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[Small Group] Classes at MINT

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Now introducing [Small Group] classes at MINT.

Classes will launch January 9!

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[Small Group] class will be 25-minute workshops focused on fitness fundamentals. The goal of these classes will be to help you gain a basic working knowledge of the physiology and kinetics of key exercises. These classes are definitely must-adds to your weekly fitness routine. Complete schedules (with times, locations and instructors) are forthcoming!

[Small Group] class offerings will include:

  • Squat Basics (Levels 1 and 2)
  • Cycle Class Basics
  • Yoga Basics
  • Foam Rolling Fundamentals
  • Bench Press Basics
  • Barre Fundamentals
  • Power Playground Fundamentals
  • The Perfect Pushup
  • Core Workout Basics

[Small Group] classes will start in January

and are included with all class-access memberships.

yogastudio

10 Inspirational Instagram Pages to Get You Pumped

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SELF Magazine Instagram

Sometimes you need a little extra push to get you pumped for a workout… we get it! Here are 10 great Instagram pages to get you motivated and pumped for your next sweat session!

1. Roberto Bolle dancer at American Ballet Theatre

Instagram handle: @robertobolle | Fave post: https://instagram.com/p/BM6w6K0A2OG/

2. Misty Copeland dancer at American Ballet Theatre

Instagram handle: @mistyonpointe | Fave post: https://instagram.com/p/BNNWjpIB6do/

3. Shaun T.: Personal trainer

Instagram handle: @shauntfitness | Fave post: https://instagram.com/p/BLeDLr5D-1G/

4. Kevin McHugh: StrongMan and weightlifter

Instagram handle: @mchuge655 | Fave post:  https://instagram.com/p/BNAJIJnhuVq/

5. Laurie Hernandez: Olympic gymnast and winner of Dancing with the Stars

Instagram handle: @lauriehernandez_ | Fave post:  https://instagram.com/p/BMJ0PhIFVEs/

6. Facts of Fitness: fitness videos

Instagram handle: @factsoffitness | Fave post:  https://instagram.com/p/BCoD_l6rHc1/

7. Explosive Performance: elite and extreme fitness training

Instagram handle: @explosiveperformance | Fave post:  https://instagram.com/p/8BKjElu53w/

8. Capoeira Arte martial arts culture collective

Instagram handle: @capoeiraarte | Fave post:  https://instagram.com/p/BIuI5BlAXGA/

9. Home Squats: fitness videos and testimonials

Instagram handle: @homesquats | Fave post: https://instagram.com/p/BNUbvz_BN0m/

10. SELF healthy living and lifestyle magazine

Instagram handle: @Selfmagazine | Fave post: https://instagram.com/p/BMq7mLuh4uL/

By MINT Ambassador Erika Gude

Yoga Alignment Alignment Series: Tree Pose, Vrksasana

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Disclaimers: Consult a doctor before beginning an exercise regime. Never force a pose.  Stop if you feel pain or intense discomfort.  Yoga is meant to be yummy.

I love vinyasa yoga and I am obsessed with good alignment.  This obsession doesn’t stem from a need for perfection, which would be very “un-yoga-like” of me, but from a passion for protecting the body from injury.  Most bodies can safely practice yoga on a daily basis, but maintaining sound alignment is essential to your physical wellbeing.  In this series, I will break down some common poses—explaining how to stay safe and fully enjoy each posture.  Finally, remember to BREATHE consistently while practicing yoga to receive the full benefits of the practice … otherwise, you’re just stretching in Sanskrit.  Today’s pose is Tree Pose, or Vrksasana.

Tree Pose, Vrksasana
Tree Pose, Vrksasana
  • Bend the right leg, and place the foot at the left ankle, calf, or upper thigh. Never rest the foot directly on the knee.
  • Raise your arms towards the sky. Shoulders roll up and down the spin, away from the ears. Shoulder blades come together at the midline.
  • Arms slightly externally rotate, meaning that palms begin to face towards the back of the mat.
  • Hip points should face out equally in front of you, and your bent knee should extend towards the right.
  • Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face.
  • For a challenge, try balancing while closing your eyes, and/or gently swaying your arms like a tree in the wind.
  • After you are done, try the pose on the other side to even out the body.

Practicing yoga on your own can be a ton of fun, but taking a class is a great way to explore new poses under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

Ashley Binetti received her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training at Saraswatis’s Yoga Joint in Norwalk, CT in 2011. Her favorite pose is Triangle. When she’s not doing yoga, Ashley works as a nonprofit attorney. She is also a MINT Ambassador. Ashley Binetti received her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training at Saraswatis’s Yoga Joint in Norwalk, CT in 2011. Her favorite pose is Triangle. When she’s not doing yoga, Ashley works as a nonprofit attorney. She is also a MINT Ambassador.

Personal Training Rate Increase

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FYI: Personal training increases are coming January 1!

All 50-minute sessions will increase by $2/session and all 30-minute sessions will increase by $1/session. Members on an active, current FLEX plan enjoy 2016 rates through May 2017. If you’re not on a FLEX plan, start one in December to take advantage!  PURCHASE HERE! (Please note that any disruption to a FLEX plan resets the plan to new rates.)

Stock up before the prices increase! Buy 50-packs ASAP!

BUY 50 sessions with Master Trainer (50-minute sessions)

$4,450 ($89/session)

BUY 50 sessions with Trainer (50-minute sessions)

$3,950 ($79/session)

You’re too busy to mess with anything less than the best

Don’t Be Scared! Use Data to Maximize Your Indoor Ride

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There are a million reasons indoor cycling has become so popular in DC — tons of indoor riders are clipping in, riding hard, and rocking out with great beats for a 45 or 60-minute escape from everything that awaits them in the real world.  Here at MINT you can do that with MINTRide, Rhythm Ride, Tour de MINT, Fuze, and Rise ‘N Ride.

While indoor cycling is based on outdoor cycling, many indoor riders prefer to ride solely inside, and the sport fits all kinds of fitness levels! Whether your goal is to train for a race, build endurance, lose weight, or just to find some zen, read on for some tips on heart rate monitoring, cadence levels and pedal stroke drills that will help you maximize your indoor ride!

HR Zone Chart

Heart Rate:

MINT offers free PIQ monitors for all indoor cycling classes. These devices track your heart rate and calories burned throughout the entire ride, so not only do you get to monitor your work class, you get an email summary of your workout at the end so you can track your progress and tally up those calories burned. We promise you won’t have to do any math at all, really — we’ve put charts up in all of our cycle studios that list the target heart rate ranges for every age, so as your ride, you can monitor your range accordingly.

Your best training is when you’re working at about 80% of your maximum heart rate (roughly 220-your age x .80)

So if you’re cycling regularly, the challenge is to:

  • See how long you can stay in that target range, even when you’re adjusting the resistance and the cadence.
  • How quickly your heart rate can recover when it goes above the 80% threshold.

Your instructors and MINT staff are here to make the information as accessible as possible, so if you have any questions about the system or your heart rate levels, just ask!

Cadence:

We measure our cadence using RPMs (revolutions per minute) because that’s how many times you’re completing a full revolution with your pedal (instead of miles per hour, MPH, which is just how fast you’re pedaling forward).

Different RPMs and speeds engage different muscles, which is why cycling can be such a great workout. As you’ve surely seen during class, maintaining the same cadence while increasing or decreasing the resistance makes dramatic changes in the intensity of your workout (and heart rate range too)! Generally, some cadence guides to keep in mind are:

  • RPMs lower than 50-60 are bad for the back and knees.
  • RPMs higher than 110-120 are too fast to remain in control of the pedals.
  • If you’re riding all the time, the goal is to find your preferred flat road cadence — for most people, it’s somewhere between 88 and 94 RPMs indoors — and then try to challenge yourself a little bit each week to improve from there.

Pedal Stroke Drills:

Even if you’re never planning to take your bike outside, a quicker pedal stroke will help you burn more calories indoors.

  • One drill you can try to further refine your pedal stroke is to make it more efficient. Here’s how: Think of the circular motion of your stroke as a clock. You want to spend the least time between four and six, or on the “sweep” — think of that as hot lava that you don’t want to touch. If you set-up your stroke between 12 and 3, try to start your pull-up earlier — instead of pulling up at 5 or 6, start your pull-up 4 or 5. You’ll find that a faster pull-up makes for a quicker stroke, and soon you’ll be on your way to faster RPMs!

Putting this all together with heart rate monitoring and a more attentive eye on your cadence computer will help ensure that you’re not just coming to class and sweating out everything you have, but really maximizing your effort and improving your overall health over time.

If you haven’t tried an indoor cycling class at MINT yet, or are a regular rider and want to test out some of these new tricks, come visit us soon — each class and instructor offer something different and we’re looking forward to seeing you on the bike!

True story: Ori (a MINT cycling instructor) walked out of her first indoor cycling class five years ago midway through the second song. Her classes promise something for everyone, from the hard-core climbers to the wild speed demons, and her rides will help you leave the studio prouder and stronger than when you walked in. Ori has been teaching rhythm-based rides in DC since 2014, but she loves trying all kinds of workouts, from barre, to TRX, boxing, boot camp, and Zumba! Follow her on instagram at OKorin or Spotify at OKorin10 for good jams and a semi-obscene number of photos of her late rescue pup, President Josiah Bartlet the Beagle.True story: Ori (a MINT cycling instructor) walked out of her first indoor cycling class five years ago midway through the second song. Ori has been teaching rhythm-based rides in DC since 2014. Follow her on Instagram (OKorin) or Spotify at (OKorin10) for good jams and photos of her late rescue pup, President Josiah Bartlet the Beagle.

Yoga Alignment Workshop Series: Child’s Pose, Balasana

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Disclaimers: Consult a doctor before beginning an exercise regime. Never force a pose.  Stop if you feel pain or intense discomfort.  Yoga is meant to be yummy.

I love vinyasa yoga and I am obsessed with good alignment.  This obsession doesn’t stem from a need for perfection, which would be very “un-yoga-like” of me, but from a passion for protecting the body from injury.  Most bodies can safely practice yoga on a daily basis, but maintaining sound alignment is essential to your physical wellbeing.  In this series, I will break down some common poses—explaining how to stay safe and fully enjoy each posture.  Finally, remember to BREATHE consistently while practicing yoga to receive the full benefits of the practice … otherwise, you’re just stretching in Sanskrit.  Today’s pose is Child’s Pose, or Balasana.

Child’s Pose, Balasana
Child’s Pose, Balasana
  • This pose is amazing. It is a resting pose in most vinyasa classes (you can take it at any time you need a break during class!), and is also frequently employed in restorative yoga sessions.  If you suffer from anxiety or insomnia, a few minutes of deep, calming breaths in child’s pose really helps support the parasympathetic nervous system and relax your body and mind.
  • Bring your knees mat-distance apart, big toes touching.
  • Gently fold forward, allowing your heart to sink towards the mat.
  • Stretch your arms out in front of you, fingers spread wide and fingertips gently gripping into the mat.
  • Forehead rests on the mat.
  • Close the eyes.
  • Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face.

Practicing yoga on your own can be a ton of fun, but taking a class is a great way to explore new poses under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

Ashley Binetti received her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training at Saraswatis’s Yoga Joint in Norwalk, CT in 2011. Her favorite pose is Triangle. When she’s not doing yoga, Ashley works as a nonprofit attorney. She is also a MINT Ambassador. Ashley Binetti received her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training at Saraswatis’s Yoga Joint in Norwalk, CT in 2011. Her favorite pose is Triangle. When she’s not doing yoga, Ashley works as a nonprofit attorney. She is also a MINT Ambassador.