Balancing a busy lifestyle and your fitness routine
The Question:
Maintaining your fitness with a busy lifestyle can be difficult. A few weeks ago I received this exact question from Mel, a second year medical student about She was wondering about the practicality of committing to a contract at a local boxing club to help stay active during her third year medical school rotations. This one hit close to home because as medical students we realize how hard it seems to make time to get to the gym to get a good workout in. A large part of the reason that we founded Ironsnack was to show people who have a busy lifestyle that they are still able to meet their nutrition and fitness goals.
The Context:
Currently as a second year medical student she spend a lot of time in the classroom and has to study in the evenings regularly but there is a degree of flexibility where you are in a classroom setting. When you finally get the honor to start treating patients in your third year of medical school you lose some of the flexibility as it’s more of a work schedule than a class schedule and sometimes you stay late to ensure the patients needs are met. Since the schedule gets busier and more rigid she’s a bit leery to sign the contract. But she mentioned that she would consider it worthwhile even if she was able to go at least three times per week.
I say absolutely go for it! If you know you love boxing and it’s going to give you some time away from the books and the hospital do it. Too many people fall into a sedentary lifestyle when they hit the workplace. Maintaining relationships with my family and friends and continuing to pursue my personal fitness goals are two of my highest priorities when I am on my free time.
The Science:
In traditional Ironsnack fashion we like to support our reasoning with science and evidence. There have been a variety of studies particularly in adolescents that looked at the relationship between exercise and academic success. One particular study by Sanders et. al found that those with more physical activity had higher grade point averages, less depression, and better relationships. These mental and social benefits pair nicely with the health improvements of decreasing bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase in good cholesterol (HDL), improvement in glucose metabolism, increased strength and reduction in sports related injuries. The real possibility of burnout is often discussed in medicine. Medical students in particularly can have up to a 50% burnout rate and sadly 10% of students even struggle with suicidal ideation. A study by Beck et. al. showed that exercise has the potential to reduce stress and prevent the development of deeper depression. A Mayo clinic study found that residents and fellows who enrolled in an exercise program had better quality of life assessment after a 12 week period and were at a lower risk of burnout. Time and time again studies have supported that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, can help with anxiety, distress while also improving your mood, increasing your intellectual functioning and improving your self concept.
The Reality:
So now we have shared the science with you. However, the science doesn’t necessarily answer the question about the practicality of squeezing a fitness regimen into a busy lifestyle. For me I have always been inspired by seeing others accomplish their goals. To be able to see someone come before me and be successful in a particular area always allowed me to approach my goals with more confidence. There is no doubt that you will be more crunched for time in the coming year. There is always time for fitness but you have to be willing to make it a priority. I think you setting the goal of three days a week is a totally realistic and achievable goal. There are definitely times when making it to the gym will be more difficult the most challenging time for me was during surgery. However, maybe I can inspire you with this. During my 12 week NPC physique show preparation I managed to make it to the gym 6 days a week for 2 hours each day. During this time I was also meal prepping so I would cook and pack food at least 4 hours per week. Clean up took around 45 minutes to 1 hour a day and I spent time eating 6 meals per day. I certainly was stretched thin but I maintained my academics and pushed my health and fitness to the next level. I absolutely believe that you can maintain a fitness and health even with a busy lifestyle. One of the biggest suggestions I can give you is prepare to hit your gym session immediately after walking out the hospital. Make it yourself your top priority and I believe you will see improvements in all the other areas of your life. I hope that answers your question Mel! We love getting questions from our followers feel free to comment below or use the contact page to send us a question.
Sources for maintaining fitness with a busy lifestyle:
Exercise is positively related to adolescent’s relationships and academics
The health benefits of physical activity in children and adolescents: implications for chronic disease prevention
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s004310051070
Physical education, school physical activity, school sports and academic performance
https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-5-10
Aerobic exercise training and burnout: a pilot study with male participants suffering from burnout
https://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-0500-6-78
Physical Activity, Quality of Life, and Burnout Among Physician Trainees: The Effect of a Team-Based, Incentivized Exercise Program
http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(13)00829-X/abstract?cc=y=
Psychologic aspects of exercise.
http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/2015642
Burnout and Suicidal Ideation among U.S. Medical Students
http://annals.org/aim/article/742530/burnout-suicidal-ideation-among-u-s-medical-students