spending too much time at the gym?

I go to the gym everday and I do at least 30 mins of cardio and 30-40 mins of free weights/abs every other day with 15mins of stretching (in the beginning and end of my work-out). Other days, I do 45-60mins of cardio and 15mins abs and 15mins of stretching.
So technically, I should be spending about an hour and half at the gym each day. But I feel like every morning when I go to the gym and come back, I've used about 2.5 - 3 hours! (20mins for travelling and showering). That's a long time to be spending working-out or working-out related. Maybe I am not being efficient at the gym while doing free-weights, I tend to do very slow reps. Because for Cardio, the time is pretty much set, or should I do it more intense for 15mins?
any suggestions/opinions/experiences of your own?
thanks!

I am almost the same, six days a week. I do go less on cardio days. Instead of 45-60 minutes, I aim for an intense 2 mile run which is usually around 16 minutes. After that, I do a few calesthenics and ab work.

That's about what I do, but only about 3 days per week.  I supplement those days with two days of Taekwondo (60 minutes) and the occaisional fire (I'm a volunteer firefighter).

I start with 5 minutes of elliptical cardio at level 10 on the Life Fitness machine, then do 10 weight lifting machines, 3 sets and 12 reps per set, which ends up at aout 360 reps.  That takes about 45-60 minutes.  Then I finish with 20-25 minutes of elliptical on either level 15 or on aerobic mode, with a 5 minute cooldown.  That works well for me.

I was told by several of the staff trainers that more than 30 minutes of cardio is a waste of time as you get pretty much all the cardio benefits in the first 30 minutes.  I guess longer sessions would burn more calories however.

I get my cardio done much faster than my weight training. I run at a 15 incline at a speed of 6.0 to 7.5, I usually get done in 20 minutes.  The whole goal is to get your heart rate up & I figure I would rather get it done with fast, bursts of energy, rather than stay on the machine all day.

With weights I tend to focus more on lifting correctly so it usually takes me 45 - 60 minutes.   

The thing about cardio is that, I am so scared to push myself harder. I started around 3.0-3.5, then 3.5-4.0, then 4.0-4.5 and Now I am at 5.0-5.5 with 2min "slow down" periods in the middle. Just today I saw a girl running on the treadmill at 7.0 for like 25mins!!! I was shocked and impressed. hahaha
I guess I still need to build up my tolerance level, I hope that within the next month I can jog/run comfortably at 5.5 and push myself to try 6.0.
thanks all for great advice!

i spend that much time at the gym sometimes too. i wouldn't increase the intensity if you don't feel like you need to. maybe you could alternate the strength training rather than doing it everyday. that way you could save time and let your muscles rest. if its worth the time, and you have the time, it sounds like you're doing everything pretty healthily.

I saw a girl running on the treadmill at 7.0 for like 25mins!!! I was shocked and impressed. Impressive indeed lol... Different person have different training goal and different endurance level. I used to run at 6-7 for that long too, I can't even remember what I gained from that O.O;;;
Point is, what your goal and your body endurance level will determine what type and level of intensity of the exercise. Like Sea said, if there is no need to increase the intensity of the running then dont. I second the opinion in mixing variations in your training. :)

Whenever I start going to the gym again (ah yes, there's my pattern, rearing its head) I always feel like it becomes my life but after a while it fades into your routine and doesn't seem like so much time. Once I tracked (down to the minute) how much time I spent eating/ purchasing food and compared it to my workout time -- let me tell you,  it put an end to my whining to myself about too much time at the gym. ;)

I saw a girl running on the treadmill at 7.0 for like 25mins!!! I was shocked and impressed.

I do about 7.0+ for 25 minutes on the treadmill at the gym - but it did take me about 8 months of training for it... (Im going to soon train for triathlons) When I started off, I could barely run over 6 for 15 minutes. I would def suggest in investing in a heart rate monitor and keep a check on your heart rate... also be sure to switch up your cardio every 2 weeks - itll help with your cardio conditioning. I worked with a trainer for months - if you have the spare cash, I would highly recommend it - I learned soo much from him and saw a HUGE difference in my body and what I can do. Keep working on it - you'll only get better!! :)

At a certain point, the workout will become counter-productive if you are in the gym too long. The phrase "less is more" definitely applies to working out. Which means that you will get much better results from an intense 45-60 minute weight workout then a 2 hour one. I remember reading somewhere that once you get past 75 minutes, the body switches into a different mode that can actually feed on muscle for energy.

A good way to keep from being at the gym too long is to do weights and cardio on seperate days. Or if you want to do cardio on a lifting day, have it be after you are done for 20-30 minutes.