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Li Xuan

May 10th, 2022

Three workouts for exhausted students

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Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Li Xuan

May 10th, 2022

Three workouts for exhausted students

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

If you find that you’re always in a mood, after a long day of studying, where you just cannot find the strength to drag yourself to the gym or let alone to ‘getcha head in the game’ as we all know too well from our High School Musical phase 16 years ago (gasp, has it really been that long?), try one of these workouts!

Yoga

The word yoga derives from the Sanskrit root ‘Yuj’, meaning “to join” or “to unite”. Hence, its practice links individual consciousness with Universal Consciousness, indicating a perfect harmony between the mind and body. In particular, the breathing techniques help you exert any unwanted stress and negative energy so it’s a great activity to do when you want to disconnect from reality for a while. While Bikram and Ashtanga are typically more intense forms, Vinyasa yoga is more suited to newbies. In the winter, and when you’ve become less of a novice with the exercise, it’ll probably be worth trying a hot yoga class. The room’s temperature is adjusted to reach humid conditions, which helps to artificially warm up your muscles faster and make them more flexible.

Running on grass

As we get older, we find ourselves getting injured more easily or complaining about aches more often. Hence, it’s even more important we take the necessary precautions to prevent this from happening in the first place. Ever wonder what it’s like to have a soft landing that doesn’t put that much stress on your knees or feet?

Perhaps, you should try going back to the good old days of being a child where all sporting activities were done in a grassy terrain. It should start to make sense now why we were never allowed on concrete or harder surfaces which could increase the chances of us scraping or grazing our legs if we fell. Overall, running on grass has shown to place less stress on our musculoskeletal systems in comparison to rougher textures like asphalt. Plus, you could even go barefoot and soak up the benefits of nature. And if you absolutely love the raw smell of fresh grass, you’ll find yourself with an added de-stressing bonus!

Swimming

Swimming is and has always been one of my favourite workouts. It’s an absolute all-rounder that exercises every muscle in your body helping you to build strength while building your endurance and cardiovascular health. The only downside, I would say, is that being in the UK, where the winter days are long, you’d have to rely on an indoor pool and you’d have to always shower immediately afterwards instead of just being able to pat yourself down with a towel. One way to make this work to your advantage is to plan your swim sessions to coincide with your shower routine, so either first in the morning or later in the evening.

Another great thing about swimming is that it’s versatile and can be especially interesting for beginners as you have four strokes to choose from (freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly). If you’re introverted, the environment in a swimming pool is perfect because you don’t have to compete with anyone and can do things at your own pace, especially if you have your own lane.

About the author

Li Xuan

A Malaysian Borneo native studying MSc Environment and Development. Given my multicultural upbringing, I speak 6 languages which is partly why I chose the LSE and its very international student body! I'm also a R'n'B/soul/jazz fanatic.

Posted In: Student life

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