How do you stay active while studying?

[Road2Success]

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How do you guys stay active while studying? I know its hard for me because I have to sit there and read the notes over and over again. Just doesn't work for me because I have to stay active somehow and if im not doing anything then i feel tired and sleepy. When I study it just seems like passive and im not really doing anything with my body. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[Owlie]

I tape record all my lectures and listen to them while I jog.

🙂

p.s. your neurons burn lots of calories while you are using your brain.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Write down what you are trying to memorize. And if you really cant concentrate go down to the gym and deadlift, then come back and study some more.

 

[NickNaylor]

I've never been one of those people that's able to study while working out. I just try to make efficient use of my time at the gym.

 

[235788]

How do you guys stay active while studying? I know its hard for me because I have to sit there and read the notes over and over again. Just doesn't work for me because I have to stay active somehow and if im not doing anything then i feel tired and sleepy. When I study it just seems like passive and im not really doing anything with my body. Anyone else feel this way?

take break! drink coffee.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

I've never been one of those people that's able to study while working out. I just try to make efficient use of my time at the gym.

+1. I leave studying for study time. I plan my workout in advance (what, when, where, etc.), give it my full attention while I'm doing it, then go back to whatever else I have planned re-energized.

 

[GiantFetus]

As a female(seems like most males don't like the elliptical)... I find the elliptical that has no arms. I can work out my legs while reading and studying. As long as the material is in your hands and not sitting against the machine.. that makes it very hard to follow any form of writing. As well, tape recordings work if you're already familiar with the material.

ETA: makes the boring-ness of the elliptical go by much faster to be preoccupied.

 

[235788]

As a female(seems like most males don't like the elliptical)... I find the elliptical that has no arms. I can work out my legs while reading and studying. As long as the material is in your hands and not sitting against the machine.. that makes it very hard to follow any form of writing. As well, tape recordings work if you're already familiar with the material.

I never understood how people do that. But i prefer a cubicle to anything while studying.

 

[aranza]

I never understood how people do that. But i prefer a cubicle to anything while studying.

+1 I can't even focus on the bus or in a car even if I have a test that day

 

[Oo Cipher oO]

I hooked up my laptop to my tv and ran on the treadmill while studying. I downloaded an app on my ipod touch so it could act like a remote trackpad and keyboard. I could study a powerpoint by clicking on the ipod to go from one slide to the next. If it was a pdf of notes I would set it to autoscroll and then I could control the speed of scrolling by just pressing 0-9 on my ipod. The app was rowmote helper if you're interested.

 

[SamyLSF]

I hooked up my laptop to my tv and ran on the treadmill while studying. I downloaded an app on my ipod touch so it could act like a remote trackpad and keyboard. I could study a powerpoint by clicking on the ipod to go from one slide to the next. If it was a pdf of notes I would set it to autoscroll and then I could control the speed of scrolling by just pressing 0-9 on my ipod. The app was rowmote helper if you're interested.

Epic idea man - already downloaded it just now!

 

[Ub3rmensch]

Playing a team sport. Going to the gym. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. If you don't exercise, you shouldn't be going into medicine.

 

[varsityblue]

I do yoga for 30 minutes every morning and workout for ~45 minutes every evening.

 

[gmcguitar4]

Working out before studying helps me.

 

[AM90]

As a female(seems like most males don't like the elliptical)... I find the elliptical that has no arms. I can work out my legs while reading and studying. As long as the material is in your hands and not sitting against the machine.. that makes it very hard to follow any form of writing. As well, tape recordings work if you're already familiar with the material.

ETA: makes the boring-ness of the elliptical go by much faster to be preoccupied.

This. But most days, I just run a few miles outside as that's the most convenient for me. Mornings are best because I know I'm done with it and it's out of the way.

Interesting name, btw. Hah

 

[Stumpyman]

I take a lot of notes while studying. If I'm feeling really fat, I'll read the textbook while I'm on the spin cycle.

 

[Djokervic]

every hour or so take a break to fap. I have a 4.0 and a suspiciously muscular forearm

 

[Stumpyman]

every hour or so take a break to fap. I have a 4.0 and a suspiciously muscular forearm

Lol. You and every other guy.

 

[Owlie]

I didn't know you could strengthen your forearm through 1 minute of activity :\

 

[Arrode]

I'm one of those girls who takes my textbook/notes with me to the gym and reads them propped up on the stand while I do the elliptical for 45 mins. It works for me, but I understand how some people can't read small print while "bouncing" around like that. I can't read while on the treadmill, however.

I think I go to the gym more while studying because I figure if I'm reading at home in my living room I might as well be exercising while doing it!

 

[Member000000]

I tape record all my lectures and listen to them while I jog.

🙂

p.s. your neurons burn lots of calories while you are using your brain.

This is brilliant, I can't believe I hadn't thought of this before.

 

[ljpm8224]

bought one of these for $80 on craigslist:

^^ (i have no idea why the woman in the photo appears barefoot, btw!) that is not me.

liking it so far. nice and quiet, doesn't shake, can do heavy textbook reading on it and able to concentrate while getting my HR up. I don't always have time to pack up and go to the gym, but it's easy to jump on my little desk bike for an hour or so....

Lecture recorders- do you use special software to load them on your ipod? Care to share the details? I record lectures in Microsoft word for mac in Notebook view, but not sure how to get them from the word document to the ipod, if that's possible....

 

[Nymphicus]

bought one of these for $80 on craigslist:

^^ (i have no idea why the woman in the photo appears barefoot, btw!) that is not me.

liking it so far. nice and quiet, doesn't shake, can do heavy textbook reading on it and able to concentrate while getting my HR up. I don't always have time to pack up and go to the gym, but it's easy to jump on my little desk bike for an hour or so....

Lecture recorders- do you use special software to load them on your ipod? Care to share the details? I record lectures in Microsoft word for mac in Notebook view, but not sure how to get them from the word document to the ipod, if that's possible....

That is one way to get the blood to the brain. Interesting!

 

[hiyaman]

If ur an active learner than be active! Dont just read notes, rewrite them out and make sure you are understanding the material. Use book questions to quiz yourself, use hw to quiz urself, use quizzes to quiz urself, ask a friend to quiz you, ask ur prof etc.

I love quizzing myself. I also enjoy bball, really gets you sweating and ur heart pumping. Plus I love shooting over ppl and just drilling it. In yo face!

 

[Nymphicus]

bought one of these for $80 on craigslist:

^^ (i have no idea why the woman in the photo appears barefoot, btw!) that is not me.

Anyone know what these things are called by any chance?

 

[ljpm8224]

Anyone know what these things are called by any chance?

They're called the Fit Desk. You can get em on amazon for about $200 new. They also sell a "top only" part where you can hook it up to a regular spin bike- (more hardcore, pricy option).
http://www.amazon.com/FitDesk-Compact-healthy-computing-gaming/dp/B003JTLJFY

I have the standard model. I wouldn't say it's a CAT-2 level workout or anything, but I get up a sweat in 20 minutes on the medium level resistance setting, elevate my HR a bit. It's nice because the bike doesn't shake at all, it's still enough I can take notes while I read and also it's SUPER quiet.

wish it had: cup holder, slots for pencils. Otherwise a nice little piece of cheap equipment, also perfectly apartment sized.

They also sell a "walking desk" dreamill dohicker... although imho if you're getting into that territory you might as well go hole hog and get an ab-ball to sit on at your desk, etc etc 😀😀

 

[Nymphicus]

Thanks!

 

[Aeterni]

Try sprint intervals - convenient to do on a treadmill. Bit of warm up, then 10 intervals of 30 secs at a fast run and 1 minute at a jog (not too slow, go with a bit quicker than your middle distance running speed). Then a bit of cooldown. Takes 20 minutes and is an intense workout once you find good speeds to work at, plus helps with conditioning for longer runs.

 

[bonoboMD]

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I was in the best shape ever the summer I spend studying for the MCAT. Granted, I only kept it up for 3 months but I am hoping to utilize these strategies in med school next year (though I get that med school will be so much more intense than MCAT studies!) This is what worked for me:
- study in your (comfortable!) workout clothes
- have some workout accessories handy. If studying away from home you might want to pack a small towel, jumprope, etc.. along with your text books
- determine how long you can study effectively before needing a quick break
- set a timer (or phone alarm or whatever) to go off every 1 hr or so (depending on the time that works best for you) and take 10-20 minutes to get a quick workout (and mental break) in
- It helps if its fun. If you think crunches are a blast then crunch away! Personally, I fell in love with jumping rope to party music, or just having a 3 song solo dance session! If you are already in your running clothes you can just run out the door and around the block to a motivating song.
- Try to mix it up with cardio and strength training. Learn easy strength training moves that require no equipment, like flying squats. Rip the pages out of workout/fitness magazines that show these kinds of moves or print them out from online so that you have a reference if you are feeling uninspired.
- It also helps if you can get over being embarrassed/sweating in public. If you only study in libraries, try to find a stairwell that isnt frequented or a parking lot for your sweaty study break sessions.
Anyone else have a similar strategy that works well for them?