How Long Should A Workout Last

    There are a variety of ways to exercise and some workouts take a long time, some are very short but what is the best length of time to train quality-wise? Well, some trainers have you work out for a little more than an hour, workouts last less than 20 minutes of pure intensity and there are some really lengthy workouts that last up to 2 hours or more. I go by what is comfortable and what I'm willing to focus on. I have done workouts that lasted as long as an hour and a half but that was usually a nice and easy qi gong workout where I let my body flow with energy and relaxed. On average my workouts last from 10-30 minutes depending on what my mind is set for. When it comes to high intensity training, I personally feel 25 minutes or less is optimal because there is no way in hell unless you're a professional athlete that high of a level of training over an extended period of time can cause injury and burn outs. However with a consideration of DDP Yoga, if a workout is intense but comes down every few minutes or so and you're at a considerable level of fitness, you can go up to 40 minutes or more if you wish.

 
    There is a big difference in the length of workouts and not just how long they are but what the intent is, if you're looking for intense hard nose training, less than 20 minutes is best but if you're looking for more length to increase stamina and moderate to about 65% intensity, 30 minutes to an hour is pretty good. There is no way you can go 100% for an hour straight and not even slightly be burned out, the body needs to slow down at times and be able to breathe well into the next set of exercise. I have been through some really intense training that lasted a little more than 45 minutes and I was cooked for at least 3 days and needed to tone things down to recover. Recovery is important in both short and long workouts. At best three times a week that would be your short and intense, hardcore type workouts like interval type training (sprinting, animal movements, jumping,) then take a day off or 2 to recover and once you're ready, get back on it. Long workouts that last 30 minutes or more can be done everyday but always be aware of how your body reacts, if you had a big workout but can't do much of anything the next day then I suggest you do what I call Recovery Workouts; these are great in helping you repair the muscles and getting you back to your next workout, generally these workouts consist of nothing but dynamic stretching, deep breathing exercises, tension releasers and focusing on your body internally. I work out 7 days a week and have done so for 9 and a half years without getting any major injuries and have learned to listen to my body and if I need a day or more to recover I do qi gong until I feel ready to get intense again.

 
    Whatever workout you want to do, do it for as long or short as you want. Your mind is set on something than do it but remember, focus on what you want to do, pay attention to your body's energy. Make the best out of what you like and love to do. If you want to train for 3 hours do so what's stopping you, if you want to break up your time throughout the day, great. You make the call, listen to your instincts, and be intuitive. Right now I'm focusing on DDP Yoga Workouts that last from 10 min. to an hour straight and that's where my mind is set at, eventually it will change and I will do something different later on. At times during the summer I'll just go swimming and lift some heavy rocks here and there or go for a sprint at a park down the road. Whoever tells you need to do this or that and if you do this you better do it right or the results won't come, your results will come when you focus on what works best for you. Nothing is permanent and even at times people do the same things over and over which is great but like Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity I doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Change things up when you feel the need to do what you love and work within your own level.

 
    Short, long whatever the length of workout you do, don't do it to punish yourself, do it because it makes you happy. If you feel forced into training than you need to check your priorities. It's awesome to push yourself but do so at your own pace, you can't always keep up with a trainer and you shouldn't. You have your own body, make it worth your time and effort and challenge yourself to get to the next level, before you know it you'll be in the best shape of your life. Your training is yours, be creative, experiment with different things and find what works best that uses the time and effort you need to get done. Don't make any excuses, I've known people with crazy schedules plus having to raise a family and have responsibilities outside of that plus their job and yet can still train and get the results they wanted because they did what was best for them and made the time to do it. So can you.

 
-Philosophical Fitness: To be the very best at what you want to do, it takes dedication and effort along with a mindset where you are focused and you're willing to go the extra mile even if you fail at times. To be the best lifter you can be, you got to lift and lift with passion and intent. To be the best hand balancer, you got to hold the position or focus on that movement or hold and practice with the best to your abilities and never settle for less. We want to be great at something and it's tough to figure out what that is, to me if you find yourself you have a knack for something, thats the starting point, to be great at it, you need to take it to another level within your own accord. Learn from anyone who is great in that realm and build your foundation to be great at it yourself. No shortcuts, no bullshit, bust your ass and if you want to throw people off, smile.