working out for more than an hour

[Money Shot]

I know you are only supposed to work out for 45 minutes to an hour, but is that for only one particular muscle? what if i did an hour of legs and then an hour of chest? is that alright?

[SMOOTH NECRO]

more is not really better. I think you should read up on the fundamentals of working out before going any further.

[TrainSmarter]

I know you are only supposed to work out for 45 minutes to an hour, but is that for only one particular muscle? what if i did an hour of legs and then an hour of chest? is that alright?

No, as a general guideline you should not be spending more than 45-60 minutes per workout, regardless of how many muscle groups you are training. Any more than that can be counterproductive for most people.

[mighty_mike]

Depends on intensity. If you're using weights that you can to 8-12 reps/set, with a few minutes rest between each set, then maybe. It also depends on your recovery ability.

My take on this is to make the most of my time in the gym. Using the bench press as an example, I'll do 4 sets of 4,3,2, and 1 reps going from 75% 1RM to 100% 1RM (currently 350lbs for those interested) then do a 6-15 second static hold using 125%-150% of my 1RM. This usually takes about 10-15min. and my tris and pecs are slammed, from that point I take 3 to 4 days off.

Leg press is pretty much the same.

Bottom line: The higher the intensity, the lower the frequency and duration, and the longer the recovery. AND higher intensity = greater gains.

Again, it's all based on your goals and recovery ability.

[Dirk D.]

An hour for your chest? What would make you want to do that to those poor muscles? It's one muscle. An hour for legs?...OK, I can see that, there are four major muscles there, and most people need a lot of rest between heavy sets of squats. But chest? I doubt you'd get too much long term progress doing an hour of work for your chest, unless you take ten minutes between sets.

Dirk

[miche13]

I used to work out everything one day on one day off and my workout was 2 hours long. As I got more busy I had to spread it out over two days.
You might be able to keep up 2 hours every other day, for a month or so. Then you might get burned out.

[Mikey1]

An hour for your chest? What would make you want to do that to those poor muscles? It's one muscle. An hour for legs?...OK, I can see that, there are four major muscles there, and most people need a lot of rest between heavy sets of squats. But chest? I doubt you'd get too much long term progress doing an hour of work for your chest, unless you take ten minutes between sets.

Dirk

agreed.....chest is a very small muscle group