It’s finally fall in Stockholm! The leaves are changing, it’s getting cold outside, and all of a sudden I have the urge to rewatch Gilmore Girls.
October hit and all of a sudden everyone was bundled up in warm coats, hats, and scarves…meanwhile, I am trying to hold off on the warm clothes for as long as possible (perhaps to my detriment because the last few evenings it’s been way colder than I expected).
^fall at Drottningholm palace, which I visited the other day
With these signs of fall comes the realization that I’ve been here for over 6 weeks (what?) In this time, I feel like I’ve gotten into some routines for mornings, school, and (as this post is about) workouts. I’m someone that enjoys and looks forward to exercising, and I’m used to going to the gym regularly when at my home university. However, this semester, I opted not to join a gym, and instead supplement running near my housing with a few more social ways of moving my body…
The first is a run club: Stockholm Run Club (instagram: @stockholmrunclub). I found their instagram through the Stockholm half marathon (I wrote about my experience here!), and I’ve been going to sessions when I can ever since. This run club has been one of my favorite parts of Sweden, and I feel like it’s been so good at getting me out of the DIS “bubble.”
I’ve never been a part of a running club before or ran in a group bigger than a few people, and I have to say, I was missing out. SRC is truly the highlight of my Tuesdays (which are filled with classes) and my Sunday mornings. Everyone I’ve met there has been so nice and friendly and welcoming.
It’s been fun to chat with new people on runs (from all over the world) and to see different parts of the city through running. I always find myself smiling during runs; there’s a real sense of community as we run through the streets of Kungsholmen together or (in the case of this past Tuesday) run intervals in the rain. If you’re someone that is at all interested in running, I would 110% recommend going to a session (which they always post about on Instagram). It’s totally free, there’s no commitment to go to more than one session, and there’s usually multiple different pace groups. This kind of sounds like an ad, but I promise it is actually that fun and I love it so much.
Secondly: SSIF, Stockholms Studenters Idrottsförening (Stockholm Students’ Sports Association), which is an organization for students (or anyone) in Stockholm to do lots of different workout classes. I found out about this organization before coming to Stockholm when I was reading through past student bloggers’ posts and came across this one (which has way more info about SSIF, and I’d recommend reading if you’re curious). They partner with DIS to give DIS students a discount, so the whole semester is only 500 SEK for up to 6 classes a week (a deal!)
I haven’t gone to too many SSIF classes yet, but the ones I have been to have been a lot of fun (I love BodyPump specifically). There are so many different classes I’m hoping to try, from gymnastics to yoga to boxing, and it’s been a fun way to branch out of my comfort zone a little in terms of fitness. I’ve enjoyed talking to other students doing the classes (lots of international students studying at Stockholm university) and also moving my body in new ways.
Whether you’re somewhere new (or somewhere you’ve always been), I encourage you to branch outside of the familiar. Explore your city and find something you’re interested in and try it out, whether it’s exercise related or not–you might just find your new community.