Is 3 hours in the gym too much?

@mrslambrou That was going to be my question, what are we counting in those 3 hours? From the time I leave the house to when I return is a little over 2 hours because that includes driving, walking to loosen up, stretching, lifting, more stretching, driving back, and maybe coffee.

If we’re just counting time in the weight room, from my first warm-up set to when I’ve racked the last of my weights, that’s 50-75 minutes.
 
@dawn16 1.5 hours of 7 exercises 5 sets each with normal break times, 1.5 hours treadmill walking. 3 exercises with 5 min break times 10 sets each. Etc etc many normal excuses for 3 hours
 
@asdtmr12 I do 2 to 3 full body sessions of around 2.5 to 3 hours each. This allows me to get 4 to 5 full days of rest (with light cardio on rest days). It's 100% doable, but your diet, and sleep has to on point or you wear down.

Granted it takes a few weeks to build up to it. I missed 9 weeks due to a bad covid infection and came back 4 weeks ago and it killed me even cutting down sets and reps. It taxes the entire body in one massive hit. But once you adapt it feels great 👍
 
@asdtmr12 As with nearly everything regarding bodybuilding it depends on the person. Most people, particularly naturals, wouldn’t be able to adequately recover if they did this regularly. Also feel if you’re posing this question you may not be all that experienced which leads me to believe you might not be very efficient with your time in the gym.
 
@asdtmr12 If it’s not taking away from other aspects of your day (relationships, productivity, work, family, hobbies, etc) then I don’t see a problem.
 
@asdtmr12 This so a great question. I do think it’s a long time but I spend the same amount of time in the gym.
Volume increase every workout, however reps are avg 10-12 while sets are 4-6 depending on the workout.
I do about 7-10 workouts each day and gym 5-6 times a week with 30+ min of cardio.

So 3 hours is long but if you are doing more sets and actually resting properly while adding your cardio then 3 hours is right on the money.
 
@asdtmr12 what are your goals - are you trying to compete in bb?

if you're just working out to get jacked, then yeah it's too much. You can get a lot done in 60-90 mins. Use an interval timer to beep at 2 min intervals to remind you do your next set (use whatever interval you want). Generally 2-3 mins rest is recommended on top/heavy sets.
 
@asdtmr12 If it’s just 3 hours of lifting then yeah. But when you throw stretching and cardio in the mix that’s a little different. Try doing supersets so you’re not in there as long
 
@asdtmr12 I spend that much time in the gym, sometimes even over 4 hours. But I also swim and get in the sauna. I take 1hr30-2hrs on weights if I’m minimizing breaks and 3hrs if I’m taking time in between sets.
 
@asdtmr12 I need to see this routine that takes 3 hours to do haha. What are you resting 5 minutes a set and doing 10 exercises? We go to the gym to stimulate, not annihilate.
 
@asdtmr12 Either you are a pro athlete trying to carve out that minuscule advantage in your sport or you are an amateur wasting your time in the gym.
 

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