This past October I was invited to fly out to L.A. and audition to become a POP Pilates®Master Trainer. I was so excited to meet Cassey Ho, who is the creator of POP Pilates® and Blogilates. It was an amazing weekend full of learning and sweating, and at the end of it, I was thrilled to be offered a spot on the team.

POP Pilates® is a Pilates-inspired dance fitness class that fuses ab-chiseling and total body defining moves choreographed to upbeat pop songs. This intense, mat-based workout challenges students to rhythmically flow from one exercise to the next, developing a rock solid core while leaving no muscle untouched. Most POP Pilates® moves originate from classical mat Pilates and share the fundamentals of breathing and core engagement. The difference is in the class design, the relationship with music, and the sequencing and reps. We like to say that the class is like a “dance on the mat,” and while the movements are challenging your body, the flow of the class is challenging your brain and strengthening your coordination skills. And my favorite aspect of POP Pilates® is the inclusive nature of the class, with options to modify and progress most movements to make them an appropriate challenge for all fitness levels.

As a POP Pilates® Master Trainer, my job is to travel across the country to lead day-long instructor certification classes. Each one starts with a POP Pilates® Master Class, and then we dive deep into the structure of the class, how to work with music, and teaching techniques. Typically only about half of my students getting certified have ever taught a fitness class before, and that creates an incredible learning environment for both new and seasoned instructors. Experienced instructors are amazing resources for the beginners, and the beginners bring a fresh perspective and energy that is so inspiring. And the incredible part about teaching POP Pilates® is the community of teachers there to answer questions, give advice, and offer support and encouragement to one another. I stay in touch with many of my certification students, and it’s so exciting to see them now taking on permanent classes in their hometowns. One of my students is taking her teaching to the next level and is actually in the process of opening her own studio!

On Sunday, March 18th MINT will be hosting a POP Pilates Instructor Certification class from 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM at the Downtown studio. I’m so excited to lead a training here in DC, and I’m looking forward to bringing more amazing POP Pilates® instructors to our area. If you or someone you know is interested in teaching fitness, I encourage you to sign up for the training here.

And if you’ve never tried POP Pilates®, I’d love to see you in class on Wednesdays at 9:30 AM and Sundays at 2:35 PM in the main Mind Body studio at MINT Dupont!

If you have questions about the class or the certification training, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at kathryn@mintdc.com

Why do I keep getting the same injuries when I run? – Part 1

Are you frustrated with constantly dealing with same running injuries over and over again? Are you tired of thinking you have recovered only to have the same injury come back several months later? Read on to find out why you are dealing with repetitive injuries.

A wise man once said “running reveals weakness and if you run enough, injury is not too far away.” When you run, you experience 2-3 times the force of your own bodyweight!.. with every step! Over the course of a run you experience an extreme amount of force through your joints which can lead to injury.

What if you could get to the underlying cause of your injuries that keep plaguing you and keep you from doing what you love? What if you knew exactly what to do to prepare for your upcoming 5K,10K, or even half marathon?

Research has shown that up to 80% of runners will experience some injury during their running lives.

The most common injury they will experience is knee pain. The knee is a simple hinge joint that is wedged between your hip and your foot, and the reality is that your knee is usually not to blame!!

Knee pain is usually either a result of poor hip control or over-pronation issues. Pronation is a natural motion of the foot that happens when your foot contacts the ground and your arch goes inward. Over-pronation is when your arch collapses too
much, placing increased stress on all the joints above.

In Part 2 of this blog post (stay tuned next week – March 3, 2018) we will discuss about what to do about your over-pronation issues. The first joint above the foot/ankle just happens to be your knee, and often takes the brunt of any issues in the foot.

Poor hip control and hip muscle weakness is another common problem that leads to increased stress on your knee, and we will explain more about how to avoid this issue in Part 3 of this blog post ( stay tuned week of – March 11, 2018)

So to answer the question in the title of this blog post: if you continually get the same injury as you ramp up your mileage, then rest and/or whatever “treatment” you’ve had to solve the problem is not removing all the underlying causes of the injury.

In today’s unfortunate healthcare world, clinicians are often forced to see many more patients per day than they should. If a patient has knee pain, they only have time to look at the knee … but as you’ll see in the next two articles, this will often lead to missing the whole story, and therefore failing to address why you keep getting the same running injuries over and over again. If you need help, Call my office at once at (202) 670-8874 or visit me at the Mint Health Club to schedule your 30 minute consultation to see how Physical Therapy can help. Don’t delay–schedule now so we can assess your specific issue and get you fit and injury-free for the Rock N Roll Marathon on March 10, 2018.