How Long Should a Full-Body Workout Last?

Working out too long can lead to symptoms of overtraining, while too short a workout won’t provide the desired results. Finding that happy medium is essential to getting the best results possible from your workouts. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends adults get 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week along with two or three resistance-training workouts. Whether your full-body training program involves cardio, weight training or a combination of both, the optimal workout duration remains pretty standard.

  1. Intensity Level

    • Your workout intensity plays a major role in determining the ideal workout duration. Your body can handle moderate-intensity exercise, about 50 to 70 percent your maximum exertion level, for longer than vigorous exercise performed at 70 to 90 percent of your max exertion. Based on ACSM recommendations, 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise is optimal for most people, while 10 to 30 minutes is recommended for vigorous exercise.

    Weight Training Duration

    • Full-body weight-training sessions shouldn’t last longer than 60 minutes, but the optimal time may be closer to 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of heavy weight training, testosterone levels begin to come down to normal levels, while the hormone cortisol can start to increase production in the body, leading to increased fat storage and potential muscle loss. It’s not difficult to get a full-body workout squeezed into 45 to 60 minutes. Make sure to exercise each major muscle group with three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions and only rest about 60 seconds between each set.

    Overtraining

    • If you spend 60 or minutes exercising in the gym each day, you’re at risk of overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining include soreness in bones and joints, loss of focus, lack of motivation and plateaus in results. It’s counterproductive for the average person to exercise for longer than 60 minutes at a moderate pace or 30 minutes at a vigorous pace. Your body may begin to actually lose lean muscle and increase fat storage if you exercise too hard for too long. Rest is a critical part of building lean muscle and recovering from each workout. Aim for about 48 hours of rest between intense resistance-training workouts.

    Safety

    • Everyone is different, with varying fitness levels, age, sex, existing health conditions and goals. So it’s difficult to recommend an exact workout duration that works for everyone. Your doctor is a great source for determining a starting point specifically tailored to your fitness level and goals. Beginners should start at around 30 minutes per workout at a moderate intensity. Progress up to a maximum of 60 minutes per session as your body improves physically, or keep the workout duration the same but increase your intensity level to progress toward your health and fitness goals.