With the winter semester drawing to a close, many students are focusing their efforts on writing papers and studying for finals, and perhaps giving little thought as to how they intend to stay fit and active during the summer break. Despair not, there is still plenty of time to figure that out and here are a few ideas to give your brain a break and your muscles a workout.

Running is a great way to stay in shape. The beautiful thing about it is its simplicity: it hardly requires any equipment — except running shoes and comfortable clothes. The only rule you have to follow is to continuously put one foot in front of the other until you reach the finish line. Running can be done wherever you go so long as you have a route in mind, and it is only as competitive as you make it.

Running is not necessarily a solo activity either and can actually be quite social. There are a variety of clubs throughout Saskatoon that give runners the chance to get together and run. Joining a group is a great way to meet new people, stay motivated, get tips on how to improve your race times and learn about upcoming road race opportunities.

There are two road races taking place in Saskatoon in the near future. The Saskatoon Police Half Marathon will be held on May 1, and the Saskatchewan Marathon will take place in the city on May 29. Both races offer runners the choice to choose the distance that they would like to run, so if it seems daunting to run a full marathon (42-kilometres) or a half marathon (21-kilometres), runners can opt to do a more-manageable 10-kilometre or 5-kilometre distance.

If running for the sake of running does not appeal to you, there are plenty of off-campus recreational sports in Saskatoon to choose from. Joining a rec team is a great way to try a new sport, stay active and meet new people. The Saskatoon Rec League has a variety of sports that are currently open for registration including flag football, ultimate Frisbee, outdoor soccer and slo-pitch.

According to the SRL, the goal of the league is to provide sports opportunities to young adults with a focus on socialization instead of competition. Students can register for sports as individuals, as part of a group or as an entire team. However, with more focus on socialization than competition, it may be a little counterproductive to your fitness goals if you end up doing a lot of partying as a result of joining a rec team — unless your fitness goal is to use sports as a conduit to find more parties. In that case, go nuts.

If you prefer to avoid running and team sports but still want to get a good workout, meet new people and have fun, another option to consider is joining a martial arts gym. There are quite a few in Saskatoon, including Scheer’s Martial Arts, Momentum Martial Arts and Diekema Martial Arts, with a variety of different martial arts to choose from.

If you like to grapple and toss people around, you might enjoy Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, or wrestling  — just be warned that you might get tossed yourself. If you want to stand up and spar, consider boxing, kickboxing, muay thai or another striking art. Most mixed martial arts gyms provide opportunities for both grappling and striking. 

A word of caution: martial arts gyms tend to be a bit expensive. Most gyms charge their members a monthly fee which can add up quickly. Also, you may need to buy gear, like a gi, mouth guards, leg guards, gloves and head protection. Nevertheless, martial arts are very rewarding and can be a blast.

This is not even close to a comprehensive list of possible fitness activities, but just a few ideas. The important thing to remember is to be unafraid to go out and try something new, take fitness with you wherever you go and to have fun above all else.

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Image: Lesia Karalash