Investigating the feasibility and efficacy of the UPLIFT program: Does exercise improve the wellbeing of university students experiencing mental ill-health?

The intervention is an 8-week exercise program designed to improve the mental health and wellbeing of university students experiencing at least moderate levels of psychological distress. Participants will be paired with a 'mentor' who will provide physical activity-related guidance over the 8 weeks. Participants will have weekly face-to-face sessions with their mentor and the program is flexible in nature which means that participants have the autonomy to perform whichever forms of exercise they enjoy most ranging from yoga, pilates, strength training and/or aerobic exercise. Moreover, the mentor can offer support to help participants by providing advice related to becoming more physically active outside sessions and beyond program completion. Additional details about the program and its delivery include the following: - Exercise sessions will be delivered by the student investigator who is a qualified personal trainer. - Sessions will be conducted one-on-one (i.e. participant and mentor). - Sessions will occur on the university campus, primarily within the strength research Laboratory. - Level of intensity can be considered by asking a participant about their rate of perceived exertion (RPE) following an exercise session. This will be assessed via the modified CR-10 (Foster et al. 2001). - Sessions will occur once per week with each session lasting approximately 1 hour. - Adherence and session details will be monitored by the mentor. - The program mentor has undergone training in first aid and mental health first aid ahead of program delivery.