Working Out and Big Law Forum

[yankees12345!]

How successful have folks been at maintaining a regular workout schedule (say, four times a week) while working Big Law? What type of schedule has worked for you? Any other tips?

[UpandDown97]

How successful have folks been at maintaining a regular workout schedule (say, four times a week) while working Big Law? What type of schedule has worked for you? Any other tips?

An important topic to me. I've heard of people working out in the mornings, during the day during down times, and at night if they have a gym in their building.

It seems that for the mornings/during the day, it depends on your firm/personal schedule. Some people have to get to the office early, so its not possible. Others have a difficult time straying from their desk during the day in case a partner calls.

[SFSpartan]

Personally, I work out in the morning because I can pretty well trust that nothing is going to blow up at 5 or 6 AM. I've had a lot more success with this than working out in the evenings (I actually prefer working out before dinner, but things blow up in the evening often enough that this isn't a viable option).

If I were to work out during the day, I'd try to pick a time where I typically have downtime, would go everyday (to train the people I work with not to expect things from me at said time), and would have my office phone ring through to my cell.

[rodmanhust]

No time for workouts at all...

[SomewhatLearnedHand]

Depends on the firm. DPW, Skadden, etc have laptop stations by their machines/racks so you can bill while you workout.

[dixiecup]

It's entirely possible but for whatever reason, stress and hopelessness maybe I don't know, people are far more likely to gain weight in biglaw.

[worklifewhat]

How successful have folks been at maintaining a regular workout schedule (say, four times a week) while working Big Law? What type of schedule has worked for you? Any other tips?

I workout 6-7x a week. We have a small gym in our building, so I get to the office before 7am, workout, shower, and I'm working again before 9am. On the weekends I just workout like I did pre-biglaw.

[s1m4]

I was a fitness freak back in the day, but am not a morning person and often work late evenings, so I found I stopped having time to workout except on the weekends, which made me miserable. I ended up booking a personal trainer for a very very intense HIIT workout, twice a week early mornings - the workout is fast (30 min), then I shower and drive to work. It has helped me stay on top of my workout. Weekends I go for runs / hit the gym same as before. Also make sure to stay away from the office donuts and bring healthy snacks (fruits + veggies) - I'm in fantastic shape.

[Hopefullitassociate]

I have a gym open late near my office, and unless I have something due specifically at that moment, I'll leave the office around 8:30 9 to work out and then head home and log on to do more work if needed. It eats up my weeknights, but allows me to have a regular gym schedule and I figured I wouldn't have many free weeknights in biglaw anyway.

[Lacepiece23]

I think it's completely possible if you're comfortable with swapping that hour of tv, reading, etc., for the gym. Some people can't do that; hence, why they don't workout.

[worklifewhat]

I honestly don't know anyone who is truly too busy to workout regularly. Will there be periods where your workouts might go out the window in favor of sleep? Probably. But this is definitely not the norm. MOST people have the time if working out is a priority; you just might have to cut the time from somewhere else. If you usually go out for lunch, then maybe eating at your desk is a better alternative so that you can use that time to catch up on the work that you're not doing while working out. A shorter shower, a simpler getting ready routine in the morning, waking up a bit earlier...these are all ways to save a bit of time that you can use toward a workout. I used to workout for wayyyy too long in law school and I don't do that very often anymore but I can always make the time for a 30 minute HIIT session.

[Lacepiece23]

I honestly don't know anyone who is truly too busy to workout regularly. Will there be periods where your workouts might go out the window in favor of sleep? Probably. But this is definitely not the norm. MOST people have the time if working out is a priority; you just might have to cut the time from somewhere else. If you usually go out for lunch, then maybe eating at your desk is a better alternative so that you can use that time to catch up on the work that you're not doing while working out. A shorter shower, a simpler getting ready routine in the morning, waking up a bit earlier...these are all ways to save a bit of time that you can use toward a workout. I used to workout for wayyyy too long in law school and I don't do that very often anymore but I can always make the time for a 30 minute HIIT session.

Agree with all of this.

[Toni V]

Our firm has a very nice gym. I often see associates working out. So there is time to workout. Of course, having a gym at the firm does make it convenient.

[oblig.lawl.ref]

I spent my first 1.5-2 years of biglaw working out pretty consistently. The last 0.5-1 year I have found it very difficult to do so regularly at all. My firm/market/practice has been very busy. When you start regularly hitting 200+ hour months it can get difficult. I think most of the time the hours over 200 start coming out of gym time. At least for me, because gym time is taking a hit before sleep.

[hlss09]

To add to this, how do you guys in biglaw eat to stay in shape? I think that's like 98% of the battle. Just curious what works for others

[Vianco]

Haven't gone to law school yet, but my father worked in big law and worked out every day. He would get up at 4:30am on the weekdays and work out in our gym in the basement or go for a bike ride. On the weekends he would still work out, but it didn't have to be so early in the morning. He maintained this routine for more than 10 years, so it's doable.

Having a gym at the firm sounds really nice. We lived in the suburbs and I do recall him saying that he didn't have enough time to work out at a gym on the way to work (he drove).

[JHP]

For this reason I moved into a luxury apartment building with a gym so that I can go straight to the gym, run and lift for a bit, then go upstairs to my apartment, clean up, and pass out in a dreamless sleep for a grind the next day.

[axel.foley]

To add to this, how do you guys in biglaw eat to stay in shape? I think that's like 98% of the battle. Just curious what works for others

Meal prep for lunch is helpful. Firm cafeteria food is often less healthy and harder to portion. I also try to eat small meals throughout the day. Finally, don't feel like you need to use your entire Seamless budget. Getting a 3 course dinner when you literally sit in a chair all day is a sure way to gain weight, and I see associates do it all the time.

[ckb614]

Just because these things should matter to lawyers:

"workout" is a not a verb

[worklifewhat]

Just because these things should matter to lawyers:

"workout" is a not a verb

Noted. What a great service you’ve done to the legal profession.

[Npret]

Just because these things should matter to lawyers:

"workout" is a not a verb

I’ve been on this forum a long time and this is one of the funniest posts I’ve ever read.
Thanks for that.

[Npret]

Just because these things should matter to lawyers:

"workout" is a not a verb

I’ve been on this forum a long time and this is one of the funniest posts I’ve ever read.
Thanks for that.

I just noticed it was anonymous. Hahahahaha.

[paradiselost9]

Just because these things should matter to lawyers:

"workout" is a not a verb

His username is SomewhatLearnedHand. If you keep teaching him things, he’ll have to alt.

[melloyello]

It really comes down to priorities and hours. I find that at the "normal" 170 hour/month range, I can definitely make time to work out regularly, have dinner with the fam, spend time with my kid, etc., but once I go over 200/month, working out goes out the window. Family > sleep > working out, hygiene, me-time, anything else. I'll sacrifice sleep to spend a few hours with my kid in the evening, but then would not be able to wake up early to work out on top of that.

There are also the ridiculous folks who are able to train for triathlons while in big law - my observation is that either they are single or without kids, or have a stay at home spouse.

[Anonymous User]

I am a junior M&A associate in NYC biglaw. I used to lift weights very regularly before I started working.

In conclusion, you simply cannot get bigger than how you used to look before you started working. It is only possible to maintain your fitness level by making the most out of your quiet periods in between big deals. Maintenance is also very tough however.

When you are staffed on a big M&A deal, you have absolutely no time to go to the gym for some weeks. Even when you do have some time, because you are super sleep-deprived, you simply cannot lift and if you do lift, you are likely to injure yourself. Muscle growth is a function of how much you lift, eat and sleep. All three with roughly equal importance. No matter how much you lift in that one quiet day, if you cannot get enough sleep during that week, you will not grow and you will just feel terribly exhausted for the next few days. So no gym during those weeks.

When you are not staffed on a big M&A deal, you can train very hard and you can potentially get back to the fitness level you were at before your big deal. But you have no control over how long this quiet period will be. It can be as short as a week or as long as a month.

On the whole, this work is very unhealthy and you inevitably compromise your health and looks.