Why I don't go to gyms anymore..

Work hard and go. If you have energy after an hour, you have been talking too much. Hang out if you want, but I have other things to do.

Depends what your goals are, olympic weightlifting and powerlifting training sessions can easily last 2 hours for competitive lifters. Some people just like hanging out and lifting even if they don't compete, I agree it seems absurd to spend hours in the gym every day but I still give these guys props, it's better than sitting on the couch watching TV.

I used to workout 5 days a week, did a couple years of CrossFit including one at a CF gym, trained olympic lifting only for half a year etc. I love the challenge and seeing the progress. Spent lots of time reading and posting on lifting forums, it was one of my main hobbies along with skiing.

Since getting back into mountain biking I now lift 2-3 times a week for 75 minutes, my goal has changed to maintaining a base level of strength (probably 80% of my all time maxes) and more importantly mobility to reduce the chance of injury from biking/skiing. I sit at a desk all the time and had a back injury in the past so hip mobility/strength is critical to avoiding pain.

If I didn't have a job I would love to train olympic weightlifting 4-5 sessions a week plus ride bikes and ski. Just need to win the lottery :)

Some people just like hanging out and lifting even if they don't compete, I agree it seems absurd to spend hours in the gym every day but I still give these guys props, it's better than sitting on the couch watching TV.

Not when they stand inside the rack or use the equipment as lounge furniture while checking their email and text messages …

Work hard and go. If you have energy after an hour, you have been talking too much. Hang out if you want, but I have other things to do.

Depends what your goals are, olympic weightlifting and powerlifting training sessions can easily last 2 hours for competitive lifters. Some people just like hanging out and lifting even if they don't compete, I agree it seems absurd to spend hours in the gym every day but I still give these guys props, it's better than sitting on the couch watching TV.

yup, grambo got what i was going for. to try and put a blanket time limit on the length of a workout is just not possible as there are just far too many variables involved.

in the scope of joe/jane avg who participate in a few different activities it would be easy to say 45 minutes 3x/wk is enough to give them a performace boost and help them look a bit more buff for the beach. if someone is a strength athlete, then 2 hr workouts 4x/wk is not uncommon.

there are really only 3 golden rules when it comes to training that apply to everyone. after that, everything else you do is open to discussion and interpretation.

syncro's 3 Rules of Training

1. Do Something
- Pretty much anything you do is going to give you some benefit, just get your body moving.

2. Be Consistent
- You always need to keep your body moving, someway or somehow.

3. Change Things
- Whatever it is you're doing you need to change your trainng on a regular basis.

now there is plenty of room for discussion amongst those 3 rules. however, if you look at any type of training or workout program, no matter what the goal is, those 3 rules form the basis of what you need to do.

syncro's 3 Rules of Training

1. Do Something
- Pretty much anything you do is going to give you some benefit, just get your body moving.

2. Be Consistent
- You always need to keep your body moving, someway or somehow.

3. Change Things
- Whatever it is you're doing you need to change your trainng on a regular basis.

now there is plenty of room for discussion amongst those 3 rules. however, if you look at any type of training or workout program, no matter what the goal is, those 3 rules form the basis of what you need to do.

Sometimes, we take visitors for a walk around "our" local reservoir/dam/lake, and there are a lot of jogging/walking sticks type of folks, and I usually let the visitors rant about them….how silly that is, and all that - but sometimes I just think that these folks do more than our visitors, and I tell them about the benefit of having started anything that keeps a person from sitting on the couch.