If you’re scared of the same old workout… you’ll want to enter to win a TREAT this month.
Put your card (or write your name on slips provided) in the pumpkin at the front desk of either club for a chance to win FOUR personal training sessions!
No tricks… just treats!
It’s easy to get stuck in a salad rut. Here are some ways to shake up your salad routine.
Fresh corn is in season and Trader Joe’s offers tasty option
s. Try this romaine with roasted corn, bacon and bleu cheese dressing.
Instructions:
DYK? Streets Market and Café changes the selection of roasted and marinated vegetables daily. Make a delicious salad with roasted eggplant, squash, zucchini, red onions, red and green peppers and top it with sesame dressing.
Instructions:
Not all salads have to start with leafy greens! 
For this healthy option, all you need is cucumber, tomato, feta and parsley!
Instructions:
Pickled golden beets and kimchi are both gems you can pick up from the Fermentation Brothers, a regular stall at the 14th and U Streets Farmers Market. Try a cucumber, 
apple, kimchi and pickled golden beets salad. Both sweet and savory!
Instructions:
If there’s one thing we love more than a good workout, it’s a good post-workout snack! Lucky for you… Glen’s Garden Market (locations in the Dupont Circle and Shaw neighborhoods) has you covered when it comes to tasty, healthy and easy post-workout goodies!
Check out some of our favorites next time you’re craving healthy and simple snacks after your MINT sweat session.
What they are: roasted chickpeas
Why we love them: They’re a protein-rich alternative to potato chips and the first products that Glen’s launched. They come in large and small snack packs, in the following flavors: cayenne rosemary, cinnamon toast, tomato basil. They also sell gluten-free crumbs made from chickpeas as a breadcrumb alternative – perfect for the holidays.
What they are: organic snack bites
Why we love them: Started as “momme meals” by a woman wanting to cook healthy food for her pregnant friend. She realized that everyone wants healthy snacks and decided to make these with new-moms and athletes in mind. They come in bites, not bars, for portion control, in the following flavors: Turkish apricot, tart cherry, fig ginger sesame.
What they are: kale chips
Why we love them: A light snack, both flavorful and crunchy. These are new and just launched 1 month ago! Healthy potato chip alternative. Flavors include Creamy Onion and Spicy Chipotle.
What they are: smoothie cubes
Why we love them: You can just put them in hot water and shake them up or put them in a smoothie. They’re nutrient dense and flavor filled. Many delicious flavor combinations including Mintergreen, Bright Blueberry and Pineapple.
What they are: apple chips & nut mixes
Why we love them: Fruit Cycle gives produce and women a second chance. They use gleaned products (fruit that would otherwise go to waste) and employ formerly incarcerated women.
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 Standing Forward Fold, or Uttanasana.
– Feet should be hip-distance apart, or where your feet would naturally land standing (people have a tendency to interpret “feet hip-distance apart” as meaning feet on the edges of your mat—this is much farther than the distance of your hips. To measure, you should be able to place both of your fists between your feet).
– Toes spread wide and gripping into the mat. Weight is evenly distributed throughout the feet.
– Engage uddiyanabandha, bringing the belly button in and up towards the spine. This will give you more space to fold forward. This is not an instruction to hold the breath. Continue to breathe fully.
– Maintain a generous bend in the knees, especially if this is one of your first forward folds of the day. If you have more flexibility and would like to go deeper, maintain a gentle bend in the knees.
– Hands can rest on thighs, shins, or on the mat below you. If you’d like, you can bring hands to opposite elbows and hang freely in your forward fold.
– Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face. Shake the head “yes,” shake the head “no.” Then find stillness.
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.
We’re hosting a charity ride on Oct. 15 to benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation’s #Fit4PreventionDay.
Sign up for the 12:30 MINTride class (suggested donation of $15) and cycle for a cause!
Reserve your spot here !
The Cycle Challenge kicked off over the weekend… but it’s not too late to sign up! Register here and get rolling!
Calling all ’80s and ’90s kids!
If you were in middle school back when Nelly was making it ‘hot in here,’ this ride is for you!
Register here!
We’re so excited about our new barre studio at MINT Dupont… we’re throwing it a party!
Our “Basic Training” membership includes a monthly session with one of our expert trainers and FLEXGuest.
The steam rooms at MINT Downtown will be down for weeks for repairs. We’ll alert you as soon as they are up and running! Apologies for any inconvenience.
We’ve added FIVE new classes at MINT Dupont (including pre-natal and MINTKids yoga classes). All five classes will make their debut this weekend, so reserve your spot ASAP!
Cammie Wolff, who will be at MINT Dupont. Learn more about Cammie’s background and her passion for fitness here.
The system is used in Power Playground and MINTRide classes. Sign up today (free!) and start tracking your training intensity ASAP!
Join the MINT Ambassador team (and fellow MINT members) for a happy hour on October 12th at Big Hunt.
Register here
You’re out on a run, enjoying the pace, you finally feel like you’ve got it in you to run a little further than you did last time, then all of a sudden OUCH! Something in your ankle doesn’t feel quite right…
So you slow down, give it a stretch and give running another attempt, but nope! Your ankle won’t have it, it’s just too painful…Sound familiar?
Well, this is exactly what happened to one of my patients, Jody, a few weeks ago.
In June, Jody decided to take up running again because as well as walking her dogs along Rock Creek Parkway each day, she wanted to add in something different to keep active.
She started slow, running gently for 15 minutes a time every weekend and finishing off with a slow walk to cool down.
Gradually over the weeks running felt easier, so she decided to pick up the pace one weekend and run for a few extra minutes uphill until all of a sudden OUCH! Shooting ankle pain came out of nowhere and Jody hasn’t been able to run since…
In fact her ankle pain has been so bad that she hasn’t been able to get out and run for a whole 6 weeks – which feels like a long time when you’re missing out on doing something you enjoy!
In an ideal runner’s world, (and not just runners this applies to people who enjoy walking too!), every step of every mile would be one hundred percent pain-free.
No aches, no twinges, no lingering soreness from yesterday’s activity, but the reality is, this is one of the most common problems I see people who enjoy to run or walk long distances suffer from.
Here’s the thing we’re not designed to run and walk up hills for long periods of time, and nor do we need to!
Sure you might work a bit harder by running up a hill, but this is adding huge stress to your ankle and Achilles tendon by doing so.
Of course if you’ve got an event coming up that involves a lot of steep hills, just like the route for DC Rock and Roll Marathon or the Army 10 miler, then doing this type of activity would likely help you achieve that goal, but let me explain why it’s likely to do more harm than good:
Think of your Achilles tendon as an elastic band, when running or walking up hills this elastic band gets stretched too far. The Achilles tendon connects the two major calf muscles to the back of the heel, and under too much stress the tendon tightens and becomes irritated which is why you feel pain each time you go to run, or even walk up the stairs!
This is not an injury to run or walk through. If you catch a minor strain early, a few days off might be sufficient healing time, but if you keep running as usual, you could develop something more serious that may even take up to six months to go away!
So what’s the number one thing to do right away if you’re suffering from this pain right now, or if it strikes?
Complete rest for a few days and lots of ice!
Swap your footwear for soft, comfy shoes, there’s no need to strap your ankle up or wear supports, just apply ice. I recommend applying ice for 10 minutes each hour if possible.
After 2-3 days I’d begin some deep massage and very gentle stretching and work on the ankle joint to prevent any stiffness or get rid of any swelling.
My top tip: If you’re going to walk or run up hills (because sometimes these can’t be avoided), stand as tall as possible and spend a month before you start running using a balance ball, core and pilates exercises to make your back and ankle strong so that you can safely do it and avoid this happening to you too!
~ Trupti Mehta PT, MS, OCS
Physical Therapist
Manual Medicine Spine & Sports PT
P: 202 670 8874
mmssphysicaltherapy@gmail.com
Enjoy running and understand your body well and how it functions!