Working Out While at Law School

I did not go to law school, but I got a Masters with a full time 12 hour course load and a 50 hour per week job. It takes a little more dedication to stay in the gym and make gains. It took a little more meal planning for me, as I had to pack dinner as well as lunch and all in between meals to take with me. I had to move to early morning gym sessions during those years, and got so used to it that I still workout at 4:30am. It can be done.

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

Also dont go to law school [/quote]

Best advice of the thread.

I wasn’t into training back then like I am now, but I would have had plenty of time to train (but eating properly might’ve been a bitch). I was usually at school 7am to 7pm first and second year, but I did all my work at “the office” so I could relax at home. I took at least one weekend day fully off.

That would leave time to train, easily. Third year, I worked 20 hours a week over three days, and spent five days a week at school. By that time, I knew the drill and had completed all the “real” classes, so it was a lot easier than first or second year.

I miss law school. Shit was awesome.

Don’t go to law school because you think it’s a good career path. Go to law school because you want to be a lawyer (a real lawyer, it’s nothing like TV).

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]digitalairair wrote:
Even if you have time, all that studying will definitely burn up your brain and nervous system and leave sluggish for the weight room. [/quote]

O Rly?

So now studying definitely ‘burns up the brain and nervous system’ ??

Based on your post, one can make the claim that posting on a forum ‘burns up the brain’ [/quote]

it depends on how hard you think, the more intense the reading/writing/thinking, the more calorie the brain burns and the more fatigue the CNS might become. Usually online forums are more trivial than Law school material and require less energy.

But you have to take into account quantity and quality. If you spend 15 hours posting and answering shit on T-Nation vs studying for Law for 2 hours, then the former might burn your CNS more than the latter.

So really. Thinking is a physical process. The brain takes away more energy than any other organs in the body.

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Also dont go to law school [/quote]

This.

[quote]blithe wrote:
Also, unless 1) you’re going to a very good law school (Vandy is probably the worst law school I’d attend at full price); 2) you’re going to a strong regional school where you intend to practice, and doing it on the cheap; or 3) you have connections out the wazoo, strongly examine the decision to go to law school. Shit’s rough out there.[/quote]

Again. This.

It can be done.
I got through my first year and dropped over 75lbs with exercise. My life consisted of reading, class, workout, read, sleep, and repeat.
Since I did not do all the drinking that most others did, that cleared up a lot of time.

I guess I should be a little more productive than just quoting and saying “This” like a neanderthal in here, so here are a few of my thoughts on the matter (though I honestly can’t put it much better than blithe did) as well as some of my personal experience:

Fall semester of my 1L year, which for most people is the worst as far as being busy, I actually did very well making it to the gym, eating well, etc. I even put on a decent amount of strength and size. Yes, I was going to the gym and getting home fairly late, because I was staying at school well after class to get all of my reading and outlining done for the next day so that I didn’t have to worry about it at home that night after the gym. But I was getting it done.

Then grades came out and the shit hit the fan. I wasn’t top 10%, but I was still doing fairly well at a strong regional school close to my hometown. I knew if I was going to have any shot at decent employment, however, I needed to do better. Suddenly, school became everything and my diet and workout went to shit. No one can describe it to you - you just have to experience it for yourself - but the nature of law school, grades, and the OCI process just breeds an intensely - and often ugly - brutal, competitive atmosphere.

While some people just “get it” and are better at law school than others, I happened to not be one of those lucky few. I had to work pretty hard. Law school is not “hard” per se, but it’s an entirely different way of thinking, one in which some people thrive and others struggle. Even if you do “get it,” however, you have to remember this: generally speaking, the school to which you get accepted and will attend will be made up of a 1L class all hovering around the same GPA and LSAT score (and don’t even get me started on the bullshit that is the LSAT). You’re all used to being top of your class in high school and college and grades coming easily. Not so in law school. Generally speaking you have one grade for an entire semester, and it can often be a crap shoot. One test day can make or break your entire law school career. As the associate dean put it so well during our 1L orientation (paraphrasing): “90% of you will not be in the top 10% of your class.” Try to tell that to someone before they attend law school (including me) and you’ll get an eye-roll. “Yeah, that won’t be me,” “I want this more than they do,” “I’ll work harder than everybody else,” “I got the guy who booked the class last year’s outline,” etc., etc. All pre-1Ls think they’re different, for some reason.

Further, law is a terrible career choice in the current climate, unless you fall into one of the very narrow categories blithe mentioned. Firms are leaner than ever, layoffs abound, fewer and fewer are even hiring summer classes anymore, the ABA is accrediting WAY too fucking many schools, meaning there are WAY too many people coming out and taking/passing the bar every year with insurmountable debt and no real job prospects. There’s been a huge call for reform from pretty much the entire industry, but no one has had the balls to actually act and do anything about it yet.

So, yeah. Sorry to talk so much and to sound negative, but I just want to be honest. I wish someone had told me a lot of the things I found out the hard way about law school and law in general before I attended. Law is a mess.

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
How much time you have to train in law school depends on other aspects of your life and how smart you are.

Im doing decently well in law school, not top 10% but Im competitive still

I have a girlfriend

Got a puppy a year ago

I hang out with my crew of friends a few times a month during the school year

And I lift weights seriously.

Im also not a moron. Law school isnt easy but it isnt like learning neuro medicine

No one can know if youll be able to handle the course load and still make progress physique wise. I dont have the time to lift like I used to but that’s almost a given. And during finals prep I dont really lift at all. But what’s missing a month in the grand scheme of things? Ill gain the weight back in 2 weeks.

My advice is if you have a lot going on in your life and decide to go to law school somethings gotta give. And if you let your grades be the thing to give youre going to be wasting a shit load of money.

Also dont go to law school [/quote]

Not law school, but environmental grad student, but I’m glad I’m not the only that cuts back on workouts around finals time. I’ll be doing good If I get to the gym 2x this week. Especially now that I’m hoofing it since my car’s in the shop. For me, it’s not so much the time, but i can’t afford to have any of that mental fuzz that I have for about 1/2 the next day after a productive workout.

[quote]digitalairair wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]digitalairair wrote:
Even if you have time, all that studying will definitely burn up your brain and nervous system and leave sluggish for the weight room. [/quote]

O Rly?

So now studying definitely ‘burns up the brain and nervous system’ ??

Based on your post, one can make the claim that posting on a forum ‘burns up the brain’ [/quote]

it depends on how hard you think, the more intense the reading/writing/thinking, the more calorie the brain burns and the more fatigue the CNS might become. Usually online forums are more trivial than Law school material and require less energy.

But you have to take into account quantity and quality. If you spend 15 hours posting and answering shit on T-Nation vs studying for Law for 2 hours, then the former might burn your CNS more than the latter.

So really. Thinking is a physical process. The brain takes away more energy than any other organs in the body. [/quote]

What are you talking about? Honestly.

Youre talking to people in this thread that go to law school or have gone. Has any one of them mentioned their CNS being burned out? Or are you saying things that sound cool?

Studying is tiring and mentally fatiguing but that doesnt mean your CNS is getting ‘burned out’. You know what you do when you get mentaly tired? You close your eyes for 20 minutes, eat something, and go lift weights. LIke any other adult with a busy life.

I’m hoping to go to law school in the next coupe years… this thread depresses me. lol

just what america needs. more lawyers.

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I’m hoping to go to law school in the next coupe years… this thread depresses me. lol[/quote]

Why? Not hating, just asking.

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I’m hoping to go to law school in the next coupe years… this thread depresses me. lol[/quote]

A tough challenge has been laid before you, and should you decide its the challenge for you, you get to conquer it. Whats depressing about that?

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I’m hoping to go to law school in the next coupe years… this thread depresses me. lol[/quote]

It shouldn’t depress you. It just exposes the realities of what law school is really like for many people. As DF said, if you truly want to be a lawyer and you have all of the facts about what you are getting into (not just law school, but the practice of law itself) in front of you in order to make an informed decision, and you still decide to do so, then . . . go for it with everything you have. Just be aware that most people who are not in one of blithe’s categories do not come out on the other end in very good shape.

EDIT: I should have stated that this last sentence has somewhat of a double meaning. To return to the original topic of the thread, it’s not impossible to maintain and even see improvements in your physique while in law school. But you will stumble from time-to-time (mainly during the month or so leading up to finals each semester) and you just have to persevere. It can be done. I just happened to let other concerns take priority in my own life; I will own up to that as being nothing other than my own lack of dedication, no excuses. I eventually got back on track, however.
/EDIT

Also, as someone else already said (I don’t feel like looking back), don’t go to law school just to go to law school, to put off the real world a bit longer, because you didn’t want to go to medical/dental/pharmacy school, etc. And definitely don’t do it because of dreams of making big money. Yes, you can make very good money at law, but you’ll hate what you’re doing every day if that’s your only motivation. Do it because you really want to be an attorney. The practice of law truthfully can often be a lot of fun, if you’re in it for the right reasons.

This morning some pyscho girl went straight to the financial department to pick up the papers to un-enroll. This happened immediately after finishing the 4 hour constitutional law final. A final that I thought she was pretty well prepared for as we studied in the same group for a bit.

semi-pro tip: Dont make decisions about dropping out less than 48 hours after a final.

Thanks everyone for your insight, this is exactly what I was looking for. I do intend to do my best in Law School and work out eat well, I just wanted to get some real insight on the matter, to see if it was plausible.

I should also clear a few things up:
-First, I’m going to be attending a Canadian Law School. Hate all you want, but the schools im going for are top 25 in the world, and NO Canadian lawyers aren’t relegated to dealing with cases pertaining to maple syrup, ice and beavers…well at least, not all the time. That being said, Canada is a bit different in the sense that the market for Lawyers is regulated a bit better than the States because well theres around 20 Law Schools up here. So while finding a job is still incredibly tough after graduating, its not impossible. I gave up on going to a Law School in the states because I simply would not be able to afford tuition.

-I decided pretty early in life that Law was for me. My father was a Lawyer, and while he did not hate it, he went through hell and back. His name got dragged through the mud on multiple occasions. But he fought the good fight nonetheless. My dad has been a huge inspiration for me, and he has taught me a lot of what it means and what it takes to be a lawyer. Based predominantly off of his insight, and some thoughts from family friends in law, I decided not to long ago that I wanted to seriously consider law school.

-I’ve done loads of research on the subject. The reason I started this thread was to glean some info about working out while at Law School.

-CC : You’re point about prospective law students is very perceptive. Most of my friends who intend to go, or who have gone, have this mentality. Sadly, so do I. I do believe I have the drive that it takes to do well in Law School, but only time will tell.

Obviously, only time in law school and career experience will be able to determine whether I made the right decision or not. But for now, I’m very sure about my desire to go to law school.
sorry about the rant, I realize that even by bullet points are long…oh well. Thanks again guys.

Not a whole lot to add, but a guy who goes to the U of MN law school used to frequent my old gym. He was big as fuck and would always have one of those big blue and red law books with him at the gym. He would study between sets.
I think I even saw him using the damn thing as a 3-board once.

Pro tip - writing and grammar are important.

It has been my experience so far that people make university look so much harder than it really is. It has been my experience that they dumb down everything for the retards.

One thing I will say to you: people talk a big deal but really everyone is weak and don’t work/do half of what they say. Don’t stress out so much.

I have the time to do everything I want. I would even have the time to do it twice +wasting time on this forum.

Forget the above psot, upon reading what you wrote I think you are a moron.