Elizabeth Marks in Workout Gear is "Incredibly Grateful"

Elizabeth Marks is a former army sergeant. She is also a swimmer who competes in the Paralympics. Marks will be competing in Paris, and shared a set of photos from the trials on Instagram. She captioned it, “Late to announcement post (as usual), but for a reason. Paris 2024 ♥️. Incredibly grateful to be named to my 3rd Paralympic Team. Today feels strange. I’m grateful, excited and sad. To my teammates that won’t physically be in Paris I will do my best to make you proud. Thank you for pushing me and supporting me everyday. I’m so fortunate to have y’all in my life. Congratulations to the 2024 Paris team, excited to see all of you thrive.”

1. She Hikes

Marks likes to go for hikes. She shared these photos on Instagram of herself and her friends hiking in Alaska. Harvard Health states that being outside has a lot of mental benefits. “A number of small studies hint that spending time in green space — nature preserves, woodlands, and even urban parks — may ease people's stress levels. Giving the growing consensus that stress contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease risk, anything you can do to mitigate stress is likely helpful. In that realm, the benefits of hiking remain anecdotal, but outdoor enthusiasts tend to agree.”

2. She Trains With Others

When Marks trains, she likes to have a partner with her. Marks shared these photos on Instagram of herself swimming with a friend. Iowa State reveals that group exercise has a lot of benefits. “Exercising with others can also satisfy some basic psychological needs. Any kind of exercise can help someone feel in control of their choices, but the social support from a group can reinforce a sense of autonomy. Similarly, group exercise can increase feelings of mastery – thanks to growing competence, for example, at spinning or step aerobics. And it will certainly increase your connectedness with others. People naturally choose to keep up fulfilling behaviors in the long term and they promote mental health – a win-win.”

3. She Works Her Upper Body

Marks shared this video on Instagram of herself doing an upper body workout. “Go to @usarmywcap for nutrition tips and workouts provided by our awesome team at WCAP 🖤 credit: @usarmywcap... 2 minute warm up - Skier. 4x6-12 Chest press /super set with pull ups. 4x6-12 Incline press /super set with rows. 4x6-12 Flys /super set with high row. 4x6-12 Bicep curl /super set with overhead tricep extensions.

4. She Strength Trains

As you can see in the previous Instagram post, Marks is seen using weights. ACE Fitness states that this has a lot of benefits. “Lifting heavy weights elevates levels of anabolic hormones—specifically testosterone, growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)—which are used to repair muscle fibers damaged during exercise. This helps the muscle fibers to become thicker and capable of generating higher levels of force.”

5. She Swims, Naturally

"Swimming is one of the most effective ways to burn calories. A gentle swim can burn over 200 calories in just half an hour, more than double that of walking. And a faster swim would see that chocolate bar gone quicker than if you went running or cycling," says Swimming.org. "As well as being a great form of cardiovascular exercise, swimming just 30 minutes a week can help to guard against heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes."