Unionfitness is committed to facilitating the accessibility and usability of its website, unionfitness.com,for everyone. unionfitness aims to comply with all applicable standards, including the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 up to Level AA (WCAG 2.0 AA). unionfitness is proud of the efforts that we have completed and that are in-progress to ensure that our website is accessible to everyone.
If you experience any difficulty in accessing any part of this website, please feel free to call us at 412-224-5220 or email us at join@unionfitness.com and we will work with you to provide the information or service you seek through an alternate communication method that is accessible for you consistent with applicable law (for example, through telephone support).
Earlier this year (side note: 2019 is really flying by), 33 of our members embarked on a challenge – the 2019 Strength Project. They were tasked with attending 28 classes over the course of 8 weeks (mid January to mid March) – split between our #powerful classes, Cardio Lab classes, and yoga classes. If they completed the challenge, they earned either a massage or some personal training sessions with one of us. To help along the way, we provided some extra assistance in the way of private goal coaching sessions, personalized lifestyle change suggestions, a private Facebook group to vent (a popular add-on), and even some free prepped healthy meals.
We’re finally finished tallying everything up and doing our final check-ins, and it looks like almost every participant completed the challenge! We have a lot of personal training sessions in our future!
The “challenge” really looked different for each participant. Some of our members have no problem attending 3+ barbell classes per week, but yoga was foreign territory. We had quite a few people who took this opportunity to upgrade from Cardio Lab only memberships to having access to our full range of classes, so getting comfortable with the barbell was something new. They each took it in stride (and had the rest of the group to confide in when things got tough).
We asked everyone to reflect on their experience of the Strength Project and answer a few questions. These were their thoughts:
What was the BEST part of the Strength Project?
“Being able to experience different classes.” – Diane
“I thought the sense of community the Strength Project fostered was great. It made people get outside of their comfort zones and try some different classes. [T]he expectations were a good balance for life, obtainable but still enough to build consistency.” – Rachael
“The accountability piece that comes with the Strength Project. I like setting a goal of a set number of classes to attend each week. The Strength Project helped me do that.” – Brittany
“Developing a weekly routine (that I continue to follow). Working with a variety of trainers with different styles.” – Brian
What was the WORST part of the Strength Project?
“I hated yoga, but I think I will continue taking Cardio Lab” – Richard
“Trying to fit so many classes in to satisfy the project requirements.” – Diane
“Getting used to the 5am class schedule. I still struggle with that even if I go to bed early (at least 7.5 hours of sleep). I love the class – just not waking up for it. I’m getting better at it.” – Brittany
“I had a slight injury that forced me to scale back training for 2 weeks. I felt a little pressured to get back to classes quickly to accomplish the challenge.” – Brian
Would you do a challenge like this again?
“I would. It was a different experience and I met some decent humans along the way. Also, it kept me accountable to achieve my goals.” – Diane
“I would definitely do it again, even on a smaller month-to-month basis.” – Rachael
“YES!! Maybe a summer challenge?” – Brittany
“Absolutely.” – Brian
What as your personal proudest moment during the challenge?
“Getting a solid three plate deadlift [315 lbs] and eating vegetables without puking” – Diane
“My proudest moment was reaching 3 PRs the last week of the Strength Project. I benched 100lbs (pretty much my bodyweight) which I never thought I could do.” – Brittany
“Attending any class with the word ‘cardio’ in it. Close second: using proper form for deadlifts and squats.” – Brian
And some other thoughts:
“Community is important. I could do it alone but it’s so much more enjoyable & rewarding with others” – Ang
We are so proud of each and every one of you, whether you made it through or not. Everyone made strides toward becoming a better version of themselves, no matter what.
Keep an eye out for our next challenge, coming summer 2019!
