40-60 minutes per day at the gym

Take rest days.

Take rest days.

how many?

At least one for every day in the gym. It will be more sustainable and it will lead to better performance when you're working out. Overtraining is an easy mistake to make and an easier mistake to continue to make, but you're better off increasing the intensity and making sure you have adequate rest.

At least one for every day in the gym. It will be more sustainable and it will lead to better performance when you're working out. Overtraining is an easy mistake to make and an easier mistake to continue to make, but you're better off increasing the intensity and making sure you have adequate rest.

For weight training you need rest days, for light cardio you don't. If you are aiming to lose weight there is no issue with going to the gym everyday as long as you don't push yourself overly hard.

wow really? that many? I was expecting you to tell me to rest on Sundays or something! So you suggest I should what....alternate days then?

Clearly there are no hard and fast rules for these things but a full-on training session every day will quickly lead to exhaustion. You're better off training every other day, perhaps have a light jog or swim on off-days. The intensity of the workout is more of an issue than the time you spend in the gym. Your routine sounds like it's pretty intense; a 48 hour rest period is generally considered wise for that kind of training.

Also, don't worry about the aching. This kind of aching (delayed onset muscle soreness or "DOMS") is a phenomenon that occurs after unfamiliar exercise and generally fades quite quickly once you start doing things regularly.

It's easy to overtrain without realising it, which will demotivate you and make you perform poorly when you're in the gym, which can quite easily fool you into thinking you're not training hard enough.

Srsly? So like going every other day would suffice as opposed to, say, every weekday and taking weekends off?

Yes - as long as you're training properly, work harder on the days that you do go and nail your diet.

that does make sense. I guess I was probably exaggerating a tad when I say I go on ALL the machines. I go on :

leg press
chest press
shoulder press
arm curl
upper back
lower back
leg extension
the other leg one I forget the name of it (opposite to leg extension)

and I think there's about 1 or 2 more I use also but I can't remember what they're called.

I've not been going on the glute machine, or abdomen ones, because I wasn't shown them in my induction. (And besides I'm supposed to stay away from abdomen ones apparently because I have diastasis recti and extreme abdominal exercises can cause a hiatus hernia so they say).

Dump the weight machines for free weights if possible. Then do the main compound lifts like Deadlifts, Squats, Bent over rows, Military presses, Benches.

What's your targets? Gain muscle? Lose fat?

When weight lifting at the gym, the amount of weight you lift, is just as important as how you recover. At the gym, your not building your muscles up, your breaking them down, then after the gym, they recover, if you give them the right foods they can recover bigger and better.

If your doing light cardio, then to be honest, only one rest day a week is sufficient, because your not really pushing your body.

But, if your doing either heavy heavy cardio, or weight lifting, you need more time. I only go to the gym to weightlift three times a week, and then do 2 light cardio sessions a week, whether that be walking for an hour, or half an hour cycle.

Recovery is vital, but more importantly, what are your goals? If your just going to the gym with no ideas of what you want to do, then you'll really get nowhere.

At least one for every day in the gym. It will be more sustainable and it will lead to better performance when you're working out. Overtraining is an easy mistake to make and an easier mistake to continue to make, but you're better off increasing the intensity and making sure you have adequate rest.

I said earlier in the thread - I'm not really interested in turning into a female hulk hogan. I have about 2 and a half stone to lose, and I'd rather be firm than flabby, but I don't want to be muscly, I don't think bulging muscles on a female are particularly attractive.