Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking? As Zoolander 2 hits our screens next month, let us remember the deep existential musings first spoken to us by male model of the year, Derek Zoolander or 'Blue Steel,' over a decade ago. Here at Cambridge, however, we’re probably more interested in the reverse question: is it enough to be brainy?

Cambridge is notorious for wanting its students to focus on work and (as national newspapers love to report) some may opt for a work hard, play hard attitude. But there seems to be a new trend emerging of students who are taking it easy in the pub only to kill it in the gym. This work hard, work out hard approach will of course not be exclusive to guys, but given the number of Varsity articles on female bodies and body issues, let’s have a quick look at male bodies in Cambridge.

There’s no escaping it in the mainstream media. Whereas girls were once accused of starving themselves because they read too many fashion mags, the pressure for topless selfies on Tinder and Instagram has apparently made a generation of young men more body-conscious than women. And at Cambridge? Surely we’re so busy knackering our minds we’ve hardly the time to work on our bodies as well? But of course, exercise isn’t always about wanting to look good and can be the perfect antidote to the competitive environment, high expectations and heavy work load most people experience here.

Cambridge certainly seems to support and encourage physical activity at an institutional level. In 2013, the university opened its doors to the new University Sports Centre, which cost £16 million and offers various sports scholarships. For Rob Liu, an engineering PhD student at Fitzwilliam College and a keen sportsman, regular exercise has been invaluable. “I don’t think I would have survived here without sport. It’s such an important part of life,” he says. “It can change mindsets.” Rob boxes for between one and three hours a day, six days a week, depending on the training regime. Even after Cambridge, the future looks particularly bright for the most physically active among us. Recent studies have shown that graduates who played sport at university earn on average 18 per cent more than their fitness-shy friends.

Then there’s the social side of things. William Miller, a fourth-year undergraduate at Trinity Hall, works out for two hours a day, five days a week. But rather than being a bodybuilding junkie, he says he’s motivated by spending time with guys after a loaded day of work. “I don’t get a lot of time to hang out with my friends, so the gym’s a good place to catch up. I like the atmosphere there.” Gym sessions are starting to replace pub outings for some guys, with protein shakes the new drink of choice.

But it’s not all about our mental wellbeing.

Given that at no other time in our lives are we likely to be photo bombed as frequently or mix with so many bright young things than at university, it seems only natural that students would be body-conscious. Mathieu Delaveau, a Frenchman on exchange here, finds the UK much more look-obsessed than other European countries he’s lived in. In the six years he spent at France’s most elite universities, he never once set foot in a gym. But Cambridge made him rethink his daily routine. “I had never worked out before coming to Cambridge. In France, you’d never hear of a student going to the gym. The UK definitely made me more aware of my appearance.”

Especially in the UK, men may now feel pressure to work out just to appear Mr Average. Whereas we’re seeing fewer super-skinny female models and (arguably) a greater variety of female body shapes celebrated in mainstream media, the male bodies exhibited on posters and screens seem to be increasingly conforming to a uniform, beefed up shape. It’s a look no one’s born with, and more and more are working for. Just as the most desirable “feminine” physical traits have long tended to be (man-)made (as in make-up), our conception of a typical “masculine” body is now “built” (as in body-building). Although such superficial concerns might seem a million miles from the preoccupations of busy Cambridge students, just think how attractive taking control of an ego boost might appear when stony feedback from supervisors may have battered your self-esteem.

Exercise can clearly have significant health benefits, but isn’t always about taking care of yourself, mentally and physically. The motivations for working out can be complex and sometimes the line between the healthy and unhealthy ones, especially in a pressure cooker environment like Cambridge, can become hazy. Sadly, there isn’t a great deal of information available on male students struggling with issues like compulsive exercise, body dysmorphia (including “bigorexia”), extreme diets and eating disorders, probably because guys are much less likely to come forward with body image (but what are really mental health) issues than their female peers.

Cambridge is a wonderful place for some of the world’s future thinkers, doers and leaders, but its bubble has never been so successful at protecting such active minds from mental health issues. We have recently seen a number of excellent articles written about (and often by) female sufferers of body image issues.

Even if we start with anonymous contributions, it would be great if we heard from more guys who can be similarly - and uniquely - affected by these important problems, too.