Health & Exercise + Long Hours as an “Incoming” Analyst. Advice is sought! #LONDON
So, now that I have secured an offer it’s time to really think about adjusting to the lifestyle of long hours and barely any exercise (please don’t take this literally - I was of course aware of bad wlb in advance and have done it before).
I wanted to ask guidance of both juniors and seniors on how to squeeze in the exercise in your schedule as a junior joining the firm, particularly:
For those in their analyst years, how have y ou managed thus far to squeeze in the exercise? How many times a week? What time of the day? How did you communicate it to the team? And etc. Any advice on staying healthy but importantly moving?
For those in their more senior roles supervising juniors, what’s your stance on this? If juniors notify you for taking an hour for the gym, what’s your response? How have you done it yourself? What would you say would be the best approach to handle this with the team? Should I notify anybody at all if I’m taking my lunch but instead doing gym?
My issue in particular is the following and I hope you read this because it will perhaps alter the context slightly:
Due to some health concerns I’ve been having for many years, exercise is very important in the process of recovery / preventative measures to ensure concerns don’t grow further. Should I notify HR that I need to take an hour off during the day or should I just power it through and try to find an hour / day myself somehow? I talked to analysts from the firm and they claim they haven’t taken any gym break at all lately, I haven’t mentioned that I need to or anything, but it seems like it’s very busy at the moment.
On one hand, I know how bad my health can get if I don’t follow the guidelines of the doctor but at the same time I don’t want to be the spoiled analyst who cares too much about exercise and leaves everyday to do some exercises. How to approach this?
Thanks!
Go the gym on Saturday and Sunday. Friday you should be able to get an early morning workout in.
You shouldn’t “need” more than 3 times per week for your analyst years.
I won’t get into the specifics of my condition :))
But 3 times is better than nothing and I will actively aim for that! Thanks for comment :)
Guy above understands.
The analyst years are an unsustainable really shitty few years. You should not be trying to achieve “good fitness” or healthy habits, rather you try to hold the line and do the best you can. If you attempt to go more often to the gym, it likely comes at the expense of you doing well at your role through either you leaving the office at times that bother mangers (even if they don’t tell you) or you will get less sleep and that will impact your performance.
Fortunately, if you run and lift Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you can really be in pretty solid shape as a young person. 3 days a week with relatively ok diet and shit sleep will not have you looking like a god or in “great shape” but it is enough to maintain a physique or “stay in shape”. It should be non-negotiable you workout Saturday and Sunday am/early afternoon. On Friday you can either wake up early or try to do a set of pushups or a run or something after work.
Maybe look into desk exercises; one good one for abs is to lean back and raise your feet without bracing them and hold. The further back you lean, the more your abs work. Of course there are limitations: this one is best done in a backless chair but could be possible in a regular chair and 30 seconds here or there shouldn't cause any sweating or noise and is pretty subtle. A few rounds of this or similar spaced out during the day could help.
Thank you for this!!! Myself with few other fellow interns back in the day were doing some stretching between our desks - it was truly a team building session so I can imagine myself forgetting at 2AM that I am wearing a skirt and instead prioritising ab exercises!
I’ll also chime in - I think that instead of really focusing on exercise is a red herring for health. It’s more about using the time to be mobile in other ways, and then supplanting it with diet. Diet is the bedrock of health because we’re eating every day, and then you supplant with more intense bouts of exercise.
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