101 I just wanted to add one recommendation: cut out the TV watching during your lifting sessions.

It significantly reduces your efficiency. It's also better to be in the present. During rest times it's a good practice to focus on what you're doing next, and think about how your body feels (heart rate, breathing, fatigue) and how it will translate to the next set. For example, do you want to bump up the weight, drop the weight, go for an extra rep or 2? Or think about your overall progression. How are you doing against your goals? What's the road for the next couple of sessions?

Or if you don't want to think about that stuff, it's fine to just let your mind empty out.

The problem with watching TV during workouts is that it takes you out of an active state of training, and instead makes you want to "just get through it". Which is fine to do every now and then when you just want to grind through it, but it shouldn't be a constant practice.
 
@godisworking101 Without commenting on the quality of what you've made, 3x3 hours isn't inherently too much.

It may not be the most time efficient (the first hour is responsible for a bigger share of your gains than the last), and you may be able to get better results structuring it in a different way (5x2 hours, 6x1.5 hours, just as some examples), but if you like it it's probably fine.
 
@godisworking101 Some people would kill for 9 hours per week to lift.

You are doing volume here like a bodybuilder, as others have said it is not an efficient workout for a person with other priorities, but if this is your priority then keep on doing you. If you want to just be strong and healthy among normal people you could cut it down drastically.

It’s only too much if your body or other things in your life start to tell you so.
 
@palmtreeclimber yeah, currently i have a low-stress remote job so i can spend 12 hours a week exercising while also working ( i'm on the cycling machine 1.5 hours each on Tuesdays and Thursdays)

basically using this chance as long as i can
 
@godisworking101 That’s great. Best to clarify what your goals are for this post, you are getting a lot of mixed feedback because almost no one in this sub has this kind of time, and therefor most think your program is a waste of time.

I suggest for you to think of some fitness goals including weightlifting, high intensity and low intensity cardio and build your time out around your goals rather than just doing so much isolation and volume.
 
@godisworking101 Not really efficient.

Currently back on a fullbody routine an example of one I picked up a few years ago.

5 week program, first week each set has 8 reps, progressing by adding a rep each week until 12 reps. At end of 5 weeks you successfully lifted your working weight 12 times you add weight the following week and start over at 8 reps per set.

4 sets squats, first to sets are warm ups, 2 working sets
4 sets bench, 2 warm ups, 2 working
4 sets bent over rows, 2 warm up 2 working

The 2 warm up sets are say 50% working set then 60-70% working set. Get muscles ready and essentially these 3 exercises get a good majority of muscle groups ready.

Then
2 sets stiff legged deadlift
2 sets military press
2 sets barbell curl
2 sets triceps
2 sets calf raises

I add planks after as well even though if using free weights properly and acrivating your core properly you should be working it out as well. Then on off days do a hike or swim or other cardio.

Primary focus should be proper form with controlled weight lift aka proper pauses. If your form and or lift is ugly and jerky your bound to injure yourself.
 
@godisworking101 I think to be maximally efficient you would do more compound and fewer isolation exercises (presses, pulls), and give yourself two days off between the same exercises, which is why some people choose to do split session so they can workout on back-to-back days, but I'm with you on wanting to simply blast the whole body in one session instead of 2.
 
@brianehall i appreciate your suggestions, full body makes more sense for me for a few reasons

i would like a full body because i don't want to combine lifting and cardio back-to-back for interference phenomena

i also don't want to do both on the same day because i prefer to finish my workout in the morning and be done with it

also i need my cardio days, i had a blood pressure spike last year (high pressure runs in my family) and i really should have cardio to improve my heart health. it has already had some great effects for me too

some of the more popular compound exercises are a little tricky for me because my "gym" is one cramped corner of my home office, as i do my workouts at home... in hindsight i think i really should have mentioned this in the post
 
@godisworking101 that actually works really well with full-body workouts because you would use your 2-day break from lifting to do cardio and other non-lifting things. I'd recommend checking out Huberman Lab episodes with Dr. Andy Galpin where he discusses optimal exercise routines.
 
@godisworking101 This is just silly - if the intensity is where it should be (for someone trying to change their body) I don’t see how you can do much more than 60 minutes with lower rest between movements and a full body approach like you have. I mean stick to fewer exercises and increase the load/volume on those particular movements and you will see the workout time decrease.

There are days where I’m real strapped for time that I just hit the Erg and row for 20 -30 minutes straight. I’ve been using the Erg for years and I can barely walk when I get off. Just an example of using your time more wisely. I think you’d be better off condensing your lifting to 60 minutes … up the intensity so you couldn’t fathom going any longer … and if you must spend more time just walk or do something steady state
 
@godisworking101 5/3/1 for beginners is probably a more effective workout, and is meant to be completed in about 50 minutes or so. It's also meant to be done primarily with a barbell, weights, and a rack, and not much else. If you have 3 hours out of your day, 3x a week, to train, you can spend 20 minutes going to a gym, lift for an hour, run for an hour, then spend 20 minutes going home

A sample 5/3/1 for beginners day
  • 10-15 box jumps warmup
  • 5/3/1 Squat
  • 5x5 Squat @ FSL
  • 5/3/1 Bench
  • 5x5 Bench @ FSL
  • 5x10 pullups
  • 5x20 dips
  • 3x20 split squats
  • 3x10 curls
 
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