Name: Too Busy to Exercise? Think Again
Uploaded: 2021-02-23T19:35:10.000Z
Duration: 7 min 12 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

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As we get busier and busier, exercise is unfortunately one of the first things that we compromise

I'm here to show you that it should be the last thing to compromise and how you can manage

to exercise every day even when you are super busy.

Check out our new channel, Life of a Surgeon, link in the description below.

This video is not about why you should exercise or the variety of health and cognitive benefits.

To learn more about those, check out my video on how exercise makes you smarter.

I recently did a 30 day fitness challenge on Instagram where I exercise daily throughout

We are creatures of habits and routines are incredibly powerful as they take out the thought

As much as I love routines, I have learned since starting my plastic surgery residency

that flexibility is also greatly important.

You see, in residency, most days I go in around 5:00 a.m.

And I don't get out until about 6 or 7 p.m.

However, there are days where we start later and get out earlier or days where we start

If I was too focused on maintaining a routine, I would never work out since my hours are

often unpredictable and I wouldn't be able to work out the same time every day.

I have since learned that being flexible with the time I have is of utmost importance.

If I start a day late or get out early, then I capitalize on the opportunity and go to

Your schedule will also likely change throughout your college or medical school career.

When your schedule is more predictable, then lean on routines to automate your exercise.

When your schedule is unpredictable as it often is during residency, then lean more

heavily on flexibility and remind yourself to seize the moment anytime you have the opportunity

If there are alternatives that incorporate activity, then you should opt for those.

For example, no matter what, you have to go to school or to work, so why not opt for an

By riding my bike, I get my much-needed cardio which I hate doing at the gym and I even save

time on my commute since driving during rush hour sucks.

You can do the same by riding your bike or opt for walking, skateboarding, longboarding,

Instead of waiting for the elevator, why not opt for the stairs.

This is another excellent way to get brief bursts of activity without compromising your

If you love watching Game of Thrones every week, get your yoga mat and foam roller out

and do some stretching, ab work or yoga rather than just sitting on the couch.

Lastly, use your study breaks as times for brief moments of exercise.

It doesn't have to be a one-hour gym session, you can do planks, pull-ups or even yoga in

just a few minutes during your Pomodoro break sessions.

Number 3: use the scientific process behind behavior change.

In exercising regularly, half of it is creating the time in your schedule and the other half

is properly incentivizing yourself so that you actually want to do it.

I made a video summarizing an excellent book by Dr. Sean Young on how to change your behaviors.

This goes over various tools to make a desired behavior such as exercising regularly easy

Link to the video is in the description below.

Next, I would like to introduce Ethan Jose from EJ fitness.

He is a second year medical student with his own channel on medicine and fitness.

Thanks Dr. J, I'm happy to be on the Med School Insiders channel.

So the fourth tip that I have for you all is to prioritize your exercise sessions over

We're all busy doing a variety of tasks throughout the day but we have to constantly ask ourselves

how important each task is and whether or not is getting us closer to our goals.

We often waste a lot of time scrolling through social media apps, watching TV or playing

Unless these activities align with our aspiration and goals, these activities are most likely

not making a meaningful contribution to our lives.

So, in order for us to exercise regularly, we should prioritize our exercise sessions

So, why should exercise even take precedence over these leisurely activities?

Exercise not only benefits your health and mental well-being, but it allows you to stay

An increased focus leads to increased productivity which ultimately leads to you reaching your

The fifth and final tip that I have for you all is to find something that you enjoy.

One of the most reliable ways to ensure you exercise regularly is truly enjoying your

This will vary from person to person, whether you love running, weight training, hit training,

And while there are advantages to each type of physical activity, any type of physical

activity is better than no physical activity.

So it's important that we are realistic with ourselves.

Relying on discipline is often necessary when it comes to exercise, but you can make regular

exercise much easier by choosing a form of exercise that makes you happy and fit your

If you don't have a favorite yet, don't be afraid to experiment with different activities.

It also bears noting that you may enjoy a certain activity more by exercising with friends

or a group of people, or you might prefer working out by yourself.

Let us know what you guys prefer down in the comments below.

Again, you can find more of his work on EJ fitness, link to his channel down in the description

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of efficiency and what better way to be efficient than to