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Cayt’s (First) Training Log – May 2019

May 31, 2019Trainingadmin

Hi all! I am excited to share my first training log, even though it’s nothing special right now. In Casey’s last training log, he began by stating that we all work hard but we all also struggle from time to time. With that said, here I am as another example of honesty.

The past few weeks my weight training has been pretty half-assed. I get the work done but my mindset has not been as present, my sleep has been subpar, my appetite has been low, and the time and days that I train have been more scattered than set like usual. This is the first time in quite a while that I don’t feel as energized to train, but it does happen and I am working to make these controllable factors change.

I write my own programming for a few reasons, but mainly to help me learn my body and “practice” on myself. I still love doing it, but because life has been much busier recently, I have neglected to spend much thought on writing my program. Preparation is usually the key to my motivation and I have not been doing my part to feel prepared. Without a meet in sight I also tend to feel like I am training aimlessly, even though I know this isn’t true.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a few of my friends convinced me to bench in a meet with them. A powerlifting meet is something I have never done spontaneously but it was so much fun and a nice spark. I have also decided on the Live Large Fall Brawl III meet on November 9th (with some of the UF crew wooo!), giving me another spark of motivation to work on my programming with more intent.

The next few weeks I will be continuing more of an “offseason” style of training with higher volume, shorter rest time, focus on weak points, and more overall movement. Here is one of my favorite recent training days:

Camber Bar Box Squat		Small Jumps, all x5
Camber Bar Box Squat		5RM
Belt Squat		4×8
GHR		4×15
5 pad elevated Rev. Lunge		3×20
Heavy Pull-through		3×12
Face Pulls		100 total
Pullaparts		100 total

Meal of the week- Alexa’s Everything (but the bagel) Oatmeal

May 29, 2019Nutritionadmin

Everything but the Bagel Oatmeal

-great for weight training

The savory oatmeal is inspired by a client of mine. I wanted to try my own spin on it, so here’s what I have for you:

½ cup or 40g of Quick Oats

¼ cup of Pumpkin Seeds

1-2 Poached Eggs

Preferred amount of Thyme + Garlic

A lovely serving of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt and Black pepper

Handful of Spinach + Kale

Throw Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning all over the top

First:

Boil 6 ounces of water. Once boiling, throw in the oats. Stir. Add thyme, garlic, sea salt, and pepper. And simmer for 1-2 minutes. Then throw oats in a bowl and mix in pumpkin seeds.

Second:

Start boiling water for poached egg. A little grandma trick- pour in a small amount of vinegar so the egg whites form around the egg to prevent the separation madness. Create spinning vortex and drop in the egg, let simmer for 1-3 minutes depending on your preference of dippy-ness.

Third:

Add spinach and kale on top of oats. Next add egg(s). Sprinkle Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel season all over and eat! 🙂

UF 101: D-Balls

May 27, 2019Trainingadmin

How to D-balls: The Carry

Sometimes there is nothing better than just picking up something heavy and carrying it. I love the barbell lifts but sometimes I just want to feel like a barbarian that picks some heavy shit up. The D-ball’s that we have perfectly satisfy this feeling for me. If you have never seen the D-ball’s before they look similar to the medicine balls but are covered in a near bullet proof thick rubber. They’re also much heavier than the medicine balls at 50lbs, 80lbs and 100lbs- I like to call this one the “Big Kahuna.” The regulars that come to my Monday Powerful Bootcamp class are quite familiar with my love for these awkward tools. The possibilities to use these in your programs are endless but I will stick with the main one that everyone loves to do: The Carry. There are a variety of exercises you can perform but this one is a staple.

Did I say it’s my favorite? Just pure will of strength. This one is special for me, however; before “The Carry” begins it is crucial you are in the correct position so there are some technique cues I want to stress.

The Start Position: Placement of the D-Ball

Make sure that the D-ball is placed directly in the middle of your feet. Visually if someone drew a line in the middle of you everything would be cut perfectly in half.

The ball also needs to be close to you before picking it up, limiting chance of injury. If someone is looking from the side of you, the ball should be placed ideally in the middle of your shoe- the arch of your foot.

The Deadlift

Just like every deadlift you want to bring your hips back, maintain a neutral spine as much as possible, and squeeze your glutes to pull the ball up.

More often than not, people have an urge to start curling the ball – Try to avoid this, because you want the force to come from your hips. This doesn’t mean that your arms need to be straight but ideally staying the same degree of bent during the whole movement.

The Hug

Do not rush this beautiful moment with you and the D-ball.

After deadlifting the D-ball, take a second to place it in your lap. Possibly the best way I can describe it is to perform a wall sit without the wall. Meaning squat down with your chest up trying to place the D-Ball into your lap as much as possible. This position shouldn’t be strenuous if done correctly.

Once the ball is in your lap make sure to get it as close to your stomach and chest as possible. You want to fold your upper body over the D-Ball. Now wrap your arms around it to make this moment as special as possible.

Once there is no space between you and the D-ball try to think about rowing the ball through your chest. The ball should not move but this will create more tightness and safety for your back.

The Lift

Once you are one with the ball squeeze your glutes as if you life depends on it.

The power from your hips and glutes should be your ‘movers,’- how we get the D-Ball up. Everything else, specifically your back, should be stabilizing more than moving.

Where do I put this thing?

Once you have the D-ball up you might be asking “where the hell is this thing supposed to be?” Fantastic question.

I believe with great posture, or as like to call it “big proud chest”, in the middle of your sternum with a tight upper back is the best place. But with female anatomy this can be difficult. So for the all the females out there, having the D-ball on a shoulder is perfectly safe as long the posture does not suffer.

Like any lift, it will take some practice to perfect this exercise but I believe this will soon be a fan favorite. Each one of our classes are implementing it more and more due to the strength benefits and overall “fun”; depending on your point of view. So next time you want to get your heart rate up while challenging your strength, take some of these cues and pick one of they heavy D-Ball’s.

May Training Log – Casey

May 24, 2019Trainingadmin

In our gym, we practice what we preach. We eat well. We sleep eight hours (except our morning crew). We train hard. And we rest when we need to.

But we’re also human. And our team does a great job of being vulnerable, so that you all realize we go through ups and downs in our lives as well, both inside and outside of the gym.

I’ve had no desire to train as of late, so I haven’t. But that’s also wrapped up in two serious health related items- 1) I’m partway through a medication change for my UC treatment and 2) I’m scheduled for shoulder surgery next week. It’s arthroscopic and should be a pretty simple in-and-out case. I’m looking forward to it actually, so that once my gut heals I can get back to training hard again with a healthy shoulder.

I did train recently and it looked like this…

Belt squat 3 plates/side 10×10

Push ups, BW 10×15

Rest :30 after each super set

I was sore for a couple days afterwards so I know what I’ll be in store for in about six weeks.

Meal of the Week -Casey

May 22, 2019Nutritionadmin

For context:

I haven’t been training with any consistency.
I am using intermittent fasting for two reasons
- Convenience- it’s nice to put off that first meal until the afternoon
- Auto-immune support- this style of eating has been shown to help those with AI diseases
I have shoulder surgery scheduled for next week
My primary goal right now is to let my body rest and reset

This meal is from a meal prep company. I’ve been using them for two weeks and I like it for now because it’s done for me and it’s bland. There aren’t any extra ingredients and it’s not cooked with anything that could upset my GI tract- no unknown ingredients or cheap cooking oils.

Ingredients:

Grass Fed Ground Bison

Sweet Potato

Rice boiled in chicken broth

Spinach

Red pepper

I added more salt and Pre packaged guac from Costco (only ingredients are avocado, lime, salt, and pepper)!

This meal is about 700 calories.

Overall my day looks like this:

Meal 1 at 1pm- Ground Bison meal

Meal 2 at 4pm- Ground Bison meal

Meal 3 at 9pm- Whatever looks good! Sometimes Chicken or Filet from Butcher Box. Sometimes my mom drops off dinner when she stops over to take care of the dogs. (I’m a momma’s boy through and through.)

So my days right now are running 2500 calories, but understand my activity is almost nothing -I walk my dogs each morning and that’s about it. I sit most of the day. And my bodyweight is roughly 85% of what I typically walk around at. So keep in mind this is a snapshot of what I’m doing NOW with a very focused goal- REST. After surgery and when I get the clear from my GI doctor, my calories will easily double as I increase activity. And actually my body composition will improve with an increase in calories. Crazy, right? Not really- this is why we push #powerful and resistance training. Our systems, when taxed and fed properly, can respond in incredible ways.

I certainly could meal prep this on my own, but I’m dedicating too much time to other things.

First being my dogs- they’re requiring some ‘retraining.’

Second being Union Fitness- we have some big changes coming in the fall and I’m putting in a lot of work, along with our team, into changing the way we do things. It will still be the same us, but we’re exploring new ways to help YOU!

Fasting, is it for everyone?

May 20, 2019Nutritionadmin

Fasting, is it for Everyone?

Fasting. The buzziest word of 2017, 2018, 2019, and probably for a few more years. Or maybe it is just on my mind. You know when you are buying a car and you want a yellow car- then you start to see yellow cars everywhere. It’s not the influx of yellow cars now on the road, it’s your brain looking for this. So, now “fasting” is EVERYWHERE to me.

To be honest when I heard the word, I would sigh, take a breath, and ask why? Most responses were “I don’t know, my friend is doing it” or “I want to lose weight so this will shorten my window of eating.” Ok, I guess I understand the logic behind shortening the window. I also never gave it a chance to have an opinion. So, what did I do? I tried it to see how my body would respond. Before I get into it, I want to give some information on what fasting is.

What is Fasting or Intermittent Fasting (IF)? Fasting is the absence of eating for a period of time. This is voluntary and different from starvation which is involuntary. You have a feeding window and you have a fasting window. An example of a popular fasting ratio is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of feeding. Keep in mind of those 16 hours, 7-8 hours should be spent sleeping. Your reasoning will be different from the next. Some do it for health benefits, weight loss, etc. while others do it for spiritual reasons.

Fasting was not created in 2019 by the most recent Instagram famous fitspo. It is something our bodies are born to do. Our bodies are equipped and ready at any moment to prepare for long periods of time before the next feeding. How? Our body fat is the fuel to our intricate system. In other words, your body eats itself. This leads into some of the reasons people start this in the first place.

*Mind you fasting does not mean instant ‘fat burning.’ Our bodies will burn muscle before fat in a caloric deficit IF we do not lower our glycogen stores (through a low carb diet or consistent intense training to keep those stores low), which is not the recipe for improved body composition.

Low glycogen stores + interval strength training = optimal fat burning.

Autophagy. When fasting, our cells go through a process called autophagy. This is the degradation and recycling of cells, a way for the body to throw away old crappy cells, organelles, etc. I will quickly tell you why our body does this because we all need to know why things happen in order to connect to a concept. When we eat, insulin increases. When we don’t eat, and need some glucose, our body increases glucagon, a hormone used to break down stored glycogen. Remember, our body needs energy. Glucagon is released more often when we fast. Glucagon stimulates autophagy. Autophagy can happen anywhere in the body, including in the brain. Research has shown some benefits to fasting for the prevention of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even cancer- shown to help clean up abnormal proteins that are prevalent in these diseases.

Other reasons people fast are for (POSSIBLE) increased fat burning, weight loss from shortened feeding window, management of type 2 diabetes, mental clarity, increased growth hormone, cell cleansing, and reduction of inflammation. Please keep in mind that these cool benefits are not promised and often take more than just a manipulation of your feeding window to reap the benefit. Some of these take lifestyle changes such as food choices, exercise, and other interventions. Fasting is not the end all be all. So, I am here to tell you how my body reacted and why fasting is not for everyone.

If you are curious on how fasting will react with your body I recommend doing some research into what fasting window is right for you and, if your body is in the right place for it. Some great resources are Dr. Rhonda Patrick at www.foundmyfitness.com (her podcast is great too), Dr. Satchin Panda, and Dr. Jason Fung.

Fasting windows: DISCLAIMER: Please talk to your doctor before trying any of the extreme fasts, they are absolutely not for everyone and can result in dangerous outcomes.

13:11 (the circadian fast – 13 hours of fasting, 11 hours of feeding) (The non-extreme and the one that works best for me) (Dr. Satchin Panda is a great resource for this!)

16:8 (16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of feeding)

20:4 (20 hours of fasting, 4 hours of feeding)

24-hour fasting

5:2 (5 days of eating, 2 days fasting and of on the 2 days you are allowed to consume 500 calories)

Extended fasting (greater than 48 hours, this is extreme and can result in micronutrient deficiency)

My fasting experience. I fasted for 3.5-4 weeks. I trained fasted. I did the 16:8 fast. Stopped eating around 7:15 at night and did not eat again until 11:15 am the next day. I was enamored by the fact that my body was able to sustain without food for 16 hours because I LOVE TO EAT and I have always been a breakfast person. Here is how my body reacted. The first week I felt great. I loved having a small feeding window of 8 hours. I ate non-stop, so it felt. I think I dropped 1 pound the first week. Probably because my body was confused. But, let me tell you about the rest of the 2-4 weeks. I felt chronically fatigue, my training felt sluggish with zero energy, my brain felt foggier than ever, and I was bloated like a kid on Christmas (makes no sense), but you get the idea. I started wondering if this was for me. I thought maybe the symptoms would go away after my body acclimated to this change. Nada. I did some research. Women, this one’s for you.

Fasting is a form of intermittent starvation, voluntary, but starvation at best. Your body does not know the difference of voluntary and involuntary starvation. The female body is protective, period. Our intricate and amazingly beautiful bodies want to stand up and protect at any moment from famine, danger, etc. So, reproductive hormones start to decrease because our bodies do not see the success of nurturing a growing child when food is low. You are signaling to your hypothalamus (H-P-G axis), the main conductor of this train of hormones, that food may not be around and therefore the system changes, downregulates. The hypothalamus likes food to be spread throughout the day to feel confident that you are ok. Your hypothalamus is not only the conductor of your menstrual cycle, it also plays into other important hormones such as cortisol, thyroid, etc.

My experience with hypothalamic amenorrhea in the past tells me that fasting is like playing with fire. Sure, 12-13 hours of fasting is quite normal and typically how my lifestyle falls in to place, but extending the hours gets tricky. A few other reasons fasting is often not warranted for women: if pregnant due to possible nutrient and calorie deficiencies, breastfeeding due to a reduction in milk supply and hypoglycemia, past eating disorder due to a reinforcement of binging periods and anxiety around eating, and over all hormonal imbalances. Fasting is not warranted for certain medical conditions and should be discussed with a Physician before starting. Keep in mind other situational factors that can potentially alter electrolytes and put you at risk for fluid imbalance i.e. high intensity exercise, traveling, periods of high stress, lack of sleep, etc. should be considered before choosing fasting protocols.

OK, all in all fasting has its many benefits and there are plenty of podcasts, PubMed articles, and books out there that show some significant changes in health markers, weight loss- if in a calorie deficit, and cognitive improvements. If you try it, give it more than 2 weeks to allow your body to go through an acclimatization period and for your daily habits to adjust. Fasting also has its downfalls, so take all this information with a grain of salt. Be skeptical, question, do your research, know your body, and be mindful of your experience if you do try it. If you have any questions, especially women, please feel free to reach out.

Alexa Ferri

May Training Log- Alexa

May 17, 2019Trainingadmin

May 17^th, 2019

Alexa’s Training Log

Hi, it’s me again. My training has changed and here is why. I was preparing for my very first powerlifting meet on June 1^st at Union Fitness. This is no longer happening. I was going through the motions, week after week and training was becoming a chore. I no longer felt any ounce of me that wanted this and I did not feel well, physically. My sleep was 4-6 hours per night (and believe me, I take sleeping seriously), my body felt fatigue and inflamed, the only thing that I had covered was my nutrition, mostly because it’s the only variable I could control in this situation. Basically, I was not recovering well.

I had just returned from a trip, pushing hard to get back into my programming, but I could not get myself to push my body further. I knew it was time to make a decision. It comes down to this, my passion for powerlifting is not strong enough to continue this meet prep. This meet was supposed to be a fun thing for me. It was no longer that. Not even slightly. After I decided to nix the idea, I felt very sure. I’m not going to write it off completely and say I won’t try this again, but for now this is not my time to shine in that realm.

So, what am I doing now? Well, I am moving and feeling great. That is what I train for. My intention is to feel good, train with many modalities, and body comp changes are always a plus!

I’m not getting away from weight training at all, but I am using a timed variation on my strength training for the time being- timed work periods and timed rest periods. The breathing is labored, the back sweat in flowing like the Nile, and I am feeling strong and well.

Here is what I did today:

Deadlift	4×10@75%
A1. Staggered Stance RDL’s	:30/:30
A2. Stallion Squats
A3. GHR’s
A4. Calves on Leg Press
B1. Leg Press	:30/:30
B2. Wide Grip Cable Row
B3. Cable Standing Leg Curl
B4. FB SA Rows
AB Finisher	:40/:20
-Tuck Ups
-Banded In and Outs
-Classic Plank
-Cable Side Bends

Meal of the Week- Alison’s Breakfast

May 15, 2019Meal Prepadmin

Alison’s Breakfast

Stuck in a breakfast rut, I decided to swap out the usual breakfast oats for a little egg cup action. Healthy and super easy to make = two birds, one cup!

What I love about these protein packed babies is that they are completely customizable for your changing needs or tastes. In the mood for savory? Do the classic ham & egg route. In the mood for sweet? Throw some sweet potatoes on the bottom. Need some extra greens? Spinach to the rescue. Cheese lover? Sprinkle on the dairy. Want a little Mexican twist? Throw some cilantro and chili lime seasoning on top. There are so many choices and with twelve spaces in your pan there’s plenty of room to mix it up.

What you’ll need:
Muffin tin
Meat of your choice
Eggs
Veggies of your choice
Spices of your choice
Cooking spray

What to do:
Spray the bottom of your pan (**Important step, do not skip!)
Line the cup with the meat of your choice. Sometimes I like to really load up on the protein so I do a double layer.
Add veggies.
Add egg. Cracked, of course.
Fish out egg shell pieces (You may be able to skip this step, depending on your egg cracking skills.)
Sprinkle on spices.

Bake at 350-ish degrees until done, around 20 or so minutes (I prefer my yolk a little runny, so I bake until the egg whites no longer jiggle)

And voila! Breakfast cups fueling fitness classes (and instructors).

Supportive Lifting Gear- is it for you?

May 13, 2019Trainingadmin

If you’ve been in the Strength Lab, then you’ve seen some of our members using supportive lifting gear. I recognize that a standard commercial gym, like an LA Fitness or Gold’s Gym, (or other fitness place) may not be as open or accustomed to group weight training. So if these items are unfamiliar to you, strap in (get it) and I’ll explain what they are and how they can help you.

We’ll start with a basic definition- what is “supportive lifting gear?” It’s any type of gear/equipment that aids a lifter. They can be worn to support a joint, help a lifter brace and support their back, or help with a mobility issue. This includes but is not limited to: Weight lifting belts. Wrist wraps. Wrist straps. Knee sleeves. Knee wraps. Etc, etc.

(For the purpose of this article I will not get into lifting gear- briefs, suits, bench shirts, etc.)

The Belt.

What’s it for?
The fore fathers of strength training learned that power, strength, and stability comes from our core. With that came the realization that wrapping a thick piece of leather around your belly and bracing into it (using your abdominals to create pressure that also supports your back) made them stronger. So a belt will help increase your strength once you learn how to use it to brace properly while under load.

Is it for you?
If you’re looking to improve your strength and technique, and add some pounds to your squat and deadlift, then YES! Ask to borrow one of ours, or one of our members, and see if you like it. Then we can direct you how to order yourself

one! The other cool part- these things last a lifetime. So it’s a minimal investment into your training to help make you stronger and keep your back safe
.

Wrist wraps.

What are they for?
These elastic wraps are used to support the wrist. They are not necessary, but can be very helpful for any heavy benching or heavy overhead pressing. But they can be useful if you’re dealing with a sore wrist or even coming back from an injury.

Are they for you?
If you like benching or doing overhead press but it bothers your wrists at times, then YES! Just grab one of us and we’ll show you how to wrap your wrists properly.

Wrist straps.

What are they for?
These non-elastic wraps are used in helping your grip strength. They can be used for pull ups, pull downs, rows, deadlifts, and some other movements.

Are they for you?
Have you caught yourself doing an exercise only to have your grip give out way before the muscles you were targeting got tired? Then YES, these bad boys are for you. You don’t need to use them for everything- otherwise your grip will never get stronger. But they are a great tool to use when you’re doing a row and your grip starts to get tired- throw the straps on with our help and now you’ll be able to finish the set and get the most out of that particular exercise.

Knee/Elbow sleeves.

What are they for?
This is a piece of equipment that is probably a little more familiar than some of the aforementioned items. Knee sleeves are used to stabilize the knee (to a small extent) and to keep the joint warm.

Are they for you?
Do you have achy knees or elbows? Then YES! This one is pretty cut and dry. Try them- and if they feel good, then wear them!

Knee wraps.

What are they for?
Originally lifters started using ace bandages to provide stability to their knees while squatting. Naturally that progressed into the invention of elastic and heavy duty knee wraps so lifters could lift more weight because they would get some spring and rebound out of their squat if they wrapped their knees tight enough.

Are they for you?
Honestly, if you’re not competing, then I’d say you can avoid this piece of equipment. They’re fun because you can put them on and instantly squat a few more pounds, but unless you get hardcore with wrapping them, the knee sleeves may be a more comfortable bet for you.

There are a handful of other items that I didn’t dive into- something as simple as chalk or weightlifting shoes (flat soles or heeled shoes)- can aid. your lifting as well. But for the time being, this is a start! If you are thinking about buying any of this equipment, ask! Our staff can help determine what will be most helpful for you.

Also thank you to our friends at EliteFTS for their images and indestructible equipment. You can find all of the above mentioned items at www.elitefts.com

Lindsey’s May Training Log

May 10, 2019Trainingadmin

It’s finally spring, which means I’m running again!

I honestly couldn’t be happier that:
The weather is finally nice enough for a fair-weather runner like me
My knees and hips are holding up despite my injury history (soccer, bad lifting when I first started)
I was getting some yoga classes in over the winter, but now I feel reinvigorated in creating a new training schedule and plan.

I absolutely hated running when I played soccer. It was a punishment, something I did because my coaches made me. I struggled to get a few miles of a straight run in because it felt “pointless.” I could run for 90 minutes in a game or two hours in scrimmages no problem because there was a purpose behind it, but couldn’t translate that to a 5k. Now that I’m older, I’ve put that mindset behind me and have found running to be truly cathartic. It’s not a true meditation at all, but it does give me a unique space to think and let my thoughts run wild (pun 1000% intended) in a constructive way. Plus, I get to enjoy even more of what Pittsburgh’s North Side has to offer on the river trail!

Adding more intense cardio back into my training schedule means rethinking how I structure my weeks and even my individual strength workouts. I’m still strength training ~5 workouts per week, utilizing 5/3/1 for my squat/bench/deadlift/overhead press (I really care about having nice shoulders, what can I say?), with an additional day focused on pull-ups and some bodybuilding. I’m also now running up to 5x per week, including a lot of what are often referred to as “junk miles.” This is very different from how I’ve done it in the past, where I’d keep running to no more than three times per week, sometimes even down to two.

Why the change? I’m not giving weight training the same priority I did in the past. My goals in lifting right now are still simply to regain some size and some minor strength gains (to see if I can gain back or at the very least maintain my strength while working on my health). So that means I can be a little more liberal with running, which helps keep me feeling mentally sharp (and sane).

My basic layout looks like this:

Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Bench	Squat	Back	Rest	Deadlift	Press	REST!
Mid Run	Row/Run	Ski/Row	Short Run	Elliptical	Long Run

The other big change is what my assistance work contains. Lower body days are more heavily focused on building my core and posterior chain, ie the glutes, hamstrings, and back, plus a lot more single-leg work. I’m using different variations on the typical back squat that are still very taxing but require less straight weight and therefore a little less strain on my knees and quads. I’ve included one of my favorite supersets here – a weighted single-leg squat to the box (at parallel), right into a single-leg Romanian deadlift.

I’m still taking a full lifting deload every 4th week, and still get to move some heavy weight! As I’m writing this, I benched 5 singles at 165, and I’m looking forward to pulling around 325 on Friday! It takes some balance but it feels gooooood to be back!