Time for Workouts?

[theyellowking]

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As weird/random as this question may sound, I am really hoping to get some suggestions from you guys who find time to work out during the days you study the MCAT's (Not during the break days). First off, is this possible? If so, do you find that you can only work out before or after studying the material? Lastly, can you only study on those days that the material is straightforward, or do you workout regardless and keep a consistent pattern?

As much as I want to do well for the MCAT's, I don't want to drink coffee and sit in a chair 6-7 hours each day, 6 times a week.

 

[TheRelevant]

6-7 hours is only a quarter of a day. I am assuming you're not working full time (if you are, you've got your work cut out!! but you can do it if you work hard). I'd highly recommend going to the gym. However, the gym should be treated as a break (regardless of how productive it is). That means it falls into the category of SDN browsing, movie-watching, socializing etc.

Anyway, if you're following S2Ned's schedule, you can do something analagous to this:
-read chapter for the day (while making a list of questions)
-go to the gym
-answer all the questions you were unsure of using wiki, the textbook itself, your own pre-req course notes etc.
-break etc.
-finish the problems for that day

Lastly. I doubt you are doing 6-7 hours of PRODUCTIVE work. I've been timing myself, and I finished 4 chapters in the last two days and I only spent about 10-11 hours total of productive MCAT studying. If you can find a way to schedule everything in a way where you're efficient most of the time, those 6-7 hours will not feel like they take up the whole day. I do something analogous to this:

-wake up, read half hour of economist/NYer/non-fiction book of interest
-MCAT studying
-chores while listening to some poker podcasts/theory (I play poker as a part-time job) or even listening to MCAT audio osmosis or some TED talks; this allows you to kill two birds with one stone
-more MCAT studying
-break, but I play a few poker tables and/or watch some poker videos/read some articles etc.
-more MCAT studying if needed

I was going to the gym 5-6 days a week, but I was squatting too heavy and injured my lower back a bit. So I have to kick back a bit. I miss going because it releases a ****-load of endorphins that (imo) play a critical role in maintaining motivation for the repetitive grind that's known as MCAT studying. This is starting to get too long so I'll cut it here.

TL;DR find ways to increase efficiency.

 

[theyellowking]

Hm, thanks! Yeah, I think one of the problems I have is finding time to squeeze in studying, breaks, lunch/dinner, and gym. It's hard for me to associate breaks with going to the gym since I usually stay the gym for an hour at the least. But I really like the idea of studying before going to the gym, then answering questions afterwards, since that'll give you enough time to absorb the info and get you "pumped" up

 

[orangetea]

I follow the same schedule and work out 3 times a week.

Usually a 8-5 type of deal and work out at night watch a show relax and go to bed. BUT What I find SUPER helpful though I cannot always do it is going the gym early morning and then getting work done.. It is SO NICE to clear your head.. I am a bit more efficient but due to some constraints I can only go the gym early in the morning once a week.

Physically speaking everyday might be too much since you're already putting so much stress on your mind.. but then again you know your body better 🙂

 

[shahcoco]

I'm generally able to go to the gym. I like knocking it out in the AM if I get up early enough. If not, I use my AM to study and unwind with the gym in the afternoon and come back to review after a shower and a meal. Working out totally helps me focus. I usually keep it to 50 min and try not to overdo it so I'm not in recovery when I should be studying!

 

[theyellowking]

Thank you both for answering!

I usually do workouts later the day, but I'm trying to fix my schedule to wake up early and go to the gym early. Do you guys find that there are days where going to the gym @ the morning makes you tired? That's the one thing I'm afraid of, since that'll just ruin my whole day of schedule pretty much

 

[TheRelevant]

I find that bulking saps your energy a lot more than exercises targeted towards general fitness. You require massive intakes of calories, increased protein-intake for bulks and much more recovery effort for bulks. These things can go against daily energy levels because A) glucose influx (from larger meals) causes insulin release and subsequent dips in blood glucose levels and B) protein metabolism tends to be more energy-intensive than other sources (considering that you'll need to intaking loads of protein for adequate recovery and C) this may be anecdotal, but I require tons more sleep if I am trying to gain mass.

If you're serious, my advice would be to moderate weights/lots of cardio and just work on body-fat percentage as opposed to muscle gain. Make sure you get your macros / caloric intake / micronutrients correct.

But if you're adamant about doing bulks, my advice would be:
-avoid larger meals and stick to smaller and more frequent meals
-don't over-exert
-consider glutamine for faster recovery

 

[sloppypapi]

I was actually feeling extremely exhausted this morning, so I delayed my studying, did an 1.5 hours (Edited to clarify mostly cardio and dance/aerobics) at the gym, and came back home feeling more alert and motivated. But yeah, that's just me..

 

[TheRelevant]

For sure. Cardio is king for energy levels. That b-oxidation. But make sure to intake a carbs within a short time after your workout. Or you'll be glycogen-depleted and dead for the rest of the day.

 

[theyellowking]

I find that bulking saps your energy a lot more than exercises targeted towards general fitness. You require massive intakes of calories, increased protein-intake for bulks and much more recovery effort for bulks. These things can go against daily energy levels because A) glucose influx (from larger meals) causes insulin release and subsequent dips in blood glucose levels and B) protein metabolism tends to be more energy-intensive than other sources (considering that you'll need to intaking loads of protein for adequate recovery and C) this may be anecdotal, but I require tons more sleep if I am trying to gain mass.

If you're serious, my advice would be to moderate weights/lots of cardio and just work on body-fat percentage as opposed to muscle gain. Make sure you get your macros / caloric intake / micronutrients correct.

But if you're adamant about doing bulks, my advice would be:
-avoid larger meals and stick to smaller and more frequent meals
-don't over-exert
-consider glutamine for faster recovery

Yeah definitely, and the soreness kills for the next day. Definitely not doing any bulking, and I was thinking more of running.

 

[Alucard6]

Yeah definitely, and the soreness kills for the next day. Definitely not doing any bulking, and I was thinking more of running.

I suggest cardio as well! I assure you it will be a stress reliever and help you out tremendously in the long run. You need to give your brain a break and have it relax from all the pressure.

Personally I work from 7-4 with breaks then from 4-5 I either go running or play basketball. It clears my head from the day of work and makes it so I don't get obese from sitting around all day!

 

[Alex Schmidt]

I actually thought long and hard about how exercise could help me when studying for the mcat. First off I'm a bit of a fitness junkie and so there was no way I was going to cease exersice. I ended going to the gym about four times a week and also focused on getting my cardio/endurance level up, because this has been intimately linked to better mental performance. I would suggest trying this out: go for a hard workout or a good run, then within thirty minutes take a practice test. If you're like me, it will definitely help your mental game.

 

[HinduHammer]

Thank you both for answering!

I usually do workouts later the day, but I'm trying to fix my schedule to wake up early and go to the gym early. Do you guys find that there are days where going to the gym @ the morning makes you tired? That's the one thing I'm afraid of, since that'll just ruin my whole day of schedule pretty much

I noticed that after I work out I am much less potent of a studier. I usually do 30+ mins of intense cardio, 1hr+ heavy, hard lifting, 30 mins of stretch/cooldown. I am DRAINED. I study really well for about an hour, then I get distracted, then I'm like, I am not retaining anything.

My best study days are when I get up and go to the library first thing in the morning. But then, come 4 or 5pm, I'm like "wish I'd gone to the gym.;.." But when I DO go to the gym at 5pm, I cant sleep until like 1-2am that night.

So, my strategy going forward will be to wake up at like 6-7am and do the gym first thing, hard, like normal, then study all that day, then the next day wake up at 6-7am and just study all day. Then 3rd day, wake up at 6-7am and gym, then study, etc.

So basically, every other day do a super hard workout. The mornings I don't work out practice tests and passages, the days I do work out, content review, flash card review, that kind of thing.

 

[Direction of Time]

When I studied for the MCAT and final exams I would work out in the morning and eat a nice lunch after. The rush of endorphins made me feel energized and allowed me to really focus on studying for a good few hours.

You should try a few different regimes and find what works for you. If you feel too tired to study after cardio, then studying in the morning and exercising in the afternoon might work better. You can use the prospect of exercise as a reward to motivate yourself to be efficient during your study sessions.

 

[echoyjeff222]

I workout every other day, but I workout at home. I can give you details on the guy I follow on youtube ... he does HIIT type training (60 seconds of work, then rest 15 secs, etc). I've been following him for awhile now, and I really like how he gets new workouts out every week or so (he already has a whole ton out). I can just play one and not have to plan what I exercises I need to do, etc. It saves a lot of time. I workout before dinner time after I'm done studying.

 

[swolebrah]

Usually in the morning at 5am or at night around 10pm.

Most of the time it's a workout after a productive day of studying , nothing beats getting a sick ass pump and vascularity (dat dere celltech hehe)

Also I do all this while on about 150-200 carbs a day .

Edit : I also work part time , so using 24 hour fitness helps since some days I have crazy hours .

Bottom line , it's not that people who workout have more time then you, it's just a necessity . Just like eating , ****ting, sleeping, etc...

 

[drisaac]

Usually in the morning at 5am or at night around 10pm.

Most of the time it's a workout after a productive day of studying , nothing beats getting a sick ass pump and vascularity (dat dere celltech hehe)

Also I do all this while on about 150-200 carbs a day .

Edit : I also work part time , so using 24 hour fitness helps since some days I have crazy hours .

Bottom line , it's not that people who workout have more time then you, it's just a necessity . Just like eating , ****ting, sleeping, etc...

Great advice. I agree. There is time to workout if you make it a necessity and in my case stop the Instagram and browsing through YouTube!!

 

[drisaac]

As weird/random as this question may sound, I am really hoping to get some suggestions from you guys who find time to work out during the days you study the MCAT's (Not during the break days). First off, is this possible? If so, do you find that you can only work out before or after studying the material? Lastly, can you only study on those days that the material is straightforward, or do you workout regardless and keep a consistent pattern?

As much as I want to do well for the MCAT's, I don't want to drink coffee and sit in a chair 6-7 hours each day, 6 times a week.

I personally think you have to do what works for you. If its everyday, 30 min or every other day for an hour, or gym, or running or whatever. I personally go about 3x a week but I wish I could go more b/c I have the time for it, but I just get lazy and tell myself, I should study instead. However, those times, that I tell myself I should study, I end up not studying!

 

[Gauss44]

Working out is fine as long as you don't fatigue yourself, and as long as your performance doesn't worsen after exercise. That's an individual thing that applies to some people much more than others.

Me: I workout every day. I do 30 minutes of cardio in the morning and an hour of weightlifting at night. I feel it gives me more energy.