Keeping Healthy Habits Abroad

Greeting from Warsaw! Today is a great day for many reasons. First off, the winter blues has finally subsided. It is extremely warm and sunny; you wouldn’t believe how many more people are outside walking and riding their bikes. Secondly, the second (no pun intended) metro line finally opened. I found it incredible that the entire city of Warsaw only had one metro line up until now. Apparently this second metro line was supposed to open in 2012. Three years later… better late than never. Especially since it makes my ride to the University faster now!

I wanted to dedicate this post to people who are concerned with a healthy lifestyle. I know I most definitely was most concerned about gaining weight when going abroad. You are exposed to new foods and new lifestyles (hmm not referring to the Polish’s massive drinking culture). One of my biggest concerns was finding a place to exercise. In the USA, I always spent part of my days going to the gym whether it was a class or just cardio on my own. It is important to me, and I was quite worried I would lose this habit once I moved abroad.

Luckily every future prospect for the GlobalMBA is in good hands! There is this incredible student deal called a “Be Active” Card. For only 99 PLN a month (this is 25 USD), students receive access to over 15 gyms throughout the city. It is perfect because sometimes I use the gym nearest to my house, while at other times I use the gym in between classes near the Faculty of Management. The only problem concerns activating the card. You need to befriend one of your fellow Polish MBA students and ask if they can purchase the Be Active card on their bank account. Of course you pay them back afterwards (Thanks Dominika).

It was the most interesting to me when test trialing the variety of gyms that were part of the program. Most were typical gyms where you can access cardio machines and group workouts. There was one exception though: Mokotow Fitness Palace. This is actually my favorite place to work out. There literally are chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and artwork hanging from the walls. I almost feel like a chandelier will fall from the ceiling while I am running on a treadmill. Seriously I am not kidding. I have obviously provided pictures of the palace, but they do not due the gym justice. I guess you just need to purchase your very own Be Active card once you arrive in Poland, and then you can see for yourself!