A day in the life of a Strength and Conditioning with Rehabilitation student

For Sport Science students, every day is action packed with engaging seminars, practicals and extra-curricular activities, which leave me feeling proactive and determined to do more.

My day is supposed to begin at 8am but I snooze in until 8.30am, to finish my awesome dreams. I usually find myself rushing out of the house at 9am, with toast in my hand, commuting into university by car and train with my dad.

Practical sessions and lectures

I arrive to my first thrilling practical for 10am. It’s physiology and my team are conducting various clinical tests to support our client, Charlie, on his Couch to 5K journey.

One of our tests involves sprinting on a stationary bike for 30 seconds with 7.5% of your body weight added on as the resistance. Challenging but highly useful for us physiologists, as we gain vital insight into an individual’s cardiovascular functioning during exercise.

My lecture at 12pm is not solely composed of a lecturer talking at us for two hours. Instead, it consists of a carefully selected blend of teacher-led instruction and group work, with the aim of sharing ideas and research on the topic being discussed.

Today we are exploring theories around the topic of reflection and how we can use them to improve our coaching. So, I’m a scientist in the morning and a coach in the afternoon.

Notes and revision

I finish classes at 2pm, but my day is far from over. I go to study with my friends either in the University library or their accommodation. Working together usually goes one of two ways. We either get our notes taken or we end up talking for two hours, forgetting what we came together for. Today we got our notes taken. I knew we could do it!

Volunteering as a Wellbeing Mentor

At 4pm, I go to work as a Peer Wellbeing Mentor for the University. I love this job because I get to know so many great people. My role is to support my fellow students and be the bridge between other wellbeing services and the students.

We are based in the Students' Union, where we hold different sessions, such as movie nights, baking, hobbies and crafts, sports, or a combination of activities. I’ve assumed position as the DJ, by playing some music to liven the atmosphere. The music I've selected is Reggaeton and Afro-beats, my favourites. We also have Wii Sports, where I lose to everyone in bowling (the game does not like me) ping pong and cricket.

Heading home

It’s now 7pm and time for me to travel back home. I just about managed to get the 7.26pm train by walking fast, whilst listening to my music playlist. I reach my home at 8pm, to the aroma of my dad’s special chicken wings welcoming me in.

I hang out with my dad for a few hours, he’s got his Jack Daniel’s, I got my green tea (I only drink on special occasions) and then I pack my bags and get ready for bed. It has been a brilliant day and tomorrow I will make it better!

Lucas Negroni

Lucas studies at ARU in Cambridge. Find out more about Strength and Conditioning with Rehabilitation, and other degree courses, at one of our Open Days.