DESIRE2MOVE©
Registration for the 9th annual D2M physical activity challenge will open Monday December 6, 2021 and remain open until the start of the program on Monday February 7, 2022. Registration includes completing the online form and creating an account with Strava or MapMyFitness, one of the free mobile apps (or websites) used to track your physical activity minutes during the challenge.
Now, more than ever, it is important for us to be physically active. Physical activity is an effective way to manage symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, it improves our immune system, and it can be safely done in many settings. Please consider joining D2M so you can experience the benefits of physical activity in a socially supportive community. If you think your department is up to the challenge, please contact, Dr. Rebecca Ellis, Program Coordinator.
What is Desire2Move?
D2M is an eHealth, team-based physical activity challenge between university departments.
Each department competes as a team and will select a team captain. Each team member logs their physical activity minutes using free mobile apps (or websites) for eight weeks.
The team with the greatest average minutes at the end of the 8-week challenge wins the Golden Shoe Trophy.
For more information please contact, Dr. Rebecca Ellis, Program Coordinator.
Desire2Move Information
- D2M begins in early February and continues for eight weeks.
- Online registration opens in early December and continues until the beginning of the program.
- In addition, you need to create an account with Strava (website or mobile app) or MapMyFitness (website or mobile app). These will be used to track your minutes of physical activity during the challenge.
Physical activity is any intentional body movement that works your muscles and requires more energy than resting. Examples include walking the dog, jogging, golf, tennis, yoga, calisthenics, weight training, housework, yard work and so much more.- Although current guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, any amount of any type of physical activity will count towards your team’s D2M minutes.
- For our beginning participants, during the first four weeks of the challenge, your minutes will be doubled.
- D2M is a convenient and easy way to be physically active and improve your physical and mental health.
- Tracking your physical activity during D2M can help you earn well-being credits with OneUSG. Click “Manage My Benefits” and login with your campus ID and password. At the top of the page, click “Other Benefits” and select “USG Well-being”. This will take you to the Virgin Pulse webpage where you can sync your wearable device or Strava app so your minutes can be tracked to help you accrue well-being credits.
- “Beginners” will be eligible for individualized health coaching.
- All participants will be eligible to earn great prizes. Prizes from previous years have included resistance bands, FitBits, and Amazon gift cards.
Please visit the D2M YouTube Channel or refer to the written instructions below for step-by-step instructions for getting started with MapMyFitness or Strava.
Georgia State University Resources
Employee Development and Wellness Services (EDWS)
The EDWS hosts daily, weekly, and monthly activities on fitness, mental health, and nutrition.
- EDWS website: https://hr.gsu.edu/service-centers/edws/
- Wellness Calendar: https://hr.gsu.edu/service-centers/edws/wellness-calendar/
- Phone Number: 404-413-3342
Panther PERQs:
- Partnerships with local, statewide, and national businesses that offer incentives to Georgia State employees
- https://hr.gsu.edu/service-centers/edws/panther-perqs/
Mental Health Program:
- Therapy Assistance online: https://hr.gsu.edu/service-centers/edws/tao/
- On-campus: EDWS (Employee Development and Wellness Services)-email request for one-on-one counseling to edws@gsu.edu
- Off-campus: ESPYR-https://espyr.com/-password = USGCARES
Student Recreation Center Membership Information
- Faculty, staff, and retirees can join the Student Recreation Center for $252 x year or $84 x semester (~ $21 x month; payroll deduction).
- Faculty, staff can pay $5 for a daily pass. Personal training and nutritional consultations are available for an additional cost.
- https://recreation.gsu.edu/about-us/membership/
Other Fitness Resources
Free Online Fitness Class Videos
- Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABP)
- Various Fitness Videos: CLICK HERE
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Move Your Way: Tips for Getting Active Indoors: CLICK HERE
- Move Your Way: Tips for Busy Days: CLICK HERE
- Chair Exercises, Stretches, Tai Chi, and Yoga, Page 7: CLICK HERE
- Office Workouts, Page 10: CLICK HERE
- New York Times
- The Scientific 7-Minute Workout – From the New York Times: CLICK HERE
- National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)
- Exercising at Home: Strength and Cardio: CLICK HERE
Meditation + Yoga Resources for Beginners
- Calm App: CLICK HERE
- Insight Timer: CLICK HERE
- Headspace: CLICK HERE
- Simply Being: CLICK HERE
How to be Active from Home
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC
- Five ways to be active at home: CLICK HERE
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- What Exercise Equipment is Good for Your Home Weight Room? CLICK HERE
- CNBC – The Best Apps for Workouts at Home if You Can’t Get to a Gym
- Most apps offer a free trial period, 1 week up to 30 days: CLICK HERE
- Types of exercises range from HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Pilates, Dance, and more
Physical Activity Safety Tips
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC
- How to Be Physically Active While Social Distancing: CLICK HERE
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- Staying Active During the Coronavirus Pandemic: CLICK HERE
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
- #HealthyAtHome: CLICK HERE
- Mayo Clinic
- COVID-19 safety: Tips for restaurants, salons, and the gym: CLICK HERE
- Emory University’s Dr. Marybeth Sexton
- An infectious disease expert + assistant professor of medicine was interviewed by Today.com and gives 8 mistakes to avoid when returning to the gym: CLICK HERE
Check out our latest findings…
Davis, A., Wilson, K., & Ellis, R. (2021). An observation of the impact of tailored messages on participant non-compliance in Desire2Move. Translational Behavioral Medicine. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1093/tbm/ibab092
Biber, D. D., Rice, K., & Ellis, R. (2021). Self-compassion training within a workplace physical activity program: A pilot study. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, 68(4), 1059-1067. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-213436
For more D2M and physical activity promotion research, please visit our Psychological Research on Exercise and Physical Activity Promotion (PREPP) Lab webpage. Coming Soon!!!!!
Previous Champions
This spring, 22 departments and 277 employees participated in the 8th annual Desire2Move (D2M) Physical Activity Challenge. D2M is an 8-week, eHealth, team-based competition during which team members track their minutes of physical activity with mobile apps. The team with the greatest overall average minutes is the winner of the Golden Shoe Trophy.
This year we had 17 returning teams (with team captains) that included College of Education and Human Development Dean’s Office (Matt Gillett), Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education (Justin Lonsbury), Early Childhood and Elementary Education (Rebecca Clough), Gerontology Institute (Stephen Duong and Antonius Skipper), Human Resources (Nikki Marshall and Jim Lee), Kinesiology and Health-Downtown (Pete Rohleder), Kinesiology and Health-Perimeter (Tony Serpico), Middle and Secondary Education (Gwen Kearney), Nursing (Ayeisha Neloms), Nutrition (Molly Paulson), Occupational Therapy (Shana Finks), Physical Therapy (Masiki Williamson), Police (Tamika Murden), Public Health (Lynette Reid), Recreational Services (Larissa Brown), University Library (Nelson Silverio), and World Languages and Cultures (Vicky Hanning).
This year we also welcomed five new teams including Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (Avani Raval), Educational Policy Studies (Jennifer Esposito), Psychology (Mike Beran and Vonetta Dotson), Respiratory Therapy (Robin Gardenhire), and an expansion team from the Department of Sport Management, Wellness and Physical Education at the University of West Georgia (Ashlee Davis).
The 2021 D2M Team Champion was Recreational Services with 6587 minutes. Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (5890 minutes) and Kinesiology and Health-Downtown (5236 minutes) finished second and third, respectively.
In the first inter-university battle between GSU Kinesiology (Downtown and Perimeter departments) and UWG Kinesiology, team GSU came out on top with 4657 minutes.
We hope everyone stays well and we get to see you in 2022 for the 9th annual D2M Physical Activity Challenge.
Congratulations goes to the 2021 Most Valuable Beginner Participant, Barbara Yankey (Public Health) who completed 7424 minutes of physical activity during the challenge. Other top minute earners in this category were LaTonya Edwards (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 6883 minutes), Mekensie Jackson (Kinesiology and Health-Downtown; 5907 minutes), Tricia King (Psychology; 4699 minutes), and Kristi Fuller (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 3894 minutes).
Congratulations also go to the 2021 Most Valuable Participant, Courtney Strosnider (Kinesiology and Health-Downtown) who completed 12895 minutes of physical activity during the challenge. Other top minute earners in this category were Tomás Molina (Kinesiology and Health-Downtown; 11687 minutes), Goncalo Monteiro (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 11502 minutes), Avani Raval (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 10959), and Angel Beegle (Recreational Services; 10798 minutes).
Our MVPs each earned a $50 gift card to DICK’S Sporting Goods. We also raffled off seven e-gift cards. The lucky winners were:
Ryan Middleton (Kinesiology and Health-Downtown)-$25 DICK’S Sporting Goods
Erin Scussel (Educational Policy Studies)-$25 DICK’S Sporting Goods
Jessica Turner (Psychology)-$25 DICK’S Sporting Goods
Claudia Winter (Nutrition)-$25 DICK’S Sporting Goods*
*Gordon Warren (Physical Therapy) was the original winner but donated the prize to a graduate assistant. Thank you, Gordon!
Erica Heath (Public Health)-$50 Big Peach Running Co.
Jennifer Craft Morgan (Gerontology)-$50 Big Peach Running Co.
Amy Bruni (Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education)-$100 Fleet Feet
Congratulations to the winning team and to all the amazing competitors!
We would also like to thank our student liaisons and health coaches for their hard work and dedication to D2M:
Andrew Corbett -PhD Psychology of Physical Activity
Sarah Appleton -MS Exercise Science*
Mekensie Jackson -MS Exercise Science
Tomás Molina -MS Exercise Science
Melissa Chiu -BS Exercise Science*
Jasmyn Harris -BS Exploratory/Health and Physical Education
Malcolm Jackson -BS Exercise Science*
Dasha Kazmin -BS Exercise Science*
Kwadwo Mensah -BS Exercise Science*
Esther Pak -BS Exercise Science
Sandy Rivas -BS Exercise Science
Madelyn Snyder -BS Exercise Science
Zoi Suddreth -BS Exercise Science
Amy Tran -BS Exercise Science
*Graduating Spring 2021
- 2014: Kinesiology and Health
- 2015: Recreational Services
- 2016: Honors College
- 2017: Honors College
- 2018: Physical Therapy
- 2019: Physical Therapy
- 2020: Recreational Services
- 2021: Recreational Services
Content, components and the name Desire2Move (D2M)© are copyrighted by Rebecca Ellis, Ph.D., 2014.