Don Ryan / AP

Bicyclists travel with traffic down Broadway Street in Portland, Ore., which Bike Score, a new site from Walk Score, just named the second most bike-friendly city in the nation. (Pay no mind to the helmet-less daredevil on the right.)

Biking across your city can be a great way to sneak in a workout while getting from Place A to Place B -- not to mention, you'll avoid traffic jams and you never have to fight for parking. If you've been wanting to try a two-wheel commute, now might be the perfect time, as we happen to be approaching National Bike to Work Day (Friday), which comes at the end of National Bike to Work Week (this week), which is all part of National Bike Month (May). What, you didn't know that already? 

And Walk Score, the site that rates neighborhoods for their "walkability," just released a list of the top 10 most bike-friendly cities. Each city in this initial top 10 list is scored based on the number and quality of bike lanes and trails, destinations and road connectivity, number of bike commuters and hills. (Speaking of hills, San Francisco nabbed the third spot on the list. San Fran cyclists, we'd love to hear your strategies for handling those hills!)

A score of 90 to 100 means the city is a "Biker's Paradise"; scoring 70 to 89 means the area is "Very Bikeable," while 50 to 69 means the city is merely "Bikeable." Any lower than that, and the city is deemed only "Somewhat Bikeable." A trio of public health professors at the University of British Columbia helped develop Bike Score. 

Check below to see if your home made the list. If your city is left out, Bike Score invites you to tweet your annoyance at the oversight -- scores for the top 10 most-tweeted-about cities will be added next.

Bike Score's most "bikeable" cities:

1.  Minneapolis (Bike Score: 79) 
2.  Portland (Bike Score: 70) 
3.  San Francisco (Bike Score: 70) 
4.  Boston (Bike Score: 68) 
5.  Madison  (Bike Score: 67) 
6.  Washington, D.C. (Bike Score: 65) 
7.  Seattle (Bike Score: 64) 
8.  Tucson (Bike Score: 64)  
9.  New York (Bike Score: 62) 
10.  Chicago (Bike Score: 62) 

Related:

• What's the best way to lose belly fat?
• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Think your way thin with these 3 tips

By April Hussar
SELF.com

Happy National Women's Health Week, ladies! This week is all about YOU -- and we have all the advice you need to make the most of it and end the work week healthier than when you started.

National Women's Health Week, now in its 13th year, is a week-long health observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health. Dedicated to empowering women to make health a top priority, this year's theme is, "It's Your Time."  

"Healthy, strong women are essential to having healthy strong children and communities, but too often women place the needs of others before their own needs," says U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Here are 5 ways to put YOURSELF first this week by improving your physical and mental health and lowering your risks of certain diseases:

1. Visit a health care professional to receive regular checkups and preventive screenings. Monday, May 14 was National Women's Checkup Day. Now, you already know you should be getting a yearly checkup from your general practitioner, and keeping your annual gyn appointment (right?), but don't forget about your teeth, your skin and your eyes! Most health care insurance plans cover a dermatologist checkup, something to take advantage of, considering that between 1970 and 2009, melanoma increased eightfold among young women and fourfold among young men ages 18 to 39, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic. And if you need to get your teeth cleaned but are worried about the costs, here are SELF's three ways to lower your dental bills.

2. Get active. You might say "no duh" to this one, but remember that getting active doesn't have to mean working out at the gym or going for a run (though those are super healthy ideas, of course!). The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has a great idea for a fun way to burn 100 calories in 20 minutes -- wash your car by hand! You'll get some fresh air and save some money, and it's a fun excuse to put on some cut-offs and splash your cute neighbor with some suds! For 58 (yes, 58) more fun ways to burn 100 calories, check out SELF's slideshow of fun suggestions.

3. Eat healthy. Another no-brainer, but sometimes it just seems "easier" to grab a slice of pizza on the go or swing through a drive-through on your way to work. We've got you covered! Here are 8 "no-excuses" grab-and-go breakfast ideas, and for tasty, easy and healthy dinner recipes, check out SELF's 14 Quick Weeknight Meals.

4. Pay attention to your mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress. Fitness doesn't stop at the banishment of your muffin top. One surefire way of improving your beauty sleep is to banish technology from your bedroom. Desktop computers, iPhones, BlackBerries ... Joseph M. Ojile, MD, board member of the National Sleep Foundation and founder and CEO of Clayton Sleep Institute in St Louis, MO, says they're all "extremely disruptive" -- from the bright light of the screen to the cognitive distraction of wanting to reply to emails or texts. Getting a truly good night's sleep goes a long way to helping you feel good -- in body and mind. 

And if you need more ways to combat stress, SELF has 19 of them here (from dining by candlelight to brightening up your desk).

5. Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet. What if for one week, you treated yourself with the care you'd give to your own kid? Buckle up, don't give in to a "social smoke," wear your sunscreen and make all those smart decisions you'd want your own daughter or best friend to make.

For more about National Women's Health week, visit womenshealth.gov/whw

Related Links:

The Healthy Way to Lose 2 Pounds in 7 Days

How to Undo Your Past Health Mistakes (Smoking and Tanning Included!)

Sign Up for SELF's Free 60 Days to Healthier Ways Plan!

Jenna Wolfe is a TODAY anchor and reporter, of course -- but she's also a personal trainer and a total fitness fanatic.

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

Q: What is the best way to lose belly fat? I eat a high protein diet with fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as my only carbs, and I've lost a lot of weight doing that, but I also need to add exercise to my daily regimen too. I walk, but that doesn't seem to be doing much. Thanks, Jenna! – Laura Crozier 

A: Hi Laura: Good news, you've done the hard part already and that's the diet. Once you've locked in a healthy, protein-packed, low-carb diet, all you have to worry about is maintaining that with a calorie-blasting workout.

I'd recommend starting a strength training program to go along with your walking. Weight lifting should always be included in a weight loss plan. It will help spike your metabolic rate for hours after you're done. In fact, some studies suggest you actually can burn more calories lifting weights for 30 minutes than hopping on a cardio machine (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike) for the same amount of time. Try it!

More by Jenna Wolfe:

• What's on my workout playlist
• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Girls should be encourage to pursue athletics

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• Common diet busters -- and how to avoid them
• Don't get burned! Know these 3 sunscreen myths
• To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast

Sure, you’ve seen TODAY’s Jenna Wolfe breaking news stories with Lester Holt on the weekends from Studio 1A, but did you know that she’s also a personal trainer? Passionate about fitness despite her hectic schedule, she often does what's called a "pyramid workout" when she travels for work in order to keep in shape while she is on the road.

The Pyramid Workout does not use any equipment or weights, meaning that she (or you!) can do it at home, in a hotel room, or anywhere else.  You just have to be able to count!  It is a series of ten moves done for a certain number of reps. The first move (jumping jacks) is a hundred reps, then for each subsequent move the reps are decreased by 10, until the final one (kick-drops), is executed for only 10 reps. 

Jenna says that doing this once is the perfect warm-up before you go for a run or, done four times, can be a complete full-body workout for the day.

Her fellow TODAY journalist, Natalie Morales, was up for the challenge of learning Jenna’s workout routine. (Natalie herself is no newbie to workouts -- she’s a marathon runner!) The two go through each of the movements in an easy-to-follow way so that you, too, can learn the workout! 

See the video, above, to hop in the gym with these two sporty TODAY anchors.

Jenna Wolfe's pyramid workout:

1. Jumping jacks, 100 reps

2. Butt kickers, 90 reps

3. High knees, 80 reps

4. Kicks, 70 reps

5. Mountain climber, 60 reps

6. Toy soldiers, 50 reps

7. Should side to side, 40 reps

8. Inner heels, 30 reps

9. Basketball jump shots, 20 reps

10. Kick drops, 10 reps

Read more from our Summer Shape Up series:

• Find out what's on Jenna Wolfe's workout playlist
• Need a little 'fitspiration'? Try these tips from TODAY readers
• To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast

Courtesy of Jenna Wolfe

On top of her gig as a TODAY anchor and reporter, Jenna Wolfe is also a personal trainer -- not to mention, a regular TODAY Health blogger!

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

My favorite workout partner is not my best friend, or my yoga instructor or my spin teacher. My favorite workout partner is music.

Music meets me at the gym everyday (and is never late).  Music gives me energy when I'm lagging. Music motivates me, inspires me, pushes me and stimulates me. A customized, unpredictable workout mix, with a good balance of high energy music, along with steady, sometimes slower-paced rhythms can turn a sluggish 30-minute routine into a 60-minute experience. In fact, a growing body of research lends scientific credence to music's motivational powers. 

I have 12 different workout mixes that I change every month to keep everything fresh. I use certain mixes for strength training, others for cardio, and others still for yoga and meditative exercises. Whatever music you respond to, just make sure it's customized before you get to the gym so as to avoid constantly switching songs and distracting you from your workout.

My favorite workout songs change all the time. This week's picks will undoubtedly be different than next week's, but I'll share mine with you if you share yours with me. 

1) "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida, featuring Sia

2) "Ageless Beauty" by Stars

3) "Tonight is the Night," by Outasight

What are your current favorite workout tunes? Join the conversation and get inspired by other TODAY Health fans on Facebook. 

More stories by Jenna Wolfe: 

• Encourage girls to pursue athletics
• Are you man (or woman) enough for a strongman workout?
• When personal training doubles as therapy

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• To speed weight loss, try this yummy protein breakfast
• 4 summer skin tips you should know
• Need a little 'fitspiration'? Try these tips from TODAY readers

Corbis stock

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

TODAY anchor Jenna Wolfe isn't just a fitness buff who loves to work out (and has the muscles to show for it). She's also a personal trainer in her spare time. And now, she's your trainer — on Facebook, at least. Got a fitness query? Head over to our Facebook page and ask away.

Q: How can you work your shoulders without bulking up? — Connie Mell

A: This is the most common question I get regarding weight lifting. Women are worried about building big, bulky muscles and they shy away from the weights as a result.

The truth is quite the opposite. Lifting weights will both burn calories and speed up your metabolism. Women would have to lift extremely heavy weights to bulk up. What you want to do is lift heavy enough weights to max out at 10-12 repetitions. If your weights are too light, you won't see enough of a difference. The goal is to tone your body, not inflate it.

And always keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat, so don't completely rely on the scale as you start to tone up that body. -- Jenna Wolfe

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up:

• 4 summer skin tips you should know
• Need a little 'fitspiration'? Try these tips from TODAY.com readers
• Madelyn Fernstrom: Watch for hidden calories with every sip

More by Jenna Wolfe:

• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Girls should be encouraged to pursue athletics
• Are you man (or woman) enough for a strongman workout?

Suza Scalora / Getty Images stock

Keep going! Readers share their motivational mantras that help them stick to their weight loss plans.

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

Earlier this week, we asked you to share your favorite phrases that keep you headed toward your fitness goals, even when you feel like slacking off. Here are a few of our favorites. 

"It took more than a day to put it on, it will take more than a day to take it off."
-- Emily Coburn

"'You've got to shock your body to change it' and 'You're one workout away from a good mood" are two of my favorites."
-- Claudia Zapata

"'Aging wrinkles the body, quitting wrinkles the soul' -- Douglas McArthur. One of my favorites -- really paints a picture for me!"
-- Debbie Shafer Moran

"1) It is what it is, so I go to Weight Watchers and weigh in and stay for meeting. 2) 'Sweat is fat crying' (my fav). 3) I believe in myself first; the rest will follow."
-- Trudy Ranta

"(M)y mantra is: 'I HAVE TO DO THE WORK.' It is NOT going to magically be that way when I wake up, there is NO magic pill, someone else is NOT going to take my body and work out then give it back all while I am sleeping: so I have to be realistic and understand I HAVE TO DO THE WORK to get WHAT I WANT out of my body and health..."
-- Alicia Waldeyer 

"The difference between try and triumph is a little umph."
-- Danna Goshorn

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• Watch for hidden calories in every sip
• Boost your natural defenses with the 'SPF diet'
• In a fitness funk? How to make a comeback
• Click here to read the entire series

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who was dragging her feet going back to the gym after a month-long hiatus.  She gave me all the expected lines:

Courtesy of Jenna Wolfe

You may know Jenna Wolfe best in her role as a TODAY anchor and reporter, but she's also a personal trainer.

"I’ve already lost all that momentum I had."

"It’s going to be such an uphill battle now."

"I feel like I gained all the weight back."

There may have been a breath or two in between each excuse, but you get the idea.

On one hand, I felt bad. She was clearly letting her fear get the best of her. And that’s really what it is: a mental block, rather than a physical one. She knows she can do the work; it’s the thought of “starting all the way from scratch” that makes the task so daunting.

And that’s her mistake. Fitness isn’t a board game, where if you linger too long at one stop, you’ve got to go back to the beginning and start over. Give your muscles some credit. They’re smart. They remember. It may take a few sessions to get your cardio back up to speed, but again, you’re not starting over from the very beginning.

The other reason people have such a difficult time returning to fitness is because they’re looking down the road at the finish line. The fear is, “Well, now it’ll take me so much longer to lose all this weight or to get back in shape." Stop thinking that way. There is no finish line in fitness. You may have a weight loss goal, but it doesn’t mean you stop working out once you’ve hit it. This, like anything else in life, is a process. One day at a time. The first few days may seem tedious, but once you start seeing results, it becomes more of a lifestyle routine than a chore.

Life moves fast. It doesn’t stop to coddle us when we’re lazy or cradle us when we’re scared. No more excuses. Today’s the day. Finish this article, get up, put on sneakers and go do something. Anything. Start right now. There’s no better time. If you’re home, do as many jumping jacks as you can. If you’re at work, go take a brief walk. I don’t care how long or short you make it -- just do something. That will signal the start. And the start means you’re back.

P.S. My friend and I are walking the 6-mile central park loop after work today. That’s her “something." What’s yours?

Also by Jenna Wolfe: 

• Girls should be encouraged to pursue athletics
• Are you man (or woman) enough for a strongman workout?
• When personal training doubles as therapy

More from TODAY Health's Summer Shape Up series:

• Dr. Gail Saltz: Think your way thin with these 3 tips

Have your healthiest summer yet! Ease into the dreaded "swimsuit season" with healthy tips from TODAY experts. All throughout May, we'll offer smart do-it-yourself ways to look, eat and feel better. So stop stressing about that swimsuit, and read on.

Robert Daly / Getty Images/OJO Images

Choose a buddy with similar goals so you can really support each other rather than sabotage each other.

Perhaps the biggest impediment to taking off weight or getting into shape isn't all the pounds you want to lose or all the healthy meals you'll need to cook and eat to lose them. The biggest hurdle might actually be your mind-set.

Most people end up feeling that the task is so big, the road so unpleasant and the outcome so doomed that they never really get started. That's why approaching your goal in a certain thoughtful way, where you basically “outsmart yourself,” can make a world of difference. Big goals can seem overwhelming and, therefore, easy to quit. Goals which require you to completely change your way of doing everything take too much effort to keep up day in and day out. And being completely alone in the task makes it too easy to cheat.

So with those issues in mind, here are some helpful ways to organize yourself psychologically to maximize the likelihood you’ll persevere.

1. Break down goals into bite sized pieces. Rather than saying to yourself, "I am going to lose 20 pounds for the summer," make a weekly goal. For example, "I am going to lose one to two pounds a week" is a completely reasonable, healthy and psychologically manageable idea. In addition, after losing the first pounds you will get the positive feedback of knowing you can complete your goal, which will inspire you for the following week. It's rather like a snowball gathering size as it rolls down the hill; in your mind you will gather speed as you complete manageable tasks.

2. Know thyself. Deciding you are going to run every day when you have always hated running is not going to happen. You have to know what you like -- and what you don’t -- and choose a plan that has as many methods incorporating what you like into it. Pick an exercise and dieting method you can like (or like enough). Find non-food treats to offer yourself as rewards: a new song from iTunes, a bubblebath with incense. If you are a meat lover, go with a high-protein style of diet; if you’re a veggie guy or girl then use veggies as a method of reducing, as opposed with going with whatever new fad your friend likes. If you love sweets the most, get some diet-friendly sweets to have and have them, or you will fall off the wagon fast.

3. Let others help. It is so easy to cheat alone -- not so easy when you have a partner or buddy in it with you, both watching you for cheating and encouraging you to cross the finish line. Choose a buddy with similar goals so you can really support each other rather than sabotage each other. Make dates to be active together and eat together, and then each of you stand strong for the other. There is pleasure in a shared experience, even one as tough as dieting. When you feel big brother is watching, you tend to hold yourself to a higher standard.

Also by Dr. Gail Saltz:

• Your partner's annoying habits: How to deal
• Eat a sandwich, Angie: Skinny shaming isn't helpful, either

Dr. Gail Saltz is a New York City psychiatrist and regular TODAY contributor.

Courtesy of Jenna Wolfe

Jenna Wolfe grins at the camera as she races in a 2011 Girls on the Run 5K, an event that pairs adult "running buddies" with preteen girls who've spent weeks training to run the 3.1 miles. (Jenna's buddy isn't in this picture -- she's just ahead, crossing the finish line!)

There's a good chance I came up with the concept of Girls on the Run, a non-profit that helps preteens train for a 5K, when I was in fourth grade. I was a wide-eyed, incredibly energetic tomboy whose favorite "subject" in school was Phys Ed. (Don’t laugh.) I truly spent the majority of my brain cells trying to get my girlfriends to run around with me outside. Instead, I played with the boys by morning, skinned up my knees by day, and by night, listened to my mom ask me where her daughter was. 

I didn't really fit in. 

By my preteen years, I was still athletic, but at my school, it was uncool to run around, uncool to break a sweat, uncool to be athletic. I was laughed at by the other girls, stared at weirdly by the boys, and once again -- I felt different from everyone else. I didn't know where I belonged.

I never quite fit in as an athletic young girl growing up, but I’ve always been that way. I played sports in high school, as well as in college. I was a sportscaster on TV for 12 years before coming to TODAY. I’m also a personal trainer on the side. And like many athletic women, I just plowed my blind way through the world, feeling on my own as a young female jock.

So when I was first introduced to Girls on the Run, a youth development program that uses running to motivate, inspire and instill in preteen girls a sense of self-esteem, confidence and a healthy lifestyle, I warmly embraced this amazing group of women. They do such important work. They impart wisdom, guidance and soul-growth onto young girls who crave it growing up, no matter how socially settled they think they are.

I participated in a Girls on the Run 5K event with a group of girls last year. The way it works is that each adult partners up with a young runner. Of course, I came in looking for which adult was going to partner up with me, only to realize I was the adult. But once we got that settled, I met up with my little athlete and we were off. About a quarter mile from the finish line, she cramped up. So I pulled a “Jenna” and hinted that I'd be happy to carry her to the finish line. (I’m so competitive.) She looked me square in the eyes and said, "If I started this on my own, I'm going to finish it on my own.”

With that, she started walking (limping) to the finish line. And, wouldn't you know it, her friends, who could have easily run past her, all walked by her side to the very end. That’s when it clicked for me, and that’s when I committed to helping this organization out however and whenever I could.

I struggled growing up as an athletic girl. I shouldn't have had to.

Jenna continues to participate with Girls on the Run, most recently by speaking at a fundraising event. The 5K events are open to the community, and many are happening this week -- click here to find one near you!

More by Jenna Wolfe: 

• When personal training doubles as therapy
• Are you man (or woman) enough for a strongman workout?

More from TODAY Health:

• Skyscraper runners take workouts to incredible heights
• Why does running make my nose run?
• Marathon runners' cardiac arrest risk quite low, study finds

Stockbyte / Getty Images

On average, women in the study did 18 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise daily, while men did 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise daily, according to the study.

People in the study who did not do at least 30 minutes of exercise daily were at increased risk of metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of symptoms linked with cardiovascular disease, including high blood sugar, high blood pressure and low levels of "good" cholesterol.

NEWS: No Sex Required: Women Have Orgasms at the Gym

The study involved a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 U.S. men and women who participated in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey in 2005 and 2006. Participants wore a device called an accelerometer, which keeps track of movement, around their waist for at least four days.

Overall, women in the study had healthier behavior than men, for instance, women were less likely to smoke, but the lack of physical activity still put them at risk for metabolic syndrome, said study researcher Bradley Cardinal, professor of social psychology of physical activity at Oregon State University.

The study did not address why women exercised less than men, the researchers said. However, the researchers said that patterns of activity that begin in childhood typically continue throughout adulthood.

Women also often cite a lack of time to exercise due to child-rearing, said study researcher Paul Loprinzi, also of Oregon State.

NEWS: Many Women Don't Notice Weight Gain

Other work from these researchers shows that adults can enhance their health by accumulating physical activity in short periods throughout the day, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or pacing while talking on the phone.

The study was published in online March 12 in the journal Preventive Medicine.

More from Discovery Channel:

• Don't Sit Tight: 6 Ways to Make a Deadly Activity Healthier
• Lose Weight Smartly: 7 Little-Known Tricks that Shave Pounds
• Attention, Exercise Haters: Everyday Activities Improve Fitness

More from TODAY Health:

• Christian yoga: Trading 'om' for 'amen'
• Why women avoid the gym? Getting naked

Mike Stobe / Getty Images

Earlier this week, New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow was photographed at an L.A. salon, where he indulged in a mani-pedi.

Pedicures have a reputation for being a girls-only activity -- but recently, a few high-profile male athletes are helping to bust that stereotype. 

For those who play sports and have an active lifestyle, a pedicure is less a luxury and more about keeping their feet in great shape. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat shooting guard, gets "sports pedicures," which is what some salons call a no-frills foot treatment designed for the pedi-hesitant man or woman. And this week, photos surfaced online suggesting that quarterback Tim Tebow occasionally indulges, too.

According to Dr. Howard Osterman, the team podiatrist for the Washington Wizards basketball team, a handful of his team's players get pedicures every six weeks during the season.

Players consider it necessary in terms of foot health and reducing their risk of injury, he suggests. "They're not the least bit embarrassed, and they see it as part of their training program," Osterman says. "It's as much medical as it is cosmetic."

He says foot massage helps improves blood flow and reduce inflammation and pain, while removing areas of hardened skin reduces pressure points. Cutting nails correctly can prevent ingrown toenails.

Osterman, who has a podiatry practice in Washington DC,  thinks pedicures can be helpful to athletes, like tennis and basketball players, because they do a lot of stopping and starting in their sports, which causes friction and irritation of the feet.

He also considers it beneficial for endurance events, such as marathons and triathlons, which can lead to hardened skin, foot irritations, and pressure points.

As a professional soccer player, Benny Feilhaber's feet are his livelihood. "It's always nice to have healthy feet," admits the 27-year-old midfielder for the New England Revolution, who's tried a pedicure.

"A pedicure feels really nice, but it doesn't help much with nasty soccer feet," says Feilhaber, who played on the U.S. World Cup Team in 2010.

"For me and for most soccer players, our feet get beat up so much. We have bruises on our feet and nails, and even a pedicure can't fix how our feet look," he explains.

"I could definitely see myself getting one in the future, though," Feilhaber adds. "But more for relaxation as opposed to making my feet look pretty."

It might take hours of regular foot care to transform some athletes' Franken-feet into feats of beauty. 

Of course, it's not just high-profile jocks who seek out sports pedicures, sometimes it's for guys who never imagined they'd be getting these foot care services. Charlie Muldoon grew up on a farm and has been around horses his whole life. But until eight years ago, grooming was something he mainly associated with his horses and not necessarily with his own feet.

That changed when the 43-year-old professional polo player from Toolesville, Md., tried a "foot treatment" at the Grooming Lounge. He saw some other guys getting them done at the Washington, DC-based store, which offers an upscale barbershop and men's spa services. So he asked about the "foot treatment" and decided to give it a shot.

"I'm on my feet all the time," admits Muldoon either caring for his horses, or stuffing them into riding boots and standing in the stirrups while playing polo and coaching the sport.

"[The pedicure] was something I would have never done before," he admits. "I would have said, 'That's not for me, that's for women.' "

But in the store's masculine surroundings, Muldoon's feet took the plunge. First, into a warm foot soaking bath, followed by a scrub to remove dead skin, and then smoothing callus-prone areas on his heels, sides, and soles.

During the 45 minute-process, Muldoon's toenails are clipped and buffed, and his feet are also moisturized and massaged. (At some spas and nail salons, guys can even ask for clear nail polish or "male" polish in dude-oriented shades.)

He now gets the foot treatment four times a year. "It feels wonderful and it makes my muscles feel good," he says.

Related: 

• 'Broga' caters to guys wary of yoga
• 'Hunger Games' workout: Should you train like a tribute?
• Christian yoga: Trading 'om' for 'amen'