Dr. Lauren Shelton at Loa Movement

Dr. Lauren Shelton at Loa Movement Doctor of Physical Therapy & mom of 2 helping you get stronger and feel results in as little as 2 workouts a week.
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Grab 3 Free Loa Movement classes at the link below (No cc required)🙌🏼

08/12/2026

Ever feel like one entire side of your body is tight and compressed?

It might be your QL, your lats, your intercostals, or honestly, all of them.

When your ribcage can't fully expand on one side, it puts a whole chain of muscles into a shortened position.

Here's a simple technique to lengthen and open up that side of the body: the standing QL and intercostal stretch.

The key is to breathe deeply so you can actually feel your ribcage expanding and compressing as you move.

Stand up and give it a try, it's one of my faves!

(credit to for this one)

08/12/2026

Ever feel like one entire side of your body is tight and compressed?

It might be your QL, your lats, your intercostals, or honestly, all of them.

When your ribcage can't fully expand on one side, it puts a whole chain of muscles into a shortened position.

Here's a simple technique to lengthen and open up that side of the body: the standing QL and intercostal stretch.

The key is to breathe deeply so you can actually feel your ribcage expanding and compressing as you move.

Stand up and give it a try!

(credit to for this one)

08/11/2026

Do you have to be sore for a workout to "count"?

Short answer: no.

Here's what the research actually tells us about muscle soreness (DOMS):

Soreness is highly subjective, so it's not a reliable way to measure whether a workout worked.

We also don't fully understand what causes it, whether it's muscle damage, connective tissue changes, or sensitized receptors in the muscle.

What we do know is that more intense soreness tends to show up when you're new to exercise, when you significantly increase your training volume, when you jump up in weight, or when a workout involves a lot of slow, controlled lowering movements (like a 5-second eccentric tempo).

My Take:
Soreness can be a sign you challenged your muscles with something new, but it is not a requirement for your workout to be effective.
If you're training consistently and making small, steady increases over time, you likely won't be sore very often, because DOMS mainly comes from new stimulus, not from a well-established routine.

And honestly, being constantly, extremely sore isn't the goal either. It limits how you move in daily life.
I'd rather be able to run around with my daughter and go on my daily walks than feel sidelined by soreness, that's for sure!

What's your take on soreness? Drop it below and let's talk about it!

Have you seen the weighted vest trend all over your feed and wondered if you're missing out on an easy way to boost your...
08/06/2026

Have you seen the weighted vest trend all over your feed and wondered if you're missing out on an easy way to boost your bone density?

You've probably seen the claim that walking with a weighted vest builds muscle and increases bone density.

Here's the problem: the studies used to back that up aren't actually testing what you think.

Most of those "vest" studies had participants using the vest as resistance during leg strengthening exercises, like squats and step-ups, NOT just wearing it on a walk.

That's a very different stimulus than strapping on a vest and going for a stroll.

When researchers actually compared walking with a vest to walking without one, both groups saw similar improvements, and the vest itself didn't provide any additional benefit.

Here's what we do know: strength training provides meaningful change to muscle and bone. If you enjoy walking with a weighted vest, *go for it*-it's not harmful!

Just don't let it replace your strength training, as that's where the real benefit is.

So if you've been wondering whether you need to add a weighted vest to your routine, here's your answer: focus on strength training first, the vest is optional.

Have you tried walking with a weighted vest?

Tell us how it's gone, we're curious what you've noticed.

Are you a woman who's been inundated with information about bone density lately, but not totally sure where to start in ...
08/05/2026

Are you a woman who's been inundated with information about bone density lately, but not totally sure where to start in best caring for and protecting your bones?

You're not alone, and here's a piece of the puzzle that doesn't get talked about enough.

Your bones don't operate in a vacuum. They exist inside the larger ecosystem of your body, and one of the most fascinating parts of that ecosystem is something most people have never heard of.

Your muscles and bones can actually communicate with each other. Muscle tissue releases signaling molecules called myokines, and one of their jobs is to tell your body to slow down the breakdown of bone tissue. In other words, the presence of muscle mass is protective to your bones.

Mechanical loading (think: lifting weights, resistance training) is critical for bone health on its own. But your muscles benefit from that same loading too, which means strength training is doing double duty for your skeleton.

Here's the part I love: you don't need a complicated program to get this benefit. Research shows we can build muscle with nearly any exercise, in nearly any rep range, as long as we're training close to muscle failure.

Protecting your bones doesn't have to be complicated.
It starts with something you can act on today: showing up consistently to strength train and build muscle.

What's one thing you're doing (or want to start doing) to support your bone health? Tell us below, we'd love to hear it and cheer you on!

08/04/2026

Exercise isn't something we do to punish our bodies, it's something we do out of love for our bodies.

High calorie burn does not equal an effective workout.

Personally, I don't talk about exercise in terms of calories, and I don't talk about food in terms of calories either.

I don't want my daughter to ever see me pick apart my body or try to use exercise as a way to shrink myself. I believe how we talk about exercise shapes our relationship to it.

And if I wouldn't say something to my daughter, I wouldn't say it in my classes either.

You'll never hear me talk about "calorie torching" or getting "a bikini body."

At Loa Movement, we show up and work hard out of *love* for our bodies.

07/20/2026

🔑2 Questions to Ask Yourself When It Comes to Selecting Weights:
1. Were the last 2-3 reps challenging and difficult to complete?
2. Was the set less than 25 reps?

If you answered “no” to either of these questions, you can play around with going up in weight!🤸‍♀️🥰

SUPER SIMPLE!! No need to stress about heavy weight, light weight, low reps, high reps, etc etc etc!

Let’s lift weights together!!! I’m kicking off our August Summer Steady Challenge in 2 weeks inside of the Loa Movement App, and I’d love to have you!!📲👯‍♀️
Comment “challenge” and I’ll send you the deets!

07/15/2026

I’m having so much FUN creating classes 🥹

Strength training will always and forever be the heart of Loa Movement, but goodness I’m having a blast teaching Mat Core for a midweek core-focused class!

We’re including Mat Core in our upcoming Summer Steady Challenge☀️😎
We start August 2nd. You in?!
Comment “challenge” and I’ll send you the link to pre-register 💗

07/13/2026

☀️Let’s goooo!!! Challenge interface is LIVE inside your Loa Movement App 📲 meaning you can go ahead and “opt in”
Summer Steady Challenge begins August 2nd!

➡️Not a member? Tap link in bio to pre-register!🥳

Huge shoutout to gramms for being our official challenge sponsor! Their fruit punch clear protein is my JAM🥤

04/14/2026

Comment “CONNECT” to get on the waitlist for 30 Days FREE!🥳

We’ve got a full month of education and strength training for you inside of our Core Connect Challenge on the Loa App📲and I literally CAN’T WAIT for you to see!!!🥰🥰

Shout out to and her adorable “Mom School” series as inspo for Fit Physics 🤓

Do we need more Fit Physics episodes?!

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Durham, NC
27707

Telephone

+19193229461

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