Uni, as expected, has come back with a bang. And with it brings a whole bunch of new stresses and assignments.

The good news is, we know how to relieve some of that stress with our favourite F-word – fitness! Get good grades and get into good shape with our definitive tips below.

Why Exercise? 

Research has shown time and time again that there is a strong correlation between mental wellbeing and exercise. When you exercise, your body releases certain “happy hormones” known as endorphins which can help to calm your body down; the perfect natural stress-reliever for when uni is getting too intense.

Exercise has also been proven to improve your sleep, self-esteem and can sometimes assist in lessening the symptoms of anxiety and depression. So how can you score that rocking bod and feel awesome while doing it? 

Incidental Exercise

By far the easiest way to stay fit is by partaking in incidental exercise. This is all about incorporating fitness your every day life– like, parking further away from your classes so that you can burn more calories from the longer walk.

The key with incidental exercise is keeping it simple. Swap out the places you normally drive to by walking or cycling. You’ll find yourself in better shape than ever without drastically changing your routine!

Sign Up To The Uni Gym

Gym memberships are a great way to motivate yourself to stay fit. Many fitness clubs offer additional facilities like specialised classes and swimming pools so you can find something fun to get your body moving.

An even better idea is to sign up to the gym at your uni. Not only do they offer reasonably priced memberships for students, you can use time between, before or after classes to break a sweat.

If you’re time-poor like many of us uni students are, we suggest choosing a regular time and routine to keep yourself accountable. As an extra challenge we think that you should try working out as soon as you wake up so that you can be absolutely buzzing off those endorphins for the rest of the day.

Track Your Progress 

Sometimes if you’re only making small changes to your lifestyle it can be difficult to see if you’re actually making progress. This is why we suggest tracking the days you exercise with either a fitness app, journal or sports band.

Some devices like the Apple Watch or FitBit will tell you things like how many hours you’ve stood up, how many minutes of exercise you’ve completed and how many calories you’ve burned that day. It’ll also track your steps – you won’t realise how self-competitive you really are until you try to reach 10,000 by the end of each day.

You can even share your activity with your friends and see who is burning the most calories or doing the most steps. Nothing like a bit of healthy competition to get the ball rolling.

Don’t Go It Alone

Have a chat to your mates and make fitness something fun you can do outside of uni hours. It definitely helps to have the support of a pal when you’re lacking in the motivation department.

You could also try joining one of your uni’s sports teams or clubs. It’s not only a great way to meet people but an awesome way to discover a new passion.

Stay Consistent

The most important thing you can do to maintain fitness on and off campus is to be consistent.

Working out once a month isn’t going to make much of a difference to your health and wellbeing long-term. Make it a daily or three times a week routine to get the most out of working out.

What are you waiting for? Get off the couch and get to work!

(Lead image: The Office/NBC)