Ripped in IB?
Hello monkeys.
It’s no secret that you work insane hours in IB. Are you still able to maintain a decent physique or just give up all hope of retaining muscle built before IB?
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Lol is this a fucking joke? Prepare to gain weight, lose hair, and have high blood pressure
You'll most likely lose muscle for sure, but if you eat healthy you can have a decent physique
I've seen people maintain good physique. Depends on group / motivation.
Yeah was going to say. If you make time and communicate I have been able to get any from 30 to 75mins in the gym most nights. You'll just have to accept that some nights you are not going to be able to get a full workout in but you have SAT/SUN you can guarantee workouts. Friday nights pre going out are a good bet too. And then jsut one or two quick nights a week is usually what I can count on.
Ahh yes. So would you recommend a full body 3 day spilt?
Will be hard to be a body builder, but I think it’s possible to certainly “stay in good shape”.
Lately my goal has been to walk 10k steps a day (burns 500 Cals, will do this when I have down time during the day, at night or early morning), 100 push ups a day, and try to hit gym 3x week.
Biggest factor will be your diet. When I hit the desk (2019) I gained 25 lbs or so. Covid exacerbated this.
Doing the above I’ve been able to lean back out to 190 (I’m 6-3).
Not a bodybuilder.
I just maintain a lean psychic with some muscle. I eat 90% clean.
Always harder to lose fat than it is to gain it.
Eat healthy, that's what I've been doing. I was a D1 athlete but no where near as good shape as I once was. Largely due to not being as motivated (having a solid job, being generally happy with yourself, and being married to the love of you life can make you lazy in this aspect).
Annual physicals just to make sure everything checks out. Knock on wood, haven't gotten sick in a long time (2 years or so).
Some of my team were very serious lifters before they joined the world of finance. I'd say, you won't be able to compete even on amateur levels, that is clear. you will also lose some mass and some definition, there are just too many business dinners and coffee meetings to be ultra lean. But you can be in good enough shape that people will recognize it.
Your workouts will also have to change, there is more stress, less sleep, and less focus on perfect nutrition. But nobody will say anything if you have a bucket of Optimum Nutrition in your drawer.
On damn i didn’t think about business dinners. Could you just get salad? I mean my internship tries to feed me ice cream all the time but I reject it every time enough though they threaten me with making me work the front desk phone lol
Look, from the moment I have stepped into IB, VC, consulting and PE now... there were conferences, team drinks, social events, flights, client dinners, team dinners, Christmas events, even Easter celebrations! There is a birthday every other day, there are Starbucks runs, and a million food offers for you in any given moment.
There is only so much you can reject. It is OK to reject alcohol and nobody is going to offer you tobacco. But it looks a bit weird if you don't eat with the others. I gained a few pounds after all of this and tried to diet it away in my personal time, it was quite difficult.
You can try to reduce calories, do keto/low carb orders, etc... people will understand. But corporate culture in the USA isn't for people who want to look lean. Same for the UK.
The amount of team celebrations with donuts were the worst, because if the MD brings donuts or similar... can't really say no.
Yes just count your calories and get in a consistent workout routine. The hours aren’t 24/7 you’ll have time to workout
I've only worked IB hours as an intern but have been bodybuilding/powerlifting for the last 7 years, currently 6'2 220lbs at 10% bf (sounds weird to say, but if OP lifts, it helps put into perspective).
Lifting has been a huge hobby of mine so I've thought a lot about this topic, and while I think I'll 110% have to put lifting on the backburner, I think that simply trying to preserve already-built muscle + stay lean will be feasible. A buddy of mine was able to stay lean and only lose a bit of muscle during his 2yrs at a BB by simply:
1) not eating like a fatass: don't order dessert on seamless, and just focus on protein + vegetables + fruits. Don't cut out all carbs but just know that you'll have a MUCH lower calorie threshold due to less activity, so keeping carbs at a minimum just leaves more room for error (i.e. still having calories open for drinks, and not being a weirdo that eats out of his tupperware when his whole analyst class is socializing over a meal).
2) try to lift heavy fullbody at least 1x/week to maintain strength, but supplement with quick morning home workouts during the week to make up for adequate volume. Get a power tower (dip/pull up station) for your apartment and just bang out a few sets of dips and pullups 3x/week first thing in the morning (takes 10 minutes)
3) accept that you're not going to be as strong/lean as you would be if you had a normal job, but understand that maintaining is much easier than gaining. If you were an athlete/frequent lifter in undergrad, this is a much different story than if you bench 135lb at age 22.
hope this rambling helps - sorry its a bit unorganized
Yep starting FT rn and had a goal over the past year to build up muscle and I know my powerlifting numbers will drastically fall, but im hoping to maintain aesthetics which is a lot easier than actually building the muscle the first time. Not a fan of pure cardio or quick HIIT type workouts so hoping to lift like twice a week if possible.
best part of powerlifting is that oy can always just be cultivating mass.
25.5 FFMI.. impressive if true. You must be pretty competitive?
reddit r/fitness neckbeard spotted
6'2" 220 @10% is approaching the boundary between natural and juicing, so if you really are that on no gear that's pretty damn impressive. I'm 6'2 200 at around 12-15% and I could not fathom putting on twenty more pounds of mass. And yes I know this comment has very homosexual vibes.
understandable - what I think a lot of people don't understand is that this stuff takes time. emphasis on the 7 years of training experience I mentioned. In addition to long training history (starting from a young age or during growth spurt years), the average gymgoer does not train efficiently and/or focus on continuous progressive overload in powerlifting fashion.
Lastly, I was 260+ pounds most of high school for football. naturally this made it easier to carry/build more muscle, which I maintained when I leaned down once college hit and I realized that chix don't care how much you bench if you look like the michelin man lmao (fr I used to eat chicken breast between classes to not "go catabolic"... pls don't do this.)
To any younger guys reading this that want to start lifting while you still have time in undergrad, I encourage you to make it something you enjoy. I know that I will do my best to stay in shape during IB not bc of just not wanting to get fat, but bc you really do just feel so much better and healthier when u stay in relatively decent shape. brb exiting into VC so that peter thiel and I can invest in immortality steroids
Not calling full on bs.. but sniff test here getting a little funky. Good ole Mike O'Hern is 6'2 235-250 contingent on conditioning, ranging 6-8% body fat. A couple % more BF and only 15-30 lbs lighter than the Mr. Mike O'Tren himself.. I'm having a tough time believing this one. Let's make it a little smellier, the aesthetic god himself, Zyzz, was also 6'2. He was roughly 200 lbs at 9%. So you're 20 pounds bigger than Zyzz and only 1% more bodyfat.. If I were betting, I'd say you're either enhanced or bullshitting. 12-15% more believable, not flat 10%.
Disclaimer: not against enhanced athletes. but your point #4 should be to recommend TRT protocols to ensure hormone levels stay half decent when working shit hours with high stress.
yeah the caliper test i did a year ago is prob not accurate... didn't know i'd get this called out lmao
Yeah I think a lot of people have hit the nail on the head above. You aren't going to be able to gain serious muscle, but you can definitely maintain most of what you have. You can also stay pretty lean. All of this really depends on your level of discipline.
Cyberpunk said above that he gained weight from team dinners, drinks, donuts in the office, etc. Sure you want to partake but you can do so in a manner that doesnt sabotage you too much. For example, team dinner- get something high protein/ lowcarb, drinks- order vodka sodas or whiskey or something, starbucks run- get black coffee or espresso or even tea, pastries in the office- say no thanks and if they look offended say that you have a medical issue that requires you to have a low sugar diet.
The key here is that to have the physique you're thinking, you're going to have to have your diet dialed in. You should be able to get away to workout for 15-45 minutes most days (15 min for cardio, 30 min for weights). Then try to maximize your sleep, but that's the hardest part of this.
Like others said above, a lot of how much time you have is going to depend on your group. As long as you're not in a complete sweatshop and stay disciplined, you can do it. I maintain ~10% bodyfat throughout the year for reference and work in BB coverage. It's not the 6% that bateman had but it still looks good in the summer.
Sorry this got kind of long but to add- like someone said above, if you're in a rough group you'll still get to workout out Friday night pre bars, Saturday, and Sunday 99% of the year, which means you only have to squeeze in 2-3 more workouts at most (I was doing 6 days/wk pre IB, now it's 5-6 depending on the week).
Also- maximize water intake and track your calories with an app (they add up way quicker than you think)
Adding to what others have said, here are some additional tips:
1. Keep nuts, fruits, or granola by your desk. Bring a new batch every Sunday. It'll keep you full between meals and will make it easier to say no to the unhealthy food that floats around the office.
2. Lots of water and black coffee. Consider them a supplement to oxygen.
3. At least one meal per day should have a good portion of veggies, like a salad. This counts on weekends too.
4. Don't feel shy to throw away unhealthy food. My parents mailed me chocolate on my birthday every year, but I throw it away every year.
5. When ordering out, don't be afraid to ask for a smaller portion of food, to substitute unhealthy ingredients like mashed potatoes, or to use skinless chicken breasts only, etc. And when a plate of food comes and it looks like a lot, just portion it immediately so that you limit your intake. In the fattier parts of the country people get confused by this, but they can deal with it.
6. Figure out which restaurants have healthy options. Get a rotation of 5-10 that you can order from on Uber Eats or Doordash. Eating is about sustenance, not fun. And that counts for restaurants that you can walk to as well. For example, you may pass on a trip to burger king whereas you can join the other analysts on a trip to Chick-Fil-A since they have the grilled chicken sandwich.
7. Easier to eat healthy in the week than the weekend, so try and hold off unhealthy eating as long as you can. If you've been good most meals of the week and you hit the weekend, you probably earned that nice dinner. If not, then repent with a grilled chicken and salad.
8. If you're going out, get a vodka soda or a scotch and rocks. If you're trying to dial it back, drink half, let the rest dilute, then order another.
9. When you travel (whether it's a business or personal trip), plan to workout at some point. Usually you can find the time. Business trips will often take you to hotels with gyms, which makes it easy. For personal trips, I usually book a gym class ahead of time so that I have no choice but to go.
10. Make sure you're as efficient with your time as possible so that you can hit the gym 1-2x/week from Mon-Fri (and 1-2x on the weekends). If it's a light week, take advantage of that.
11. And as always, pick when/where you want to have fun. If you close a big deal and your MD wants to celebrate or if a close friend is leaving the bank, you should let it loose. But you don't need to partake in 100% of the opportunities that come your way.
12. Remember that most people - including clients - appreciate and respect people who take care of themselves. The people who don't appreciate that are the ones who have given up on themselves.
Thank you for the good advice!
I was planning on blowing a fuck ton of money on salad works lol. I can literally eat their salad everyday(light dressing as well.)
NGL I was in pretty good shape during my 2 yr analyst stint and a some of the older guys (associates, VPs) didn’t take me seriously because of it. They were fat, hated their marriages, and were visibly irritated at my toned physique / pecs. I know this probably sounds like a shitpost, but I’m being 100% serious. Just my experience…
did they ever make any comments to you? Curious if this way overt or more covert. Would this be an issue for a summer analyst?
what do you mean by toned physique? like
1. slim in a suit but visibly toned shirtless
2. more on the skinny side with a suit on - looking like someone who's never been to the gym
3. chest noticeable in suit i.e. look like you lift with a suit/shirt on
Two things I’ll add to this thread:
1) Yeah, you can lift. Much easier to maintain versus build muscle, but you could build muscle if you really tried. Whole issue is you have weeks where you just completely fall off the wagon and honestly it’s unrealistic to think you can get the right amount of sleep and lift more than 3 days a week on average. That said, 3 days a week + push-ups and pull-ups on off days is actually enough if you are smart.
2) It’s not a joke that other people will comment on it and get jealous/ act terrible. Gotta hide that you go to the gym/ are healthy. Ex athletes are sour they aren’t able to go, nerds are jealous, and others just consider it a sign you aren’t working as hard as you should be.
I wish I wasn’t kidding, get out of IB as soon as you can.
Imagine if these people understood that lifting and regular exercise will make one a better person and employee.
The days that I get to train for even 45 minutes before staring at a screen all day vs. the days I dont are like night and day.
You don’t need to workout to be ripped. If you track your calories, you can either go on a caloric deficit or maintain your daily calorie intake. People misunderstand this concept, I’ve looked my leanest by doing this and probably only incorporated 20 minutes of working out.
I think that by 'ripped', most people mean a muscular person with a very low fat percentage. An anorexic/underweight person that does not workout would not be considered 'ripped'
^^^^^
Genetics plays the biggest factor in muscle growth/retentation. You have to adjust based on what works for you, therefore it's impossible to say what works for others. That's why I stated I only needed a low session for working out bc it works for my genetics. However, tracking calories is the biggest thing to at least staying in shape or wanting to look more aesthetic or whatever body you want to achieve (any fitness person will back this up, without tracking calories, working out is essentially useless if you care about physique wise).
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