No Excuses for a Healthy Week in the District

“I’m not going to the gym because I can’t afford the membership.”

“I can’t get up and go for a run because I hate running alone.”

“I’m really nervous about trying new fitness classes, so I’ll just stick to my usual routine.”

My two, up-at-the-crack-of-dawn running buddies, Carla and Christina

These excuses were unacceptable in the district this week because March 21-25 marked the inaugural DC Fit Week, a FREE week geared towards motivating active adults to healthy lifestyles. The week offered a variety of great, FREE, fitness classes and sessions – from belly dancing and Bikram Yoga to cycling and circuit training. But the great part about DC Fit Week (other than the part that everything was totally FREE) was that it focused not only on the physical aspect of fitness, but on the mental and financial aspects, as well. In addition to nightly happy hours and social events, participants were able to sit in on sessions like Social Security Retirement & Medicare and Handling Student Loans with Financial Footprints.

To get the most out of the week (and realistically manage the commute from Northern Virginia…ugh), I wanted to attend a mix of sessions. So to start the week, I hit up the Kick-Off Happy Hour at Funxion, where I met the inspiring DC Fit Week founders, Rahiem and Charlotte Swann. Offering delicious cocktails with 140 calories or less, and a variety of FREE sliders, the event also featured an auction for great prizes like a monthly gym membership, dinners and gift cards, and acupuncture and massage services. All proceeds for the event went to an incredibly worthy cause, Colon Cancer Alliance.

Chef Tania getting her cook on!

Next on my schedule was the Spring Season Cooking class held at the Tenleytown Whole Foods. The class was seated in a small section of the café, where we observed Chef Tania Hayek-Mercer, founder of Nourishing You, cook up some Spring season yummies. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the health benefits of the ingredients she was using, and she offered some great nutrition trips. In less than an hour, she whipped up a tasty frisee salad with champagne vinaigrette, wok seared shrimp, asparagus and mangos, and topped it off with a refreshing pina colada parfait.

Finally, to close out the week, I awoke bright and early to attend the final group fun run. With breathtaking sunrise views of the city, it was a great way to meet other runners in the area (Orlando, the organizer, is a running coach!), end a fitness filled week, and begin a great spring weekend in the district.

Overall, the first-ever DC Fit Week lived up to my expectations, and I can’t wait for this annual event to roll around next year. I’m looking forward to participating in more FREE (not sure if I had mentioned this whole week is FREE…) classes and sessions, or maybe even organizing some of them myself. There won’t be any viable excuses NOT to!

Editors Note: Did you attend any events for DC Fit Week? What did you enjoy the most? Do you think DC needs more health related events like this?

Tags: #dcfitweek, Chef Tania Hayek-Mercer, colon cancer fundraiser, DC Fit Week, Fundraiser, Nourishing You, Rahiem and Charlotte Swann

Category: FITNESS, HEALTH EVENTS, SPECIAL OCCASION EVENTS