How do you manage time when it comes to exercise, work, and study?

I know a frequent answer is in the morning, however, I have school early so I can't fit in a workout then. After school, I feel worn and continually make excuses, putting my studies ahead of exercise. And at the end of the day, I don't manage to exercise, and I feel less productive. So,

a) how do you manage your time when it comes to exercise, work, and study?

b) are there any suggestions as to how I should structure an exercise in the afternoon, and prioritize exercise and study?

Thanks in advance for replies.

I promised that I would post this thread the next time someone said they don't have time to exercise.

You said it yourself - you make excuses and put your studies ahead of exercise. Well, studying is important, but so is your health.

When you are done with classes, are you immediately sitting down to study? Or are you taking a break, playing on facebook, watching tv, reading a book for pleasure?

I work full time, with no kids. So after work is my workout time. Sure that means we don't eat dinner until late, but that's the trade-off. And don't get me wrong - I know what it is like to be a student - the studying is like a gas and fills the time that you give it. But I also remember that there was a lot of time I spent being completely non-productive.

Make the time. It's worth it.

ETA: I just checked another post of yours - please make sure you are eating enough. Teens need more calories than adults, and the tools on CC are not appropriate for people under 21. One calculator for teens is here.

One way of doing it is to just get it out of the way after your class. Consider it part of your commute. 

Get a membership at a gym within spitting distance of either your school (best) or home (more likely to dodge). Rent a locker on a monthly basis so you don't have to carry gear around every day, and stock it with a few changes of clothes and shower stuff (though if you're going straight home, can shower there). If you leave your shoes @ the gym, you can manage carrying dirties home with you in a small bag (not so heavy). 

Suggest eating a good snack about an hour before you go, something proteiny, to give you energy. 

Then just go. 

I find it easier to get into any kind of habit if I do it regularly, vs intermittently. Daily workouts work for me. But if that's aversive, maybe try 3 longer sessions a week, and fit them in around your study schedule. 

I totally agree with this person above me!

I know the perfect solution! do things regularly. just like you go to school. make exersising you need to do.

I shouldnt be giving tips on this but its somthing i recently learned to do! my pattern looks like this: (college student)

7am: shower

8am: clothes/makeup

8:30- breakfast

9: leave for school

(during school I exersise with stairs no elevators) more food!

home at 3pm.

3pm lunch/homework

gym 5-6 pm

dinner ( 7-8pm)

get home shower do whatever I want until i eat dinner and sleep :) usually more homework -_-

make a effort! :) you can do it! 

btw if your just starting out. don't try to do 30 mins of cardio straight. do 10 mins walk around and explore the gym do something else like weight lifting. other machines then finish your workout back on for 10 min cardio. 

Get a bike! That way your commute is your workout. 

I'm toying with the idea of going to the gym at 7:00 in the morning before I have work at 9:30. Until I do that, I just go to the gym when I get off of work at around 7, 8pm ish. Make time, not excuses.

I have a gym membership.. I do 1/2 hour elliptical on high resistance so I get a good workout and I bring my binder so I can study while working out (killing two birds with one stone) then I do 1/2 hour of weights four times a week, on the other two days a week i'll do intervals on the tredmill...  Like anything you need to prioritize and realize what you want

The key is finding a workout that is both effective and efficient. For example, you can do what I like to refer to as barbel cardio aka a barbel circuit. Take a smaller bar to start which should weigh around 25 pounds or so, and put a five pound plate on each side.

Then you are going to do a series of exercises back to back with no rest in between followed by a rest period at the end of the round. Your goal to start should be to make it through three rounds with an eventual goal of doing five rounds. A standard rest period to start is 2 minutes between rounds, and as you get in better shape you can shorten the rest period. Then once you get down to 5 rounds with a minute rest, you increase the weight.

A sample circuit (done 3x per week every other day - M/W/F) :

10 deadlifts, 10 barbel rows, 10 push presses, 10 squats, 10 step-ups per leg (start out with a smaller to medium size box), and 10 good mornings. After you put the bar down, perform 10 burpees minus the push-up. Then take two minutes rest and repeat. Shoot for 3-5 times and eventually lower rest periods between rounds and increase the weight when ready.

After 3-5 rounds of this you will be sweating bullets, your HR will be way up, and you will have worked your whole entire body. The whole thing only taking 20-30 minutes.

I used to work full time, take classes (usually at least 2) at night and work out in the morning. I would study on the Stairmaster. My books were a mess!

I'm not a student, but I do run a business, have a husband and a ridiculous amount of personal projects outside work. Here's what I do:

7:00-7:30: Get up and make breakfast for me and hubby (because heaven knows the man won't make it for himself during the week) and eat.

8:00: Start client projects

11:30 or noon: Stretch, walk to gym, workout

1:15ish: eat lunch

2:00: back to work (boo!)

6:30: stop client work; begin thinking about other projects, dinner, etc.

8:00: Emerge from office or kitchen/remind hubby I still exist/eat dinner :)

**I acknowledge my schedule only works because I have the luxury of scheduling my days around my exercise goals and creativity levels. I also have a husband who realizes I'm not a housewife just because I work from home, which helps a LOT. :)

 I am married both of us work with two little kids 7 and 9. I go for a run at lunch time i can usually get 6 miles a day in.  Try to hit the gym 3 nights a week the one we belong to provides childcare.  Sometimes gym time is only 2 nights a week due to kids homework ect ect ect.  Also at my job I am Maintenance so I can walk all day long to and from my work assignments and office area and take stairs as much as possible.

I've sometimes got 2 hours break between classes, that works out well for a run + shower + lunch. I also try and walk to/from university when I can. And have a pair of dumbells to do 20-30 or so minutes of strength training with twice a week.

Original Post by epinephrine:

Get a bike! That way your commute is your workout. 

Seconded! Emphatically! Also, I'm in college and I wake up at 5:30 or 6 most mornings before my first class at 9. Breakfast, homework, workout, school. Works for me because I'm always super tired and unmotivated in the afternoon.

One thing I find helps is signing up for classes. My university has a policy where you get charged a fee if you don't show up or cancel within 24 hours of the class.  I'm a poor student so I can't afford to ever say at the last minute, "I don't feel like it".  That way I get my cardio in through metabolic type workouts in the class.  I know I won't skip out on my weight training days because I love it.  Which leads me to my second point which is to find something you enjoy and you'll be less likely to skip out.  Good luck!

Have a plan and don't make excuses. I am a single mom, work full time and go to school part time. The key for me has always been to plan, I usually plan a break in between my classes and go to the gym then. 

Original Post by amybrownie:

I know a frequent answer is in the morning, however, I have school early so I can't fit in a workout then. After school, I feel worn and continually make excuses, putting my studies ahead of exercise. And at the end of the day, I don't manage to exercise, and I feel less productive. So,

a) how do you manage your time when it comes to exercise, work, and study?

b) are there any suggestions as to how I should structure an exercise in the afternoon, and prioritize exercise and study?

Thanks in advance for replies.

 

 

Force yourself to go to the gym 4 times a week for 2 weeks after school and see how you feel.

I know exactly how you're feeling, I'm in nursing school full time and my life consists of being at school bright and early and often until the evening, waking up between 4:30 and 5:30 am, having hours and hours of homework and studying to do, working at the hospital every other week...and it's very, very stressful. Last quarter I convinced myself that I didn't have enough time to workout, I gained weight, felt really stressed out, tired, etc.

This quarter I've gone to the gym 4x a week or more and I've been less stressed out, sleeping better, getting better grades even though the material is harder and I've been studying less. I think taking 4 hours out of studying each week to greatly decrease my stress level is completely worth it!