DESIRE2MOVE©
This year 20 departments and 272 employees participated in the 10th annual D2M Physical Activity Challenge. After 8-weeks of recording their minutes of physical activity, the team from Physical Therapy won the Golden Shoe Trophy. Scroll down to read more about the 2023 results.
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 one of the free mobile apps we will use to track your minutes of physical activity during the challenge. We will share more information about these apps soon.
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 mobile app so your D2M minutes can 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
- Wellness Calendar
- Phone Number: 404-413-3342
Panther PERQs:
- Partnerships with local, statewide, and national businesses that offer incentives to Georgia State employees
- Visit Panther PERQs for more information
Mental Health Program:
- Therapy Assistance online
- On-campus: EDWS (Employee Development and Wellness Services)-email request for one-on-one counseling to [email protected]
- Off-campus: ESPYR 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.
- Visit recreation.gsu.edu for more information
Other Fitness Resources
Free Online Fitness Class Videos
- Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABP)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- New York Times
- National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD)
Meditation + Yoga Resources for Beginners
How to be Active from Home
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- 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
- Types of exercises range from HIIT, Strength, Yoga, Pilates, Dance, and more
Physical Activity Safety Tips
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- The World Health Organization (WHO)
- Mayo Clinic
- 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
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 20 departments and 272 employees participated in the 10th 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.
The following 20 teams with team captains competed for the Golden Shoe Trophy:
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies – Avani Raval
Applied Linguistics and ESL – Jordan Batchelor
Building Services – Astley Willacey
Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education – Justin Lonsbury
College of Arts and Sciences – Vicky Hanning
College of Education and Human Development Dean’s Office – Matt Gillett
College of Nursing and Health Professions – Molly Paulson
Early Childhood and Elementary Education – Rebecca Clough
Educational Policy Studies – Jennifer Esposito
Gerontology Institute – Jennifer Craft Morgan and Lakisha Singleton
Honors College – Bill Nichols
Human Resources Wellness Champions – Cheryl Johnson Ransaw and Ryan Smith
Kinesiology and Health – Pete Rohleder
Middle and Secondary Education – Gwendolyn Kearney
Nursing – Perimeter – Masiki Williamson
Occupational Therapy – Wakesha Henley
Physical Therapy – Sujay Galen and Simone Smith
Psychology – Mike Beran and Vonetta Dotson
School of Public Health – Lynette Reid
University Library – Whitney Bates-Gómez
The 2023 D2M Team Champion was Physical Therapy with 8117 minutes. Building Services (7394 minutes) and Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (4602 minutes) finished second and third, respectively. Congratulations to PT on their 3rd D2M Team Championship!
Congratulations to the winning team and to all the amazing competitors! We hope everyone stays well, keeps moving, and returns in 2024 for the 11th annual D2M Physical Activity Challenge.
Congratulations goes to the 2023 Most Valuable Beginner Participant, Aline Pagnussat (Physical Therapy) who completed 11,510 minutes of physical activity during the challenge. Other top minute earners in this category were Davena Mgbeokwere (Psychology; 11,233 minutes) and Simone Smith (Physical Therapy; 9276 minutes).
Congratulations also goes to the 2023 Most Valuable Participant, Zahan Panjwani (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies) who completed 14,574 minutes of physical activity during the challenge. Other top minute earners in this category were Carolyn Richardson (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 13,156 minutes) and Avani Raval (Andrew Young School of Policy Studies; 12,580 minutes).
Our MVPs each earned a $50 Amazon gift card
This year we raffled off door prizes at the Awards Ceremony and more eGift Cards to the following D2M participants:
$10 Amazon Gift Card Winners (Door Prizes @ Awards Ceremony)
Sujay Galen-Physical Therapy
Alexandria Johnson-Educational Policy Studies
Aline Pagnussat-Physical Therapy
Tony Price-Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Carolyn Richardson-Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Jerry Wu-Kinesiology and Health
$25 Amazon Gift Card Winners
Edith Leisen-College of Nursing and Health Professions
Maria Misiura-Psychology
Sophie Taylor-Occupational Therapy
$50 Amazon Gift Card Winners
Laura Burtle-University Library
Nicole Mullican-Public Health
$100 Amazon Gift Card Winner
Andy Doyle-Kinesiology and Health
We also want to thank our student liaisons and health coaches for their hard work and dedication to D2M:
Tia’ Bentley-BS Exercise Science
Jordan Evans-BS Exercise Science
Margaret Geiger-BS Exercise Science*
Zaniah Gordan-BS Exercise Science
Elizabeth Huggins-BS Exercise Science
Israel Ledezma-BS Exercise Science
Tiffany Ling-BS Exercise Science
Maysa Sorrells-BS Exercise Science
Mariah Smith-MPH Public Health/Epidemiology
Morgan Turner-MS Exercise Science
Annie Whitlock-BS Exercise Science*
Astley Willacey-MS Exercise Science
*Graduating Spring/Summer 2023
- 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
- 2022: Building Services
Content, components and the name Desire2Move (D2M)© are copyrighted by Rebecca Ellis, Ph.D., 2014.