Skiing/hiking/biking in med school

[cliffjumper242]

I am a very outdoorsy person that goes outside on weekend trips just about every weekend to go skiing, biking camping, and hiking. I love to work hard during the week so I can leave campus on the weekend and unwind. I wanted some advice if this sort of lifestyle is possible in medical school and residency. I found it very easy to do this in undergrad and I'm wondering if anyone lives like this in medical school.

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[wanderingorion]

I did during 1st year.

 

[HomeSkool]

Go in expecting that your training will be your first love and your hobbies will be your side fling as time allows. There is time to participate in some hobbies during training, but it won't be as much as you probably want. The key is to remain flexible, don't get angry or frustrated when your responsibilities interfere with your plans, and remember that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Goro]

Go in expecting that your training will be your first love and your hobbies will be your side fling as time allows. There is time to participate in some hobbies during training, but it won't be as much as you probably want. The key is to remain flexible, don't get angry or frustrated when your responsibilities interfere with your plans, and remember that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Medicine is my lawful wife and literature my mistress; when I get tired of one, I spend the night with the other.
Anton Chekhov

 

[Gurby]

I did during 1st year.

He said wistfully

 

[Terps1011]

Depends heavily on your program!
Where I am at every other weekend was an "off weekend" during the first 1.5years.
During third year (when you start clinicals) I went to a branch campus with my school where we had EVERY weekend off! We also took all our shelves at the end of the year so I did not have to worry about spending entire weekends studying.

I also am in the mountains for my third year, so there is tons of hiking, camping, breweries, etc.

 

[Medic741]

I am a very outdoorsy person that goes outside on weekend trips just about every weekend to go skiing, biking camping, and hiking. I love to work hard during the week so I can leave campus on the weekend and unwind. I wanted some advice if this sort of lifestyle is possible in medical school and residency. I found it very easy to do this in undergrad and I'm wondering if anyone lives like this in medical school.

Kind of. I was a 5.11/5.12 climber before starting MED school, found it impossible to keep that level of performance up and had to be happy with 5.10s. Make it to the climbing gym 3x a week

First year I was able to mountain bike daily for an hour or so, and went on more weekend trips than I can count. Made it to Arizona, Colorado, Arkansas and Squamish last year alone. Having friends to share passions w in school makes it possible. Anki on the car rides, study at the climbing gym etc

If you manage your time you can make it happen, but have some grace with your level of performance. School comes first not getting KOMs

 

[goneriding]

It's definitely possible to keep your shred on in school, but you have to temper your expectations. I get around 50 miles/5-7K elevation on my MTB weekly, and ride my dirt bike 1-2x/month, which is a lot less than I used to. I do those rides no matter what is going on in school-- even with board prep as a second year. Morning dawn patrol missions are my new go to in order to fit rides in with board prep. As other members stated above, weekend trips are hard, but day trips are manageable.

I used to ski around 30-40 days a winter, climb and go to a bunch of MTB races, but medical school has put a stop to all that with Monday exams. It's all about your priorities, time management, and finding a way to pay for it all.

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

It definitely depends on your school (i.e. exam schedule) and how comfortable you are with your material. There are people in my class (M1) who have 20-30 ski days in at this point, but we're in an area that has easy access to the hills.

 

[pullmyzincfinger]

I was also a very outdoorsy person before medical school. I got my hopes up by asking this question and looking at threads where people talked about how much free time they had to go skiing and hiking.

The truth is that medical school is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. If you want more, there will always be more to do. There are clubs, research opportunities, studying, leadership, on and on. In my experience, some people are able to turn off the part of them that says, "Just take one more bite, come on. You can do it." Some people are not.

Your free time will also be dependent on your study strategy and how easy you find it to learn the material. Some of my classmates can read a lecture once and they have it mostly memorized. It takes me more than that, and some of my friends even longer. You can't really anticipate what kind of time you'll need until it's happening. And even then, some topics will click in your brain more easily than others.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: sometimes I park really far away from the med school so that I get to spend more time outside.

 

[WayneJetski]

Without a doubt. I took up Mountain Biking in fourth year. Had plenty of time to do activities like these in M1-2 as well - just didnt act on it at the time.

 

[KeikoTanaka]

I go to a more rural school but we have great gyms. I typically spend about 5-6 hours a week at the gym in my first year at school. With that being said, I couldn't imagine doing 5-6 hours a week at the gym THEN go hiking/skiing/biking on the weekend. You should pick your poison. But if this is what you're passionate about, definitely do it. I'll most likely be doing it more often once the snow melts and spring clears, b/c like you, I'm a huge hiker.

 

[Quantal Reasoning]

Do it! Your body is an investment. Work it, refine it, and studying well will naturally follow.

 

[LyMed]

You'll find a way to make time for things that are important for you. Besides, it is crucial to do non-med things to keep sane. If you need further convincing, exercise has found to be cognitively beneficial