Estonia’s climate is not the best in terms of warmth and sunshine. And if you’re from a tropical country like me, it’s is easier to hibernate in your bed than do something when the cold comes. But what if you also have this dream body? Or you just want to maintain your current physique, but the cycle of eat-study-eat-sleep is preventing you to do so?
Fear not, because here are the tips will help you in achieving your fitness and health goals in Tartu:
1. Enroll for sports training in Uni Sports Gym
Currently, the University of Tartu Academic sports club offers amateur athletes training in different sports including badminton, boxing, rock climbing, rugby, volleyball, etc.
You can sign up to train for a day, a month, a semester, or for the entire academic year at an affordable price. Training happens 2-3 times a week (depending on the sport). Aside from learning a sport, this is also one of the best ways to meet new friends from Estonia since the majority of the people who enlist for training are Estonian students. For more information, you can visit their website: https://sport.ut.ee/ or visit them at: Ujula 4, Tartu.Go biking around the city
2. Go Biking Around the City
Photo Credit: Anthony Billones
If the weather is fine and the road is not slippery, and you want to go to a distant supermarket, or go shopping in a mall, you may want to grab a bike and pedal to your destination. Tartu has one of the most effective and efficient bike share system which allows you to go anywhere around the city by bike, even if you don’t own one. Biking around doesn’t just help you with your cardio, but would also allow you to see the beauty of the city!
For more details on Tartu’s bike share system, you may visit: https://visittartu.com/bike-share-system
3. Go Swimming
(Aura Keskus Swimming pool photo taken from: https://aurakeskus.ee/en/)
Tartu is not the best place to swim outdoors, but If you are a swimming enthusiast, you may check out Aura Waterpark. Aura Keskus has a 25×50 meter pool where you can swim your hearts out, and it’s open everyday until 10 PM. Aside from the swimming pool, they also have spa and sauna services, and a huge water park with slides.
What’s even better is that they have discounted rates for ISIC cardholders!
For more information on facilities and pricing, visit them at: https://aurakeskus.ee/en/
4. Sign Up for Dance Classes
(JJ-Street Dance Classes photo taken from: https://jjstreet.ee/pildid/)
When you got moves up your sleeves and want to do more dancing, or want to try dancing for the first time, you can sign up for dance classes at JJ-Street Dance Company. They offer dance classes in Tartu for many modern dancing styles like hip-hop, popping, and locking. You can sign up for one-time training, or for a monthly training subscription. Training sessions usually just take an hour and are conducted after 5PM on weekdays so you may dance the night away!
For more information, you may visit their website at: https://jjstreet.ee/
When Latin dance is your thing, Latin Passion Dance Studio for a wide variety of latin dance classes like tango and salsa. you don’t have to worry if you are “too old” to learn latin dance or if you don’t have any dance experience at all because they can offer dance lessons to all levels of dancing. You also don’t need to have a partner to learn the dance with because they can manage to teach you with or without one.
To know more about Latin Passion Dance Studio, visit their website at: https://latinpassion.ee
(ESN Dance Classes Photo taken from: https://www.facebook.com/events/491118711480150/)
The Erasmus Student Network Tartu (ESN Tartu) also offers FREE dance classes for everyone. Although this is not on a weekly basis, they have sessions almost once every month for all genres of dancing. This semester, they already had sessions for Salsa and Bollywood this Autumn semester, and the next dance classes will be all about freestyle dancing.
To be updated on their upcoming events, you may follow their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ESNTartuPage/
5. Sign Up for a Gym Membership
If you are not into any activities mentioned above but still want to be fit while you’re in Tartu, then you may just always opt to go to the gym. For international Students, the most convenient gym to go to is the Lemon Gym in Narva 27a. This is the most convenient because it is the closest one to the dormitories for international students, and they offer discounted prices for membership if you subscribe for longer time periods. The facility is fully equipped with everything you might need for your workout, and also offers virtual training if you feel like doing it.
Visit their site at: https://www.lemongym.ee/en/tartu for complete information. Best Motivation: Do it with friends!
6. Best Motivation: Do it with Friends!
Badminton with friends. Photo Credit: Anthony Billones
The best way to keep you going is to do it with friends! It works as a great source of motivation, and at the same time an avenue to learn more about your colleagues, flatmates, or just fellow international students. Doing activities together enables us to meet people with similar interests, and build more connections.
And lastly, doing a bunch of all these stuff would not only keep us in shape physically, but also mentally. Exercise in any form improves our mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, which are some of the biggest problems the winter may bring. Right now, it is best that we start early, while the sun is still bright, in order to build a habit, so when winter comes, “the cold won’t bother you anyway”.
