This is an interesting question for there are many different ways I could answer this. Like most things with health and fitness there is no definitive only way to achieve good results and this is a classic example. Some people believe more is better and a workout is not worth it until you have worked out for 60-90 minutes, developed a massive sweat, and feel totally exhausted. Whereas, others think that 30 minutes is all you need and it is more about quality than quantity. The answer lies somewhere in between the two but in a way both assumptions are correct. It all depends on the type of workout you are completing, and what the objective of the training session is. In this article, I will try to explain the different types of workout objectives and how long a session should last depending on the training goal in mind to maximize your time and effort.
In a perfect world you would have all the time to do the workout you want, that includes all of the exercises with the right amount of sets and reps to develop total strength that you are looking for. Unfortunately, the perfect world is not reality and sometimes you have to make compromises or find more efficient ways to achieve your goal.
It is amazing how easily people lose sight of what they are trying to achieve and end up completing a workout based on entirely different goals. Not only does this lead to poor results it can easily lead to injury and pain.
Usually, I spend considerable time discussing exercise techniques or how to complete assessments in order to select the right exercises. What is easily overlooked are the little things like how long or how hard should you train, or how to design you work-out correctly to maximize the amount of time you train.
The one thing you need to do before getting started is being perfectly clear about what you are trying to achieve.
Are you training for strength, fitness, technique, or trying to rehabilitate an injury?
The answer to that question will make it easier to determine how long your training session should last for you will find it varies considerably depending on what your goal or objective is.
Training goals of strength and fitness will typically require much more time, more volume of sets and reps versus training for technique and rehabilitation. A lack of training volume will produce poor results with strength and fitness whereas shorter workouts will be just right for beginners learning correct techniques and those recovering from injury.
To force your muscles to adapt and grow in strength or size, you need to complete enough volume of training that challenges the body. The right amount you need is much less than you think and a lot of this has to do with how hard you train. I discussed this in great detail in my article about training muscles to failure and how finding the right intensity is the key to great results.
I also discussed how most people do not push themselves hard enough when they train. They always do the same reps and sets every workout and never really push their body.
On the flip side of this is the gym junkie who abuses exercise and trains too hard and too often. What you will find is that if you get the intensity of your exercise just right you do not need as many sets as you think to develop strength to your potential.
A healthy person with good exercise technique will produce great results using 2-3 sets per exercise to take the muscles to high levels of fatigue. However, as you become stronger or use more advanced exercises it is hard to go straight to your training potential with only 1-2 sets as most people will need a warm-up set and a gradual increase in loads to allow the body to adjust to the intensity demands. The higher intensity sets will also require longer resting times which will further extend the workout.
For example, maximal strength training which involves reps of 1-5 will require 3 minutes plus for rest time. If you try to cut this short you compromise the intention of the program. On the other side of this is circuit training which deliberately eliminates the rest time to increase the cardiovascular and endurance demands. In both cases you will need a certain amount of volume in the workout to maximize the results.
Without enough training volume it is unlikely you will reach your potential and as a result the muscles are unlikely to change that much. Sure, there will still be some strength gains but it will be minimal in comparison to the demands created from a progressive overload structure.
However, a person suffering with injury or a beginner trying to learn good exercise techniques, using too many sets or reps can be disastrous.
Too much volume will easily create fatigue with weakened muscles and is more likely to create compensation and ultimately more dysfunction and eventually pain. Less sets that challenge the muscles, ligaments, and tendons without taking it to full fatigue is more useful in these situations. Later on as they improve you can begin to take the muscles to more fatigue, but in the beginning quality of movement is more important than strength gains.
You can see how it can be difficult to give a definitive answer to this question and why you need to be clear on what training objective is. You could even have two different objectives within your workout as your legs may be able to complete more volume and higher intensity but your upper body may need less volume and intensity due to an injury.
What exactly is too much or not enough?
The Optimal Amount of Sets for a Strength Training Workout
To determine how much is needed in a workout we need to establish how many sets and reps you need for each exercise.
In a 2015 study by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning they found participants who completed 5 sets per exercise built more muscle than those who completed only 1-3 sets per exercise after six months of training.
This would support the argument that more is better, however in a 2019 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise they found that while 5 sets beat 1-3 sets per exercise for muscle growth, all groups showed significant increases in strength and endurance with no “significant between group differences”.
What this means is you can still achieve great results from 3 sets instead of 5 sets which is perfect for most people who are time poor to begin with.
As long as your exercise intensity is right, you will have done enough to create a muscle overload. Any additional sets will produce marginal improvements that may even prove to be counter-productive if you end up with an injury. In theory you could still do well with only one set but it is pretty tough to get the intensity right with only set, so as I explained earlier using the first set as a warm-up and followed up with 2 additional overload sets is perfect to create the overload.
Always remember you can create progressive overload in several ways. It is not just about putting the load up.
I myself find that I need at least 3 sets and sometimes 4 sets to get to my potential without increasing risk to my joints. Especially with exercises like the deadlift or pushing exercises due to previous injuries of my hips and shoulder. I do not want to go lifting heavy straight away as I feel I need a few warm-up sets to test out how I feel and also get the blood pumping into the tendons and muscles.
Now that we know 3 sets is enough, how many exercises do you need in one workout?
If you are completing a full-body workout (which you should be) that utilizes all of the fundamental movement patterns such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups and chin-ups you should be able to cover all of the muscles in the body within 5-6 exercises.
Watch the video below to see a detailed explanation of each of these patterns.
This would mean you should only need 15-18 sets for each workout. Most people may need 2 or 3 simpler accessory exercises such as hip extensions or core stability work to target weaker areas of the body meaning a workout could consist of 6-8 exercises.
This would give you a total of 24 sets which is perfect for most people to complete within 45 minutes accounting for rest between sets and a warm-up. If you structure the workout correctly you can use supersets to minimize rest time between exercises and maybe get through the workout within 30 minutes.
The best thing about this is that a workout consisting of 20-24 sets will only need to be completed 2-3 times per week as you will need to allow enough time between workouts to let the muscles fully recover. Once again this is perfect for the majority of people trying to fit in their workouts around busy jobs and family life and not feeling like they have to be at the gym every day to get results.
What if there are other exercises you want to do but could not fit them into one workout? This is where you could break up your training week into two parts which is often referred to as a split program.
Benefits Of A Split Program
You could split this up in many ways.
You could have a full body strength day on Monday and Friday that consists of the big lifts like squats, deadlifts, lunges, pushing and pulling exercises. You could then have a lighter workout for the next workout that includes a different set of accessory exercises that are lighter in load and you could do this on the Wednesday. You could allow more time on the Monday and Friday, let’s say 45-60mins to do your main strength workout that leaves your muscles sore and weary. The big workout will require longer resting times between sets and possibly 3-4 sets for some of the key exercises making the workout last a bit longer.
With the Wednesday workout you could do easier exercises that are more stability and mobility focused that allow you to still train but do not exhaust your body as much. As the exercises are lower in intensity you will not need as long as resting time and also only 2-3 sets. This workout may only require 30 minutes and allow your body to recover fully by Friday so you can go hard again.
Some people like to break up the body into muscle parts like upper body on Monday and Thursday and legs on Tuesday and Friday. This can work out well in terms of muscle recovery, especially for the legs as they can get really sore if you designate an entire workout to them. (See the article about legs day for workout examples and more detail about how to do this).
However, it is not the best way to train for functional movement which should be your priority.
Splitting the body into parts is training like a robot and will not get the body to integrate effectively for most of the best exercises use both upper and lower body together like Turkish Get-ups, squat press, wood-chops, and even deadlifts to some degree. I prefer to keep full-body workouts as the main workout as much as possible for this reason. Also breaking the workouts into body parts also means you need to fit in another training day which may not work for those who are already time poor.
Splitting your workouts into one easy day and one harder integrated day, is a great way to get the best out of your body with various movements but not needing a massive amount of time to do so. With many of the online Zoom calls I do with people overseas this is how I like to structure their programs for I do not have the luxury of seeing them each week to determine what the best exercises to use are. Instead of giving them a ton of things to test out on one day that may take 90 minutes to do, I break up their program into two parts so they can find out what works best for them.
Over time this type of structure allows the person to become clearer as to what are the best exercises for their body and eventually the program condenses into a specific workout that targets their weaknesses more effectively.
You must remember that each person is different so there is no one size fits all approach that you can follow all the time. You will also experience times when you feel amazing and have tons of energy and time to complete difficult and intense workouts, but at other times feel the complete opposite. If you can keep your ego in check and recognize these signals you will use the workout that your body will thrive on and respond to in a positive way.
Do You Need More Workout Ideas?
If you want even more circuit workouts, strength programs and even cardio and sporting workouts, make sure you get a copy of the Little Black Book of Training Secrets where I share 101 amazing programs just like the ones shown in this article.
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Summary
I hope this article has provided you with some great insight Far too many people hold onto this belief that they need to be in the gym for 60-90 minutes 4-5 times per week when in reality it is about half of this. The old saying “less is more” is so true when it comes to training volume. The secret to getting this right comes down to two things. Firstly, being perfectly clear on what you are trying to achieve, and secondly working to the right intensity. If you are challenging your muscles with the right amount of load you will be making strong and steady progress towards your goals.
About The Author
Nick Jack is owner of No Regrets Personal Training and has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified Personal Trainer, Level 2 Rehabilitation trainer, CHEK practitioner, and Level 2 Sports conditioning Coach. Based in Melbourne Australia he specializes in providing solutions to injury and health problems for people of all ages using the latest methods of assessing movement and corrective exercise.
References
• Movement – By Gray Cook
• Corrective Exercise Solutions – by Evan Osar
• Athletes Acceleration Speed Training & Game Like Speed – by Lee Taft
• Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes – By Shirley Sahrman
• Low Back Disorders – by Stuart McGill
• Knee Injuries In Athletes – by Sports Injury Bulletin
• Anatomy Trains – by Thomas Meyers
• Motor Learning and Performance – By Richard A Schmidt and Timothy D Lee
• Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance – By Vladimir Janda
• How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy by Paul Chek
• Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course – By Paul Chek
• Advanced Program Design – By Paul Chek
• Twist Conditioning Sports Strength – By Peter Twist