health Archives - Page 2 of 5 - MINT DC | Best Gym in Washington DC

While a true DC snow day has yet to occur this winter season, you can never be sure when a winter wonderland may be upon us. It is easy to get bundled up indoors and accept that feeling that you never want to leave your bed on a day that appears so frigid. However, even if you can’t make it to the gym, clear some space out in your apartment, and motivate yourself to burn some calories without even having to feel the cold.

Check out this fun snow day workout (c/o Situps and Sequins), and save it for a day when you’re stuck inside!

Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.

Meet our newest community partner, District Rolfing!

District Rolfing

What is rolfing? Rolfing is a highly effective approach to improve the body’s structural balance and ease of movement. As mobility and alignment improve, you feel better. Rolfing provides lasting results by actively engaging the body’s innate intelligence – the body-mind. Athletes, dancers and artists, professionals, and people who use their hands and bodies at work have all benefited from Rolfing. It’s safe, gentle and appropriate for every age and body type. Every session is adapted individually for you. MINT members get their first 80-minute session at District Rolfing for only $100 (that’s a $50 discount!) when they sign up before February 15th! Dubbed “The Queen of Cardio” by one of our regular students, Jeannie is a master trainer for Doonya: The Bollywood Workout, which she has been teaching since 2010. As part of the Doonya team, Jeannie can be seen on The Today Show, Dr. Oz, WUSA9, The Washington Post. She also has performed at the National Cherry Blossom Festival, Fiesta Asia, Arts on Foot, at the Indian Embassy as part of Passport DC. Jeannie is an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor.

Passion statement about Doonya:

Jeannie: a serious workout that’s seriously fun

Fun fact: something unique about you

Jeannie: I love my Michigan Wolverine. Go Blue!

Class day and times and formats that you lead at MINT:

Jeannie: Doonya: The Bollywood Workout at MINT Dupont on Wednesdays at 8pm. (She’s also a barre instructor! Her MINT Barre class is on Thursdays from 5:30-6:20pm at MINT Downtown.)

Keep up with Jeannie on her Doonya Facebook page and her Instagram!

Build a full body workout you can do just about anywhere!

Looking for some full body, dynamic, heart-pumping exercises to add to your workout routine? We’ve got you covered!

One of our HIIT instructors, Brooke, shares her favorite total body moves in a YouTube video. Master these exercises:

(Wo)man makers
Side lunges with bicep curls
Renegrade rows to standing rows
Everest Hops
Squats with tricep overheads
Tuck jumps
… and more!

Watch the video and master these total body exercises!

Like many of us, you probably set some ambitious goals a the start of the new year — namely to live a healthier life and perhaps to lose a few pounds. The easy part is setting your mind to do it, the hard part is to stick with it past the second week of January! Here are a few tips that may make it easier, keep you motivated, and help get you to where you want to be.

1. Visualize your goals

What is driving you to lose some weight (a big event, a healthier you, a dress or pants you don’t get in to anymore)? Write down what your motivation is and make it visible. Post it on your fridge, make a background image for your phone, post-its on your desk… what ever is best for you to remind yourself why you set these goals and why you want to stick with it!

2. Keep track

There is no secret that writing things down helps you be aware of what you are doing (ie. eating).

Some studies show that those who keep track of their dietary intake actually loose 20-30% more than those who don’t. You can go as simple as just keeping a daily log/diary to using the plethora of apps out there to help you along. If you have a Fitbit, their apps has a great food tracker. Lose It is another great app and it syncs with Apple Health and other programs such as iCardio. It’s also fun to get badges for the progress you are making along the way. Calorie Count is another one I have used in the past and would recommend.

In the spirit of keeping track, if you don’t have a food scale, get one! For $15 or less, you will be able to get a much better sense of portion sizes, and be less tempted to guesstimate how much you are eating.

3. See short and long term

Don’t beat yourself up if come mid January you have a dinner and end up eating/drinking way more than your new year’s resolution plan allows. That doesn’t mean you should just give up. Everyone has set backs and these should empower you to get back on track and move forward, not throw up your hands in defeat. I find that setting some short term goals as well as a longer term one, helps me feel that I am moving along even if a week here or here may not have been that great.

It’s only January and you have a full year of possibilities in front you —make the most of them.

Alexandra Salomon is a MINT Ambassador.

Yoga is so much more than an awesome physical practice—it’s also a philosophy. Sometimes, yoga teachers will take the time in the beginning of class during intention-setting, or towards the end of class, to discuss a yogic principle. The basis of many of these principles is Patanjali’s Eight-Limbed Path, described in his Yoga Sutras. Pantanjali was basically the father of modern yoga. He’s kind of a big deal in the yoga world. His wisdom, from over 1700 years ago, is still very relevant in today’s world.

The first two limbs of Patanjali’s Eight-Limbed Path are the yamas (restraints) and the niyamas (inward observances). Here, we are going to look at a couple of the yamas. There are five yamas: ahimsa (nonharming); satya (truthfulness); asteya (nonstealing); brachmacharya (chastity); and aparigraha (non-attachment/greedlessness). My favorites to teach are ahimsa and aparigraha. Ahimsa means “nonharming.” This not only applies to others—like restraining from physically striking another person, or verbally abusing someone—it also applies to how we treat ourselves. How often do we let a self-defeating thought enter our mind, or ruin our day? That’s not practicing ahimsa. Pursuing ahimsa also means treating yourself with loving-kindness, and taking the steps needed to practice self-care. This also applies to how you approach fitness in general. For example, practicing ahimsa means easing up on the elliptical when your knee feels wonky, or opting for a night off when you accidentally pull something in your shoulder and need time to recover. Ahimsa tells us to listen to our bodies and treat them well.

Aparigraha is another favorite of mine—partially because it is fun to say (“ah-par-ee-gra-ha”), and also because of the story my yoga teacher uses to teach this principle in class. The story was about a monkey and a jar filled with peanuts. The jar’s opening was such that the monkey could slip his hand inside, but once he made a fist to pick up the peanuts he could not remove his hand from the jar. In essence, he was stuck. Trapped. Hunters had set out the jar to capture the monkey. While the monkey had time to escape when he saw the hunters coming for him, he just couldn’t bring himself to let go of the peanuts and free himself. Aparigraha teaches us to not be that monkey. Don’t hold on to things that no longer serve you—things that ultimately trap you. Again, like ahimsa, aparigraha translates to life off the mat too. Aparigraha can also apply to how you approach your fitness regime—are you clinging to an unrealistic body image or weight goal that is ultimately not serving you? The princple of aparigraha tells us to let go of the things and thoughts that trap us so that we can be our best selves.

The yamas, of course, have implications for your yoga practice as well. For example, on the mat, ahimsa means listening to your body and not pushing past your comfort zone to the point of hurting yourself. Aparigraha might mean letting go of a thought that is keeping you from fully releasing into the practice and accessing all of the yummy benefits yoga has to offer. Reading about yoga is a great way to learn more about the practice, but taking a class is a great way to explore the practice “in-action” 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.

Changes are coming to group fitness at MINT!

Check the list below to see the newest changes, additions and tweaks

to the group fitness schedules at both clubs.

CYCLE

A new MINTFuze class has been added, Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7am, at MINT Downtown, effective this week.
A new MINTFuze class has been added at MINT Dupont, Saturdays at 11am, taught by Colleen Daly at Dupont (effective January 14th).
The Friday morning 6:30am cycle class will now be taught by Liz Panda.
The Sunday, 5pm cycle class at MINT Dupont has been cancelled.
Adam’s 12pm RhythmRide class at MINT Dupont has been moved to 3pm.

ZUMBA

Fridays Zumba class (at Downtown, at 5pm with Elena) has been cancelled
A new Zumba class has been added with Elena, Mondays from 1-1:50pm (at MINT Downtown)
A new Zumba class has been added, with Tara, Wednesdays from 1-1:50pm (at MINT Downtown)
A new Zumba class has been added, with Nikki, Sundays from 1:30-2:20pm (at MINT Dupont)

BARRE

A new MINT Barre class has been added, with Jeannie, Thursdays from 5:30-6:20 pm (at MINT Downtown)
A new MINT Barre class has been added, with Kathryn, Thursdays from 6-6:50 (at MINT Dupont)
A new MINT Barre Fundamentals class has been added, with Kathryn, Thursdays from 7-7:25 PM (at MINT Dupont) (Note: This class has a 6 student max)
A new MINT Barre class has been added with Kathryn, Thursdays from 7:30-8:20pm (at MINT Dupont)
Barre-late’s on Tuesdays with Karla (at MINT Dupont) has been moved to 11:30 – 12:20pm
Barre on Tuesdays with Laura (at MINT Dupont) has been moved to 6-6:50pm
A new MINT Barre class has been added (at MINT Dupont) on Saturdays, 2-2:50 with Laura.
A new MINT Barre class has been added (at MINT Dupont) on Sundays, 10:30-11:20am with Sarah.
A new MINT Barre class has been added (at MINT Dupont) on Sundays, 1:30-2:20pm with Sarah

YOGA

Tuesdays, 7 pm: [Small Group] Yoga Basics (MINT Dupont) in mind&body studio (begins Jan 17 – Feb 28), Laura Trejo. No more than 6 participants.
Sundays, 11:30 am: [Small Group] Yoga Basics (MINT Dupont) in mind&body studio (begins Jan 15 – Feb 26), Kristin Adair. No more than 6 participants.
Wednesdays, 11 am: [Small Group] Yoga Basics (begins Jan 11 – Feb 22), Allison Rogne. No more than 6 participants.
New Sunrise Flow Yoga (All Levels) class at MINT Dupont, Saturdays, 8:30 – 9:25 am with Moriah Childers, MindBody Studio. (Encourage parents who will be bringing kids to MINTkids yoga classes to start morning with their own class. Childcare opens at 8:30 and kids can warm up there while caregivers get their omm on first)
MINTkids Yoga for Tots and Tykes (age 2-4) has been moved to a new time and will now be from 9:30 – 10:30 am on Saturdays at MINT Dupont withMoriah Childers in the MindBody Studio
10:30 – 11:30 am – MINTkids Yoga for Movers and Tots (crawling to 24 months) has been moved to a new time and will now be from 10:30-11:30am on Saturdays at MINT Dupont with Moriah Childers in the Barre Studio.
Mamas at MINT Prenatal Yoga with Kate Miller has been moved to a new time! It will be from 10-11:20am on Saturdays at MINT Dupont in the MindBody Studio.
The Flow & Align Yoga (All Levels) class on Sundays has been moved to a new time, 12 – 1:15pm at MINT Dupont with Kristin Adair in the MindBody Studio.
Added a new Sunrise Flow class from 7-8am on Tuesdays at MINT Dupont with Kristin Adair in the MindBody Studio.
The Flow & Align Mixed Levels class at MINT Downtown on Saturdays will now be from 11:30 am – 12:45 pm with Laura Trejo.

Setting-Blogging-Goals-is-Very-Important-make-things-happen

As 2017 approaches, it is around that time of year when people start to think about new years resolutions and goals they want to set for the upcoming year. Whether it means taking on a new hobby, pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone in a new adventure or activity, or changing old habits to replace them with healthier and more mindful ones, you can never go wrong by reflecting on what is important to you as this new year approaches

While you start to think about your objectives and aspirations for the coming 365 days, check out this interesting post regarding “what will be big in 2017” based on opinions of top fitness and wellness experts. Perhaps something on this list jumps out at you – now is the perfect time to start planning ways to get more involved in a healthier, fitter you!

Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.

January is coming, MINT lovers. The Statistic Brain Research Institute reported that 45% us make a new year’s resolution, and our #1 goal is weight loss. Despite our best intentions, only eight percent of us will report that we’ve achieved our goals. How can we make 2017 different? By using a little brainpower and a system called WOOP.

WOOP stands for Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan. It’s a method for setting and achieving goals developed by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen at NYU.

A recent study found that WOOP helped participants double the amount of regular physical exercise. Can you picture what you would look like if you could double your time at MINT?

WOOP works something like this: Think about your New Years resolution. If you’re like most of us, your goal is to lose some weight, and get yourself healthy and fit. That’s your “W” or your Wish.

Next, think about the Outcome. If your wish comes true, you’ll have so much energy and confidence in 2017. When you feel great, you’re able to be more and do more.

Sounds great, right? But Dr. Oettingen found that if we just think about what we want and how great we’ll feel once we reach our goal, our blood pressure drops and we feel more relaxed. Our bodies respond as if just wishing for better health had actually made us achieve that goal, and on some level, we lose that motivation. That’s why we need more than just a great resolution and a positive attitude.

After positive visualization, it’s time contrast that positive vision by taking a hard look in the mirror. What are the Obstacles that might get in the way of achieving your goal? Don’t worry about that January weather. MINT is still open. Instead, focus on obstacles that come from within: What are the things that keep you from working out the way you hope to in January? Too much rich food, booze, and lack of sleep are common excuses. Or perhaps you struggle to make the gym a priority, or to find value in a low-impact workout when you have a cold.

What we need is a Plan. Knowing our wish, having a motivating vision of the outcome, means we need a plan to overcome that obstacle. The plan can be something simple, like registering for that spin class tomorrow morning before heading out to happy hour tonight. Or you might need to give yourself a little positive pep talk about the value of getting your blood moving, if only for 20 minutes.

Want to try it out? Download the free WOOP app or check out Dr. Oettingen’s research on her website or check out her book, Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside The New Science Of Motivation.

WOOP it up with us at MINT this January, and let’s make 2017 the year you achieve all your health and fitness goals.

Nikki Mueller is a MINT cycling instructor.

Holiday season has already begun, which means our normal routine is altered as we are busy with travel plans, visits with family and friends, more time to veg around, and routine gym closures.

Just because you will be busy during this holiday season, does not mean you shouldn’t take some time for yourself to maintain the fit bod you’ve been working towards. While it is human nature to indulge over the holidays with treats and sweets, it is important to keep up with an exercise regimen – to get you feeling accomplished, strong, and less guilty following those holiday meals. Because you may be traveling over the holidays and/or the gym has adjusted hours over the holiday weekend, that does not mean that you can’t find a way to work out in the comfort of your own home.

Take a look at these fun holiday themed workouts to give you some inspiration and incorporate them into your routine over this holiday season! Enjoy!

Melanie Rubin is a Physical Therapist in DC and a group fitness instructor at MINT.