Is the training efficient after 60 minutes?

"If your workout lasts longer than an hour, you're making friends, not building mass and strength." Charles Poliquin

Do you train or make friends? This question should be part of your routine and guide your performance in the gym, the gymnasium and any other environment dedicated to high-performance training.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to intern with Charles Poliquin, a trainer, fitness coach and author of several best-selling books dedicated to fitness. In London, England, I got to know him and his training routine. Among so many valuable lessons, one has stayed with me to this day.

Are you training or making friends?

He would often ask the question, “Are you training or making friends?” and would then go on to talk about the ideal workout time. Ashley Jones , an award-winning fitness coach and professor at Witwatersrand University , says Poliquin was asking this question as early as the 1980s.

“If your workout takes more than an hour, you’re making friends, not building size and strength,” the cutting-edge trainer and coach would say at seminars and events he attended at the time.

When I first heard this phrase, and in the current context, I immediately thought it was a criticism of phones and chats in gyms. However, I soon realized that the phrase was much more complex than a momentary joke. Irreverent as he was, Poliquin provokes an important reflection on the ideal time for training.

From this experience with the legendary Charles Poliquin, I began to observe behind the scenes of training. In this, I noticed that 60 minutes is the ideal amount of time to be productive during an exercise routine.

Testosterone levels often rise within the first 50 minutes of starting a workout. Cortisol levels also tend to rise significantly after the first 50 minutes of exercise. Therefore, a routine based on warming up, training, and focusing on results can and should be completed within 60 minutes.

To paraphrase Poliquin, are you training or making friends?

If you want to train, the alternative is to create a routine based on warm-up, results and time. When done well, all of this takes no more than 60 minutes, as I have observed and noticed in my training sessions.

Without a doubt, the first step is to give up your cell phone and chat. If the focus is training, the session needs to be organized, planned and organized. As the days go by, you will notice that the training time decreases and, consequently, the desired results are finally achieved.

However, if you simply want to make friends, that's fine too, but I have faith that if you are interested in results and performance, that is not your focus!