Whatever you do on a night out though, make sure you do NOT drink rose or alcopops; these are for girls and girly men (not to mention very high in sugar). When you’re on a night out chances are you’ll be dancing too which means you’ll be burning calories right away from throwing your arms around like a crazy person. The more wild the dancing the better so don’t shy away from looking like an idiot (I once took it too far by doing lunges on the dance floor… not cool, and it resulted in a badly twisted ankle to boot).

When you leave the club or union you’re also going to be feeling rather hungry as a wave of the munchies sets in. Don’t head for that greasy kebab shop however, but instead capitalise on this hunger pang by heading to Subway and ordering a foot long tuna sub with extra tuna. It’s healthy and it’s protein-a-licious. Again it will also help combat against the hangover far more than a kebab will. At the very least go somewhere you can get a chicken burger, or wait until you get home and cook yourself up something healthy. And where possible opt to walk – it’s yet more of a chance to burn off calories, get some fresh air and start sobering up before you get home. Furthermore it will save you money on a cab; money which can then be spent on a protein shake or more cans of tuna! This will also help you if you have a day of heavy lifting ahead. The good news is that bodybuilding will help you to get drunk more quickly, so you’ll save money and calories just from working out!

Working out or staying fit can also be a social event in itself. If you go to the gym with a friend it’s a great way to build a great and close friendship, one normally shared only between soldiers fighting together on the front line. Alternatively or additionally try joining a club or society that’ll help you stay fit such as a rowing club, a swimming club, a football club, a karate club or a gymnastic club; all of them will help you to stay fit and strong. I personally took up rock climbing which is a fantastic workout for the whole body, particularly the forearms and lats. Like most university clubs and societies rock climbing had an active and fun social scene and the committee members organised a host of camping trips, pub crawls, trips to the cinema and more. I met a lot of good friends through rock climbing and in this case alone trying to stay fit and healthy actually enriched my experience of Uni rather than taking away from it. I actually considered at one point making my own society of gym-goers and bodybuilders to help people find training partners and to be able to go on nights out with a troop of the henchest guys where we could pull off party tricks such as lifting cars and doing hand stand press ups on the dance floor. The problem was that like most students, I was chronically lazy.

Another aspect of training at Uni that can be difficult is finding the time to train at all. Or at least that’s the excuse a lot of students give me – between working, partying and being a part of their societies, students just don’t have the time to hit the gym. Poor hard done by guys… As a student myself however I know this is BS (something these guys often seem to forget). I know that as a student you spend more time watching 24 and Lost than you do doing any kind of work whatsoever. Furthermore, you seem to revert back to the days when you were a toddler and it was okay to take day time naps. If you watched three fewer episodes of 24 a week you could go to the gym three times. Think about it. If you’ve bought dumbbells then you can even workout at home while you watch 24. No excuses.

If you find you genuinely don’t have much time then just keep your workout brief. Do it in your room, just twenty minutes or so is better than nothing and it will act as a great break from work and a great way to refresh your brain. You can easily squeeze a work out in at night too as no doubt you’ve turned mostly nocturnal.

Training in your room might be difficult however if you have a small room, but it can be done. All you need is six foot by five foot of clear floor space to be able to do everything you need (you’ll use this for press ups and their many variations as well as sit ups, squat thrusts, lunges and whatever the hell else you like). The rest can be achieved while sitting on the bed (dumbbell curls, bent over rows) or even while resting just one part of you on the bed (incline press ups, dips) even the chair can be brought into play. If you don’t have this amount of room then simply reorganise some of your things, and after the first year you’ll probably be in a shared house anyway. Make your only stipulation that floor space and sacrifice that double bed too if you must (it just means you’ll be getting cosier with those lady friends).

Another hazard for students staying fit and healthy is the humble cold. As a student you will always have a cold, they just go round like that. So eat plenty of vitamin C. Finally bare in mind you’ll be travelling to and from home a lot, so make sure you make arrangements to make this easier.

When a lot of people go to Uni they gain weight, but it’s no real trouble to prevent that problem and get one up on every one else. You’ll feel healthier and exercising even improves your IQ so your grades will benefit. Your love life will flourish, and you’ll look fine in all those skimpy fancy dress outfits. Do it.

Mack LeMouse

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