None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This will be a pilot trial involving 40 students currently enrolled at the University of Newcastle. After providing written informed consent, participants will be sent several questionnaires to complete at baseline. Participants will then participate in twice weekly exercise/psychoeducation sessions that are facilitated by exercise physiology/exercise science students (under the supervision of an Accredited Exercise Physiologist). Participants will also be provided with an individualised exercise program to complete outside of the supervised sessions. At the end of the training period, Participants will be sent the same questionnaires as baseline to complete. Participants and their peer facilitators will be asked to complete a feedback survey and be invited to participate in focus groups to describe their experiences in the program.
Interventions
Participants will undergo a 6-week exercise program, delivered in groups of up to 10 by exercise physiology/exercise science students. The program will be overseen by an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Participants will complete two 45-minute supervised sessions per week, which will include exercise and psychoeducation. The two sessions will ideally be separated by at least 24 hours. Participants will be provided with an individualised exercise program to complete outside of these sessions; th
Participants will undergo a 6-week exercise program, delivered in groups of up to 10 by exercise physiology/exercise science students. The program will be overseen by an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Participants will complete two 45-minute supervised sessions per week, which will include exercise and psychoeducation. The two sessions will ideally be separated by at least 24 hours. Participants will be provided with an individualised exercise program to complete outside of these sessions; the duration, frequency, intensity and type of these will be individualised to the participants' goals and preferences. The exercise sessions will include aerobic and resistance training, targeting all major muscle groups using body weight, free weight, and machine-based exercise. The intensity of the sessions will vary depending on the participants' goals, abilities and preferences, but will be of at least a moderate intensity (i.e., Borg 4-6/10). While the exercises will be prescribed with a view to gain mental and physical health benefits, a focus will be placed on correct technique and use of equipment, varying exercise based on goals, and finding different ways of being active. In addition to the exercise, the participants will receive psychoeducation during their sessions. The Counselling and Psychological services staff will develop a suite of topics to be covered including benefits of exercise on mental health and wellbeing and academic functionality, overcoming barriers to exercise, and goal setting. These staff members will provide the exercise physiology/exercise science student facilitators with training to deliver this information during the sessions in the two weeks prior to the start of the intervention; these training sessions will be a single two hour session either in-person or via Zoom. These will be delivered in tandem with the exercise sessions (i.e., whilst the participants are exercising) via group discussions, rather than separately before or after.
Sponsors
The University of Newcastle
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Students currently enrolled at the University of Newcastle, Australia
Exclusion criteria
People will be ineligible if they have any condition as per the absolute contraindications to exercise, are meeting the physical activity guidelines (150minutes/week moderate intensity or 75minutes/week vigorous intensity exercise), have severe mental illness (e.g., psychoses), have planned medical operations during the research period, are pregnant or expecting to be pregnant during the study period, and are non-English speaking. People will also be ineligible if they are enrolled in a degree within the Exercise and Sport Science discipline.
Outcome results
None listed