A Different Way to Balance Fitness, Study and Mates

Sometimes, life can feel a lot like keeping up spinning plates. You’ve got all these different parts of your life that you need to take care of to stay happy and healthy - getting some exercise in, seeing mates, studying, working, and quality time with your family. 

When you’re still in primary school, it’s all pretty easy, right? You’re usually seeing your mates every single day, playing sports with them on weekends, and (hopefully) you’re not worried about getting any assignments done or having to work a double shift.

As we get older, it starts getting a bit more tricky. In uni, our old friendship groups start to go their separate ways, and suddenly you’re left trying to make sure you tick all of your boxes with even less time than before.

In today’s hustle-and-grind culture, we can fall into the trap of scheduling out our lives like a school timetable, with this hour devoted to going to the gym solo, and this hour having a Facetime with your family - and before you know it, you barely have time just to kick back and relax on the couch with a guilty-pleasure Netflix show.

But what if there was a way to stay fit, hang out with your mates and get a bit of stress out of the way at the same time?

Well, have you thought about doing a sport at university? Imagine this - you’ve just been stuck in a lecture hall for the past two hours, and while you wanna hang out with your friends, you’re starting to get concerned about how well the staff at the uni bar recognise your face. You suddenly remember that you’re just about to catch up with your mates at footy practice - and in just an hour or so you’ll be feeling that post-workout rush while you do some nice cool-down exercises and chat about where to hang out next.

It’s not just about keeping your old mates around either. Just by nature of most of your classes being in the same faculty and degree program, you can find your friendship group getting a little siloed. Doing sports gives you the chance to meet people from different walks of life, different faculties, different unis, even different countries if your team makes it to the international level!

The UniSport Nationals are some of the most unforgettable experiences you can have at uni, whether you’re on the court or cheering your uni on - so it’s a must-do if you’ve got the time.

But even if you don’t have ambitions of medaling at the World University Games, don’t worry. You can be as serious or as casual as you want!

If you’re keen to see what sports are on offer at your uni, the UniSport Australia website has a huge directory of all the clubs and groups your heart desires.