We’re well into February now, and maybe, just maybe, you’re starting to get sick of being stuck in your student accommodation with nothing to do. Plus, it’s about the time of year where people start either cancelling their gym memberships or seriously considering their Great North Run training regime.
Newcastle Parkrun
For some of you, a 5k run might sound like your own personal version of hell. However, the weekly Newcastle Parkrun is timed, free and aimed at encouraging you to run at your own pace.
Now, don’t be put off by the fact that it’s run at 9am every Saturday in Exhibition Park – this is a convenient location for those of you looking at (or living in) student accommodation around Claremont Road area, Jesmond or at student flats near Castle Leazes.
That’s not to say this is a Newcastle-students-only event! People come from all over the place to do the Parkrun, so even if you can’t hack the idea of an early Saturday morning walk across town, your student accommodation being in Northumbria-student-saturated Shieldfield or city centre halls isn’t an excuse.
Find out more by visiting the Parkrun Facebook page here, and get started by registering for free on the website.
Cycling
If you’re looking for an excuse to stay snuggled up in your duvet, tucked away in your cosy student accommodation bedroom, look no further than choosing to cycle to lectures!
Newcastle is a great city for cycling, with multiple Council-backed programmes in place that both encourage people to cycle and aim to guarantee their safety and protection.
And anyway, cycling round Newcastle on a gorgeous sunny day may be an absolute treat, but it’s also a lifesaver on those awful windy mornings we get so often.
You’ll also save a tonne of money by choosing a bike over the Metro, and if you leave early enough, you can stop off at the Cycle Hub at the bottom of the Ouseburn Valley on your way into town from student accommodation based further out in Jesmond, Sandyford, or Heaton.
Yoga
All this talk of intensive exercise starting to make you sweat? Choosing yoga instead might just be a step in the right direction. Now, that’s not to say it’s not challenging, but you can do it from the comfort of your student accommodation, and best of all – it’s free!
There are loads of yoga classes based in and around Newcastle city centre.
However, if you’re looking for some no-frills, free tutorials before you start investing in what will likely be a lot of panting and sweating with a bunch of other amateurs and an overly enthusiastic tutor, we recommend checking out some basic videos on YouTube. Try this one and also this to get you started.
Gyms
Alright, we understand that some of you need to walk into a proper gym and come out having “felt the burn” to really prove to yourself that you’ve done a workout.
The thing is, gym memberships can be expensive, and grunting loudly as you get those reps in late at night in your student flat can lead to some awkward side-eyes at breakfast the next morning.
Thankfully, both universities have their own gyms for students, with heavily subsidised student memberships.
Newcastle University’s Gold membership gives you access to the gym, all sports centre activities, exercise classes, intramural sports programmes and the opportunity to train and play for the uni teams. Interested? For an annual fee of £189, all of the above can be yours! Find out more here.
Northumbria University students can pay either an annual fee of £199 or a monthly direct debit of £24/26 (depending on the term dates that year).
For this price, you’ll get access to the gym, the pool, sauna, steam room, exercise classes, a discount on booking facilities privately, discounts off Club and team memberships and a BUCS universal membership, which gives you access to 57 gyms across the country. See more here.
We understand that training alongside your fellow students might not be the most appealing idea. You already share student accommodation and lecture halls with them, not to mention nightclubs, McDonald’s at 3 in the morning and the queue in Topshop during the mid-season sale.
There are a number of other gyms in Newcastle that offer student memberships. Here are a few:
- Puregym – up to 30% off fixed term memberships for 6, 9, or 12 months OR 10% of no contract, monthly memberships (use UNiDAYS)
- Xercise4less – memberships from £12.99 (use UNiDAYS)
- Thegym – full membership from £16.99
Student Accommodation in Newcastle | Exchange Residential
We hope this article helped you realise that really, getting fit in Newcastle on a student budget doesn’t have to be expensive. After all, if you can shell out for a Netflix subscription every month, buying a helmet once and borrowing your dad’s bike to zip to lectures shouldn’t be much of a problem.
And if you’re looking for somewhere to live, you’re in the right place! Exchange Residential has a massive portfolio of student accommodation in Newcastle, and we can meet any budget or location preference.