Working out for more than an hour at a time

M

Mariela

Cathlete
I know the usual recommendation is not to workout for more than an hour or an hour and 15 minutes in a row. For those of you who do, how do you do it? Do you drink something (other than water) to keep you going? Do you pause, eat something to keep you going, wait a while, and then continue, do you eat something before the entire workout, or do you just go straight to one and a half or two hours of exercise on an empty stomach? If you ingest something before the workout has finished, at what point you do it?

Thanks in advance.

Mariela
 
I can't speak for everyone who does ultra-long workouts, because I don't do them a lot. On weekdays, I workout for an hour, give or take 10 minutes. But on Saturdays, I will often do an hour and a half or more, simply because I have more time on weekends. I don't eat anything before, and I just sip on water during my workout (I'm an early morning exerciser). I manage just fine, but I have never gone over 1 hr 45 min. And, like I said, I only do this once a week. So I'm probably not much help, but I tried... :)
 
I never eat anything either. I just drink water. I can't imagine stopping to eat during a Cathe workout. It would quickly be followed by me stopping to run to the bathroom to ... well, you get the idea.:p
 
Just curious Mariela...What is the reason you are asking this question? Are you considering working out for this amount of time? Have you been working out for a while and have worked you way up to this amount of time? Do you think that if you work out for 1/2 and are getting good results then working out for over an hour will yield better results?

The reason I ask this is because everyone on this forum could respond and each could probably respond differently for various reasons. There are beginners here and there are very advanced exercisers and then some in between. Some have specific goals and some are just trying to maintain.

So...in order to for you to receive the best information and to satisfy the purpose of your posting the question, it would be best if we could understand why you are asking.

I hope you take this in the manner in which it is intended. I truly do not want to offend you.

~Marietta
FITXME
 
LOL Shelley! If I ate during Cathe's workout I'd be right behind you...

I guess I'm in the super long category. Usually I workout 3 days I week so I pack more into those days as opposed to shorter time 5-6 days a week. I usually eat something light early...oatmeal, egg whites, and an hour or so later my son goes down for a nap & I'm ready to party w/ Cathe. I'd say my workouts usually go about 2 hrs max w/ cardio & weight work.


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"

Debbie
 
I usually work out for about an hour and a half, five days a week in the early morning. I don't eat anything beforehand (and definitely not during). I just sip water throughout the entire workout.

SHelbygirl
 
I try to go an hour during the week though a lot of Cathe's workouts are 70 minutes. I sip water during the workout since it flowing freely out of my pores during the workout!! I definitely don't eat. I went to my favorite Italian restaurant last night then came home and did LowMax. Not one of my brightest ideas... I made it through without getting sick but I don't recommend this.

Sometimes I will stick two workouts in on the weekends but usually at different times.
 
Yesterday after breakfast I did Muscle Max minus core work, Core Max seg 2 and 50 minutes of The Gauntlet. Water was all I needed.

When I run long distances of 10 miles or more then I eat energy gels every 50 minutes.
 
I've never heard that recommendation. I usually only work out for an hour, just because I have other things to do. If I do go over, it's usually just an hour and a half maximum. No, I don't take breaks or eat during. It's really not a problem to make it through.

Sometimes I do stop for a potty break. Especially if I'm doing KPC or Cardio Kicks. They make me have accidents sometimes. IMAX3 does too.
 
I have on a couple of occasions done the entire upper body training for the S&H series all in one shot. I drank a mix of half water and half orange juice throughout. I didn't eat anything during, but made sure I ate a great meal afterwards. Usually I do the hour or an hour 15 or max one hour and half. If I am done with my cardio, I might take a 5 min break to cool down and eat banana in this time before starting weights. never anything more than this though.

Clare
 
I do occasionally workout for 1 and a half hours. I usually eat a small lowfat yogurt when I first get up to coat my stomach (as I have acid reflux). I drink water throughout and I'm usually fine.
 
I keep my workouts to about that amount of time, an hour and 15 minutes. Sometimes I go over 5 minutes or so because I take longer rests, or I do more stretches afterwards, but that's it. Once I hit the 90-minute mark, I start feeling really tired, like all the glycogen in my muscles have been used up. I always eat before working out (unless I do early morning cardio, which is rare) and make sure I get 300-400 calories in with a good amount of carbs, especially when heavy lifting. I wait about an hour to work out. I have nothing but water when exercising. By the time I'm done, I'm always just about ready for another meal, as I try to eat every 3 hours. It's tough to eat this way every day, but it seems to be the best way to keep cravings away and keep my energy levels up.

Pinky
 
i do the same as Pinky..need energy to have a "give it all you got" work out. I also make sure not to go over 1 1/2hrs and get the protein drink into my system right away.
 
Hey Debbie,

How does this seem to work for you. I would love to cut down on the number of days I workout. I usually do 6 days a week 1 to 1/2 hours per day. I would love to get down to 4 days at 2 hours each time. I am a little frightened my physique would suffer. How has it been for you?

Thanks,
Kristie
 
Mariela,

Hi!!!

I just wanted to say that I usually do 2 workouts a day(4-5 days per week), but I split them up Cardio in the am and weights in the later afternoon..generally my workouts are around 40-60 minutes. I always consume a protein shake and complex carbs immediately after my workouts, to help in muscle recovery.
I used to do my workouts back to back, but I found that I never had any good muscle growth...and I am sure that I was burning lean muscle mass when my workouts extended beyond 90 minutes, as my sweat had a very strong acetone odor...

Recently I have been doing my cardio(40-50 minutes) in the morning, then a short abs workout(16 minutes) around noon and then my weights(60 minutes) around 2 pm, and I have found that this is optimal for me, esp with my ab workouts.

I try to work Yoga in 1 day per week, however I usually fit in an am HIIT session in, and then do my Yoga workout in the evening..as it is so relaxing

Just my 2 cents worth.

Hope it helps you out
:)
 
I work out 2.5 hours on Saturday but only because Saturday is the only day there is a spin class I can make and the great instructors usually teach step on Saturday morning because there is a large crowd. I have a warm up and cool down in each class so not going full out for 2.5 hours. I do feel it on Sunday usually don't do anything structured for exercise on Sunday.
 
I always work out on an empty stomach and it's never a problem since I am careful to eat well and make sure my stores of nutrients are where they need to be. It's not necessary to fuel up in the hours prior to working out if you have laid down good stores from the previous days meals. I have worked out up to three hours when training for a marathon and had no ill effects. I have seen peole consume thousands of calories during a marathon wit no regard to the amount of stored energy they had to call upon. For a time, two hours of cardio and strength was my norm, working cardio and alternating upper and lower body weight training. Train smart and get alot of rest and long workouts are infinitely doable. These days I don't do it as often, except for two and three hour advanced yoga classes which must be done on an empty stomach. The most important thing about vigourous and long workouts is planned rest and recovery of up to 48 hours. Good form and great shoes go a long way toward really great long workouts. Now I am getting on in years ;) and it's not so, er, fabulous to go all out on a regular basis but it can be done as long as that's what your heart desires. Go hard and recover fully, that's the ticket! Happy training! :) Design your food intake with your energy output in mind and you can train as hard as you like.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
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