By Lilja Flohr
Whether at the gym or on the sports field, exercise is part of campus life for many students. But this also puts new strain on the body and it is important to remember that more exercise at university does not automatically mean better health. Here are a few tips on how to stay healthy and safe when exercising.
Nikita Gerber, a biokineticist at the practice Mandie Le Roux Biokineticist in Melkbosstrand, gave Die Matie insight into different tips and services for recovery and regeneration.
The most common recovery mistake Gerber sees students make “is not recovering at all. People have too few rest days and only rest when they are already in pain”. She says, “The importance of recovery cannot be measured.” As it is “where your muscles recover and build”, recovery is extremely important in maintaining long-term physical and mental health, especially for active students. She highlights how “your body is part of your degree. Take care of it and it will take care of you.”
For students dealing with overtraining or physical exhaustion, Gerber mentions a few different options, including “a physiotherapist, a biokineticist and especially a sports psychologist, which is helpful when a student has emotional and physical burnout”. She clearly advises students to make use of biokenetic services “with regard to preventing injury […] because with biokinetics [they] assess the whole body and assess muscle imbalances which could cause injury”.
Stellenbosch University (SU) also offers a larger support system to help you prevent and take care of injuries. Samantha Brits is the Fitness Manager at Maties Gymnasium and explains how it “works closely with SU’s health and sports teams to keep students fit and injury-free”. The facility “is co-located with physiotherapists right next door”, which makes it possible for more “students to get medical screenings and injury rehab”.
She agrees with Gerber, explaining how smart and efficient recovery “preserves a human’s long-term fitness and well-being, whereas skipping it can leave even the most active individual sidelined or exhausted”. The biggest mistakes she sees in students’ recoveries are “not taking enough rest days, lack of sufficient sleep, poor nutrition or overtraining”. While Maties gym “itself does not offer specific resources for burnout”, a good prevention measure is “that all new members have the opportunity to get a tailored program specifically to their individual needs”.
Brits advises students to always “schedule their recovery days, prioritise rest, hydrate and fuel their body, and, lastly, manage their stress levels”.
