Working Out Too Long

[music_man185]

the other day i went to the gym and was in there for 2 hours. this is the longest i've spent working out. and i'm wondering if this is too long. i've always heard you shouldn't be in the gym for 2 hours because of overtraining.
i did chest, triceps, forearms and abs. i'm working out for strength right now with 4 sets of 8, 6, 4, and 2 reps. so i sometimes take longer than 30-45 seconds rest between sets. i did 16 sets for chest. 12 sets for triceps. 4 sets for forearms. and 8 sets for abs (including obliques). i'm just wondering if this is spending too much time in the gym. i had a great pump in my chest when i finished, but by the time i did everything else, the pump was gone. the same with my triceps. i feel like i needed some sort of postworkout nutrition while i was still somewhat pumped. i know they say not to spend over 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours in the gym. but i've always thought that was in reference to spending too much time on one body part and doing too many sets for that bodypart. i did 4 bodyparts. is this still ok? and do i need to take my postworkout shake to the gym and consume as soon as i finish the big muscle groups like chest and triceps before i do smaller ones like forearms, abs, calves, etc...?

[jeff00z28]

Nah u didn't do too many sets so ur good to go. Not working out over 45 minutes is a bullshit myth. It only takes me an hour but only because I train very fast. Some people prefer to sip on eaa drink mixes during a workout if its a longer one. i woulda supersetted the forearms and abs because they are both so boring

[moreofme2kill]

im in the gym 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. first hour and 30-40 mins or so is on weights, then 20 mins fast incline walking. been working good for me. also, i dont drink my protein till i leave the gym and am home, which is about 15 mins. from what ive gathered you have a half hour window or so to get that protein down. i am goin to start taking aminos while working out, so then i should be totally covered. keep it up.

[music_man185]

i woulda supersetted the forearms and abs because they are both so boring

i didn't even think of supersetting them. that would have made more sense.

[theharjmann]

the other day i went to the gym and was in there for 2 hours. this is the longest i've spent working out. and i'm wondering if this is too long. i've always heard you shouldn't be in the gym for 2 hours because of overtraining.
i did chest, triceps, forearms and abs. i'm working out for strength right now with 4 sets of 8, 6, 4, and 2 reps. so i sometimes take longer than 30-45 seconds rest between sets. i did 16 sets for chest. 12 sets for triceps. 4 sets for forearms. and 8 sets for abs (including obliques). i'm just wondering if this is spending too much time in the gym. i had a great pump in my chest when i finished, but by the time i did everything else, the pump was gone. the same with my triceps. i feel like i needed some sort of postworkout nutrition while i was still somewhat pumped. i know they say not to spend over 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours in the gym. but i've always thought that was in reference to spending too much time on one body part and doing too many sets for that bodypart. i did 4 bodyparts. is this still ok? and do i need to take my postworkout shake to the gym and consume as soon as i finish the big muscle groups like chest and triceps before i do smaller ones like forearms, abs, calves, etc...?

I personally think that's WAY too long to train. I did chest, shoulders and triceps last night. 8 working sets for chest, 6 for shoulders and 5 for triceps. Was done in 60 minutes. I trained heavy and hard and couldn't have possibly done anymore. And I am sore as fuck today. I had my iPod on and spoke to nobody apart from asking for a spot.

16 sets is way too many for chest I reckon. Did you push each set balls to he wall?

[Fury317]

The only reason why 45 minutes is suggested is because that is the average time when testosterone begins to plummet. And plummet fast. There have been NUMEROUS studies and this is only the AVERAGE. Personally I train for about 60-70 minutes with weights, and cardio only takes about 30 minutes, but I do them seperately. Some people may be able to get away with 90 minutes, but I think 2 hrs is way too long. Youre not doing anything but causing excessive damage that is going to require extended periods of rest to recover properly.

Remember, lifting weights, while fun, is a means to an end for the majority of us here. You should be in there to do one thing- tear down the muslce as efficiently as possible. This doesnt always mean beating and beating and beating yourself with presses or pulls. Get in there, break some of those fibers down, get out, and get some quality food in you.

[Mindaugas]

There are no rules set in stone... if you want train for 1 hour or 2 hours, its up to you and what works for you.

On the other hand i was taking too long rests... and buying a stop watch really helped me and i feel like im having better work outs now.

[music_man185]

16 sets is way too many for chest I reckon. Did you push each set balls to he wall?

well, this day was an exception. i did go balls to the wall, but i always have a spotter for chest. but that day, i was the only one in the gym. so i just loaded 135 on repped as many as i could. i did the same for incline barbell bench, incline dumbbell flys, and cable flys. 4 sets each.

what is a good amount of rest to take between sets if your lifting heavy, but still want a good pump?

[Fury317]

well, this day was an exception. i did go balls to the wall, but i always have a spotter for chest. but that day, i was the only one in the gym. so i just loaded 135 on repped as many as i could. i did the same for incline barbell bench, incline dumbbell flys, and cable flys. 4 sets each.

what is a good amount of rest to take between sets if your lifting heavy, but still want a good pump?

It varies person to person. Take at least a minute though, anything under that and you wont allow the muscle to fully replenish PCr, and youll be tapping into oxphos (aka cardio). I usually train in the 8-10 range and take 90 seconds up to 3 minutes.

[theharjmann]

Get in there, break some of those fibers down, get out, and get some quality food in you.

this is the name of the game!