Five Tips for Staying Healthy & Active Abroad

This past week was all about health and wellness here at CEA Seville! The CEA Center hosted its once-a-semester SHOUT week, which stands for Seville Healthy Outdoor University Training. There are all kinds of fun excursions held, including everything from kayaking to yoga.

Keeping up with your physical health can be a daunting task while studying abroad; many students already feel like they have so much on their plate. Now that I’ve gotten into the groove of things, I’d love to share my simple tricks of incorporating fitness into my everyday life here. Here are five easy ways to stay healthy and active abroad:

Take advantage of local activities.

Many cities have some type of geographical feature that allows for a unique exercise opportunity.  If there is a river, chances are you can find a way to go boating! For mountainous areas, hiking is a great way to explore and exercise at the same time. CEA often offers chances for students to participate in these common local recreation activities, so be on the lookout!

Just keep walking!

If you’re someone who likes keeping track of their daily step count, you will love living abroad. Day-to-day life in a big city means lots of commuting by foot. On top of that, you will be walking mostly everywhere when traveling around to different countries. 

Biking, biking, and more biking!

When I’m not walking from place to place, my preferred mode of transportation is biking.  Here in Seville, you can purchase a bike rental pass that gives you access to rental bikes all around the city. It’s a great way to stay active while also getting around a little faster. 

Find ways to incorporate your normal fitness routine.

In Europe, people are constantly active. I am always hopping out of the way of joggers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, etc. If you are someone who has a predetermined fitness routine at home, you will have plenty of resources to maintain that schedule abroad. As soon as I arrived in Spain, my host mother recommended several great gyms just in my neighborhood! Whether it’s finding a local yoga studio or tracing out a running course through the park, you will have no problem keeping up with your regimen.

Eat like a local.

My host country, Spain, was just declared the healthiest country in the world, according to the 2019 Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index. European countries rank high in these statistics in part because of their diet. The Mediterranean diet is particularly healthy with its emphasis on vegetables and lack of red meat -- and with farmer’s markets everywhere, it’s easy to keep up with the healthy eating!