Amazing Grades Or An Amazing Body??

[AlphaPheemail]

Every time i strength train i come home feeling like the hungriest and sleepiest person on the face of the earth!! And due to the busiest schdule on earth i fit in strength training mwf late night (7-9), but here's the catch.... not only am i beat... i still need to function bc im a college student and i need to catch up on work since my butt was in the gym.... WHAT DO I DO?? I'M STARTING TO REALIZE I CAN"T SLEEP THE WAY MY BODY DEMANDS... i need more energy what do i do??!!


note*
my diet is very strict and i do eat alot! 1400-1600 on my low carb days
1700-1800 on my high carb day.
i take protein shakes after the gym ( which gives me back a little energy preventing me from knocking out on the bus)

[kariev34]

can you workout in the morning instead? so that way you can study at night? i'm a grad student as well in the DPT program It is really demanding. I have to workout at 5a.m. or else i don't get as much studying done when i do it in the afternoon or evening. its so hard but i know this is what i have to do right now. for as heavy as your lifting, you cals sound low even though you say your eating a lot. mabe you should bump up the cals on your low carb day. i would pass out on 1400 cals. get more veggies, protein, and fats in that day to get the cals up.

[fmr_trackstar]

Try breaking up your workouts to smaller more focused sections. Instead of 7-9 try 7-8 or 8:30. Also if your body doesnt like to WO at 7pm then dont, make arrangements. Sounds like you arent having good pre-workout meals if you are that dead after the gym. I dont know what you are eating before WO but try a complex carb (oatmeal, yams, brown rice etc)

[moskalski]

Your college education is an investment in your future. You should be very concerned with making sure you do your absolute best now, while you're still in school.

It sounds like you need to make a new exercise plan. Exercise of any kind will help you to learn better as weel as keep stress down, but you shouldn't give it higher priority than learning.

I think you should try to spend less actual time in the gym, but make each workout a higher quality one. I'm in grad school, so similar situation. I've been doing a full body, compund, heavy workout 2 or 3 times a week (depending on how long I'm sore!), and doing cardio in between. Days of heavy field work (science!) count for exercise. I therefore only have to do 1/2 hour to an hour each day I exercise, and I can get a good quality workout in, since I don't have to save some energy for later in the workout.

Of course, it depends on you and your schedule. Can you go for a run in the morning for cardio? That way you'd have some days each week with lots of free time for studying in the evenings. You have to decide what will work in your schedule, and what you will actually do.

Anyway, that's my opinion on your situation. Good luck with it all!

[AlphaPheemail]

Thanx! i think your right maybe i should get in more carbs... even though i know how important they are when eating in combination with protein, but unfortunately i still try to avoid them asmuch as possible just cuz i feel like im and endomorph.


and i would love to go to the gym earlier that would be so much better but all my classes are in the am (7am) am i have to get up earlier to get commute so unless i want a 15 min cardio ... i can't. but thatx for all the tips... i willl tweak my nutrition and compare!!

[LiftingIsLife]

maybe i'm wrong, but you say you eat ALOT, and yet the cals you list do not seem to be that much for someone who works hard at the gym and weights in at 166.

?
best,
~lifer

[ChplHillGymGirl]

i'm in school too and work full time and still get in 2 hrs a day at the gym. you just have to get up early if you can't do the evening workouts and still have energy. can you do 4 am? or i guess the questions should be (unless your gym isn't 24 hrs), do you WANT to get up at 4 am? school is just as important, IMO, as your health and fitness. if you want to make time for all of these things, you will. you will just have to be a little creative

[fmr_trackstar]

Originally Posted by ChplHillGymGirl

i'm in school too and work full time and still get in 2 hrs a day at the gym. you just have to get up early if you can't do the evening workouts and still have energy. can you do 4 am? or i guess the questions should be (unless your gym isn't 24 hrs), do you WANT to get up at 4 am? school is just as important, IMO, as your health and fitness. if you want to make time for all of these things, you will. you will just have to be a little creative

Big bump to that!

[moon girl]

I'm in a similar situation (grad student)

I work out first thing in the mornings. My gym is on campus though, which is extremely convenient (even if it isn't the greatest quality).

I rarely work out for more than 1 hour at a time. I lift weights 3 times a week (MWF) and I add cardio depending on how busy / stressed / tired I am. I agree with above suggestions that if you're pressed for time, maybe you should reduce the length of your workouts.

When school gets really busy (deadlines, exams) I do usually give in and drop a few workouts. To me, school is ultimately my #1 priority.

Also, keep in mind that diet is such a huge part of the equation that even if you don't make it to the gym as often as you'd like, if your diet is in check you're still on the right track.

[Jamie M]

I would make school your top priorty. College is expensive and can lead to better woprk opportunities so you can make more money for better workouts!

[TurbulentFluid]

Now now, cool it... I'm a grad student with an 8-4 job at the institute, 2 hours commute, a social life, AND I still fit my trainings in. Many people here are working mothers who also do stuff on the side, and they manage to work out too...

The thing is to prioritize and make schedules, and stick to them. I like to study at night myself, so what I do is do the gym right after work, then rest, then study and do my projects. I use workout and cardio as stress-relief and mental-rest time. Also, as some suggested, when worn out I do cardio in the morning to "wake up and shape up" before work. I have no problems with sleep because I maintain a strict daily sleep-wake-exercise schedule so my body knows when's the time to sleep and wake, and doesn't ask for more... The body gets used to rituals: if you eat at 12:00 every day, you'll be hungry at 12:00, often regardless to the fact that you just ate a huge portion of ice cream half an hour ago. Same with sleep!

Also, while working, and while working out, set quality over quantity and your "busiest schedule in the world" might prove to not be so busy after all. School is top prioirity, but life is all about multitasking and you simply can't let yourself fully concentrate on a single thing - at school it may still be possible, but once you enter real life, it won't let you .