Push-ups for physical and mental health

FEDERATION University is pushing for better nationwide mental health this month, as students, staff members, sport leaders and alumni take part in the Push-Up Challenge.

With participants aiming to complete 3318 push-ups in 25 days, the FedUni Falcons team are raising funds for the Push for Better Foundation, Headspace, and Lifeline.

Federation University student engagement officer Tayla Banham said the challenge arrived at the perfect time, keeping the tertiary institution’s community busy, fit and mindful of theirs and others’ mental health under recently tightened COVID restrictions.

“A few of us in the office thought we’d do it and see how far we could go, but with the snap lockdown, we decided to push it out to the community and engage our students further online,” she said.

“We’ve promoted it through our FedUni Sport social pages, and we now have a good mix of people from all areas of FedUni who have registered.

“We’re trying to boost it as much as possible. It’s pretty cold in Ballarat so we want people to keep doing things for their physical health, which will in turn help their mental health.”

Ms Banham said the campaign is about “participation more than performance.”

It’s also an ideal opportunity for the University to celebrate and highlight the impact local mental health support agencies make, especially in the current climate where financial and health-related stresses are more prevalent than ever.

“We really want to acknowledge the awesome work that Headspace Ballarat do to offer accessible mental health support,” she said.

The Push-Up Challenge ends on Friday, 25 June. If you’re taking part, snap a photo for the socials and tag #pushforbetter. Visit thepushupchallenge.com.au.