Best time to work out in medical school?

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Redpancreas

Redpancreas

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
5,052
Reaction score
6,083
Members don't see this ad.
Any serious lifters out there? Admittedly, I'm not that serious, but I make gains once in awhile (mainly over summer) and try to go every other day, but it's been hard during M1. I don't want to make excuses though because I've heard lifting in medical school is very doable while still maintaining a "gunner status". I was wondering...what times are optimum for lifting.

Night is good because it's after everything's over with and is usually what I resort to. It's bad though because it takes a while to fall asleep.
Early morning is probably the most optimum time, but for me there's a high probability of sleeping in...
Mid-day is decent, but it's probably the most disruptive to my day and I can never motivate myself.

What do you guys/girls do?
Is it effective?
 
It really doesn't matter when you lift. I've done first thing in the morning, afternoon as a study break, and late at night since starting med school (I'm a second year now). It's really just a matter of preference. I like going early because it helps me wake up, and there are no lines at 6am. But there really is no universal "best time."
 
Another thing worth mentioning: you might find that going to the gym is more enjoyable if you have tangible goals. It's easy for me to wake up early and lift because it's something I look forward to, and I have specific goals each time I go. It would be much more of a challenge if I viewed it as more of a chore and didn't have something I wanted to accomplish.
 
Last edited:
Whenever I'm in one of my productive stretches, I work out right after class.
 
First 2 years of medical school, you can virtually train at any time you want as long as you manage your time wisely. I had to switch to training at 5-530 AM in the mornings about 1/3 of the way through 3rd year b/c it was too unpredictable when I would get let out. In retrospect, it was truly a blessing in disguise. I will be continuing to train at 5-530 AM indefinitely. Find a gym near your school/work location, train there at around 5-530 AM, shower at the gym and you also avoid the morning traffic since you should be relatively close to your work location already. You'll also realize how much time your saving not having to sit in traffic, train in crowded gyms, finding parking, etc. I sleep around 1030-11 and wake up at 4 am to prepare and cook my meals and am usually at the gym by 5.
 
if you're serious, either when the gym opens or an hour(or however long you take) before it closes. these are the best times when you don't have to deal with typical gym idiots

or you can just buy your own rack but that's only if you're a boss
 
If you have the space for it, I would say a home-gym would be a good investment.

As for optimal time during the day, like others have said, it doesn't really matter. I prefer to lift in the morning, as it wakes me up, but also it's usually when I'm most motivated. I'm not sure how well working out really early will fare for me during rotations, but for now it works well.
 
PL198 said:
if you're serious, either when the gym opens or an hour(or however long you take) before it closes. these are the best times when you don't have to deal with typical gym idiots

or you can just buy your own rack but that's only if you're a boss
Click to expand...

Do you use a platform for deads? I think I'm going to build one next week out of plywood and horse stall mat.
 
I go whenever. If I can't wake up in the morning to work out because I sleep in, I go between 11-1 during our break from class. If I have stuff to do during the break, I usually go at night around 9 or so.
 
Early mornings will be a lot tougher during most clinical rotations. Most of my class (including myself) goes during the evening after 5pm.

Unless you're okay with waking up at 4am to cram in a 30min session...

If you're not a morning person, afternoon sessions are a good way to break up studying during M1/M2.
 
[oQUOTE="PL198, post: 16040445, member: 611433"]gotta utilize that high insulin sensitivity brah , i train at 8 pm[/QUOTE]

Too bad 8pm still seems to be prime time for lifting at the university gym. I go at about 10:30pm.
 
sinombre said:
Do you use a platform for deads? I think I'm going to build one next week out of plywood and horse stall mat.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine a student owning a home. Do apartments even allow this kind of stuff? I'd be too worried about destroying the floors or pissing off the neighbors.
 
sinombre said:
Another thing worth mentioning: you might find that going to the gym is more enjoyable if you have tangible goals. It's easy for me to wake up early and lift because it's something I look forward to, and I have specific goals each time I go. It would be much more of a challenge if I viewed it as more of a chore and didn't have something I wanted to accomplish.
Click to expand...

superb point. in general with workouts, it always goes better with specific goals.
 
Sleep in, work out at night when everything's over with, use the energy to study afterwards until late at night. Repeat. Only feasible for the first two years though.
 
I lift after I'm done studying for the day, usually around 7-8PM. I haven't missed a single training day M1/what part of M2 I've completed thus far.

M1 I tried lifting in mornings/halfway through studying/etc. but now I've found that putting it at the end of my day gives me something to look forward to instead of a nebulous time where I'm "done studying for the day". I'm not by any means a gunner, but I'm comfortably in the top 25% usually. Make exercise something you want to do and you'll find it much easier to find time for it.

One of my roommates also does a similar schedule and he's been honoring almost every block we've had, so top ~10% for him.

I've heard that third year is nigh-impossible to keep this up, especially during surgical rotations. Nonsurgical ones seem to fare better, so I'll probably have to devise some kind of home thing or some way to do quick gym sessions, but I'll cross that bridge when I need to.
 
Yep, 3rd year if you are steadfast on training at night, you're going to end up missing a number of sessions. I still vividly remember the day I made the switch to early AM training. I was on surgery and was expecting to get out no later than 8 pm. Ended up getting out at 1230 AM to go train. You can never really guarantee getting out at a certain time, but you always know the day before what time you need to be in the next day and you can plan accordingly by waking up earlier. Enjoy the first two years when your schedule is by and large under your control where you can eat, sh**, and train on your own volition. Part of why I disliked third year was those aforementioned freedoms were stripped from me. Thank god I'm going into PM&R.
 
Last edited:
TheShaker said:
I can't imagine a student owning a home. Do apartments even allow this kind of stuff? I'd be too worried about destroying the floors or pissing off the neighbors.
Click to expand...

Don't live in apartment then
 
.
workout-gym-memes.jpg
 
If you can find someone in your class that you can lift with, I would definitely recommend it. For me it's nice, because I can get a workout in and hangout with a friend at the same time-- it can be an ideal study break, especially when times get busy and you don't have much time to talk to people during the day. Doing a full body workout in the gym with squats, bench, and other compound lifts once or twice a week can provide gains, especially when supplemented with other workouts throughout the week that you can do at home such as body weight exercises, kettlebells, and running.
 
The best time is in the morning at 4-5am everyday. I am a currently a second year medical school student and I always workout around this time. You also want to get into the habit of doing this because third and fourth will demand that you wake up early on certain rotations. This has worked for me and I am very fit. I often get compliments from women and men about my body. Here are my recommendations from trial and error that I wish I told myself in the past:
1. Diet is extremely important. You will not make significant gains or even get weaker if you don't fix this problem. I highly recommend whey protein shakes everyday (2x on weight lifting days). You can find them at Walmart and for the amount of protein your getting, it is a very good deal. To build muscle, you need a lot of protein.
2. If you want abs, ab roller is the way to go. You can find this at your gym. This piece of equipment is highly effective because It works your core abs hard. I use to do 100 situps every other day. When I tried this, I was sore for four days straight. If you try this and want to discontinue, fine. Elite atheletes use the ab roller and you can be sure they have world class trainers telling them all the right things (such as floyd mayweather).
3. Alternate lifting and running every other day. Cardio is very important for your health. However, people who bodybuild often neglect doing this because they think it will cause them to lose muscle mass. Not true. If you drink whey and get enough protein/nutrients (especially after workouts), your body will not enter a anabolic state. Remember, you want to get bigger, but not at the expense of your health which will show when you get older.

Everything else, you can find on the interent or you probably already know. Good luck
 
TheShaker said:
I can't imagine a student owning a home. Do apartments even allow this kind of stuff? I'd be too worried about destroying the floors or pissing off the neighbors.
Click to expand...

TheShaker said:
Like I said, I can't imagine the average student having the means to own their own home.
Click to expand...

Sorry, forgot to respond. I rent a house with roommates, which is cheaper than living in an apartment where I live. You could probably find an apartment that would allow you to have a rack and a platform though. Or you could just pay for a garage unit at an apartment complex and use that. Where there's a will, there's a way.
 
Best time will depend on your schedule. Getting in to a routine is great, but isn't always feasible so figuring out the best way to motiviate yourself when your schedule is jacked will be good. Will also depend on your sleep habits. I adore sleep so getting up more than an hour early so I could work out was never going to work for me in school (and on surgery when it wasn't unheard of to be prerounding at 5 am it was for sure not going to work), but other people do really well with that. Fitting something physical in to the middle of the day is nice if you can't do a real workout (the army taught me that if you drop for some push ups a bunch of times a day you will improve your strength) even if it is just spending a few minutes doing stairs as you are leaving for the day.
 
twospadz said:
The best time is in the morning at 4-5am everyday. I am a currently a second year medical school student and I always workout around this time. You also want to get into the habit of doing this because third and fourth will demand that you wake up early on certain rotations. This has worked for me and I am very fit. I often get compliments from women and men about my body. Here are my recommendations from trial and error that I wish I told myself in the past:
1. Diet is extremely important. You will not make significant gains or even get weaker if you don't fix this problem. I highly recommend whey protein shakes everyday (2x on weight lifting days). You can find them at Walmart and for the amount of protein your getting, it is a very good deal. To build muscle, you need a lot of protein.
2. If you want abs, ab roller is the way to go. You can find this at your gym. This piece of equipment is highly effective because It works your core abs hard. I use to do 100 situps every other day. When I tried this, I was sore for four days straight. If you try this and want to discontinue, fine. Elite atheletes use the ab roller and you can be sure they have world class trainers telling them all the right things (such as floyd mayweather).
3. Alternate lifting and running every other day. Cardio is very important for your health. However, people who bodybuild often neglect doing this because they think it will cause them to lose muscle mass. Not true. If you drink whey and get enough protein/nutrients (especially after workouts), your body will not enter a anabolic state. Remember, you want to get bigger, but not at the expense of your health which will show when you get older.

Everything else, you can find on the interent or you probably already know. Good luck
Click to expand...

1) You trust protein shakes from Walmart? No, you don't need "a lot" of protein to build muscle. 1g/lb of LBM is usually sufficient.

2) Guarantee you anyone will develop a better core with free weight compound exercises like squats, deads, overhead pressing, various bench presses than wasting the limited amount of time we already have on ab rollers.

3) Actually, many bodybuilders perform cardio in the offseason as well and ramp it up pre-contest
 
Sleep is underrated by med students. I don't see why there's any reasons during preclinical years to sleep <8 hours. There's plenty of time to workout.
 
I always have done late evening workouts throughout highschool up until M2. During M2 year I did 6 a.m. workouts and would leave by 7:30 a.m. to get to any 8 a.m. classes (optional, but I hate doing online classes when learning new material.)

Evening workout pros: metabolism starts crashing at around 6 p.m. Evening workouts keep it up and you get more out of it. Also, you're done with the day and can use the workout as a "reward."

Morning workout pros: Wakes you up and gets the blood flowing for the day (at least for me; I've been weightlifting for 9 years now). Keeps evenings free for spending time with my family and SO, who isn't as serious about working out as I am. Personally, I am a light sleeper so when I wake up (on accident or on purpose), I can't fall back asleep, so mornings are easy for me. Also, it forces you to eat a bigger (hopefully more healthy) breakfast, which is key to staying healthy in med school.

Just my n=1 opinion.
 
sloh said:
1) You trust protein shakes from Walmart? No, you don't need "a lot" of protein to build muscle. 1g/lb of LBM is usually sufficient.

2) Guarantee you anyone will develop a better core with free weight compound exercises like squats, deads, overhead pressing, various bench presses than wasting the limited amount of time we already have on ab rollers.

3) Actually, many bodybuilders perform cardio in the offseason as well and ramp it up pre-contest
Click to expand...
sloh said:
1) You trust protein shakes from Walmart? No, you don't need "a lot" of protein to build muscle. 1g/lb of LBM is usually sufficient.

2) Guarantee you anyone will develop a better core with free weight compound exercises like squats, deads, overhead pressing, various bench presses than wasting the limited amount of time we already have on ab rollers.

3) Actually, many bodybuilders perform cardio in the offseason as well and ramp it up pre-contest
Click to expand...
1) Yes, for the average student they are affordable and do the job. He's not getting paid to bodybuild.

2) Most people can't even do 2 good ab rolls using the ab roller. Like I said many elite athletes use the ab roller. I trust their world class trainers over you any day.

3) Ok sure.....
 
twospadz said:
1) Yes, for the average student they are affordable and do the job. He's not getting paid to bodybuild.

2) Most people can't even do 2 good ab rolls using the ab roller. Like I said many elite athletes use the ab roller. I trust their world class trainers over you any day.

3) Ok sure.....
Click to expand...

1) Yes, those wal-mart protein shakes do the job of wasting your money. The supplement industry is not FDA approved.

2) I don't even...LOL

3) Great rebuttal
 
dpmd said:
Do you not believe they contain protein or is that you think there are other ingredients missing?
Click to expand...

If the brand hasn't established credibility (such as a random wal-mart brand), there's a high probabiltiy they are substantially underdosed. I can empathize that a med student would want to save money, but to waste money on fillers is beyond me.

I'll just leave this link here. Look at the measured/claimed column

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

everyhoureveryminute
Best Textbooks for Different Medical School Systems?
Replies
1
Views
344
everyhoureveryminute
everyhoureveryminute
PeterParker616
How do I excel in medical school?
Replies
1
Views
797
Goro
Goro
aricena318
What to do After Medical School
Replies
10
Views
3K
abc123412
A
L
How to identify productive lab in medical school / Getting into research M1?
Replies
5
Views
1K
AJS59
AJS59
Goro
Goro's guide to success in medical school (2024 version)
Replies
7
Views
4K
HuskyMD Emeritus
H
Top