One of the reasons why some medical students do not work out is because they do not have access to a gym. This could be for a variety of reasons such as not being able to afford a gym, or because all of the gyms are just too far away, and going back and forth multiple times a week is just too time consuming. This is perfectly understandable given the time commitment of medical school. However there are many other options out there for medical students to workout without a gym that are affordable and definitely sustainable. In this article I will be discussing 7 ways that medical students can workout without a gym.

Jump rope workouts

All you really need is jump rope and a place to jump up and down. You probably don’t want to do this indoors if you are living in an apartment because you may disturb the people below, but there are plenty of other places such as parking garages, patios, drive way (if you have a house), courtyards, etc

Workout with Egg weights 

These are basically two small hand weights that have grip through which you can put your fingers through. Because of their small size you can pretty take them with you anywhere you go. They can be used for shadow boxing, or you can take them with you on runs to add a little bit of extra resistance. Check out the following video for some good workouts

Workout with Pull up bar

This one may or may not be a no go depending on your apart landlords policy on adding workout equipment to your room. However, I honestly do not think most will have a problem with it. This is great for medical students who dont have a gym and must rely on working out at home to stay fit. Most fit right in between your door frame and are adjustable. I have seen these on Amazon for as cheap as $30.00, which is definitely in the budget of most medical students. 

Workout with Push up handles

These are great if you are looking for an  alternative at home bodyweight exercises. You can buy these on amazon for $30.00. The good thing about this is that you do not really need a large space. In fact for most medical students will be able to do  exercises with these right next to their study desk or right next to their bed. 

Body weight workouts

In general bodyweight exercises are probably the cheapest option and easiest. It requires no gym membership, and they can be done anywhere. For medical students who are just coming home from a long day of studying or a shift from the hospital, I think this is a good option if you have no gym. You can either go on youtube to find some good quality bodyweight exercises or you can subscribe to workouts or just buy workout courses outright. One course that I think is good is the  minimalist  muscle blitz course 

Go for a run

This one is a great option if you live in a safe neighborhood, you literally only need shoes and some workout clothes. One thing that turns people off from running is that they they think that when they run they either have to run really fast, or they have to go out and run 12 miles every day. But this is not the case at all. Running sprints for short duration, or fartlek runs are a great way for medical students to enjoy their workouts. If you have a treadmill at home you can actually do sprints on it! There are a bunch of apps and training plans for new or experienced runners to follow. One that I recommend is this one from 80/20 endurance if you are training for a race or if you just want  some different workouts

Dumbbell and Kettlebell workouts

Personally I went 6 months without going to the gym because the closest one to me was too expensive. Instead I purchased a cheap set of dumbbells off of Amazon. I honestly enjoyed working a lot more than if I went to gym. Plus sometimes when you are a medical student, you want to workout by yourself, or going to the gym just feels to crowded and overwhelming. I think having a solid set of dumbbells or kettlebells is a great way to get in some quality exercise without needing  gym. 

In Conclusion

As you can see there are many ways for medical students to workout without needing a gym. As a medical student I think working out is important not just because of the obvious benefits on physical health, but also because as soon to be leaders in healthcare we should be ambassadors of healthy living for our future patients!