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Working out & Career

post #1 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
I wonder how people on this forum combine a demanding job with regular workouts. It is pretty tough to stay in (very) good shape when one needs to go to work at 7:30am and returns home around 7pm. Is it possible to combine these two without burning out?
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post #2 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foto010101 View Post
I wonder how people on this forum combine a demanding job with regular workouts. It is pretty tough to stay in (very) good shape when one needs to go to work at 7:30am and returns home around 7pm. Is it possible to combine these two without burning out?

I remember reading somewhere, and adopting the principle, that you can focus on 3 things - work, kids, wife; school, sex, friends; work, sex, gym; etc - any more doesn't work. I think that it is very accurate.

I think that you can have a very good career, and work out, you can't fit a hell of a lot more into your life, though.

although, I think that certain things do fit in with a career - 3 of my collegues all run long distance, for instance, and work pretty hard. but I don't know if that would be considered "very good shape".
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post #3 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:25pm
workout saturday and sunday, as well as two other days during the week. Surely you can fit in workouts just two days during the workweek.
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post #4 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foto010101 View Post
Is it possible to combine these two without burning out?

It'd better be. Or may be I should consider going into academia after all.
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post #5 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:40pm
Im going to the gym with an architect friend of mine. He works until 6-7 and we go after it. He hasnt missed a day yet.

Working out needs mental dedication, if you give in to excuses, it wont matter what they are, youll always find some.

Work out for an hour, 4 times a week?.

If youre feeling physically exhausted and are unable to workout, thats another subject, but if youre just a bit tired, then one hour a day really isnt that much time.
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post #6 of 30
3/17/08 at 1:57pm
I don't think it's too unreasonable to get in two workouts at the gym before or after work and then one on the weekend. On the other weekdays you could do some kind of quick cardio activity that doesn't take much time or do it on your lunch break.
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post #7 of 30
3/17/08 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrotter View Post
I remember reading somewhere, and adopting the principle, that you can focus on 3 things - work, kids, wife; school, sex, friends; work, sex, gym; etc - any more doesn't work. I think that it is very accurate.

I think that you can have a very good career, and work out, you can't fit a hell of a lot more into your life, though.

although, I think that certain things do fit in with a career - 3 of my collegues all run long distance, for instance, and work pretty hard. but I don't know if that would be considered "very good shape".


+1. Any more than 3 major commitments means making compromises, IME.

whacked what makes you think a job in academia isn't demanding? It's true that tenure means job security, but you'll sacrifice salary for security. It's also true that people who treat the job as one big holiday never see a raise beyond "cost of living". And FYI "cost-of-living" increases don't happen every year in academia, and even when they occur, they don't keep pace with inflation.
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post #8 of 30
3/17/08 at 2:37pm
[quote=alan;947619]
Working out needs mental dedication, if you give in to excuses, it wont matter what they are, youll always find some.

[quote]

not to pick on you, Alan, but if I remember correctly aren't you a single college student? you might want to wait a decade or so before voicing an opinion on this kind of subject, no?
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post #9 of 30
3/17/08 at 2:40pm
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Originally Posted by thinman View Post
+1. Any more than 3 major commitments means making compromises, IME.


I couldn't agree more.
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post #10 of 30
3/17/08 at 2:44pm
[quote=globetrotter;947719][quote=alan;947619]
Working out needs mental dedication, if you give in to excuses, it wont matter what they are, youll always find some.

Quote:

not to pick on you, Alan, but if I remember correctly aren't you a single college student? you might want to wait a decade or so before voicing an opinion on this kind of subject, no?

Thats true, which is why i was talking about the friend who was going with me to the gym and who works as much as the OP does.

"Im going to the gym with an architect friend of mine. He works until 6-7 and we go after it. He hasnt missed a day yet."
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post #11 of 30
3/17/08 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thinman View Post
+1. Any more than 3 major commitments means making compromises, IME.

whacked what makes you think a job in academia isn't demanding? It's true that tenure means job security, but you'll sacrifice salary for security. It's also true that people who treat the job as one big holiday never see a raise beyond "cost of living". And FYI "cost-of-living" increases don't happen every year in academia, and even when they occur, they don't keep pace with inflation.

I think whacked was referring to the scheduling flexibility many academics prize and not saying that it was an "easy" job. Professors tend to have a more open-ended workday than their professional counterparts, making it easier to fit in things like workouts.
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post #12 of 30
3/17/08 at 4:27pm
^ That and working in an environment overrepresented with young and fit college kids. Having free and convenient access to the weight room and the school's athletic facilities doesn't hurt either.

I was mainly speaking from experience, as I know several professors at my school who are in great shape. There is this female Classics professor who, I kid you not, goes out to the football field and practices javelin every other day. Hell, I'm pretty sure she has bigger guns than I do.
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post #13 of 30
3/17/08 at 5:34pm
Javelin? That's awesome. I didn't think people in Classics could see farther than the book in front of them.

What school is this, if you don't mind me asking?
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post #14 of 30
3/17/08 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foto010101 View Post
I wonder how people on this forum combine a demanding job with regular workouts. It is pretty tough to stay in (very) good shape when one needs to go to work at 7:30am and returns home around 7pm. Is it possible to combine these two without burning out?

teenage babysitter to look after the toddlers if necessary. 3 times a week at the gym. toddlers eat up more time than anything else. you gotta read bedtime stories to them and other stuff that really takes up your time. worth it,, but really eats up your time
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post #15 of 30
3/17/08 at 5:40pm
Wake up an hour earlier and go to the gym before work. It's not that difficult.
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