Juggling classes, tons of new friends, traveling almost every weekend, and going out on occasion. Finding time to keep yourself healthy while abroad can be extremely difficult. I'm often faced with heading to classes with little sleep after a long weekend of traveling, so motivating my self to get to the gym and devoting time to staying mentally and physically healthy is a challenge. Everyone is different so the same things won't always work for you that worked for me, especially because I came abroad already very devoted to fitness and health. However hopefully I have a couple tips that will help you stay mentally and physically fit abroad.
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| Muscle Beach Barcelona |
The first 3/4 of the semester I had a membership at the gym right by my apartment which was actually very nice and convenient. For the last month however I have canceled my gym membership and decided to take advantage of Barcelona's beautiful beaches. I started going to this outdoor beach right on the water, Muscle beach Barcelona (as I call it). Not only is it gorgeous out here, Barcelona's weather is great so your also getting a tan, and it's free. Even though it's free and hanging out by the beach is very enticing, finding time to work out is very challenging. My suggestion is making it a point to wake up in with plenty of time before your classes and getting a workout then, even if its just 30-min to an hour you will thank yourself later. If you're not a morning person or you have a really early class, my suggestion is, if you have a break in your classes pack some clothes in your bag and get some exercise in. I usually make it a point to exercise at least 4 times a week, however you might not have as much time as me or it's not as important to you, in that case even if you only make it two or three times a week it will be very beneficial to you.
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| Jog-worhty beaches |
Staying mentally healthy while abroad is also very important, being abroad can be pretty draining mentally, you are keeping up with classes, at the same time constantly planing trips to other countries. Personally being abroad has also included way more social interaction than being back home, I am constantly in contact with my friends here, because we are such a large group and study abroad is such a close community, I am always with people. Often I find my self spending my time alone at the beach to just relax and take a break. Even just 30-mins-or-so after class has been really beneficial for me and I would highly suggest doing this. If you don't have time to hit the beach, walking back home from class alone won't take any extra time in your day and is totally worth it. Even for me, someone who loves being social and being around people all the time, spending a little time alone daily has been really good for me, and again I would highly suggest it.
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| Gaudi building |
Exploring my city has also been a great outlet to staying healthy. Obviously going out to the club or bar is really fun but you can't keep that up all the time so hitting some of the touristy attractions, or going on a hike is with a group of your friends is a really good alternative. I am a huge outdoors person, and Barcelona is one of the best places for outdoor activities. Some tourist activities that I highly suggest are; hiking Montserrat, Park Guell, Sagrada Família, Renting bikes and riding them through the city, also exploring Olympic park is pretty cool.
Hopefully this post will prove to to be somewhat beneficial to you guys if you decide to study abroad in Barcelona. Again different things will work for every one, but I think it's super important to devote some of your time to staying fit. CEA also has a ton of information on this as well as a week of wellness if you have any questions they are super helpful.
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| Top of Montserrat |
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| Sagrada Família |
Riley D is the Spring 2017 MOJO blogger for Barcelona, Spain. He is currently a Junior at Washington State University studying Finance.
