Tell me about your workouts/exercise routines now and during the school yr!

[azzarah]

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I have been doing yoga this summer and would like to continue throughout the year, but I have a feeling that as soon as classes start, I am going to stop practicing yoga regularly. How do you motivate yourself to workout even when work demands most of your time?
I have tried the Body-for-Life program which was great. I have done Body-Rx too and that was okay. I have done the couch-to-5k and that was good too. Do you guys follow a set program or do you make up your own thing and just go to the gym?
Any advice/tips you could give me will be greatly appreciated!

 

[azzarah]

Anyone???

 

[curlycity]

Right now, the summer before MS-1, I'm doing sort of long (for me) workouts, strictly cardio, for about two hours about 5 days a week. Just burning off some undergrad / aging pounds before med school starts. During the school year, both in the past and planned for the future, I up the intensity because I don't have two hours to kill, and really burn out 40-60 minutes of cardio as hard as I can stand it, then do about ten minutes of weights and stretching for my back & arms, then race to the shower and out the door. This is first thing in the morn before I can change my mind, and I will either take notecards with me if I'm feeling desperate, or a novel if I'm feeling caught up. I keep motivated by remembering how crappy I feel and look (old photo albums - the horror!!!) when I skip the workouts. Hope this idea helps 🙂

I just stick with the cardio machines and grind out whatever I can manage, and it's one less thing to think about. So I don't use any program or plan that would require decision-making, that early in the morning 🙂

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Summer time I run in the local parks.
School year I jog on the indoor track at my school. 👍

 

[b&ierstiefel]

I eat cheese

 

[Nike]

Azzarah,

I haven't started school yet, but i'm hoping to continue working out through out the year. I spend a lot of time at the gym now, since I have nothing better to do 😛 . I recently started doing yoga this summer, too. I've been taking classes, but at school I don't think I'm going to be able to afford a gym membership, so I got (well, I rented them from the library and am going to copy them . . . not exactly legal, but oh well 😳 ) a bunch of yoga videos so that I can fit it in on my own schedule. In terms of cardio, I usually run or bike. I like to use the stationary bike because I can also study while working out, so I don't feel like I'm waisting time.

 

[azzarah]

Thanks for the responses you guys! I like the idea of getting it done first thing in the morning, but I get really sleepy in the afternoon when I workout in the morning. CurlyCity, the album thing is a GREAT idea! 😀
SaltySqueegee, how many minutes would you say you spend jogging per week during the school year?
Nike, thanks for your tips and suggestions! My school offers yoga classes...it's something like $30 for 8 weeks of unlimited exercise classes (including yoga). I am following the 28 day yoga exercise plan (a book) by Richard Hittleman right now...it's a really old book, so he assumes that all women are housewives and things like that, but the exercise program itself is pretty solid. 😉

 

[azzarah]

I eat cheese

lots of Ca and protein, huh? Plus, if it's string cheese, you have to use those forearm muscles to peel each slice off...

 

[omarsaleh66]

I lift weights 4 times a week, and I do cardio right after. Cardio can be 45 min -60 minutes. I listen to WebPrep USMLE audio on my mp3 player for the class I am working on, so I dont feel guilty about working out when i should be studying.

I have Gold Standard as well, but it sucks for cardio, but with WebPrep the lectures are really funny so the cardio flies by.

My goal is kill Step 1 with a 28 inch waist

holla

 

[Garuda]

Good luck finding pants that fit.

 

[Agent999]

I just work out whenever classes are over, everyday. It's the best way to keep yourself in routine, cause I find myself very lazy and not wanting to go back out once I get back to rez. Exercise different sets of muscles each time so you dont strain them.

 

[Sweet Tea]

I just work out whenever classes are over, everyday. It's the best way to keep yourself in routine, cause I find myself very lazy and not wanting to go back out once I get back to rez. Exercise different sets of muscles each time so you dont strain them.

I completely agree with this. I go straight from school to the gym 4-5 days a week. During the summer, I have the luxury of being able to exercise 6 times a week for 1.5-2 hours, but during school I limit it to 1.5 hours at the most. During school, I do 20-45 minutes of cardio, and focus on one past of the body for weights. However, if it's an exam week then I usually do just cardio and stretching b/c I can review my notecards while on the elliptical/bike/treadmill.

 

[azzarah]

Grrrr....my first reply got erased...
omarsaleh66, agent999, and sweet tea, thanks for your suggestions...
I think I am going to rent out a locker at the gym and leave everything I need in there...that way I can go staight from class to work out, then shower and get back to the library. 😉

 

[azzarah]

Has anyone tried Body for Life or BodyRx?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

lots of Ca and protein, huh? Plus, if it's string cheese, you have to use those forearm muscles to peel each slice off...

Nah, driving across the street to the supermarket to get the cheese burns more calories than eating the cheese.

 

[raspberry swirl]

i found that the biggest change in my workouts upon entering med school was the amount of time i could spend at the gym. i still go pretty much everyday, but i just dont have the time to spend 2, 2.5 hours in the gym, piddling around, stretching, etc. so i do 40 min cardio, 10 min stretch, 15-20 min weights and then im done. if its crowded, sometimes i have to shave a few min off the cardio. i know a few people who go before class, but i just can't do it. i hate getting out of bed any earlier than i have to. so i go everday right after class. it works for me 🙂

 

[doc05]

during ms1 and ms2, the average medical student can spare 2-3 hours/day in the gym.

 

[pureofheart]

This is slightly off topic. But I have noticed that there is a lot of body/self image issues going around with people I know in medical school. (e.g. guys who spend way too much time benching, and dangerously thin girls).

Here is my theory: Most people who get into medical school are 1) driven, and 2) very disciplined. People may bring the same mentality they have towards academics into exercise - "if I can work 8 hours a day to kill the boards, I can work that hard to get rock hard abs."

When the drive for excellence and perfection is placed on the wrong outlet (seeking "the hot bod"), it's not necessary a good / healthy thing.

Any thoughts?

 

[Hercules]

This is slightly off topic. But I have noticed that there is a lot of body/self image issues going around with people I know in medical school. (e.g. guys who spend way too much time benching, and dangerously thin girls).

Here is my theory: Most people who get into medical school are 1) driven, and 2) very disciplined. People may bring the same mentality they have towards academics into exercise - "if I can work 8 hours a day to kill the boards, I can work that hard to get rock hard abs."

When the drive for excellence and perfection is placed on the wrong outlet (seeking "the hot bod"), it's not necessary a good / healthy thing.

Any thoughts?

Lots of thoughts. Before I go into them, though, let me get you to elaborate on what you define as a guy who spends way too much time benching. Is it someone who goes to the gym 4-5 times a week, someone who is noticeably muscular, or something else altogether?

 

[pureofheart]

Lots of thoughts. Before I go into them, though, let me get you to elaborate on what you define as a guy who spends way too much time benching. Is it someone who goes to the gym 4-5 times a week, someone who is noticeably muscular, or something else altogether?

don't get me wrong. i'm all about fitness and exercise. being an athlete in college, i know the importance of it.

personally i think anything beyond 2 to 3 hours a day of lifting and / or cardio is a lot. of course it varies with the person. as soon as one puts going to the gym before other things in life - eg feeling extremely guilty for missing exercise for two days, avoiding spending time with friends thus to save time for lifting, i think it's too much.

 

[azzarah]

Thanks for your thoughts and comments guys...I don't think I could do more than 45 minutes a day personally...and that's on the weekends. This yoga thing I'm doing is 20-30 minutes a day. I just hope I can keep this up for the whole year and maybe add some jogging/weightlifting to it.
Speaking of some med students being health freaks...I was eating fries in class the other day and this girl turned around and asked me if I had any idea how many calories and grams of fat that thing contained! How rude is that! 🙄
OK, so my weight and BF% is in the middle of "normal" range or whatever, but I'm still waaay bigger than a lot of girls in my class, so I think they must be underweight. I definitely do know a lot of guys who work out waaaay too much.