Here’s the short answer: long enough to be effective, short enough to be sustainable.
We live in a world of extremes—some folks hammer 90-minute gym sessions six days a week, others are squeezing 12-minute HIIT videos between Zoom calls. So what’s the right amount?
The Case for Efficient Workouts
At Lumos, we coach with efficiency in mind. We lean on compound, full-body, functional movements that give you more bang for your buck—think squats, carries, presses, and rows. When paired with short, intense conditioning, you can get a LOT done in 30–45 minutes. That’s why we offer personal training sessions in 30-, 45-, and 60-minute formats—to match your goals and your life.
There’s good evidence supporting this approach. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2018) found that short-duration, high-effort workouts produced similar or superior results in strength, cardiovascular fitness, and body composition compared to longer, lower-intensity sessions—especially in time-constrained adults.
So if you’re juggling a career, family, pets, and, let’s be honest, the basic logistics of being a functioning adult, know this: you can make serious gains in less time than you think.
Why Duration Isn’t Everything
There’s also a mental component here: short, structured workouts reduce decision fatigue. You don’t have to spend 20 minutes figuring out what to do when you walk into the gym. You show up, you get it done, you leave feeling accomplished.
And here’s something a lot of people don’t consider: attention and intention matter. Cognitive research has shown that most adults can maintain high levels of focus and effort for about 30 to 50 minutes at a time, depending on the task. A 2020 study in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews noted that mental fatigue increases significantly beyond 45 minutes of continuous effort, especially in unfamiliar or high-effort tasks—like learning a new lift or grinding through intervals.
Shorter workouts keep you mentally dialed in. They increase quality, reduce distractions, and allow you to train with purpose—not just to log time.
Consistency Is the Real Goal
And for folks brand new to training? Shorter workouts help build adherence. According to a 2021 paper in Translational Behavioral Medicine, the number one predictor of long-term exercise success is consistency—not duration or intensity. That’s why we always say: the best workout isn’t the longest one. It’s the one you actually do.
That’s the biggest takeaway: the most important factor isn’t the duration, the intensity, or even the programming—it’s what fits into your schedule consistently. The “optimal” workout doesn’t matter if you can’t sustain it. Let Olympians worry about optimization. For the rest of us, the winning move is a plan we can repeat, week after week, without burning out or blowing up our lives.
Want help finding the right balance? Our Individual Program Design memberships are designed to meet you where you are and focus on what you want to work on- we can program you quick burners, long grinders, progressive strength work, and everything in between!
A Note on Zone 2
What about Zone 2 cardio—the low-intensity, steady-state aerobic work that’s all the rage right now? It has real value. Studies show that it improves mitochondrial function and builds aerobic capacity over time. Endurance athletes, in particular, rely on it to lay a foundation for more intense efforts. But Zone 2 takes time—45 minutes to an hour per session, several days per week—to really deliver results.
If you’ve got six or more hours a week to train, adding dedicated Zone 2 work is a smart play. If you’re training three to four times per week and each session needs to count? You’re better off emphasizing compound strength work, anaerobic intervals, and well-balanced full-body sessions. If you’re not sure what you should prioritize, talk to one of our coaches and we’ll help tailor your approach.
Because at the end of the day, fitness should support your life, not take it over. So let go of the guilt if you don’t have 90 minutes to train. You don’t need more time. You need more purpose.
Sources:
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. (2018). “Comparison of High-Effort Short Workouts to Traditional Training Models.”
- Translational Behavioral Medicine. (2021). “Predictors of Long-Term Exercise Adherence in Adults.”
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. (2020). “Cognitive fatigue and sustained attention during physical performance.”
