The idea of studying abroad as an athlete can sound pretty daunting at first. However, from personal experience, I can tell you that it doesn’t have to be hard. At my home university in Florida, I row as a D1 athlete. While the first few weeks studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence were a little confusing, I feel like I am getting the hang of things now, so let's talk about what my days look like while studying in France and staying fit.  

My gym has workout rooms with projectors so that you can take workout classes without the higher price (and there’s English options!). I looove getting to feel like I’m biking in the mountains. 

Me and another CEA CAPA student meet at the gym often to run or lift weights together. 

There was a group trip through our university that had the option to pedal boat through the Gorges of Verdon. Definitely much harder than I thought it would be! 

Rowing on the water in my host city was unfortunately not an option, so my next best option was to find a gym with a rowing machine. One of the CEA CAPA staff members was able to help a group of us find an amazing gym right by our apartments, and she got us a great deal. This has been great because I love all the amenities that the gym has and that they are open both early and late to work well with my schedule on any day. Also, since multiple CEA CAPA students signed up, many of us have gone together. Coming from a team sport, I’ve really missed having a team to workout with, so I love getting to go with a group of other CEA CAPA students to make it more fun. 

This was the amazing view of the Gorges of Verdon that we couldn’t access without our pedalboat.  

CEA CAPA took us on an overnight trip to Nice. During the trip we went on a beautiful hike with lots of stairs up to this waterfall. 

My host city, Aix-en-Provence has a large produce market each day. This makes it very easy to cook lots of healthy recipes. 

Outside of the gym, I love getting to use traveling as a way to get in workouts. Getting to run through new places or climb lots of stairs at big monuments like the Eiffel Tower are amazing ways to cross trains, see new places, and keep workouts interesting.  

Most university rowing teams use a 6,000-meter piece on the rowing machines to evaluate fitness. I like to do the same test piece at the same time as my team back home to make sure that my workouts are helping me get faster. 

I love going to row at my gym early in the mornings because it is very empty and relaxing. 

When I’m not in the gym, cooking or finding food that will help me reach my training goals has been super easy here. Aix-en-Provence has a produce market that is open every day, and it’s very cheap in comparison to produce at home. I also enjoy getting to try and make higher-protein versions of French recipes. Crepes with protein powder in the batter have been a very big hit in my kitchen.  

Learning to cook different recipes with more protein has been a lot of fun. Each week I try to plan at least one new meal to create. 

I traveled to Paris for a few days so instead of using the Stairmaster at the gym, I used the stairs up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. The view at the top made it worth it! 

My last tip for other student-athletes studying abroad would be to stay connected with your teams back home. Getting to facetime teammates and coaches has been a great way for both me and them to share about not only workouts but also things going on in our lives.  

This blog was written by  Samantha Plumb, a CEA CAPA Content Creator from Stetson University, and studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France.