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Hey guys,

I am very into fitness and whatnot, and was wondering if you still have time to workout consistently in law school. I mean, I am sure you have free time, but I don't wanna spend all of my free time working out. I wanna go out, and enjoy some relax time too. Any thoughts?

i work out regularly, except during finals time when there is no time to do anything except study and sleep. i don't really go out much though. maybe next year as a 2L i will have more spare time...but probably not.

corporatelaw87 wrote:Hey guys,

I am very into fitness and whatnot, and was wondering if you still have time to workout consistently in law school. I mean, I am sure you have free time, but I don't wanna spend all of my free time working out. I wanna go out, and enjoy some relax time too. Any thoughts?

You have time for some stuff, but not everything you want to do. In the end, I think you have to prioritize and choose what is more important to you in a given day. If working out is a bit higher on your list of priorities, I'm sure you'll find time for it.

In all seriousness though, it's not ridiculously terrible. I mean, you adjust. You'll be alright.

I'm not a law student (yet), but if you are someone who works out regularly, I am surprised you are asking that question. For me, when I am busy, I can't afford not to take 20-30min. to work out. I need the extra energy from it. If you are efficient, you don't need to do more than 20-30min/day to maintain your cardiovascular health and weight. You might not have time to make fitness gains in law school, but you can absolutely make time for anything you want to. People go to law school while they have families, jobs, and lives. You'll be fine.

WhyBother? wrote:I'm not a law student (yet), but if you are someone who works out regularly, I am surprised you are asking that question. For me, when I am busy, I can't afford not to take 20-30min. to work out. I need the extra energy from it. If you are efficient, you don't need to do more than 20-30min/day to maintain your cardiovascular health and weight. You might not have time to make fitness gains in law school, but you can absolutely make time for anything you want to. People go to law school while they have families, jobs, and lives. You'll be fine.

pretty much the reason of why i take a break from homework to go work out. i tell myself that working out is better for me in the long run.
be careful about assuming you can have a life in law school though. dangerous assumption. yeah, some people may have lives in law school, but those people might also be in the bottom percent.

I kind of failed at keeping up my workouts. Did okay the first half of the first semester for general fitness purposes, but I basically went from awesomely lean and strong to...squishy. Damn.

The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

emoticons777 wrote:The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

It doesn't need to be as complicated as you make it out to be. I have a trampoline that goes under my bed that can get my heart rate up as much as any cardio equipment in the gym. It was less than $30. Just do it in the morning before you shower...if you plan on showering in law school, that is. You can get a set of adjustable weights on craigslist or something like that and do everything you need in your room. You might have problems keeping up a massively complicated fitness plan in law school, but there is no reason to not work out at all.

WhyBother? wrote:

emoticons777 wrote:The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

It doesn't need to be as complicated as you make it out to be. I have a trampoline that goes under my bed that can get my heart rate up as much as any cardio equipment in the gym. It was less than $30. Just do it in the morning before you shower...if you plan on showering in law school, that is. You can get a set of adjustable weights on craigslist or something like that and do everything you need in your room. You might have problems keeping up a massively complicated fitness plan in law school, but there is no reason to not work out at all.

My personal issue with this is that general fitness is not entirely motivating when I'm in very average shape. So...in law school, I've ended up gaining no weight, but losing a s***load of strength. Basically I feel like a big academic p***y. Hence why I'm bleeping my own words on a message board.

prezidentv8 wrote:

WhyBother? wrote:

emoticons777 wrote:The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

It doesn't need to be as complicated as you make it out to be. I have a trampoline that goes under my bed that can get my heart rate up as much as any cardio equipment in the gym. It was less than $30. Just do it in the morning before you shower...if you plan on showering in law school, that is. You can get a set of adjustable weights on craigslist or something like that and do everything you need in your room. You might have problems keeping up a massively complicated fitness plan in law school, but there is no reason to not work out at all.

My personal issue with this is that general fitness is not entirely motivating when I'm in very average shape. So...in law school, I've ended up gaining no weight, but losing a s***load of strength. Basically I feel like a big academic p***y. Hence why I'm bleeping my own words on a message board.

Well, if I end up at your school, I'd be happy to help! I'm studying for my personal training certification, so I hope to be well-qualified by then.

I don't think law school consumes as much time as people think. It's definitely far more than a full-time job, but I manage to spend a lot of time with my wife, to go out with friends, and exercise regularly. I'm by no means a fitness buff, but we trained for a 10k the first quarter of law school, we're doing another one in March, and I lift several times per week. Law school can consume you if you let it, but you'll do just fine if you draw boundaries.

WhyBother? wrote:

emoticons777 wrote:The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

It doesn't need to be as complicated as you make it out to be. I have a trampoline that goes under my bed that can get my heart rate up as much as any cardio equipment in the gym. It was less than $30. Just do it in the morning before you shower...if you plan on showering in law school, that is. You can get a set of adjustable weights on craigslist or something like that and do everything you need in your room. You might have problems keeping up a massively complicated fitness plan in law school, but there is no reason to not work out at all.

good luck working out right next to your bed in law school. when i see a bed, i have an involuntary reaction of getting in it and sleeping in it. it is like i autopilot to it. i wish i were kidding.

even as a 1L i laugh at people who say they can't devote 30min to 1 hour working out....seriously.

ps: working out is great for your oh-so-important mental health too

If you spend ~40 hours a week on law school related shit, you cant find 40 minutes sometime throughout the day to work out?

of course Im a 0L so I dont really know.. do you spend/plan to spend more than 40 hours/week on law school related shit? Excluding finals time.

WhyBother? wrote:

prezidentv8 wrote:

WhyBother? wrote:

emoticons777 wrote:The problem with working out is that it is not just a 30 minute thing. You have to get to the gym, change, work out, go home, shower, go back to school - so you have to either not shower (which could be fine if you plan on studying at home by yourself) or be sure to account for that extra time. I know plenty of people who consistently worked out during the semester, the thing is, there is ALWAYS something to do so using being "busy" as an excuse is lame. I don't personally work out, because I hate it, but not because I don't have time.

It doesn't need to be as complicated as you make it out to be. I have a trampoline that goes under my bed that can get my heart rate up as much as any cardio equipment in the gym. It was less than $30. Just do it in the morning before you shower...if you plan on showering in law school, that is. You can get a set of adjustable weights on craigslist or something like that and do everything you need in your room. You might have problems keeping up a massively complicated fitness plan in law school, but there is no reason to not work out at all.

My personal issue with this is that general fitness is not entirely motivating when I'm in very average shape. So...in law school, I've ended up gaining no weight, but losing a s***load of strength. Basically I feel like a big academic p***y. Hence why I'm bleeping my own words on a message board.

Well, if I end up at your school, I'd be happy to help! I'm studying for my personal training certification, so I hope to be well-qualified by then.

Fair enough...first step - got a car to travel to the school gym?

DCD wrote:If you spend ~40 hours a week on law school related shit, you cant find 40 minutes sometime throughout the day to work out?

of course Im a 0L so I dont really know.. do you spend/plan to spend more than 40 hours/week on law school related shit? Excluding finals time.

FWIW, here's about how hard I work on law school:

First month of the quarter: ~50 hours per week
Second month of the quarter: ~60 hours per week
Last two weeks of the quarter: ~90 hours per week

So working out is absolutely possible during law school, even during that last two weeks.

Just make sure, if working out is a priority, that you have adequate (hassle free) access to a gym. If you're like me you need to live close to the gym. I've had a hard time as a 1L getting to the gym because it is out of the way and riding home on the subway/bus post workout doesn't exactly appeal to me.

With regards to time I've found that there is more than enough excepting finals time.

prezidentv8 wrote:
Fair enough...first step - got a car to travel to the school gym?

I do! Whether or not I take it to law school with me will depend on where I go. Do you think a car would be helpful/necessary at Duke?

WhyBother? wrote:

prezidentv8 wrote:
Fair enough...first step - got a car to travel to the school gym?

I do! Whether or not I take it to law school with me will depend on where I go. Do you think a car would be helpful/necessary at Duke?

110%, from a semester of experience not having one.

DCD wrote:If you spend ~40 hours a week on law school related shit, you cant find 40 minutes sometime throughout the day to work out?

of course Im a 0L so I dont really know.. do you spend/plan to spend more than 40 hours/week on law school related shit? Excluding finals time.

coming from someone who can find the time to work out...lol at 40 hrs/wk studying.

prezidentv8 wrote:

WhyBother? wrote:

prezidentv8 wrote:
Fair enough...first step - got a car to travel to the school gym?

I do! Whether or not I take it to law school with me will depend on where I go. Do you think a car would be helpful/necessary at Duke?

110%, from a semester of experience not having one.

That's good to know! If Duke lets me in, I owe you a ride to the gym!

I'm an absolute gym rat. I spent 60+ hours a week on class in UG and found time 4x per week for the gym, so I'm hopeful law school proves similar.

atlantalaw wrote:

DCD wrote:If you spend ~40 hours a week on law school related shit, you cant find 40 minutes sometime throughout the day to work out?

of course Im a 0L so I dont really know.. do you spend/plan to spend more than 40 hours/week on law school related shit? Excluding finals time.

coming from someone who can find the time to work out...lol at 40 hrs/wk studying.

I had always heard this to be a reasonable estimate.. too low or too high?

I ended up not working out for the first half of the semester, due to a variety of reasons (including the not-great hours the university gym had, how crowded it always was when I did want to go, and ultimately being sick in the middle of the semester). The longer I go without working out the worse I feel. Finally I joined a 24-hour gym which is relatively empty at the times I go in and has all nice and new machines, and started working out again right as I was gearing up to study for finals.

The extra energy I got from doing that was exactly what I needed, and I'm going to have to keep that up next semester. It also made great breaks from studying!

Kretzy wrote:I'm an absolute gym rat. I spent 60+ hours a week on class in UG and found time 4x per week for the gym, so I'm hopeful law school proves similar.

Hmmm....maybe that's it...maybe I'm just burned out of working out....

WhyBother? wrote:
That's good to know! If Duke lets me in, I owe you a ride to the gym!

I'll take it!