Science shows that the level of cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone) in your system rises dramatically once an exercise bout exceeds 60 minutes in duration. Cortisol deals a double whammy: it breaks muscle tissue down into sugar for quick energy and it increases storage of belly fat. While this mechanism will ensure our survival in an emergency situation, it represents the worst possible scenario if you’re trying to lose fat and/or gain muscle. Make your workouts more time efficient to avoid spinning your wheels – be sure your workouts do not exceed 60 minutes in duration.

Did you know?

Perhaps the single most powerful example of training gains through brief, infrequent training was the so-called “Colorado Experiment” involving Arthur Jones and bodybuilder Casey Viator in May of 1973. Viator gained a staggering 63 pounds of muscle in 28 days! What makes the feat even more remarkable was that Viator trained 3 times a week, averaging a mere 33.8 minutes per workout.

Jones’ results were somewhat less spectacular, but impressive nonetheless. He gained more than 15 pounds of muscle in 22 days, using only upper body exercises. Not bad for a 50 year old.

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