<p>How do you perfect this art? As you know, we college students always have too little time, but fitness and endorphins are Good Things™.</p>
<p>I was trying to read my fairly dense Neurobiology textbook on the rowing machine, but since straight backs and good stature/technique are so important, I had to put the book near the resistance exhaust. Combined with wind and dangerous centres of gravity, it kept falling off. </p>
<p>Should I just convert all my notes to audio? Or better yet, rent a laptop from the library (or when I actually buy one, use that) and play videos of lectures while in the gym?</p>
<p>I do have a couple dumbbells in my room that I work out with sometimes; I’ll study (book or computer) between sets. But I’d never take study material to the gym.</p>
<p>Sometimes I study on an elliptical, but I found reading to be impossible on other gym equipment. I only bring material I can work on without being completely focused on it, which is mainly review of things I already know, light reading (things I only need to skim) or math problems to think about.</p>
<p>I am not bringing books to the gym because of a lack of time, but because I find reading to be more distracting than listening to music. (And yes, I do want to be distracted on an elliptical.)</p>
<p>Well I see people doing all sorts of studying in the gym. On the treadmill … even doing weights (the one-arm kind, usually). It doesn’t work with swimming, though.</p>
<p>When you exercise, focus on exercise. When you study, focus on studying. Can’t do both things at once. Otherwise, everyone would be fit and smart at the same time. That happens only in the ideal world.</p>
<p>The treadmill, elliptical, StairMaster, and stationary bikes are probably the best equipment for studying. I’ve never tried doing weights, as there really isn’t a place to put books.</p>
<p>I LOVE studying on my elliptical at home. I would never make it through a full chapter i my boringly written bio textbook or my macroeconomics book if it wasn’t for the elliptical. If I don’t like how something is written, and it is boring, I will be easily distracted by the internet, and the TV (or shiny objects); and I have always been studious and do not have any learning disorders (which may sometimes be a cause of such distraction).
Anyways, I also find that exercise increases my brain power, which is why I have taken to running on the mornings that I have classes because it gets my body and my brain started for the day. I’d definitely suggest trying the treadmill, bike, or elliptical; you can get used to reading with the movement pretty quickly and at that point there is no limit to how hard you can push while you study. I do HIIT intervals while reading sometimes, I push through the rougher parts by placing increased focus on the book than the exercise to distract myself from how hard it can be.</p>