On Saturday, hundreds of women from across the region gathered at the indoor training facility at Redskins Park to embrace the challenge of an NFL-style workout hosted by renowned personal trainer Ary Nunez and the Women of Washington Redskins (WOW).
Nunez is one of Nike's master trainers, and after the company became the official merchandise sponsor of the NFL, was asked to create a fitness class with women being the primary focus.
She has an extensive background in martial arts, as she holds black belts in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Kung Fu. With her credentials in fitness along with traditional fitness instruction, the NFL Ninja Workout was formed.
"The NFL Ninja Workout is a class designed to engage women. Our goal is to increase and retain more of the joy of football," Nunez said about the routine. "The class is designed with football specific drills and exercises combined with what I know.
"I am a modern day ninja, so its martial arts and football and we're dancing while doing [it]."
Aided by several Redskins Cheerleaders, the ladies joined Nunez in the team's indoor practice facility for the NFL Ninja Workout.
After several full-body stretches that were fused with basic martial arts principles, she led the participants in a jog around the field, doing lunges and carrying weights.
With music pumping loud from the speakers, any inhibitions melted away, and Nunez reminded everyone about the first rule of working out: to have fun!
Varying between upper-body, lower-body, and core exercises, Nunez challenged the ladies to push themselves to a new limit.
Push-ups transitioned into planks before moving into the next cardio routine. As the ladies dug deep, Nunez emphasized that they shouldn't quit on themselves.
After over an hour of intense marital arts-style training with a plethora of kicking and punching combinations, it was time to cool down and stretch their hard-worked muscles.
Tanya Snyder, wife of Redskins' owner Daniel M. Snyder and founder of WOW, partnered with Nunez to teach a session of the NFL Ninja Workout.
Even though Mrs. Snyder said she was a workout enthusiast that works out five days a week, she admitted that she was unaccustomed to such a rigorous workout program.
"I do Pilates and different things all week and this is a whole different set of muscles [being worked]," Mrs. Snyder said with a smile. "[Nunez] is all about combining a lot of things from Karate to Tae Kwon Do, and she's a black belt so all of the moves are interesting.
"It's good to use many muscles, especially new muscles."
As the ladies finally had the opportunity to relax and soak in the workout regime, Nunez spoke about the importance of staying active and eating healthy.
"The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism is. It's that easy," she said. "Your head should always be over your heart. Feel with your heart, but think with your head.
"We are what we eat, so we have to take care of ourselves."
While she believes everyone should live active, healthy lifestyles, she has always had a passion to help women reach their fitness goals.
Mrs. Snyder shares that sentiment, calling it one of the foundational pillars of WOW.
"WOW is a means for the millions of female fans of an 80-year-old franchise to communicate as women, and pull together and do things to make a difference," Mrs. Snyder said. "Women's health is so important and that's what this event was all about."
At the end of the workout, Nunez thanked WOW and the Washington Redskins for the opportunity to spend some time with them.
"No matter what, we'll work out together," Nunez said. "The Redskins rock, this is the best team on earth!"
WOW is the official women's fan club of the Washington Redskins and gives millions the opportunity to be joined together, not only as female fans of a historic franchise, but to give them a forum to stay connected and improve their overall well-being.
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