Even if you’re not an incoming student and are well on your way to completing a degree, it takes a while to learn about all the different health and athletic related options and programs available to you as a U of T student.
Thankfully, the University of Toronto has several facilities and even more programs to help students——— — incoming frosh and fourth years alike — maintain a balance between academic performance and physical health.
The most important thing to remember is that membership to many facilities on campus are included in your tuition — so there’s no excuse not to partake. However, the use of different facilities can vary according to the campus at which you are enrolled.
Many facilities are designed in a way that caters to the athletic, as well as academic pursuits of students. The Athletic Center offers drop-in and registered fitness programs, a 200m running track, study spaces, classrooms, and labs for a pre- or post-workout homework session.
The facility has also been known to host “Frosh Fit,” a program geared towards getting apprehensive first-year students involved in the different fitness programs available to them. The program provides students with the basics of fitness as well as visits from certified nutritionists who can help with a healthy diet.
The brand new Goldring Centre also has a special “Bod Pod” program, which allows you to measure your body composition, while also evaluating various statistics such as signs of overtraining and workout program effectiveness. You can even get a personal nutritional plan made and get your likelihood of injury evaluated in the same session.
Staying psychologically fit is another facet of health, which various athletic and recreation facilities at U of T can help you maintain and improve.
The U of T Campus Health Initiative (CHI) is an important resource for students who want to become healthy — with the prior knowledge that health is a diverse term that will vary from person to person.
The Mental Health & Physical Activity Research Centre (MPARC) is another exciting addition to the facilities at U of T, catering to students’ mental and physical health.
Scheduled for completion this year, MPARC will be a revolutionary facility not only for U of T researchers, but for students who are placed on the long waitlist for mental health services, to receive the help they need.
With the sheer number of services and programs U of T has to offer, you won’t have a hard time finding one that’s right for you.
