Finding time to workout during school?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Specializes in ICU.

for everyone who works out routinely during the semester...how do you do it? with classes, clinicals, and studying how do you fit it into your schedule? anytime i'm doing something other than studying, i feel guilty like i should be studying. i tend to stay at school late, so by the time i get home all i can do is sleep. please share your routines or any suggestions...

thanks,

ketcia

Specializes in ICU.

yoga or pilates for me ( especially before tests!)

i don't go to a class (the last one i went to made us bang our chests like tarzan for an hour - kill me now:banghead: ) i can relate to the taking time away from study thing, so i just do fifteen or so minutes at a time, that way i'm relaxed enough to soak up what's in my textbook

hey...walking's also good, this way you can maybe listen to your lectures at the same time!

Specializes in Home Health Care.

I used to work out by aerobics and lifting weights, now I can only find time to go for walks. I record my lectures and listen to them while I walk during the weeks and still occasionally lift weights on week-ends. I've got only 8 more months before I can get back to my aerobics & weights on a regular basis. :pumpiron:

I took a PE class while doing pre-reqs. During nursing school, I walked the track at least and sometimes jogged the track.

steph

Once apon a time before I was injured and had surgery I was a workout nut. I looked so good.......alas, no longer. But what I did was:

Ride my bike everywhere. If my destination was under 10-12 miles I'd bike it. I'd even occassionally bike the 20 miles to campus (40 miles roundtrip).

Get up in the early am to do 30-45 min hard cardio + 1hr weights most days (the bike ride to the gym would count towards my cardio time).

I started going to the gym twice a day, cardio in the am and weights in the pm. That's when I really started getting lean. Swimming, biking, and running.

They trick for me was to always get it out of the way early, if I procrastinated I would often not go. The school I start at in the fall has a pool and a gym and I plan on getting to school early to take advantage of those at least four days a week.

I heard that for an adult to build a new habit, they have to do it consistenly for three weeks. I found that to be fairly true, after you stick out the first month, you don't want to mess up your routine. Besides if you've got time to walk, you've got time to run.

Good luck (I'll be with you in spirit until I'm back on my feet).

Specializes in RN, Cardiac Step Down/Tele Unit.

The best I could do over the summer semester was parking as far as possible from my classrooms, the grocery store, mall, etc. and taking the stairs. Now that I am back to a long semester, I am trying to get back into routine. Try to do something every day, even if it is 10 minutes, and try not to feel guilty. Good luck!!!

Specializes in ICU.

Thanks for the posts everyone...If anyone else has any suggestions, please feel free to add.

Specializes in Pain Management.

My accelerated BSN program goes from 8:00 - 16:00 Monday through Thursday, so I am going to hit the gym for cardio at 6:15 each morning and going back after school on Monday and Wednesday or Tuesday and Thursday for weights (plus Friday and Saturday).

I hate lifting in the AM and I can upload chapters from my nursing books [thanks Evolve] to my PDA to study while I'm on the elliptical. Then I can lift in the late afternoon after school to let off some steam, which calms me down so I can study a few hours later in the evening.

Ah, I love having a tight schedule.

Edit: and of course I reserve the right to reassess the situation and act accordingly at any time.

I own a Soloflex and it really only takes 20 minutes to go through that with some free weights thrown in. Once school starts, I'll do it Tue am (no class), Thu at 1:00 as soon as I get home, and Saturday a.m. I'll walk every day I can - it keeps me sane - and no, I won't be listening to lecture tapes while I'm doing it. If all you do is study, study, study, you will burn out. Sharpen the saw, ya know.

Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Edit: and of course I reserve the right to reassess the situation and act accordingly at any time.

LOL

"Ah, I love having a tight schedule."...

I take it Josh, that in your tight schedule there's no need to make room for stopping at the grocery store for something to throw in the oven while you fold that last load of t-shirts and socks after assisting with Algebra II homework. Oops! @%#* forgot to pay the electric bill. Here, let me sign your permission slip, no, you can't go over to Tommy's, did you say we're supposed to bring a dish to pass to Lasken's, I'll press your pants as soon as I'm done here....

LOVE my husband but what I need is a wife...LOL

Specializes in Pain Management.
"Ah, I love having a tight schedule."...

I take it Josh, that in your tight schedule there's no need to make room for stopping at the grocery store for something to throw in the oven while you fold that last load of t-shirts and socks after assisting with Algebra II homework. Oops! @%#* forgot to pay the electric bill. Here, let me sign your permission slip, no, you can't go over to Tommy's, did you say we're supposed to bring a dish to pass to Lasken's, I'll press your pants as soon as I'm done here....

LOVE my husband but what I need is a wife...LOL

Well, the [soon-to-be] Mrs works Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, and our son goes to day care on Tuesday and Friday, so she takes care of him more than I do. She tends to do more of the laundry but if I want to have food to eat at night + leftovers to eat at school, then I better have time to cook.

I consider cooking my downtime for the day.

Sometimes she will meet me at the gym, other times I will have to go solo. It's better when she goes because it gives us another hour of quality time during the day, although I lift better solo.

Once we have a few more kids, things are going to get more tight. Luckily, the new gym we joined [sure, belonging to three different gyms is totally normal] is completely set up for families. I used to think these kinds of gyms were a monumental waste of money, but once you have kids, they are amazing.

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/overlandpark/

Edit: the price might be a turnoff, but seriously, I would rather spend money on a good gym then cable television...which would lead to me sitting on my butt more.

+ Add a Comment