How long should my workout be?
My very best, most productive workout was between 30 and 40 minutes three times weekly. I have trained 2 hours a day, six days a week and only my genetically gifted arms grew. Nothing else. As I reduced my volume, everything else started growing. When I won my last 2 bodybuilding contests I did 3 weight workouts and 3 cardio workouts a week. Both were 30 to 40 minutes.
How long should my HIT workout be?
If you are new to exercise, none at all. In other words DON'T DO HIIT.Just ask yourself honestly why you exercise. To lose weight? To gain strength? To increase endurance? To increase explosive ability and speed? To be healthy? For competition?The answer to the above question will dictate what form of exercise to do and how to go about it.HIIT is only beneficial to the elite athlete who wants more lasting high speed or power ability. This ability can mean a difference between the gold medal or just a silver. It has no other benefit for the average individual except for improving the heart rate recovery ability.Why do the elite athletes do HIIT and not just go all out until the muscles almost give way? Because of the recovery time needed. An all out effort until failure will take several minutes recovery. So they do short bursts at max effort with an accompanying recovery period to lessen the time they have to train. The endurance part of the muscle also improves slightly in balance with the improved Anaerobic capability.So for almost everyone, HIIT can be discarded from the list.There have been attempts to modify the concept of HIIT to suit a person's requirement. Such as only 90% effort for the high intensity part, circuit training in weight bearing exercises to boost endurance capability among others. All in the name of HIIT.It is up to you to decide on what you want to do after careful and logical consideration of the benefits of each type of exercise.A good example is running. HIIT is good for sprinting. Pure endurance for the marathon. So where do the middle distance races come in? Perhaps a combination of the two will work well. I don't know.
How long should you wait to workout after eating?
I workout 3-4 times a week and I usually wait at least 1 hour after eating to work out. If it's a really big meal, then I wait 1.5-2 hours. It's important to give your stomach a rest because working out too soon after you eat can make you feel sick!
How long should my cardio workout be?
Limit sugar intake to less than 20 grams a day (I know this is hard because most people don't REALIZE the amount of sugar they eat). This usually melts the fat off because unused sugar gets stored at the end of the day. If your body is not getting sugar, it eats the excess that you already have stored (if any). Make sure to keep your protein at 40-50 grams a day (like 2 eggs in the morning and a chicken breast at dinner..maybe turkey for lunch on a salad) would give you that. Veggies and small amounts of fruit should be your "carbohydrates" and if you're going to eat bread, make sure it is 100% whole wheat bread and nothing that says "enriched" or "refined" on the ingredients list. DO NOT STOP EATING "FATS" because your brain needs them and honestly you need to take in some fat to burn fat. The key is knowing which types of fat to eat. Almonds (10-15 per serving) is a good fat source, so maybe eat those with your eggs in the morning. 1 TBSP of dressing on your salad wouldnt kill you, but watch the sugar content if you can. Olive oil on chicken is great, and peanut butter is also good but try to get natural PB... If you need something sweet, try sugar free jello pudding...or sugar free jello gelatin. That's what I do. Don't be fooled by "fat free" items because they probably have more sugar in them than the regular item. The calories might be higher, but honestly its better than the lower calorie with added sugar option that tries to trick everyone by marketing it as "healthy." GOOD LUCK. Wish I knew all of that at your age! Would have saved me a lot of hell. Make sure you do it right, and no matter what anyone tells you, keep your calories ABOVE 700. If you are active and work out for more than 45 minutes a day, keep your calories ABOVE 900. Dont get all crazy with the treadmill or cardio machines either, if you do what I just told you your body will already realize that there is "change" happening...don't kill your heart with a huge cardio workout. I'd say 45 minutes of cardio and then leg lifts, crunches, stretching is GREAT for the body. And try to be stress-free as well and drink plenty of water. I hope this helps.
How long do you workout per day?
I workout for about 45 minutes daily and i train with and without weights. I found that doing full body circut workouts, which means working every muscle on one day. Is much more effective then singling it out. Monday i do that then tuesday i do some for of cardio, and so on consistently and i rest sat and sun. On my workout days i do one exercise for each muscle group and do i bit of jumping rope jumping jacks in between sets. For example i do pushups or bench press for chest 3 sets then 2 mins of cardio then squats for legs, then cardio, then i do biceps then shoulder then triceps then abs not always same order do what works for you. If you want to build muscle for free weights try getting between 6-10 reps per set.
How long should my workout be to lose weight?
Work out for an hour a day, 6 days a week. More importantly, you have to eat healthy and watch your calorie intake. I'm 5'5 and I weigh 118. I just had a fitness assessment, and with my current activity (1hr a day), it is recommended that I eat 1843 calories a day. Since February, I decided that I would eat only healthy meals, with the occassional piece of chocolate. I lost 10 lbs, I have a toned tummy, muscle definition in my arms and legs. I can see much better results, now, because of the way I'm eating. When I'd eat any type of food, as long as I didn't exceed 1200 calories, I was in worse shape than I currently am! So, I cannot stress how important healthy foods are to the appearance of your body. Eat lean meats, like chicken, shrimp, fish. Eat pasta with ground turkey spagetti sauce, eat salads with mimimal dressing or 1 T oil with 1 T red wine vinegar, add beans to it for protein. Its not that hard, and you'll love your results, AND, I'm never hungry!
How long should a decent workout last for?
I’ll add to what Matt said.For lifting weights, the biggest influences on your length of workout will be, number of exercises, number of sets/reps, and time between sets.It really depends on your workout and your goals. For example, in powerlifting the goal is to move the most weight, so you should rest until you feel you are ready to hit the next set, and move a lot of weight. Even if that is 5–10 minutes, what’s more important is that you move the weight.IMHO I think in bodybuilding, newbies can get carried away with the number of exercises and sets. Most people think well, more is better right? And hit 5 different press variations in one chest workout, or something silly like that just because they’ve only been at the gym for an hour.In general, don’t focus on time as much, focus on what you need to get done. If you are starting out, depending on your goals, I’d suggest following a tried and true proven program. Do some research, look at what’s out there. My guess is if you are asking this, you don’t have a ton of experience. Try something like starting strength, stronglifts 5x5, or maybe Jonnie Canditos beginner program.PowerliftingToWin has awesome reviews of a ton of different programs. Mainly for strength training, but getting stronger will also get you bigger if you are starting out, and powerlifting can really help teach you proper form and lay a great foundation for bodybuilding stuff.Cheers.Dave
After a meal how long should you wait before you workout?
You should wait atleast an hour or more to wait. You have to let your stomach digest the food properly. Your body uses more blood and energy for your stomach when it is digesting. So you won't be able to workout as efficiently because your body needs to use energy and blood to do those exercises. If its focused on digesting, it won't go as well. Also, some people tend to feel nauseous and want to throw up after eating and working out. You should drink your protein shake within an hour after your workout. It is known as the golden hour. During that moment, your body is like a sponge; it will absorb more nutrients and such. That is when drinking it will be most beneficial. If you don't have a shake you can just try to have a snack or something.