Livfit Movement

It’s almost that time! and I hope you can join us, whether that may be in person or virtually 🏃‍♀️🏃

Strength for runners 🏃‍♀️💪🏼

Your calves are made up of 2 main muscles — your gastroc and soleus muscles. These muscles “plantarflex” your foot, or point your toes toward the ground, and are important in absorbing impact and propelling you forward during your run.

1️⃣ Heel raise - knees straight (elevated or flat foot)
2️⃣ Single leg heel raise - knee straight
3️⃣ Heel raise - knees bent
4️⃣ Single leg heel raise - knee bent
5️⃣ Seated heel raise
6️⃣ Seated single leg heel raise

If you’re a runner and you’re not strength training just yet, a consistent strength training routine can be beneficial for your running performance 🏃‍♀️

Interested in running your a 5k at the end of March?
and I launched a training program that combines both physical and mental activities to prepare you for a 5K run hosted by us at the end of March for those in the Chicagoland area!

If you’re interested in participating in this FREE program, download the Strava app and join our group “5K to 5K Challenge” 💪🏼

5K to 5K Training Program 😤

and I will be offering a training program that will consist of both physical and mental activities to prepare you for a 5k run hosted by us at the end of March! For those who are not interested in running, don’t worry, we have some awesome things planned for you too so you can still participate in the challenge!

If you’re interested in participating in this FREE program, download the Strava app and join our group “5K to 5K Challenge” 💪🏼

Are you ready?

5K to 5K • March Movement Madness Challenge ☘️🏃‍♀️🏋️

5K to 5K is a month-long challenge designed to help you develop your physical and mental strength. The challenge will consist of a daily walking challenge of 5K steps and/or training for a 5K run at the end of the month where you can celebrate the hard work and progress you’ve made along the way.

Throughout the month of March, we’ll focus on building consistency, boosting fitness, and cultivating a positive mindset. Each week, we’ll provide a training program, tips for mental resilience, and group support to keep you motivated.

Whether you’re seasoned or new to running, this group is for anyone looking to grow stronger mentally and physically. Let’s push our limits, support one another, and finish strong together!

Are you in?

Element #3️⃣ of Self-Growth 📈:
•
Adaptability is the last element of self-growth and can mean:
➡️ the ability to reframe your perspective on a particular concept or situation.
➡️ the willingness to learn new things and accept change into your life.
➡️ the characteristic that expands your capacity to handle adversities or challenges.
•
Being adaptable is a key component in developing a growth mindset and taking action in various areas of your life.
•
With that being said, let’s embrace change and create the life we have always wanted. Small steps make a big difference!

Element #1️⃣ of Self-Growth 📈: Awareness
•
Awareness is the foundation of self-growth. Awareness can mean:
➡️ gathering outside knowledge of concepts such as benefits and barriers of physical activity
➡️ being aware of your own thinking patterns, values, beliefs, environment, and habits
➡️ simply living in the present moment
•
Fostering and practicing awareness can set us up to apply this knowledge into all aspects of our lives and enhance our lifestyles.
•
Come back tomorrow as we will expand on element #2️⃣ of self-growth 📈

Mind Movement Madness Challenges 🧠🏋️🏋🏼‍♀️
•
And that’s a wrap on the Movement and Minfulness Challenges👏🏼 A HUGE thank you to all of the challenge participants!
•
Stay tuned as we finish strong with the last week of Mind Movement Madness content!

Swipe to explore various barriers to exercise and strategies to get moving more consistently!
•
Comment below if this post was helpful and sparked some ideas!
•
Stay tuned for Part 2 next week as will be discussing internal barriers to exercise and how to open yourself up to more opportunities for exercise 👀

Physical Activity Guidelines and Benefits
•
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans is a resource that provides recommendations for frequency, intensity, and duration of various types of physical activity. These recommendations are backed by research and help individuals strive for the health benefits that come with participating in these activities.
•
To gain health benefits, the guidelines state that:

➡️ adults should do at least 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity (equivalent to an RPE of 5-6/10) aerobic physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity (equivalent to an RPE of 7-8/10) aerobic physical activity

➡️ adults should do at least 2 days per week of moderate or vigorous-intensity muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups
•
Individuals who follow these guidelines may gain a variety of health benefits, including:

➡️ reduced risk for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), type 2 diabetes, various types of cancer, dementia, anxiety, and depression, falls and fall-related injuries in older adults

➡️ improvements in bone and joint health, overall physical function, cognition (brain function), sleep, weight management, and quality of life
•
For individuals who don’t necessarily meet these guidelines consistently, some of the above mentioned health benefits can still be seen if they replace some of their sedentary behaviors with light-intensity physical activity.
•
With that said, let’s get moving!!
•
Reference: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans | health.gov.

Pillars of Movement
•
To visualize the variety of ways in which we can move our bodies, we can organize them into 5 pillars of movement. These include:

1️⃣ Activities of daily living→ examples can be walking to/from school or around your neighborhood, doing chores, grocery shopping, or going up/down the stairs

2️⃣ Flexibility/mobility→ can be involved in warmups and cooldowns, etc

3️⃣ Strengthening→ can be organized into movement patterns such as squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, and carry

4️⃣ Cardiovascular→ examples can be walking, running, cycling, swimming, and gardening

5️⃣ Sport/performance→ brings together various pillars and other psychosocial components
•
Comment below which pillars of movement you enjoy most or the least 😁⬇️
•
Now let’s get moving!!!

MOVEMENT CHALLENGE 3/11-3/16 🏆
•
Join us in our Movement Challenge starting Monday 3/11 through Saturday 3/16!
•
HOW TO PLAY:
1️⃣ Screenshot the Movement Challenge card to keep track of your completed activities each day.
2️⃣ Post a picture or a video on your story of your movement, tag and , and hashtag to have one of your spots “filled”. For each spot filled, you will get 1 entry into a raffle for a 32oz Owala FreeSip Stainless Steel Water Bottle in the color of your choice 🏆 Multiple entries encouraged. For each “bingo” (5 spots in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally), you will get an extra entry!
3️⃣ Optional: Share your card on your story as you go! Tag and , and don’t forget to hashtag
•
ONE lucky winner will be randomly chosen and announced on my story on Saturday 3/16 at 5pm CT. 🍀 We will DM the winner to arrange prize details afterwards.
•
Comment “ME” below if you’re planning to participate in the Movement Challenge and tag a friend to join you ⬇️ I can’t wait to see you guys start the week off strong! 💪🏼
•
Stay tuned for more Mind Movement Madness content this week as I will be diving into all things physical activity. We will be breaking down the types of physical activity, guidelines, benefits and barriers, and more!

Mind Movement Madness • Impact of physical activity on mental states 🏃🏼‍♀️🧠

Regular physical activity has many long-term physical health benefits, such as reduced risk for various diseases. It is also important to recognize the impact of physical activity on our mental health.

References:

Morres ID, Hatzigeorgiadis A, Stathi A, et al. Aerobic exercise for adult patients with major depressive disorder in mental health services: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Depress Anxiety. 2019;36(1):39-53. doi:10.1002/da.22842
•
Aylett E, Small N, Bower P. Exercise in the treatment of clinical anxiety in general practice - a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2018;18(1):559. Published 2018 Jul 16. doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3313-5
•
Basso JC, Suzuki WA. The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plast. 2017;2(2):127-152. Published 2017 Mar 28. doi:10.3233/BPL-160040
•
Zschucke E, Renneberg B, Dimeo F, Wüstenberg T, Ströhle A. The stress-buffering effect of acute exercise: Evidence for HPA axis negative feedback. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015;51:414-425. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.019