We Talk Fitness, Study & Nutrition With Fit And Fiesty

Let's admit it, a lot of us love to fall back on the "I don't have time" excuse when it comes to fitting training into a busy week. Well how about studying Medicine with 6hrs of lectures a day followed by 3hrs of work and then still have time to fit in a 2hr training session?

That's exactly what Sarah Rav, aka @fitandfiesty gets up to every day. We had to find out how Sarah manages to squeeze everything in and get a few of her time-saving tips.

How would you describe your fitness philosophy? 

Hmmm… People always ask me why I work out so much and I always, always tell them that it’s 100% FOR ME. I work out because I love it. I love the effect it has on my confidence and happiness. Seeing progress is such an incredibly satisfying feeling.  

My approach to fitness is focused on ensuring that I enjoy working out. It shouldn’t feel like a chore, but more so like a hobby – something you look forward to every day!  In addition, fitness gives you a chance to BETTER yourself. It gives you a chance to build stamina, strength, and discipline. This is what I always try to remind myself when I feel unmotivated or tired – these are the times where you have to train your mind to get over it and train anyways! Even if you don’t smash that workout, it’s good enough that you WENT and did it in the first place because it shows that you’re developing your discipline and resilience.  

How do your studies influence your approach to fitness?

Studying Medicine has slightly changed my approach to fitness, but not too drastically (perhaps because I’m only in my 1st year and still have HEAPS to learn). We learn about how the body works, all the physiological process and the effects and importance of exercise on overall health. I find that this has made me more motivated to exercise, as I understand the underlying reasons as to why it is beneficial.  

‘Busy’ is often used as an excuse not to exercise. How do you balance study, work and fitness?

With full-time uni and 25hrs a week, I can confirm that no matter how busy you are, you CAN fit exercise into your regime. For me, this meant that I had to prioritize what is important to me and cut all everything else that could wait. So during the uni semester, I just don’t watch TV or play video games. But it means that I can keep going to the gym and get 9hours of sleep a night, which I’ve found has made me much happier (don’t get me wrong though, during uni holidays I go through marathons of TV shows like Suits and Archer).  

There are also little things that can save you heaps of time! This includes prepping all your meals on the weekend so you don’t have to cook/clean during the week, packing you bags the night before so you can get an extra 30mins of sleep in the morning, making your workouts shorter but MORE INTENSE (include supersets, circuits) and studying smartly (without friends/distractions/facebook). 

There’s a saying that goes something like “I don’t have time to work out, I MAKE time.”  In some ways I agree with the quote but I also think that it doesn’t take into consideration the fact that sometimes, life just throws a whole lot of sh*t at you that you can’t avoid. If there’s a family emergency, if you have a massive assignment due the next day or an exam to study for, if you have to work overtime, take a step back and realize that these are unavoidable responsibilities that you have to do. If it means that you have to miss a work out, don’t feel guilty or too hard on yourself. That’s life. As long as you know deep down that you’re still prioritizing training and going to the gym whenever you CAN, then you’re doing your best and that’s enough!! 

What is your go to exercise when you are time poor? 

If I’m really pressed for time, I love doing circuits! I’ll usually set up 6-8 exercises to hit all body parts (e.g. lunges, shoulder press, pushups, rows, squats, pull-ups and skipping). Then I’ll cycle through each exercise for a minute each and take a 2-minute rest at the end. Usually, I’ll repeat this 3-4 times, depending on how much time I have. It’s such an intense workout but it hits all body parts and you can get it done in a very short amount of time, which is awesome.

What does a day in the life of Sarah look like?

It changes depending on weekdays/weekends.

Weekday 

• 5:30am – Wake Up and prepare for gym
• 6:30 to 8:30am Train (usually at Monash Sport) 
• 8:30 to 10am – Grab a shower, get dressed and have breakfast. I’ll usually spend some time studying, whilst eating. 
• 10 to 12pm – Uni Lectures 
• 12 to 1pm – Have lunch (I’ll usually spend this time studying too, whilst eating) 
• 1 to 4pm – More Uni Lectures or Tutorials
• 4 to 5pm – Drive home and have dinner
• 5 to 8pm – Work (I tutor VCE Subjects) 
• 8 to 9pm – Pack bags and lay out clothes for the next day
• 9pm – sleep!! My favourite part of the day haha

Weekend

• 5:30am – Wake Up and prepare for gym 
• 6:30 to 9am – Train (usually at Zap Fitness Surrey Hills as its closer and I love walking to the gym in the quiet mornings)
• 9 to 10am – Grab a shower, get dressed and have breakfast
• 10am to 6pm – Work (tutoring again) 
• 6 to 8pm – Study for Uni 
• 8 to 9pm – Pack bags and lay out clothes for the next day 

On Friday, instead of training, I’ll do my meal prep for the week! This takes about an hour and it consists of me baking about 2kgs of chicken, steaming 2kgs of veggies and separating them into 14 containers for lunch and dinner for the next week.

Describe your typical food diary in a day:  

Breakfast: This is my post-workout meal, so it’s usually MASSIVE. A bowl of oats, mixed with dried figs and banana slices. Topped with 2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter, my favourite! If I’m feeling extra hungry, I’ll throw in half a Quest Bar too J  Sometimes, if I’ve got time to go home I’ll cook up a huge breakfast with 2 eggs + 2 egg whites, Spinach, Mushrooms with a Grilled Cheese Wholemeal Sandwich. 

Lunch: Chicken and a huge salad and a couple of pieces of fruit (such as an apple, pear or kiwi). Usually I try to avoid too many carbs at lunch as I find it causes me to hit that 3pm ‘slump’ in the afternoon where I ‘crash’ and just want to sleep.  

Dinner: Brown Rice, Chicken/Fish/Lean Beef (usually I’ll cook a curry or stir-fry) and heaps of stir-fried veggies such as Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots and Beans.  Snacks: Pre workout Snack – Coconut Water, Banana, Spinach and Protein Powder Smoothie. Afternoon Snack – Chobani Greek Yoghurt and Fruit.  

What does your typical training schedule comprise of throughout the week: I usually train every morning, before uni or before work. Here’s what I train each day: 

• Monday – Legs (Quads and Glutes focused) 
• Tuesday – Shoulders, Chest and Abs 
• Wednesday – Legs (Hamstrings and Glutes focused) 
• Thursday – Back and Abs 
• Friday – Rest day (this is always much needed… normally my body is absolutely shattered on this day hahah) 
• Saturday – Legs (Glutes focused) 
• Sunday – HIIT Cardio and Abs  I do about 30 mins of cardio after every workout. Depending on how much energy I have, this will either be walking on a high incline, sprints on the treadmill or on the stationary bike.  

What is the best piece of advice you can give to new gym devotees?

Hmm, I would say that the most important factor that will determine whether you STICK with your gym routine is if you find something that you enjoy and that works for you. I know I’ve given you a list of my training schedule above, but just because it fits with my weekly schedule doesn’t mean that it’ll fit into yours! Instead of trying to copy something exactly, alter it to suit you! Maybe you have to start work early in the morning and working out in the morning isn’t an option for you or maybe you’re just NOT a morning person – that’s fine, change your workouts to the afternoon or the evening! Maybe you don’t have the stamina to work out for 2 hours straight – that’s fine, start with 30 mins and work your way up!  

Furthermore, if you don’t enjoy a particular exercise or you it doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to SEEK HELP or swap it with another. It is incredibly hard to be excited to work out if you dread it, trust me. Fill your training routine with things that you enjoy doing and you’ll progress so much faster because you’ll be so much more motivated.

Gym Bag Essentials you can’t live without...

I CANNOT live without my iPod Shuffle. Honestly, my music is what gets me through every workout. I spend a lot of time perfecting my gym playlist - whenever I update it, I always know that the next workout is going to be an especially epic one.

I also love my liquid amino acids because they taste so much better than plain water and I believe they give me a boost of energy that I need to get through the tougher workouts.

Finally, I would probably say that I always have to have a spare gym towel in my bag. I sweat SOOO much at the gym, it’s really embarrassing so I need to have a gym towel to ensure that I don’t leave my sweat all over the equipment when other people want to use it hahah. I really like the ones with a little zip pocket in the side, as then I can throw in my gym card and phone in there and forget about it.

You can follow Sarah on Instagram at @fitandfiesty