How long you should exercise can vary by the exercise, but there’s no doubt about it, there is a sweet spot, where it’s the perfect amount of time. That’s why you should time your workouts to make sure you’re getting the right amount without overdoing. Of course, you have to make sure that you’re really exercising. If you’re going to the gym, spending time walking around or even talking to others, with a few exercises in between, you aren’t getting the same amount of exercise as someone who focuses totally on the workout.

Long hours and “living at the gym” every day may actually set you back.

You’ve heard of too much of a good thing? Well that can be true of exercise. When you do a tough workout, particularly when you’re working on building strength, your body needs down time to rest and rebuild. In fact a tough workout, while burning off the hormones of stress, creates other stresses. It can cause the immune system to be down for as long as 72 hours. Strength training, in particular, causes micro tears in the muscle tissue that when repaired makes them stronger. If you don’t give your body that day or two rest between sessions, it can’t repair itself.

If you’re not working out hard enough, you can do your routine without breaking a sweat.

A heart rate monitor is a help to see how fast your heart is beating, but you can perform a simple test. If you can easily talk or even sing while you’re working out, you’re not pushing yourself enough. You should also feel a little sore the next day, but not in excruciating pain. If you’re pushing yourself too much, you won’t see improvement and your workouts will become harder. You’ll hit the wall quicker. Don’t try to push past it, especially if you’re starting to hate exercise. Make sure you take a day or two break from the gym.

Overworking can cause symptoms in your daily life.

Not only will you start to hate working out if you’re overdoing it, you’ll also start to develop a sour mood about everything. It’s similar to what you see when someone is on the verge of getting sick. There’s anger, irritability and even depression. Your immune system might be down and you’ll get ill more frequently, but most of all, you’ll get fatigued more quickly doing everyday things. It’s not like the normal exhaustion you felt at first when you worked out, it’s more pervasive.

• Your workout time should be based by the intensity of the workout. The more intense the workout, the shorter the time you should do it. HIIT and other types of interval training should shorten the workout.
• When you’re considering how long to workout, only count the time you’re actually working out. It’s definitely not about how long you’re in the gym because you do a lot of other things while you’re there, including getting dressed, warming up and cooling down. It’s all about how you feel.
• If you have a heart rate monitor, watch your resting rate. If your heart resting rate suddenly increases, your body is under stress. Cut back on the workout.
• Working out too much can actually lead to losing muscle mass and increasing fat tissue. Unless that’s what you want from a program, it’s important not to overwork your body and get rest in between sessions.