Day off

emli1000

Am I the only one that feels guilty whenever I take a day or 2 off during the week?

I feel as if I could be getting so much done but instead I'm not. lol

Nilesh S

It does affect you... It affected me when I took a day off... as though I was not putting in my 100 % so what I did was that I studied to exhaustion and did not have a weekly day off... but but then sometimes took 2 days off in a row and started off light... crazy as it may sound, I think that kept burnout away. My schedule would be something like 9 days of non stop LSAT studying and then 2 days off.

emli1000

@"Nilesh S" I know. But I've yet to feel a burnout or anywhere near. & I started studying in Jan. 30-40 hours per week. But I still feel as if I should do something. Like read a chapter or re-watch a video lesson.

Nilesh S

@emli1000 in matters of prep, I think you're the best judge of what works for you... its like going to the gym for me... you know that there are some basic overarching principles and well established (and well supported) norms... but within those you know what works for your body best. If you feel that you can study more, let that guide you.

emli1000

*opens the trainer* but wait my show starts in 30 mins lol brb hahaha

LSATman1

Taking time off can actually be beneficial. It helps you rest and be more productive when you return. And even though you aren't directly doing LSAT work, your brain is still processing what you have worked on so far

emli1000

@LSATman1 yea, i know. But I always feel guilty when I take a day off.

Nilesh S

You WANT to get back to that LSAT trainer.... You NEED to get back to that LSAT trainer (Jack Nicholson parody - A Few Good Men)

emli1000

@"Nilesh S" HAHAHAHA I will work on flaws when my show ends

nicole.hopkins

Allow me to illustrate the importance of rest with a bodybuilding analogy: if you don't rest and go hard all the time, you run the risk of overtraining. Overtraining is not only counterproductive—you don't gain as much strength or skill as you would under more balanced conditions—it's actually dangerous: you set yourself up for injury due to wear/tear and/or improper form; furthermore, the emotional and mental aspects of overtraining can appear unrelated to exercise (irritability, lack of focus or perhaps hyper focus, depression) but nevertheless are caused by simply doing too much in disrespect of your actual needs.

I've heard it said that if you don't rest at least one day a week or if you train the same body parts every time you train, you are putting yourself in a position where you will burn out and need to take two days off due to exhaustion; if you had rested properly and varied your training, you could have trained on one or both of those days missed due to exhaustion.

One last thing to note ... Typically when we talk about "rest" in bodybuilding, we don't mean lying in bed all day (although I don't think that a total rest day like that is bad—it's just not what's generally meant by "rest day"). Usually rest days are described as "active rest days"—where you're still active, moving around, but in different or less specifically structured ways (for example, going for a walk at the lake or cleaning the house). Sedentary days beget sedentary ways, and that's generally the exact condition we're trying to undo by committing to an active lifestyle.

So I think periods of "active rest"—whether that means a block of a few hours or given days of the week—within the context of LSAT study/practice are in order. What do I mean by active rest? For me that might mean taking a Saturday afternoon between PT's to check out 7sage or TLS, play with my rather elaborate Excel sheets I use to track my LSAT progress, read some cases or judicial opinions, or read about constitutional history. Active rest like this helps ward off any guilty feelings since these activities indeed contribute to achieving my ultimate goal of succeeding in law school and becoming a practicing attorney.

With that said, I am also strongly in favor of dedicating 2 hours on Thursday nights and 2 hours on Sunday mornings to activities that have utterly nothing to do with the LSAT (for me that is my ladies' Bible study and church, respectively). That's because I will still exist when the LSATs are over and neglect of relationships is not a habit I would cultivate now or in the future.

kendallM

I am currently taking day off and I feel so guilty

Nilesh S

@kendallM don't... its necessary for your prep...

ddakjiking

@nicole.hopkins Thanks for the analogy. I appreciate as an amateur powerlifter. :P

nicole.hopkins

@ddakjiking it's funny how many of us lsat freaks lift ... #doyouevenLSAT

Nilesh S

1 more to the list... though I've been doing nothing for a month... ever since I threw my back doing deadlifts ... can't wait to hit the weights again.

Nilesh S

Everything is ok now except for the left side of my lower back.... which still hurts a bit in the morning when I get up from the bed

ddakjiking

@"Nilesh S" You might want to get that checked out if it's still hurting after a month. I love deadlifting though. In about 15 months I added 270 pounds to my 1RM. lol

Nilesh S

that's awesome @ddakjiking a 270 pound increase is HUGE... I think I'll get that done.... It probably occurred when I decided to do dumbbell deadlifts instead of the regular barbell kind... and obviously misjudged the weight that I could do... didn't feel it then though I immediately know after the 3rd rep in my 2nd set that something was wrong... so I left that and continued with my other lifts... and then lo and behold the next morning. I couldn't get outta bed without screaming in pain... couldn't bend over for days on end and needed to support my self even to get up off couches and chairs... all of that is finally over... just a bit of soreness in my left lower... probs will get that checked though like you said.

VegMeg55

I combat my 'day off' guilt by doing the absolute minimum. I'll maybe do one small quiz or watch a few video lessons totaling 10-15 minutes. Those 10-15 min. are pretty negligible but help me with LSAT separation anxiety. They do not; however, prevent me from consuming entire packs of licorice as happened this afternoon... #sorrynotsorry

ddakjiking

@"Nilesh S" Yeah well it was my first 15 months of lifting. lol. Went from 1 plate to 4 plates so I realized those noob gains.

mjmiller613

@nicole.hopkins Nice analogy on lifting, I was thinking the same thing. Over training, "burn out". Same thing

NYC12345

lol RE how 7sage forum suddenly transitioned into a bodybuilding.com forum.

Nilesh S

@alexandergreene93 Reality check for the win!!! LOL!!!

nicole.hopkins

@alexandergreene93 live, love, lift, LSAT. #sorrynotsorry U 'mirin bro ??!!?

kendallM

I hate lifting my trainer makes me do it lol but now I have muscles and can beat the lsat with it lol jk

mpits001

I feel the same way when school/work gets in the way of me studying for my LSAT. All the assignments I need to complete for school seem so trivial to me. I've written enough essays in my undergrad. If I'm assigned more essays, they feel like the biggest waste of time when I could be studying for the LSAT.

nicole.hopkins

@mpits001 you, unlike many of us in the forum, are still in a position to improve your undergrad GPA ... So I wouldn't complain too loudly ...

fernandoframe

It’s all about balance and creating a schedule that works for you. My study schedule gives me 10-12 hours of content a week; I devote 2-3 hours a day to my 7 Sages prep. On a good week, I’ll have Saturday and Sunday off to rest, work on other material review the week’s material.

shine.on.me

I definitely give myself the guilt trip. For multiple reasons, I took almost 3 weeks off from the LSAT. Today is my first day back to doing lessons, feels so good.

emli1000

Thanks @nicole.hopkins for that analogy. Makes me feel less guilty now

emli1000

@shine.on.me you were suppose to have been finished with the LG bundle by today -__- lol

shine.on.me

that didn't happen :-( @emli1000 baby steps still feel good

emli1000

@shine.on.me as long as you get there! That's what really matters!

LSATMode

Guys, I am ESL student. Its very hard for me to study for lsat. I really liked the program. And I think I can do well. I can see people having same issues and talk about them. So, I was wondering is anybody here same ESL student as I? Do you have any suggestions for me? I would love to hear them. Thank you:)

mpits001

@nicole.hopkins this is my final semester. Whether I do extremely well or average my GPA rise/fall will be marginal, and will not really affect my application whatsoever. So, the workload feels trivial.

emli1000

@kbk2785 remember that the lsat doesn't test your vocabulary. So yes, it is possible for any ESL person to do well on the LSAT. You just have to focus and dedicate time to learning the structure/skills of the LSAT.