Eating healthier, becoming more athletic and so on can be found every year again among the Top 5 New Year’s resolutions. However, several studies show sobering results. Already after 2 weeks (roughly now) the first ones will start dieing off again, in March 75 % of the resolutions are supposed to be forgotten.
Every one of us knows this: sometimes you are sporty, sometimes you are not. The causes are as diverse as the cultural diversity of the Imperial College. Exam phase stress, social projects or permanent events such as weddings, birthday etc. We live in a busy world.
Nonetheless, it is essential to constantly re-evaluate oneself and at least return to basic forms of exercise. Because even a bit of sport is better than none! Our body is designed for movement! It really doesn’t matter what you do. It’s just important that you do something!
After an acclimatisation period of no longer than 30 days, the internal resistances usually decrease. If not, the form of sport may not be right for you. But there are 12580 others you can try out! đ I got stuck in boxing ages ago and now I train several times a week in the gym, too. However, I also went through phases in which I only did yoga, for example, because I had too much to do. In fact, yoga is more strenuous than I thought it would be. And with continuity it also achieves the desired effects! Too expensive? Go for YoutubeYoga! Super explained and easy to imitate.
Fortunately, the Imperial College has recognized the importance of sport and provides its students with free access to fitness studios throughout the city. There is also an incredibly wide range of sporty activities on offer: from badminton and boxing to sailing boat trips, there is something to suit everyone’s taste.
With this in mind – stay active & donât give up on your goals for 2018! đ
In first year, when I walked past the rowing stall at the freshers fair I dismissed it with a simple “i’m not getting up that early, ever”. I’d always admired rowers for that, they seemed to train constantly, at godforsaken hours, yet still be on top of everything. I proceeded to waste most of my first year doing absolutely nothing. I didn’t get properly involved in any societies, didn’t make any great friends and in general spent far too much time messing around in halls and doing coursework than was strictly necessary.
This year, when I walked past the rowing stall I thought, if I can muster the discipline to handle this in my schedule, I’ll work more effectively and have teammates that I’d see regularly ( = friends!). On top of that, rowing is one of those sports that people do start at uni, so it was less daunting to pick up compared to something like basketball or tennis. To its credit, the Imperial boat club does have a really good program for beginners aka novices. This year also had a record intake, especially for girls meaning more opportunities in general.
My boat for the Quintin Head Race. Post race vibes – we embrace the lycra.
To start with there was 4 sessions a week, land and water training. If you’re a gym rat, rowing might be for you. We spend a large amount of time in the gym doing weights, circuits and dying on the erg (rowing machine). But we do it all to be better on the water, and thats where the real learning curve is. Learning all the jargon, the technique, how to handle the blade, move up and down the boat (yes the seats do move, that was a surprise to me), how to transfer power from your movements into the water to move the boat. It’s much less stable than a rowing machine, the boat needs to be balanced, the water can be rocky, and every stroke is different.
Then there’s keeping in sync with the rest of the people in the boat. First, you wrap your head around all the things you’re supposed to be doing. Then, you have to be doing it all at the same time as the person in front of you. Its literally the definition of team bonding. We have to “become one” (cheesy I know), no one person can carry the team, but if one person slacks off everyone can feel it. At times, the environment can become a tad competitive as people try to get into better boats or preferred seats. For me, it seems unnecessary in a novice crew, but it is good motivation to work hard and turn up to training.
I was warned when I joined rowing, its a cult. Its easy to become obsessed, suddenly it takes over your life and it seems just so important. On one hand, thats what I was after, something to take up a large amount of my time outside my degree, after all what better way is there to make friends but to see them everyday. On the other hand, I quickly had to learn to put it all in perspective. It’s still just a sport, an extracurricular, I can’t just dismiss everything else, especially my degree.
a diagrammatic depiction of my life balancing struggles
Nowadays, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if I wasn’t rowing. Once you realise you can handle your coursework on top of all those commitments, it opens doors to all these opportunities you never considered before. Literally, procrastinating less is difficult when you have hours to spare, but give yourself less opportunity to procrastinate and you’ll be surprised what you can fit in. In fact, you get used to a certain level of stress and business, and when things quieten down you find yourself a little bit lost…
Get out there, go do the things you enjoy, find some new experiences. Uni can be stressful, what with trying to do well in your degree, applying left right centre to jobs and internships, it can seem counter-intuitive to pile more on. As a compulsive perfectionist I found it hard to let go of combing through every assignment 10 times, and spending as many hours as I could fit in on a coursework that really should only take 2 hours. Trust in your abilities, accept your limits and don’t make too many sacrifices for some obscure future gain. Thats my motto for this year, and its going well so far!
For most of us that came to Imperial we were the geeks of our schools- the hardworking âsciencyâ ones. Our individualities and personal quirks were built around this fact. However because everyone has passed the same interview to get into here it means that everyone is a hardworking, science geek with lots of hobbies. Â So how can we stand out and become individual all over again? What are the new stereotypes you can choose from as an Imperial Medic Fresher? (Note: You may be more than one!)
Bollywood Back Row- You know who you are. We know who you are. You will either catch them asleep in the back row after a late night out at PI or discussing an event happening at another London University. Occasionally you will catch them practicing a dance before a CX lecture.
If you see them: They will probably offer you a ticket to something assuring you it will be the best night evaaa!
Drinking Game Addicts- Donât get me wrong, I love a good drinking game. But some medic freshers are addicted to making every situation turn into a drinking game. Whether you are watching a film, listening to a song or en route to a lecture there are always rules for when you should âdrinkâ. I was once approached by a DGA yelling âLATE FINEâ at me for being a few minutes late to leave for lecturesâŚat 8:30am.
If you see them: Run if you hear the words âHigh Ballâ.
Medics who donât want to be Medics: You wonât ever see them except in lectures. They have already decided that the medic life is not for them and have slid into IC activities. In 3 or 4 years when their IC friends have graduated they will probably returnâŚmuhahaha.
If you see them: Shout ICSM. Loudly.
Membership Collectors- Part of every society and attending every talk these freshers have really dived into university extra-curriculars. Their day is filled with lectures and then hours of clubs until they collapse for 2 hours sleep. They will often be complaining about how âstressedâ they are and how they have âno time to do anythingâ despite the fact they have opted to do every single club themselves.
If you see them: You probably wonât see them, letâs be honest.
âSportyâ Girls- There are sporty girls and there are sporty sporty girls. The latter love sitting in a circle and are known for being able to avoid the number 21. They look their best on Wednesday nights and their worst on Thursday mornings.
If you see them: Make sure they get home safely.
âSportyâ Boys- Living in halls with some of these sporty boys has given me an insight into their interesting behaviours. For example, it has become acceptable for them to walk back to halls at 8am with no shoes and no one will question them. If you think you are low on money, check the sporty fresher boysâ bank accounts! You can usually recognise a sporty boy because they will probably be dressed as a girl.
If you see them: Offer to help them find their dignity.
Freshers FB Groupers– Before they had even started university they were writing on the facebook group everydayâŚand now a term in they are still finding it hard to stop posting. They have to refrain from asking âwhat is everyone doing tonight?â or âwho is going to lectures today?â because this has now become socially unacceptable.
If you see them: Take their laptop and phone away from them. Please.
The Hall Snapchatters– These medic freshers are obsessed with their halls. They are also obsessed with snapchats. Their hobbies are either chilling in their halls common room, snapchatting in their halls common room or snapchatting out in public with friends from halls. Letâs not forget the âkitchen partiesâ they have which normally consist of a few people awkwardly cooking whilst 20 or so students snapchat.
If you see them: Donât give them your snapchat username.
Good Medics- (Yes, Mum and Dad, this is my category I promise).You can spot a good medic as they will be answering and asking questions in lectures, reading up on lectures before the lecture or will be awake on a Thursday morning. They will also come to the tutorial 20 minutes early to explain the tutorial to everyone else, and will be the only ones who can find the âonâ button on the microscope in practicals. Good medics are the backbone to fresher medics and everyone loves them.
If you see them: Sit diagonally behind them in lectures so you can see their notes on their laptop.
If you donât fall into any of these categories then no need to be alarmed, you are probably just very hipster. If you fit into more than one category then be very proud as you are a versatile creature. I am very intrigued to see how fresher stereotypes change over the years at medical school though.
