Last modified 15.3.2011 at 13:24

Move your body - so your mind works better

Text: Anni Jyrinki Photos: Milan Kolarovic

Enjoy jogging or swimming? Or how about a nice bowling contest with friends? Forget studying for a while and move your body.

Jogging is extremely cheap hobby. You only need sneakers and you're ready to go. Bottle of water can be necessary for longer runs.

Long day in the lecture room, studying at home and many hours by the computer. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? For your body and mind it would be necessary to have some change. Staying fit is important, so you are able to concentrate on studying as focussed as possible. In the City of Oulu you can find numerous different kinds of spare time activities. Some of them are totally free and many are very suitable for student’s wallet.

Going for a run

Enjoy Finland's fresh and clean nature while your health gets better and better.

Running and jogging are free of charge. All you need are good sneakers. Put them on and open the door. It is so easy.

But maybe running in the city centre doesn’t sound so tempting. Asphalt is not the best possible ground for running in open-air. But you won’t have to go far from the centre to find more suitable places to enjoy this activity.

All parks offer nice surroundings to joggers. Pay a visit to Ainola Park or to Hietasaari. Those are enjoyable for runners. Check them out on the City of Oulu Map Service.

City of Oulu has also lots of sawdust tracks. They are well marked and you can find them from the City of Oulu website (service in Finnish).

Near to the city centre you can find for example jogging routes in Raksila and Heinäpää. Sawdust track in Iinatti is worth trying, too.

Dip in the pool

Swimming raises your physical condition in many ways. It shapes your body and your oxygen intake gets better. Water is a great element because it gives you resistance but supports you at the same time.

From Oulu you can find two swimming halls. One from Raatti and one from Raksila.

The swimming hall in Raatti is closed at the moment. But it will be open again next year. Swimming hall in Raksila is one of the biggest and most popular swimming halls in Finland. From there you can find also a cafe, a gym and a couple of other kind of rooms for indoor sports. This Swimming hall is open Monday to Friday from 6:15 to 22:00 and on weekends from 8:00 to 17:45. For students swimming is remarkably cheap. Ticket costs only 2.10 euros.

Together with friends

Running and swimming are sports, which you usually do alone. But how about hanging out with friends at the bowling alley?

Bowling is fun but it’s also a great sport. And it isn’t as difficult as it may seem first. In Oulu there is a bowling alley in Heinäpää (website in Finnish).

This alley is open every day, also on weekends. It’s highly recommended that you book a track in good time before going there. Booking is possible for example by phone.

All equipment you need for bowling can be rented from the alley. In this hall there are 24 alleys. And on every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening there is a so called "shimmer bowling". This means that lights are of and only some shiny lights are on. At the same time chilling music echoes in the alley.