Second-year Medical student Vatsal Patel is more than a member of the Mulholland Society, the student government body of the University’s Medical School. Patel also manages the Medical Student Gym — located in Cobb Hall — both keeping the gym clean and creating workout routines for busy students.
“[They are] just quick, easy workouts that people can do every day for like 30 minutes,” Patel said.
His workouts are designed with efficiency and vary daily, such as a chest workout Mondays and a back workout Tuesdays. He also created a five-by-five plan for students to work out two different muscle groups simultaneously.
Despite the busy schedules of medical students, he said it’s not hard to find time to exercise if you make it a priority.
“I think it’s very feasible for every student to do at least one hour of exercise every day,” Patel said.
Patel said he plans to expand the current gym by buying more benches and possibly a new treadmill. He also said the Mulholland Society is developing plans to create a bigger gym in the hospital itself, so doctors, medical students and the rest of the hospital staff could have quick access to equipment. Increased proximity of equipment would make it easier to schedule physical activity into their days.
Many medical students support the development of this new gym. Second-year Medical student Grace Gillis-Crouch said it’s going to be especially beneficial during residency, when she worries finding time to exercise will be difficult. She said a new gym would provide a place outside of the medical environment for all the medical students, nurses and doctors to interact, while still obtaining health benefits.
“[If] it’s accessible at all times it might be a bigger motivator for people to go and that could be beneficial all-around for everyone’s health,” Gillis-Crouch said.
Mulholland Society President Jessica Lukacs, a fourth-year Medical student, said she agrees that the development of a new gym would have positive impacts on both students and physicians.
Patel hopes to help in the planning of the new gym and predicts that it will be three to four years until it is completed. Although the new gym is still under development, Patel and the rest of the Mulholland Society still encourage medical students to exercise in other ways.
Patel plans to keep students informed about opportunities for exercise by sending out emails to the entire Medical School when marathons and other healthy activities are available for them to participate in. Additionally, Lukacs says the Mulholland Society provides students with other opportunities for physical activities, such as a medical football league, basketball league and a new club called MedFit that provides exercise classes and has events, such as the recent offering of yoga on the Lawn.
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