Exercise in Medical School

If you're like me, you work very hard and then take whatever time you have free to sleep, go out with friends, or catch up on your hobbies.  Notice in that sentence I didn't include "catch up on work outs."

I'm moving away from my sedentary lifestyle though, and overcoming laziness to become healthier, better-appearing (if that's possible), and just have more energy throughout the day.  I didn't work out very much during basic sciences because it was a constant flood of things to memorize and I felt like I was always pressed for time.  My schedule was really hectic, coupled with the stress of medical school, I felt like my adapting successfully was studying all the time.

Retrospect being 20/20, you definitely have time for several 30 minute workouts a few times a week.  When rotations start, you'll be just as busy, but I feel like it's more manageable since you will have days where you are done with your clinical duties early.

On weight loss:

Losing weight is difficult, and as you get older, your metabolism slows down a bit.  I could definitely be in better shape, but only feel like I'm accomplishing so much by diet alone.  So what I've done is pick up resistance training again, to build lean mass that will be doing extra energy burning for me (increased basal metabolic rate).

CV health: 

Resistance training is a great investment, but also cardiovascular (CV) fitness is something you can't ignore.

Heart health to me is one of the most important things to focus on, and exercising your heart is necessary to keep it fit and decrease the risk of heart attack, and decrease your blood pressure.  The heart is always beating all the time, so if you can make it stronger and healthier with exercise, it won't have to work as hard to do it's daily job.  

Your heart is always pumping against arterial pressure, like someone working in a warehouse lifting boxes against gravity: if you increase your muscle mass when it's your job to lift boxes, you'll have an easier time.  If your heart is more fit and your blood pressure is lower, you'll have better cardiovascular health.

The vascular side:

CV exercise also has an effect on the vasculature.  From basic sciences a long time ago, I learned that you can actually change your vascular biochemical profile with exercise.  Exercise will decrease endothelin-1, and boost NO and other molecules that help keep your vasculature healthier and more open.  If that's one of the mechanisms that leads to a decrease in blood pressure in fit athletes, it makes sense.  

There's always time to exercise, just be sure to seize it.