Fitness and Outdoor Activities

The basketball court in Olin Hall basement is a great place to play with fellow students. Our class quickly took to them by creating a group chat and playing each Friday. Further, the court was just recently renovated with new floors, and many students from outside of the medical program come to play as well. Unfortunately, many of my fellow classmates really provide no competition. Their defense completely collapses when I begin to space the floor with my superb three-point shooting and drive to the hoop with my ridiculous handles. However, one student, we will call him AB, is the worst of them all. AB frequently attempts to test my handles out on Olin’s newly refurbished court in one-on-one matchups. What he doesn’t have in skills, he makes up in determination as he haphazardly moves on the floor in what he claims is defense. Thankful he hasn’t had to test our great insurance plan out yet as he brings good shoes to the court where he ultimately gets his ankles broken by yours truly. Overall, the Olin Hall court provides a very fun and convenient space to play with friends, just don’t expect much competition.*

*Editorial comment: The writer of this article is clearly afflicted by grandiose delusions, and we are making every effort to get SM help on and off the basketball court.

Whether it be a supplement to your fitness routine or a cathartic way to release your stress after an exam, boxing is a great opportunity to break a sweat and get in shape. Boxing gyms available include The Boxing Gym, Saint Louis Boxing Club, and Sumers Rec Center on the Danforth Campus, all of which offer structured boxing and kickboxing classes. For those looking to branch out into other styles, Wise Warriors MMA and River-City Warriors MMA offers boxing as well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, etc. for the casual enthusiast to the aspiring amateur fighter. Since so many options are available, don’t hesitate to get your gloves on and hit the bag!

If you’ve never climbed before but are a little scared about trying it out, there are two important things to know:

1. The best climber isn’t the strongest, but the one having the most fun.
2. No, you don’t need to have upper body strength, like, at all, to start climbing.
   I started climbing in college, and coming from California I was totally spoiled by access to some of the best climbing in the world, from Joshua Tree to Yosemite. So I wasn’t exactly stoked on climbing in the notoriously flat Midwest. I couldn’t be happier to have completely changed my mind. The local climbing community in Saint Louis is awesome; everyone is so ridiculously supportive, and I’ve met almost as many new friends at the gym as I have at WashU (and students get a discounted membership at Climb SoiLL through the ClimbRx club!). For outdoor climbing, there’s a bunch of options depending on your schedule. A great area for newer climbers is Rockwood Reserve, only 25 minutes from the Central West End. Robinson Bluff is a great, recently developed area for rope climbing, about 1.5 hours south. The Holy Boulders in Southern Illinois have some of the best bouldering in the U.S., only two hours east. And the Red River Gorge in Kentucky is farther at six hours away, but well worth the trip. If you stay at Miguel’s, you’ll meet climbers from all over the world who have travelled to what is arguably the Mecca of sport climbing in the U.S. Best of all, there are lots of people excited to check out all these places with you! Whether you’ve been climbing for years or have never been more than two feet off the ground in your life, I hope you come rock out with us in Saint Louis. 🙂

As you might suspect, medical school students tend to be on the athletic, sporty side. As aspiring eSports athletes, I guess we’re also guilty of perpetuating this stereotype! Just like football and basketball, eSports are real sports too. One of our most formative childhood dreams was to become sweaty athletes in eSports, whether in League of Legends, Smash, Call of Duty, or Mario Party. Sometimes, medical school makes training (our real priority) tough, but we always try to make dedicated time to refine our techniques, join a tournament or two, and dunk on undergrad gamers. So, if you have time after studying, grab your gaming mouse, a bag of Doritos, and join us!

Floating — a quintessential Missouri activity. Float trips are a summer tradition where you take a raft and simply float down the river. Highlights include spending time with friends and classmates, unwinding in the beautiful and peaceful outdoors, and enjoying your favorite beverage. There are many companies that provide float trips on the several rivers within about an hour’s drive of St. Louis. So get ready to have a new favorite summertime activity!

Playing golf in Forest Park is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon in St. Louis! Personally, I’ve spent a lot of time at the Highlands, a 9-hole golf course located about half-mile from the Medical Campus. My classmates and I love to hit the driving range after class. A bucket of balls only costs $4-7, and the greens fees range from $15-22 (depending on the day of the week). But don’t be fooled by the low prices: The Highlands is perhaps one of the most nicely-maintained public courses I have ever played! The tee box of hole #7 has an especially beautiful view of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital that you don’t want to miss.

Living in St. Louis comes with access to a surprising number of hiking trails! Many trails are 20-30 minutes from St. Louis (my favorite is Castlewood State Park). However, there are also many hiking trails within a two-hour drive of St. Louis, like Taum Sauk Mountain State Park (the highest point in Missouri) or Elephant Rocks State Park; getting a group together for a road trip and hike is a great way to de-stress! If you want some inspiration from other hikers in Missouri, you can join the Missouri Hiking and Backpacking group on Facebook, where fellow hikers post pictures of their favorite spots in Missouri and make recommendations for places to go.

Do you think you peaked athletically in high school? I definitely thought I did. As it turns out, I was right. But that still does not have to stop you from doing what you love and hanging out with some friends while playing a game of volleyball, soccer, or basketball. WashU uses IMLeagues as its central platform to organize all its recreational sports leagues. The leagues are for any WashU-affiliated person, including undergraduate students or graduate/professional students. Whether you are trying to relive your glory days or want to hang out with friends, playing an intramural sport is an incredibly fun time and serves as a great study break. I have played on a couple of teams with my friends and made memories I will never forget. They have a wide range of sports for you to play, that change depending upon the time of the year, and it does not cost anything.

Though the exercise and proximity to the Medical Campus are a bonus, I’ve received things much more valuable from Kendo, a Japanese martial art. I started in undergrad, and have loved the emphasis on values beyond strength, like discipline, mindfulness, respect, speed, and skill. As we tell ourselves, “With only strength, even a monkey could kill you with a sword.” The club community has also been incredibly supportive and fun. The way of the sword is seldom walked alone, after all.

If you enjoy playing pickleball, Tower Grove Park has great courts and is only about a five-minute drive from campus (~20-minute walk). They have free open court times on weekends and it is a perfect place to go with friends for exercise and fun when the weather is nice. My Big likes to play pickleball, so we first met at Tower Grove Park and have been playing ever since.

I will never understand why St. Louis uses the Gateway Arch as its biggest sell when Forest Park is postcard-perfect. It’s even bigger than Central Park and right on the border of the Medical Campus. There are multiple asphalt, gravel, and mulch trails that you can run on, and you can even run through the zoo (it’s free admission). If you’re into trail running, there are multiple state parks within driving distance with well-maintained trails — it’s super fun to grab a couple classmates and make a day trip out of it. There are also plenty of road races happening year-round. The Missouri Cowbell (5k, 10k, half-marathon and marathon) happens in the beginning of September (so you still have time to consistently train) and is in St. Charles (~30-minute drive from campus). The course is super flat and fast! St. Charles itself has super cute small town vibes, so you also have the opportunity to explore around afterwards. If you don’t have a car, there’s also a lot of races that happen in Forest Park, which can help you branch off from your usual Forest Park route. Running has been a huge social activity for a lot of classmates, and we even have a Strava club to give each other encouragement. If you want to use running as your branch-out activity, there are also some community running clubs, such as Dogtown Running Club, that meet ~three times a week and have both short (~two mile), medium (~four mile), and long (~ten mile) routes. It’s a great opportunity to explore St. Louis and meet people outside of the medical school!

There are tons of opportunities to play soccer in St. Louis as a medical student! The Danforth Campus offers outdoor and indoor intramural soccer leagues depending on the season. There is almost always a medical student team, and it is free to join! Another opportunity to play outside of WUSM is through Vetta Sports, which has multiple indoor soccer domes in St. Louis and those leagues are pay-to-play.

As medical students at WashU, we have access to the recreational facilities on the Danforth Campus as well. Sumers Recreation Center, the main gym on the Danforth Campus, is just a 10-minute drive from the Central West End or Skinker/Debaliviere where most med students end up living. Not only is their collection of fitness machines massive, but they also offer the structure of free classes such as Zumba, cycle, kickboxing, and barre if you need a little help with your routine. Open swim hours and basketball/volleyball courts round out the wealth of resources they provide if you want a little change of pace for your workout.

Swimming has always been my preferred way to work out. I have been able to continue that so far in med school at the Sumers Athletic Center at the Danforth Campus, which has an eight-lane pool and diving well. Open swim hours are available everyday. A good swim is a great way to disconnect after a long day of class and studying. As medical students, we’re able to join the club swim and water polo teams. I joined the club water polo team, along with three M2s. It has been really fun to play the sport again and have team camaraderie while getting a great workout!

There are so many tennis players of all levels here at WashU! I would even say tennis is one of the most popular sports here. There are courts near the hospital within walking distance from most of us, and people also enjoy playing at Tower Grove and in Forest Park. Dr. Yau, one of our clinical skills mentors, is an avid tennis player, so he will join us with his kids sometimes. There is also a tennis league for anyone associated with WUSM that hosts clinics, tournaments, and casual hitting sessions. Whether you’re just getting into tennis or a seasoned professional, I guarantee that you will find a hitting partner here!

Getting involved with the ultimate Frisbee scene in St. Louis has been a highlight and I recommend it to all! There is a welcoming and established Frisbee community in St. Louis with a variety of intensity and levels. The St. Louis league has year round women’s, mixed, and open divisions and is easy to join. In the summer there are a couple competitive club teams you can try out for, and finally there is the Washington University team associated with the undergraduate program. Continuing to play here has given me a sense of familiarity in a new city and an active outlet. My big sib (M2 mentor), her big sib (M3) and I all played in the St. Louis league this fall together which was a lot of fun. In the spring, the competitive season for the Wash Uteam will begin and I look forward to playing!