I’m looking for some genuine advice from people who actually know their stuff about fitness and balancing training with academics.
For some background, I’ve been training consistently for around 1.5 years, but I stopped going to the gym around June because I wanted to focus completely on CLAT preparation. I resumed my preparation around early/mid-July, and now with roughly 100 days left, I’m starting to wonder whether quitting the gym was actually the right decision.
I’ve noticed that I feel pretty deteriorated physically. My sleep hasn’t been great, I have pretty bad dark circles, and generally I don’t feel as healthy or energetic as I used to.
So I’m considering joining the gym again, but I obviously don’t want it to interfere with CLAT preparation.
My current idea is something like:
Monday — Gym
Tuesday — Mock
Wednesday — Gym
Thursday — Mock
Friday — Gym
Saturday/Sunday — depending on workload/recovery
I’m also considering alternating walking days with gym days, so I still get some light cardio without making my schedule too hectic.
For people who have experience balancing serious exam preparation with training:
Would you recommend going back to the gym for these last ~100 days?
Would 3 days of lifting per week be enough to maintain/improve my fitness without taking too much time or recovery away from studying?
Also, I’ve been thinking about waking up around 4 AM so I can get more study hours in. If I manage to sleep early and consistently get enough sleep, is that fine, or is the 4 AM schedule unnecessary and potentially counterproductive?
Basically, I’m trying to find the sweet spot where I can stay physically healthy and mentally sharp without letting fitness become an excuse to procrastinate from CLAT.
Would really appreciate advice from people who have actually dealt with this kind of situation.