Is it true that working out for more then an hour has no effect?

[Janessaaa1]

some people say that its only effective to work out for an hour and after that it don't do anything for you. is this really true?

[OpenClose]

Depends on the TYPE of workout.

Ideally, you'd want to sustain something mild for a very long time. That's ideally, though, and you can't exactly do that in a gym.

If you're talking about muscle, you lift weights 3 times per week for about 40 minutes or so.

But if you're like most people, and you're trying to lose weight, you'd probably be better off making a daily swap, like replacing your car with feet or bike whenever possible. Something that keeps your heart rate above resting for very long periods of time, daily. Because working out doesn't kill many more calories than walks, but sharply increases your appetite.

In my experience, walking kills the appetite, and it's something you can maintain intensity in for a long, long time. I walk 1.6 miles to class every morning at a fairly quick pace. I come back to my apartment and back to campus at least once per day, making my usually daily walking at least 6.4 miles. (2 up, 2 back) This does more to regulate your weight than the gym would probably do, and it's more scenic and useful.

I'd say, if your workout routine doesn't work, give this a try.

[WoIIie]

Great question. From personal experience, long workout sessions (mostly cardio with good diet afterwards) is good for losing body fat, but not so good for building muscle mass. I couldn't feel or notice any significant gains but my weight melted away like butter.

You do get results but whether or not they are good depends on what you're trying to do. Bulking up would most likely be less effective the longer you work out unless you're on steroids or something. Keeping workouts short but very intense tends to be the best route.

[Janessaaa1]

yeah, mostly just want to loose body fat for now, and will work on the muscle building later lol

[Anonymous]

well from my experience what they mean is that some people will do hours on the machine but not be pushing themselves. it is better to do a 30 minute workout that makes you sweat a ton than do 60 minutes but not sweat that much. the point is to feel challenged and exerted, otherwise your body isn't burning much fat.

i don't know about an hour has no effect but if you do cardio for too long you will feel tired and achey and starving. I know if I do too much of it I will feel starved and eat too much. so it's best to do somewhere between 30-60 minutes TOPS of cardio, but I try to do it between 35-45 or so with some weights for 15-20 minutes.

[madmisskelly]

Thats not true. It depends on what you are doing.

Hours of weight lifting is a little excessive even though professional body building does it. I think after hours of weight lifting for the same muscle group you are kinda just beating a dead horse.

However, if it is a combination of weight lifting and cardio, or even solid cardio I don't see how it would have NO effect after an hour.

[Janessaaa1]

yeah, I usually do eliptical for an hour, treadmill for an hour, then lift for about 30 minutes. and I'm not just strolling along, I usually have the resistance up high and alternate between fast and slow.

[madmisskelly]

I would maybe replace one of those cardio machines with a different form of cardio such as maybe running stairs or sprints

[john5246]

What do you mean it doesn't do anything for you after an hour?

If you're doing cardio the longer you go the more fat and calories you will burn. The downside is often that the more you work out the hungrier you feel, so you have to keep your diet the same and burn more calories.

For weight lifting more than 1-2hrs can be a waste of time, you're better off lifting heavy and doing more intense exercise than working out for hours on end. But body builders often do this and that's fine for them.

Losing weight is more about diet and exercise can help, think about it this way...it would take a long time on a treadmill to burn off just one oreo cookie, but only a few seconds to eat it.

[Janessaaa1]

idk, cause I usually go to the gym for about 2-3 hours. 2 doing cardio, and 30 min lifting... and someone told me that after an hour you don't really even get anything out of it because your body does something...idk exactly what he said but that's why I asked this. and yeah you may be true, but I barely even loose any weight at all with an awesome diet and hardcore gym time let alone just basing it off of what I eat... I might be immune to exercising that much. is that possible?

[lucky24]

its a lie

if you look at professional athletes they train for hours each day (except maybe off season)

since if you read articles reading fat burning you would read that the body first burns a certain % of glucose and a certain % of body fat

but as your glocse stores get lower the amount of body fat burned gets higher

so once you pass a certain point you will be burning off a lot more body fat

however keep in mind that without proper nutrition going past a certain amount can be very dangerous for your health

i play for hours each day (moderate) and workout (moderate to heavy)

but its because I have gotten used to it (actually I still get injuries from time to time) since it puts a lot of strain on your body

hope that helps

[jo1234]

I'm not sure. haha. I used to work out for 3hrs a day twice a week before I shifted to the 1hr everyday thing. Back then I noticed I gained little muscle(3hr days) but lost a lot of fat. I looked sickly skinny. So I'd have to say It depends on what your trying to achieve.

[Janessaaa1]

yeah but I already work out 2-3 hours a day, 4-5 days a week and see no results.

[Anonymous]

that actually happened to me I kept getting addicted to the elliptical machine I would do it for 2 hrs a day but then I stopped seeing the effects and didn't see any weight loss like I was seeing when I first started

i think HIIT is the best, high intensity interval training, you stop and go and work your heart and you burn more fat that way

[Janessaaa1]

yeah I totally agree! I did it for 2 hours one day and people were lookin at me like wtf is wrong with you? I don't think it does anything for me tho cause I could do it everyday for hours and loose 0 lbs lol

[dan123z4]

It depends on a few factors. The reason people say that is bec after an he your body produces cortisol which is bad for your muscles. So 1. It depends on your nutrition plan 2. The way you train. If he taking rests between sets for 2 min its not so bad. If your doing more intense it is. Plus you have to make sure your fueling it body properly for what if doing

[ladsin]

depends on what you're working, endurance or burst... if your trying to work burst working out really heavy for short time is better obviously endurance is vice cersa

[Janessaaa1]

well which one would burn more fat? lol

[ladsin]

probly endurance... I do burst, but addition of heavy weights for mass building

[Janessaaa1]

yeah cause I usually do cardio for 2 hours then lift for 30 min and someone said that after an hour its useless to even workout. and I do both, endurance and burst

[ladsin]

ya I mean it wouldn't make sense because think about marathoners o.O

[Janessaaa1]

what about it?

[ladsin]

there in the best shape (endurance wise, lung capacity and cardio) and they run for like hours a day

[Janessaaa1]

ohhhh, OK lol... and yeah, maybe I need to kick my cardio up to like 3 hours... I'm getting immune to it and not seeing results lol

[Longshot]

It's not easy to answer. It depends on what type of workout you do and your nutrtion plan. However, you're generally right -- at some point whether it's an hour or 2 hours, there will be diminishing returns.

[kheserthorpe]

Multi hour workouts are ideal for driving down resting heart rate, expansion of the circulatory system and maximizing aerobic capacity.

If those aren't your goals it may not be the best use of your time.

[martyfellow]

Most people can't maintain intensity more tha an hour, so after that you aren't getting much return for your time. But it would be overstating to say a longer workout has NO effect. It will increase your endurance somewhat.

[rachiee]

Depends on what you're doing/your body. If you're barely doing anything for an hour you're not going to see the same results as you would if you work out intensely and push yourself for 30 minutes.

[WeaponZero]

Depends on what your goals are. But unless you're a professional athlete training to get better for their specific sport it's not really viable or practical and you won't see much from it.

[Anonymous]

No, that's not true.