The Fitness MVMT

⬇️My goal⬇️

To provide a space where women feel WORTHY, CONFIDENT, LOVED, and BADASS in a world where we are constantly told we are not good enough.

Dedicating a space in your home to your yoga practice can be a . Even it’s the size of your mat!

Home practices are liberating and allow you to follow you intuition and more deeply understand the cues from an instructor.

You home practice does not have to be elaborate. It could be 5 minutes in your pajamas. That’s the beauty of it.

You cannot “tone” your muscles!

The word tone is used by the fitness industry to describe a look that is culturally feminine with defined muscles.

Your muscles can grow or shrink. When you see a person with defined muscles, it means they have built those muscles. They have NOT toned their muscles. See the difference?

Toning classes are actually working muscular endurance. Let’s face it … Toning sounds sexier than muscular endurance.

Typically toning classes, are using light weights with high reps to achieve the “toned” look. That’s not the most efficient strategy to build muscle. Muscular endurance has its benefits but alone it will not help you achieve the defined muscles you are wanting.

Guess what can get you to the look you want? Smart periodization of your training!!!

September is National Yoga Awareness Month. 🧘🏿‍♀️ 🧘🏾‍♂️ 🧘🏻

This ancient practice has turned into an industry in the US. There are positives and negatives.

➕ The positive: we’re very familiar with the research backed benefits of yoga and know it’s good for us.
➖ The negative: there is A LOT of misinformation and exclusivity around a practice that can be done in your home in your pajamas.

This month, I’ll de-mystify yoga by answering questions like:

What does namaste mean?
How do I flow?
What is 200 RYT?
Am I doing down dog correctly?
Pranayama what?
Do I have a third eye?

Do you have any other questions about yoga that I can answer?

I don’t know a single soul who doesn’t cheer up when they see Ginny! 🐶 🤍💫 G loves to love and we love her right back. Happy National Dog Day!

It’s Friday friends. How are you feeling? I’m not one to ever deny how a client feels in a session. I’m also not the trainer that tries to change it. I do my best to have empathy and show support. 🤍

Sis, you’re over here doubting yourself - while so many people see your potential!

It would take a TON of work “to get bulky” and it doesn’t happen by accident. 😲

You wouldn’t simply jump into a pool and become the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps … clearly, it takes work. 🥴

Many women fear lifting or lifting heavy because they think they will bulk up 🙄🙄🙄

It takes A LOT of work and time to get “bulky.”

Oh you wanna “tone” or “sculpt”? Well then, lift heavy.

PS
“Toning” and “sculpting” is not something muscles do. That’s another myth perpetrated by the fitness industry and uneducated instructors/trainers.

Women need other women in their lives that think they are a BIG deal. No competition. No backhanded comments. No jealous. No hate.

Just ‘I love you, I support you,
and their is no one on earth like you’ kind of energy.

I'm sorry friends + followers:

My industry, the fitness industry, perpetuates myths about working out, nutrition, and body image to make $$$. And sometimes out of pure ignorance or simply repeating what they’ve heard said by other instructors and trainers. Or trying to have catchy marketing.

I love shedding light and providing you with solid science backed information. That’s why every Monday, I’ll bust a myth. 👊🏽 🔥



Common myths:

🚫 I’ll work off these calories at the gym.
🚫 I’ve gotta train so I can eat this meal!
🚫 I workout so I can eat cheeseburgers.

No matter how hard you push at the gym, you can never out train poor eating. 🍽

Mobility, strength, cardio capacity/endurance (aka fitness level) is built in the gym.

If weight loss is what you are after, you gotta do it in the kitchen (more on this to come). Simply put, you’ve got to be in a caloric deficit. I’m not opposed to being in a caloric deficit. I am opposed to it taking over your life and not being a sustainable practice. I am opposed to it when it messes with your body image. I am opposed to it when it gets in the way of you enjoying friends and family.

I highly encourage you to not fixate or worry about the number of calories you burn in a class or session … calorie burn does not signify a “good” or “bad” workout.

If you’re looking for a trainer with a different mindset, I’m your gal. 🙋🏻‍♀️

She’s a 10 and support your fitness journey!

☝🏽Jumping on the trend. ☝🏽

But really, surround yourself with people that cheer for you to take care of your mind, body, and heart. 🧠 💪🏽 💜

One thing about pregnancy …

It’s highly individualized and personal. Women experience it in a million different ways from a combination of physical symptoms to emotional and mental hurdles.

Here’s how the last 15 weeks have gone:

Pregnancy challenges my ego and body image. I don’t think it’s surprising to learn I enjoy progressing my own training AND putting 3-4 challenging sessions in the weight room per week.

Hormones haven’t allowed me to perform at my normal (or pre-pregnancy) levels. I’ve learned the hard way that I have to pull back. Now, is a time when I have to follow my intuition and go with the flow (less force and more ease).

This first trimester was rough. With Maxwell, it was a breeze. I barely remember altering anything about my lifestyle or workouts.

My symptoms (some common and some less):
🤚 Gestational carpel tunnel
🦶 Plantar fascitis
🦴 Joint pain
🤰🏻 Low back pain
🥱 Fatigue
🤢 Nausea
😣 Anxiety

I remind myself daily that this is a gift and it’s a season. ✨

Do you wear a lot of different hats personally and/or professionally? 🎩 🧢 👒

I feel ya … have you met the MVMT team? It’s me! 🤣

Taking on multiple roles is fun and challenging. It’s one of the best and worst parts of owning a business.

My favorite roles are graphic design and marketing (professionally). Personally, I’m very well know as the “snack lady” to my son.

What are your favorite roles?

She arrives January 2023 🤍

Calling all Marvel fans!!!! 📣

We all have an origin story that sheds light on the person we are today. My favorite origin story belongs to Captain Marvel … she is my #1 Avenger and though fictional, still inspires me.

My fitness journey and career has gone through several transitions and is continually evolving.

Here’s ☝🏽 the cliff note version of how I’ve gotten to where I’m currently out.

I’m curious, what’s your origin story???? Would you share it with me?

PSA 📣

No one thinks about your body as much as you do.

Be a hype girl. Hype other women up. The world has plenty of haters already.

Tag your hype girl! ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

I wish my bandwidth was bigger. I wish I could give more, do more, and be in more places.

I’m learning that I have new limits as a mom and in this new phase of life.

Last summer, I loved organizing and hosting a summer camp for girls and a Colorado retreat for women. After those BIG events, my health rapidly declined. They took a lot from me energetically.

This winter, I kept trying to push myself to plan a camp and retreat for summer ‘22 but could never bring myself to do it (and that isn’t like me). So I realized, it wasn’t in my bandwidth for 2022.

I hope that one day, I will have the necessary energy to do these wonderful events again. 💫🤍💫

Find that quiet voice inside that tells you:

Your best is yet to come.

Strength training is awesome for:

☑️Young girls
☑️Teenage girls
☑️Young women
☑️Pregnant women
☑️Postpartum women
☑️Perimenopausal women
☑️Postmenopausal women
☑️Women who are 60+

Strength training is great for women and girls (period).

Anyone else having a hard month?

Earlier this month, I had my 7th ear infection in 6 months (super NOT fun). Fortunately, this time around, I was under the care of a ENT and received a pretty strong antibiotic + steroid. As of now, I’m feeling physically pretty good. I’ve finished all the meds and there is no sign of infection. 🤞🏽

Anxiety seems to be running rampant this month (maybe it’s Mercury). I’ve been digging into my toolbox to reduce my levels of anxiety (walks, mediation, limiting my schedule). I could reduce my coffee intake but … I love coffee. ☕️ ✨🤍

I’ve been quieter on social media as I to figure out a new branding strategy for MVMT and for my personal page . I really believe in the content that I share on this account and also believe I have a unique perspective on all things fitness for Lincoln.

I would love to hear from YOU in the comments or DM:

1️⃣ How do you manage anxiety?
2️⃣ What kind of content do you enjoy seeing on this account?

PS
I have SO SO SO many things to be grateful for: wonderful client/friends, a spunky toddler, a loving husband, and a wonderful support system of family & friends.

Sending love to all the mamas out there:

▫️ New moms
▫️ Chosen moms
▫️ Pet moms
▫️ Step moms
▫️ Plant moms
▫️ Grandmas and great grandmas
▫️ Moms of angels
▫️ Adoptive moms
▫️ Surrogate moms
▫️ Single moms
▫️ For those longing to be moms
▫️ For grieving moms
▫️ For LGBTQ2IA moms
▫️ Immigrant moms
▫️ Foster moms
▫️ Those who can’t be moms
▫️ God moms

As I tell my son, before bed, one of the most important things we can be is inclusive. If I missed a mom, let me know in the comments.

Love to all the moms. ✨🤍✨

Your training session is only as good as your ability to recover from it.

Ideas for recovery:
▫️ Outdoor walk
▫️ Stretching
▫️ Yoga
▫️ Massage gun
▫️ Power Plate
▫️ Mediation
▫️ Sleep
▫️ Hydrate
▫️ Fuel

Comment with your favorite recovery strategy combination! ⬇️

What a sets good trainers apart from bad trainers?

❌ Fitness level
❌ How often they workout
❌ Certifications
❌ Years in the business
❌ How fit they look
❌ Number of Instagram followers

✅ Mindset
✅ Personal growth game
✅ Compassion
✅ Listening skills
✅ Communication style
✅ Ability to evolve and learn

It may be shocking but how a trainer’s body looks does not determine how good they are at their job. 🤔

There are far more important components to a good trainer than looks.

A good trainer will improve your fitness level, mindset, and confidence. A bad trainer can leave you injured, shamed, and with an unhealthy attitude around nutrition/working out.

Not all trainers are the same! Do your research to determine what is going to help you progress your body and mind.

Things to consider when hiring a personal trainer:

✔️ Philosophy around exercise, food, and body image
✔️ The types of images they post on social media
✔️ Language and tone of their communication
✔️ How you feel in their presence (their vibe; follow your intuition)

We need to have a talk.

A talk about soreness.

A fitness myth is that being sore is a good thing and a sign of a hard workout.

Ya know I’m into myth busting these days …

Swipe to get the details on soreness ⬇️

I’ve started a kettlebell club. Wanna join?

It’s a 4 week training program that you can do at the gym or from home.

I’ve done the heavy lifting (pun intended) in designing a kettlebell plan so you can do some heavy lifting. 😉

The plan is 3 days per week so it pairs nicely with outdoor walks/runs, cycling classes, or yoga practices.

Each workout includes:
✔️ Warm Up
✔️ AMRAP (5 minutes)
✔️ Three supersets
✔️ Cool down stretches

The plan is delivered via app with videos demonstrating the movements and is $40. That’s $10/week or $3.33/workout.

DM for details!!!!

Just a simple reminder:

🤍 Keep showing up
✨ Stay focused
🤍 Get clear on your goals (on a granular level)
✨ Don’t stop moving

Do you ever get swept away by what your professional “competition” is doing?

Sheesh. I do. 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏾‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋🏿‍♀️

I can go down a rabbit hole on social media looking at what other fitness professionals are saying, doing, and posting about. It can lead me to feel less than, unsure of myself, question my business model, analyze my strategies, and consider comprising my values.

In a word: icky.

It’s a constant mental battle to remember that I do have a unique point of view and approach to fitness/training/cycling. And even though the fitness industry is SATURATED, my voice is unique and needed.

It is very tiring to try and stand out in a sea of options and remain true to one’s values. And this doesn’t begin to cover pricing/value/etc of the fitness industry as a whole.

Here are my guiding lights:

1️⃣ Body Neutrality: there are far more interesting things about you then how you look.
2️⃣ Confidence: I want you to move through all areas of life feeling good in your skin. The size of your body has NOTHING to do with this.
3️⃣ Movement: There is no one right way to exercise. The best thing we can do is follow our instincts and do what we love.

MVMT was founded & named for two reasons:

⭐️ Reframe ideas about fitness and help women improve their body image and confidence through movement.
⭐️ Celebrate ALL forms of exercise and encourage people to follow their intuition when it comes to movement.

Here are 4 common ideas about fitness and how we can reframe them for a and approach:

1️⃣ More is better ➡️ Sometimes rest will take you further
2️⃣ There is a best way to exercise ➡️ Follow your intuition and do what feels good
3️⃣ Soreness indicates a good workout ➡️ It indicates that you did something different
4️⃣ Only one workout per week is bad ➡️ Any movement is better than no movement

Sooooooooo …

Which one resonates with you?

A (male*) trainer asked me how I measure the progress of female clients and if I use before and after photos** …

If you’ve spent time with me, in the gym, you know these questions are really gonna light a fire inside of me. But you also know, I’m a pretty calm and collected gal.

My response: how you measure a client’s progress will be rooted in your values as a trainer and philosophy behind your approach to training and body image.

How I measure progress:

✨ When a client feels more confident walking into a room.
✨ When a client knows I see, hear, and accept them as they currently are.
✨ When a client feels knowledgeable and skilled in lifting weights and/or moves.
✨ When a client can do more of what they love to do (run, ride bikes, play with grand kids).
✨ When a client leaves a session and feels strong, empowered, and less anxious and more grounded.
✨ When a client practices doing hard things in the gym and it gives them confidence to do hard things in their life.
✨ When a client’s body is stable/mobile in the right areas and it prevents injury.

The ultimate measure of progress:
⭐️ When a client makes peace or progress towards peace with how their body currently looks.

I realize my measuring system is unorthodox for the fitness industry and I’m okay with that. Because I believe these are the things that are truly the most important when it comes to your physical and mental health.

*I’m not even going to attempt to unpack the sexism of this question in this post.

**More to come on how much I despise before and after photos.