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Meet Gina Burd, our Member of the Month!

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I joined Mint in September when I moved here from Boston. My favorite part about Mint is that it is a non-judgmental and friendly community. When I first joined, I was recovering from an achilles tendon injury that prevented me from having a consistent exercise routine. My initial goal was to increase my strength and endurance, and now, six months later I even lost 30 pounds. I take Barre and POP Pilates classes with Kathryn and find her enthusiasm very contagious. Timea’s Pilates classes are challenging and so “Zen”. Both instructors have different approaches and both have really contributed to improving my overall health. I’m very grateful!

Yoga Pose of the Month: Savasana

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By: MINT Yoga Instructor Bonnie Foote

Savasana might be the most important yoga pose that we do. It looks deceptively simple, but lying flat on the floor gives your body ideal feedback for maintaining neutral, healthy posture. It helps to reverse car-computer-couch slouch, bringing your spine, neck and shoulders into healthy alignment. A good long Savasana is also crucial for calming and regulating the nervous system–and, once you start delving into the meditative aspects of yoga practice, for calming the mind itself. Because of Savasana’s unique potential for supporting mental balance, some teachers will remind you that it may seem like the easiest yoga pose to do… but it’s also the hardest! Taking Savasana seems as easy as breathing, but like the breath, it can take a lifetime to fully explore.

If your low back feels tight or sore during Savasana, try adding a blanket roll under your knees–or, for the deluxe version, stack up blocks and blankets under your lower legs as if you had them up on an ottoman. You can also play with legs up the wall (a.k.a. Viparita Karani)—taking Savasana against a wall with your legs elevated, which is very calming for the nervous system. For another calming variation on Savasana, try lying belly down; if you like you can add a short stack of blankets under your torso, from just above your hip bones to the top of your head. You might listen to meditations or Yoga Nidra, you might focus on relaxing one part of the body (try the space between your eyebrows, your temples, or the base of your thumbs where they meet the hands), or you might just notice your shifting bodily sensations or the waves of your breath. In any case–enjoy! And know that, lazy as you look, you’re actually receiving all of the benefits of one of the most powerful yoga practices out there. Namaste.

Now Hiring for Outreach Director

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Posted March 16, 2018

Outreach Director

MINT is seeking a dynamic and driven individual who excels at external promotion, networking, sales, and creating and maintaining relationships. Required attributes include strong organizational skills, sales/marketing background, an engaging personality and interpersonal skills, cold-calling skills, and ability to stay calm and focused on lead targets and overall goals.

Primary responsibilities are:

1.Lead creation: Personally engaging local retail, apartment, business, and pedestrians to facilitate both individual sales leads and organizational/corporate sales leads
2. Ambassador team management: Lead and manage MINT’s team of about 20 Ambassadors within their roles in outreach.

This is a permanent part time position with flexible hours of 15 to 20 weekly. There is excellent opportunity for advancement, but advancing is not a requirement. Qualified individual is able to work a mix of some partial weekday days, some evenings, and some weekends, all on a very flexible schedule. MINT owners will direct outreach focus areas depending on company needs; for instance the first 4 to 6 months of the position will be entirely devoted to creating leads for the new MINT Studio.

Lead Creation: 12 to 15 hours weekly
● Create meaningful engagement of the surrounding community by connecting with local organizations and residential population to drive leads to the MINT facilities, utilizing free trial offers, group discounts, special group classes, team-building activities at MINT, co-branded events, etc.
● Legwork, cold-calling, multiple follow up, personal meetings, and relationship building and management
● Create relationships with local organizations:

○ Retail and restaurant: Identify and execute ways to connect with their customers, setup co-branded events, gain their company’s participation in MINT corporate memberships

■ Within 30 days: five or more meetings
■ Next 30 days: eight or more additional meetings
■ Following 30 days: ten or more additional meetings

○ Apartment and condo buildings: connect with residential manager; arrange table events, co-branded events, flyers for inside individual apartments, and other mediums to reach residents.

■ Within 30 days: five or more meetings
■ Next 30 days: five or more additional meetings
■ Following 30 days: five or more additional meetings

○ Local offices: connect with decision makers to gain their company’s participation in MINT corporate memberships

■ Within 30 days: five or more meetings
■ Next 30 days: five or more additional meetings
■ Following 30 days: five or more additional meetings

○ Specific efforts to connect with members at WeWork at Manhattan Laundry
○ Other organizations identified by Outreach Director and others

● Personally follow up with leads created from events

 Internal Sales

● A limited scheduled internal facility sales role of 3 to 6 hours most weeks will help build team camaraderie and maximize information flow (note that lead follow-up work can be accomplished during some of the sales hours). This internal sales role can likely be scaled down after two to four months.

Ambassador Team Manager, 2 to 5 hours weekly:
This role is primarily organization and overall leadership. Note that the hours are in relation to management of the team, and will be spread out.
● Leadership:

○ Lead MINT’s ambassador team by providing leadership and communication
○ Lead by example; show the team personally how to do outreach effectively
○ Leverage the team with the personal outreach role to plug Ambassadors into events and follow up
○ Hold each individual accountable
○ Provide individual and team incentives
○ Be the primary POC for the team, field requests and inquiries
○ Field requests from partners and potential partners

● Logistics and organization

○ Hold quarterly launch meetings
○ Organize and send ambassador team updates
○ Personally participate in select events
○ Recruit, interview, hire, and onboard two to five new ambassadors quarterly
○ Create and manage calendars for outreach
○ Decide which ambassadors are being invited back each quarter

○ Tracking:

■ Points earned throughout each quarter, and calculate cash bonus rewards
■ Partner perks
■ General productivity
■ Update ambassador staff list

Position reports directly to MINT owner Patrick John, and works in collaboration with facility General Managers, Marketing Director, and others as needed.

Compensation is $25,000 annually
Apply to: Patrick@mintdc.com
Performance review after first 60 days will be based on observed leads created

ROCK N ROLL MARATHON – How did it go?

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Why do I keep getting the same injuries when I run? – Part 3

Part 2 of this article series we discussed the ways the foot can have a big impact on all the joints above and cause various forms of running injuries. In part 3 below, we will discuss the critical role of the hips and pelvis, and their importance to running without pain and injury.

The hip, or coxofemoral joint, is a classic ball-and-socket joint that attaches to your pelvis. It is inherently a very stable joint due to the depth that it possesses, but hip muscle weakness is incredibly common problem among runners. One of the distinct signs we look for as bio-mechanical experts is a hip drop or, “Trendelenburg sign,” during stance phase (when the foot is on the ground).

What that means is that when you are on one leg while running we are looking if that opposite hip drops (see image below). If it drops significantly compared to the other side we know that hip weakness is present. Hip weakness can be attributed to back, hip, knee, and foot pain.
That’s how important it is!

At Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy, we perform “Running Analysis” to evaluate our runners’ strides to get to the root cause of their pain and provide corrective exercises to not only eliminate your pain but also prevent it from coming back. We video tape and perform a gait analysis to look at every aspect of your running.

Another key area we look at here at Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy is the connection of the hip which is at the pelvis. Making sure your pelvis is level and balanced is critical to keeping you pain free and running well. We do this in a variety of ways such as soft tissue mobilization & massage, joint mobilization, corrective exercises, muscle energy techniques, clinical kinesiology, and even trigger point needling.

We are experts at balancing the pelvis to make sure that your hip muscles are firing well. As we are balancing your pelvis, we will prescribe exercises to help address those specific issues that we found. These corrective exercises will help you hold the work we have done and allow you to build strength on a more solid foundation.

If you’re having any pain on your runs, contact us to see if your hips/pelvis could be the root cause of the problem so you can get back on the trail and start running without pain again. 202-670-8874

Bier Yoga at Sauf Haus

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Join us for a free 50 minute Community Yoga session on March 24th at Sauf Haus rooftop Biergarten led by instructor Ashley Binetti. This session will begin at 10am. Please arrive by 9:30am.

RSVP Here

With your RSVP, you will receive a complimentary mimosa after the session, and $5 Mimosa, Biermosas, and Bloody Marys until 1pm day of.

All experience levels are welcome! A great way to begin your Yoga journey if you are just starting out.

Cycle Newsletter – March 2018

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New Around Here?

The MINT Cycle team continues to grow! In an effort to offer you the best instructors in the city and expose MINT’s riders to diverse talent, unique coaching styles, new skill sets and creative formats, we are constantly working to recruit instructors to round out our roster. Have you checked out some of our newest faces? We encourage you to sample all of our class offerings – we have something for everyone!

Ori Korin Cycle Program Director
True story: Ori walked out of her first indoor cycling class five years ago midway through the second song. A couple years later, she gave it another shot and realized a good instructor, the right music, and a little perseverance go a long way. 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. It’s a beautiful gift to have bodies that work…let’s celebrate them! When she’s not cycling, you can find Ori thinking big communications thoughts in the labor movement, trying to make sequins work-appropriate, and drinking obscene quantities of Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee.

Audrey Lamb
Audrey loves sweating, screaming and dancing in a dark room on stationary bikes. She has been leading spin classes around the DMV for over 8 years. A certified holistic health coach, her classes emphasize the mind/body connection and just how good you’ll feel after you walk out of her class.

Katie Frost
Katie started teaching cycling when she was 17 and taught for six years all through college and graduate school. After graduation, working in consulting pulled her away for a few years, but she returned to teaching in 2017, and she’s thrilled to join the MINT team. Katie designs each class around a goal: strength, speed, endurance, or intervals.

Julia Rodenas
Julia received her B.S. in Bioengineering at University of Maryland, studying topics such as biomedical technologies, biomechanics, and physiology. Before college, Julia was a competitive figure skater for over 10 years. Her rigorous training schedule required hours of training on and off the ice. This is where Julia’s passion for health and fitness first began, and it has transformed and grown since then.

Bethany Imondi
Bethany has been teaching spinning for more than five years. She loves to make themed playlists and choreograph her classes to the music. In addition to indoor cycling, Bethany is a four-time marathoner and certified group fitness instructor.
 

Sasha Whitney
Looking for a low impact workout after unofficially retiring from running, Sasha took her first indoor cycling class and was instantly hooked! Naturally, the next step from 3-5 days per week riding in the crowd was to hop on the podium and start teaching. In Sasha’s class, expect a high intensity and energy ride to hip hop, r&b, techno remixes, and a little trap with melodic hypnotizing beats that will leave you sore but wanting more!

Danielle Karst
Danielle is a fitness enthusiast who loves indoor cycling and group fitness classes. After years of attending classes in D.C. (and nearly every city she has visited), she decided to try teaching and loves sharing her love for fitness and music with riders of all levels. She uses a high-energy rhythm format to encourage and motivate riders. When she’s not cycling, you can find her working as a litigator, exploring the city, or traveling.

Allison Schacter
Looking for a way to procrastinate from thesis writing in grad school, Ally joined her friend for her first cycle class and was instantly hooked. She brings her love of music and excitement to each of her classes. When she isn’t in front of a class, Ally works as a public health professional by day and is an avid baker.

Amy Klein
Amy Klein is a certified Spinning Instructor who believes the best way to stay fit is to find activities you love to do! Amy is an avid indoor cyclist and is excited to bring others into the indoor cycling community through the creation of a fun, safe environment where participants of all levels can have a challenging workout while enjoying energizing music and the support and encouragement of everyone in the room.
 
Set Up for Success!
Whether you’re a regular indoor rider or new to the sport, proper bike set up is key to a great ride. There are several different types of indoor bikes that vary from studio to studio, but once you know your settings for MINT’s bikes, you can spend more time focusing on your form, your resistance and your cadence! Any MINT instructor is happy to help you with bike set up either before or after class, and if you haven’t checked your settings in awhile, it never hurts to check them again!

Here’s a great check-list and a graphic to help you:

✓ Seat height
✓ Seat fore and aft
✓ Handlebar fore and aft
✓ Handlebar height

Other good things to know:

✓ Resistance levels: MINT’s bikes go 1-20, but each instructor will use the scale differently. Listen up during the warm up to hear how the describe resistance, and if they use words like gear, tension, etc.

✓ RPMs: This is how many times your feet go around each minute – your cadence. How fast or slow you’re peddling is of course tied to how much resistance you have on the bike!

✓ Heart rate: Many classes at MINT will use our PIQ heart-rate monitoring system, which will show you which heart rate zone you’re in during class. If you use your own monitor, it can also sync with that system, or with the bike’s monitor. Depending on the class, your instructor may coach based on target heart rate zones as well, but if you prefer not to wear a monitor, you can always track your progress using your RPE: rate of perceived exertion, or how hard it feels like you’re working.

✓ Color mode: At MINT’s new Manhattan Laundry studio, our bikes utilize Coach by Color technology and a measurement called Functional Threshold Power (FTP) to help riders gauge how hard they’re working. Read more about it here.

Power of the Positive
MINT Cycle team’s own Colleen Daly is helping train other MINT instructors on the important of body positivity in fitness coaching. With help from research from Northwestern University’s Body and Media Lab, we’re working to make body positive fitness practices the norm, not the exception. Research shows that this coaching style improves retention, boosts the self-esteem and self-efficacy of participants, and improves fitness outcomes. Body positivity is an essential component in achieving important public health outcomes, and MINT’s cycle fitness professionals are committed to learning the science of body positive practices, and providing strategies to create healthy and supportive environments for all fitness participants to achieve their goals. Stay tuned for more information on trainings for members, too!

Have Something to Say?
Feedback forms, iPad kiosks and class reviews are always there for you, but if you have thoughts, suggestions or concerns, you can also email your MINT Cycle team directly! We often get the best ideas from our members, and we’re always happy to hear more. Plus, we find that most questions and issues can be addressed with direct lines of communication, transparent dialogue, and a mutual commitment to making sure MINT has cycling classes to suit as many members’ needs as possible. So whether your favorite class is always packed with a waitlist, or you prefer a smaller more personal ride, our goal is to offer something for everyone, and we hope you’ll join us on the bike soon! Reach out to Ori at ori@mintdc.com, and she can always forward it along to the other instructors too!