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[Spetzler-Martin]

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[ExcitatorySynapse]

I was lifting 1.25-1.5 hours of lifting and doing 20ish min of cardio 4x a week and could've done more and I used to see my classmates/other medical students work out fairly often. If you are efficient elsewhere and don't need to travel too far to get to the gym, you should have no issue.

The hard thing for me is making sure I sleep and eat appropriately so that I'm not too tired to focus. But when I do so, there's no issue. (F to my conditioning now though).

 

[slowthai]

I was lifting 1.25-1.5 hours of lifting and doing 20ish min of cardio 4x a week and could've done more and I used to see my classmates/other medical students work out fairly often. If you are efficient elsewhere and don't need to travel too far to get to the gym, you should have no issue.

The hard thing for me is making sure I sleep and eat appropriately so that I'm not too tired to focus. But when I do so, there's no issue. (F to my conditioning now though).

I basically have the same lifting schedule. I would lift every other day for about the same amount of time with 20 mins incline treadmill after every session. You just have to plan well and be efficient with your time like ExcitatorySynapse said.

And it actually helps my studies because I'm able to run through everything faster, thereby giving me more time to do anything else that I want.

 

[FindersFee5]

To those who have made time to lift in med school, has it any way interfered with your studies? I've been following a powerlifting routine over the past few years, but it's definitely too time consuming for when I start MS1 in the fall. Therefore, I'm planning to switch to Wendler 5/3/1's I Ain't doing jack **** (that's actually what it's called) which would have me lift for basically half an hour, 3 times a week. I would squat 1 day, bench the second, and overhead press the third. But anyways, for those who do lift, how much time are you able to invest and how feasible has it been?

I ran 5/3/1 building the monolith for my first 2 years and had no problems at all fitting it in. During periods where I was a little bit more strapped for time, I would study at the gym - 20 anki cards during rest period for full body lifts, 10 cards between each isolation exercise. I actually hit my lifetime max on deadlift during dedicated.

Third year has been rougher - I was lucky to get to the gym twice a week through most of my rotations. I started running and bought a home pull-up bar just so that I had some activity most days. If you figure out a way to lift consistently during third year, more power to you - without a gym within a few minutes of your apartment or a home gym it's pretty tough.

 

[Driven_Docta]

Totally doable given the gyms being open by the time you start in the Fall (Finger's Crossed). You might have to sacrifice a day or 2 of lifting some weeks (3 days vs 5 days) given your workload but totally feasible to work out ~1 hour per day/5 days a week during the majority of 1st and 2nd year!

 

[Cyphix]

Very doable in med school, also doable in residency. Great to build those healthy habits early on in training -- free time can be harder to come by as you advance in training.

 

[mistafab]

I lifted all four years. Hit the gym minimum 4x a week, usually 6x plus 3 to 4 cardio sessions. Gym time was usually 30-45 minutes, though on saturday I would usually do a crossfit/strongman routine that took around 1.5 hours.


Definitely plenty of time for consistent gym time. Even on the toughest rotations I made it work. Did well in school too. Grades probably would have suffered without the gym.

 

[InternistDO]

Even my friends who studied every second of their week had enough time off to go to the gym/run several days a week. If you study like a normal person you'll have no issues at all even with hour long sessions. I probably had the best gym routine of my life in preclinicals because we had a gym at school so I could go straight from class to the gym and then home.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I tell my students they get an hour a day to exercise. My son is a self described meat head and grudgingly admitted I was right when he was in med school. 3rd and 4th yr are tough if you are on away rotations and gym access might be limited. OP sounds like they have a solid plan which appears quite doable.

 

[Tenk]

I worked out 3-4 days a week for 1-2 hours in med school, residency and now as an attending. It’s easy. You have plenty of time.

Don’t sacrifice the gains.

 

[Doggeronie]

To those who have made time to lift in med school, has it any way interfered with your studies? I've been following a powerlifting routine over the past few years, but it's definitely too time consuming for when I start MS1 in the fall. Therefore, I'm planning to switch to Wendler 5/3/1's I Ain't doing jack **** (that's actually what it's called) which would have me lift for basically half an hour, 3 times a week. I would squat 1 day, bench the second, and overhead press the third. But anyways, for those who do lift, how much time are you able to invest and how feasible has it been?

I easily had time to workout for 1.5 hrs every day. Was going strong until corona hit and I could no longer lift.
I just finished my summer cut right before all of this happened. Unfortunately being removed from the gym caused my cut to spiral into a 4 month long period of pure catabolism.
I am now a skeleton and have to start from scratch after all of this ends. RIP.

 

[Pluto98]

I ran 5/3/1 building the monolith for my first 2 years and had no problems at all fitting it in. During periods where I was a little bit more strapped for time, I would study at the gym - 20 anki cards during rest period for full body lifts, 10 cards between each isolation exercise. I actually hit my lifetime max on deadlift during dedicated.

Third year has been rougher - I was lucky to get to the gym twice a week through most of my rotations. I started running and bought a home pull-up bar just so that I had some activity most days. If you figure out a way to lift consistently during third year, more power to you - without a gym within a few minutes of your apartment or a home gym it's pretty tough.

What was this lifetime max on deadlifts? At what body weight?

 

[DarkHorizon]

Can confirm, lifted 4-5 times a week all through out med school except for 5 months of sub-is.

 

[scorpion2020]

Bro you can’t ignore the legs of the upper body more commonly know as back

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Nice to see fellow powerlifters. I'm hoping to continue with my routine and maybe cut down on accessories, but we shall see. Goal is to at least stay consistent until raw nats.

 

[Amyloid_Beemer]

Before corona I lifted/did hiit about 4x a week, usually got hour long sessions in, for now I just do calisthenics at home and run in parks.


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[FindersFee5]

What was this lifetime max on deadlifts? At what body weight?

495 at 210. I'm still kind of pissed I wasn't able to push through and hit 500, because at this point that's probably not gonna happen now until I'm an attending at minimum given time constraints.

 

[Pluto98]

495 at 210. I'm still kind of pissed I wasn't able to push through and hit 500, because at this point that's probably not gonna happen now until I'm an attending at minimum given time constraints.

we are about the same Wilks score. I am around 425 at about 160ish. Tryna hit that triple body weight deadlift!

 

[FindersFee5]

we are about the same Wilks score. I am around 425 at about 160ish. Tryna hit that triple body weight deadlift!

That would be awesome - I don't think I could ever get near 600.

If all you're aiming for is the 3x body weight, might be easier to cut 10 pounds and just go for 450?

 

[Pluto98]

That would be awesome - I don't think I could ever get near 600.

If all you're aiming for is the 3x body weight, might be easier to cut 10 pounds and just go for 450?

I am cutting weight but this is more of a long term goal of mine. Long long term I want to pull 600+. Good thing I’m still young and got a lot of time!

 

[premedstudent7873]

About to start PGY-1. ...(is it possible to change this username or do I have to make a new account??) There is time M1-M2 if you prioritize. My typical daily sched was class 8-12. Study 1-5ish. Workout/eat dinner 5:15-6:45. Study 7 till 9:30/10. I even did a few powerlifting competitions...heaviest deadlift in my state for my weight class. Maintained reasonably above avg grades and boards (didn’t blow anything out of the water though)
There’s time during clinical years to work out but, I felt it was a lot more difficult since you aren’t as in charge of your own schedule. Definitely could not maintain enough strength to stay “competitive,” but had enough time to stay healthy.

 

[Toxin066]

Cycled Candito's 6 week and Massthetics (RIP) 6 week programs through years 1 and 2. Those were about an 1.5-2hrs 4-6x a week.

Years 3 and 4 I had enough time to run Norton's PH3. (3.5hr 5x a week) and enough time to prep for 2 USPA meets.

You have time for the things you make time for. There's time between sets for anki!

 

[WedgeDawg]

No, this is totally feasible. Med school is not that time intensive. You can lift 5x/week even on difficult rotations if you want, and you'll set yourself up well for continuing in residency too. The only times in med school I couldn't lift 3x/week were on away rotations where I literally didn't have access to a gym.

 

[jurassicpark]

No, this is totally feasible. Med school is not that time intensive. You can lift 5x/week even on difficult rotations if you want, and you'll set yourself up well for continuing in residency too. The only times in med school I couldn't lift 3x/week were on away rotations where I literally didn't have access to a gym.

Yup. People have this misconception that when you enter medical school you will be studying from 4am to midnight everyday, reading on the potty.

To be fair, reading on the porcelain throne is the only alone-time I get these days so I've literally probably gotten hemorrhoids reading novels there.

But anyways, in the beginning it will be hard as you adjust and learn. But if you get the stride of things, you will find PLENTY of time to exercise and do other things.

 

[iqe2010]

I like to workout in the mornings.

Do you guys think it’s feasible to lift early in the morning before class, like say between 5 and 7 am?

 

[raiderette]

Never a problem. I went to the gym 6 days a week until pregnancy took me down a bit. I was able to study as well. Gym and meal prep can be treated as non-negotiable. I had no problems.

I like to workout in the mornings.

Do you guys think it’s feasible to lift early in the morning before class, like say between 5 and 7 am?

 

[Pdazzle11]

Rising M2 just trying to detail my experience. My school has tests every 3-4 weeks so the first 2-3 weeks before the test I can usually fit in working out 3-4 times a week. The last week leading up to the test I'm usually shifting focus to class material rather than board material and binge watching lectures and can't workout as often but I still tend to fit in atleast 2 workouts. I've found the key to lifting in medical school is supersetting or even giant setting if you can manage it. That being said the start of MS1 is nerve wrecking in that you have to figure out a way to study large volumes of information like you've never done before. Its a huge adjustment period academicallly and if you have to give up your workout routine for a couple weeks to adjust to the workload than so be it. Just make sure you don't completely fall off the wagon and sacrifice your hobbies in the process.