Body and Mind: Staying Fit in Grad School

I spent the first year of grad school sitting at the bench, sitting at my desk reading articles, sitting on the bus to/from campus, and then sitting around at night watching television. While I don't think I put on too many pounds, I knew that my energy level was falling from lack of activity.

Luckily, I eventually found another grad student to play racquetball with and for the next three years we played twice a week. I also got into some pick-up basketball games, so I got close to achieving my goal of exercising 3-4 times a week. Now, I recognize that racquetball isn't the most demanding sport (the court is only so big and the ball can only go so far), but it was better than nothing.

With the birth of my son, I found that my racquetball schedule just wasn't going to work out any longer. I went about 6 months without any exercise before I had my 30th birthday and resolved to get into a regular exercise routine.

Despite not going running since high school, I decided to take up running since I thought it would likely give me the most bang for my buck and it is more convenient than swimming or cycling (given my circumstances). So, I started out with a 0.5 mile loop on the day after my 30th birthday. I came home completely out of breath and convinced that I was doomed. After a couple of days off, I gave it another shot and had the same results. It took another couple of tries before I was able to come home not in serious pain and distress.

So, I stepped it up to 1 mile, and then 1.5, then 2, and 2.5, and so forth. Once I got up to 3 miles, I started driving to a few different places near my house for a change in scenery (that 0.5 mile loop was beginning to look way too familiar). While I hit a few snags along the way (shin splints and back problems), I was up to about 5 or 6 miles by the end of the year. Except for times when I'm sick or travelling, I've been pretty good about getting in 3 runs each week of 4-7 miles each.

Now what has this done for my graduate school experience? One thing is that there have been many days I've walked around the lab in pain. Of course, it's a good pain because I know it's coming from well exercised muscles.

I've found that running has been good for clearing my mind. I don't typically run with music or any other distractions. I focus on the scenery and my breathing. It's a time for meditation. Occasionally, I think about science when I run, but mostly it's a time for me to escape.

Running has helped me maintain higher energy levels. Grad school isn't usually very physically demanding, but keeping your energy up is important (you don't want to fall asleep at your desk). On the rare days when I plan a "marathon" experiment (like timepoints every 15 minutes for 8 hours), I appreciate that my body has learned to endure through my running.

So, while I've talked up running, I would suggest that each grad student pick a physical activity to engage in 3 or 4 times a week to stay in shape. It can be as easy as taking a 30 minute walk at lunchtime. If it's too hot at lunchtime, you can get off the bus at a stop on the opposite side of campus and make a 20 minute walk part of your daily commute. This is definitely a case where something is better than nothing. Pick something that you'll enjoy and/or that the people around you are into. It will make it that much easier to stick with for the long term.