Exercise & Step 1 Prep

[Macguy86]

Do most people run/lift weights during the intense study period?
I have found myself in the weeks before beginning to study decreasing the amount of time i go to the gym down to once a week (if). I just get overwhelmed and feel that going to the gym will take away from studying.

I feel 'like crap' since I have not been working out regularly. I feel there is so much to learn that I can not afford to go to the gym. Goljan at the gym is good but you need to look at the path slides in front of you, as he refers to them so many times. Advice? I want to score really well, but I dont feel like I am the type of student that can sacrifice 1.5hrs without sacrificing studying.

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[MilkmanAl]

Exercise, like sleep, will probably help your studying. Go do it. 1.5 hours every other day for 6 weeks amounts to about 3 solid days of studying. All other things being equal, would that much time make a difference in your score? If so, you need to reschedule your exam.

 

[vicinihil]

What I've found helpful in terms of exercising while intense studying is to do it late at night before sleeping. By 11-12am you're exhausted, brain probably is slower than the morning (unless you're a night person then the opposite will work), go to the gym then. If you're at a university where the gym is open until midnight, what better than to do a 30 minute run or weight lifting at 11pm...go home at 12am, take a shower, conk out by 1am. Get up at 8am and rinse and repeat. This way you don't cut into your day with having to go home, shower, change, go back and study again. Saves you time and you get your exercise in.

Listen to goljan while you run/lift weights if you don't want to spend that hour NOT studying. Just my 2 cents.

 

[starkcrazy]

What I've found helpful in terms of exercising while intense studying is to do it late at night before sleeping. By 11-12am you're exhausted, brain probably is slower than the morning (unless you're a night person then the opposite will work), go to the gym then. If you're at a university where the gym is open until midnight, what better than to do a 30 minute run or weight lifting at 11pm...go home at 12am, take a shower, conk out by 1am. Get up at 8am and rinse and repeat. This way you don't cut into your day with having to go home, shower, change, go back and study again. Saves you time and you get your exercise in.

Listen to goljan while you run/lift weights if you don't want to spend that hour NOT studying. Just my 2 cents.

i like this gym at night idea... i wish it would work for me i usually have trouble getting to sleep in the 3-4 hrs right after exercise. i like to hit the gym after class - work off the stress - then go home and hit the books.

 

[RapidReview]

i like this gym at night idea... i wish it would work for me i usually have trouble getting to sleep in the 3-4 hrs right after exercise. i like to hit the gym after class - work off the stress - then go home and hit the books.

Yeah I can't sleep if I work out at night. I work out when I get tired- usually a couple hours post lunch. Then shower, have a protein shake and open up a sugar free monster. Helps me wake right up.

 

[Macguy86]

i thought about that really, but on my way home...i always tell myself "I am too tired, which I am at like 1AM orrr that I need to wake up fresh and get at least 6-7 of sleep" i feel like im one of those people that needs to study extra to excel.

But I will try to do that, 1.5 hrs is not going to hurt me, i can relisten to goljan during that time. my study days are literally about 15-16 hrs, idk how some people can just study for 8 and call it a day. must have some good memorization skills...wish i was in that boat.

 

[RapidReview]

i thought about that really, but on my way home...i always tell myself "I am too tired, which I am at like 1AM orrr that I need to wake up fresh and get at least 6-7 of sleep" i feel like im one of those people that needs to study extra to excel.

But I will try to do that, 1.5 hrs is not going to hurt me, i can relisten to goljan during that time. my study days are literally about 15-16 hrs, idk how some people can just study for 8 and call it a day. must have some good memorization skills...wish i was in that boat.

yeah i think definitely think keeping your body healthy will help out - remember the test is over 300 questions!

one of my friends is a chinese doctor who just finished all 3 steps while working at NIH and he told me to make sure i work out a few times a week bc the test can be more draining than you'd think.

 

[1nycdoc8]

i thought about that really, but on my way home...i always tell myself "I am too tired, which I am at like 1AM orrr that I need to wake up fresh and get at least 6-7 of sleep" i feel like im one of those people that needs to study extra to excel.

But I will try to do that, 1.5 hrs is not going to hurt me, i can relisten to goljan during that time. my study days are literally about 15-16 hrs, idk how some people can just study for 8 and call it a day. must have some good memorization skills...wish i was in that boat.

Out of curiosity, when you say you do 15-16 hours of studying, do you literally mean, sitting there 15-16 hours with your face in a book/ doing questions/ watching lectures, or does that mean 15-16 hours at the library, etc?

I ask because I'm one of those people that study 8-10 hours a day usually, but all of that that is studying. I have a stop watch and whenever I take a break, use the bathroom, go online, whatever, I stop it so that at the end of the day the number on my watch is the total amount of time I'm actually studying. Give it a try, you'd be surprised how much time you end up wasting on stuff like, oh, SDN =)

 

[Stark]

Goljan at the gym is good but you need to look at the path slides in front of you, as he refers to them so many times. Advice?

The iPod can make a lot of activities guiltless, and at the gym is a savior (I always told myself that I wasn't wasting time because at least I learned something)., But you may want to pick something other than Goljan which is so visual.

 

[Macguy86]

16hrs @ library. 13 hrs/studying, and then 1.5 for lunch/dinner with the other 1.5 taking a break SDN/email/news ect. wow my life sucks.

what else can you do at the gym, i mean flashcards/first aid/ect i dont see that working to well. do a set, then study? that sounds depressing/unmovitating while working out. i may drop the bar on my chest while trying to recall Pharm side effects of ACE-inhib.

 

[DoctorCR]

The benefit to physical exercise, other than the bodily health benefit, is that it GIVES YOU A BREAK FROM STUDYING. After teaching medical students for 10 years it still blows me away that they don't understand that 8 hours of sleep each night, and a few breaks from studying every day, actually INCREASE their learning and test performance.

 

[lildave2586]

In the past year my gym time has become probably my most important study time. Goljan has taught me a lot while I run.

 

[rishi718]

i can barely focus on an audio file while there's a blank wall in front of me

how do so many people happen to listen to goljan while doing normal daily activities and actually have some semblance of what he's saying.

do you guys think its waste of time for a twenty something kinda on skinny guy to run just a mile every other day. i know its little but i was thinking something was better than nothing. but since im unfit it tires me out and delays studying

or should i be doing at least everyday. cus i guess its only few mins...

 

[1nycdoc8]

i can barely focus on an audio file while there's a blank wall in front of me

how do so many people happen to listen to goljan while doing normal daily activities and actually have some semblance of what he's saying.

do you guys think its waste of time for a twenty something kinda on skinny guy to run just a mile every other day. i know its little but i was thinking something was better than nothing. but since im unfit it tires me out and delays studying

or should i be doing at least everyday. cus i guess its only few mins...

If it's to the point of exhaustion, maybe start on half a mile, work your way up. I always feel pretty good after a workout/exercise since I don't let it get too strenuous. I listen to goljan while spinning, I find that I can just sit there and pedal away and not have to worry about traffic/people (I'm from NYC) or falling off the treadmill.

 

[LeLu]

I liked this schedule, leaves enough break time not to go crazy & burnout:

Wake up 7:30
Breakfast 7:30-8
Study 8-10:30
Break 10:30-10:45
Study 10:45-12:30
Lunch/Nap 12:30-1:30
Study 1:30- 4
Exercise & Dinner 4-6:30
Study 6:30- 8:30

 

[mochief2000]

I work out everyday at about 11pm to 12am when Barnes&Noble/ borders kicks me out. I wish I could work out earlier cos when you sit studying all day, working out rejuvenates your mind and helps you focus again (if you don't over do it). I tried to listen to goljan will I lift weighst but I end up listeninig to like 20% of what he says. I can't do two things at once, i know pretty sad.
The good thing is that 2 months of working out everyday = co*k swoll lol