All posts by rnagy

Hello From Colorado

Life Health

Hey all our friends of UF. I am typing this while sipping my coffee and enjoying the lack of humidity that  Colorado Springs offers. I am doing minimal work during my trip out west. One thing I did want to do is type this blog. We have been dealing a lot with mental health and life help recently, as the last year and a half has reminded me to take care of your mental and physical health.

 

Tips for traveling and training.

 

  1. Take some time off! Enjoy your trip. Don”t fret over one or two missed training sessions.
  2. Plan your training so your trip is time for a deload or recovery time.
  3. If you must train set rules around your training. I set a clock when I enter the gym and whatever I can finish in 45 minutes gets done. The rest I don’t worry about.
  4. Use nature! Do something different and allow your body to move differently. You could hike, climb, bike, or even do an extreme sport such as zip lining.
  5. Enjoy your meals. You are on a vacation, be sure to enjoy it and don’t sweat each and every meal.
  6. GET SOME REST! The idea of a vacation is rest and recovery, as well as learning new things about the world. So when you return you should be re-inspired to train harder, push harder, and enjoy your training more.

 

As for me I have a few plans while here. One I am renting a bike that I would never purchase (it cost more than my car). I plan on riding two of the most famous trails in Colorado Springs and doing some fun hiking (2,000 vertical foot down hill trails).

 

Thanks for reading this and I hope this helps you a little on your next trip. Until then, call Curtis when things in the gym break cause I won’t have cell service :-).

 

Stay Human.

 

Hamer

Discipline

Life Health

What is discipline? Should you practice discipline all the time? Are there times that you should be undisciplined? 

 

This blog won’t aim to answer these questions for you, but it will attempt to help you understand the factors that go into answering these questions. Discipline is obviously an integral part of successful training, so being disciplined all the time is good, right? Maybe. 

 

Fast Thinking vs. Slow Thinking (Intuition vs. Logic)

 

Daniel Kahneman wrote in Thinking, Fast and Slow that we have two rough categories of thinking. One mode of thinking is quick, intuitive, and acts on the aggregation of both conscious and unconscious information. This type of thinking is very efficient in social situations and in which time is extremely constrained. This is the more primitive form of thinking, and it’s been refined over the existence of humankind. 

 

The second mode of thinking is slow, deliberate, and has the ability to make the most accurate decision from the specific information given. What’s more, this type of thinking is able to take into account the past events of history and possible projections of the future. More about this in a moment. Although this thinking is slower, the decisions made are usually more robust because they have survived scrutiny from a multitude of angles. 

 

The reason I bring this up is that logical thinking is great at projecting the future. This means that we are able to play out possibilities in our head. This also gives us the unique ability to understand the impact of our decisions and delay gratification. You’ve probably heard all about this. Run on the treadmill now and suffer, have better body composition and wellness in the future. This lies at the heart of the idea of discipline. In layman’s terms, discipline is the ability to make decisions now that sacrifice the short-term and optimize the long-term. But should we do this all the time?

 

Discipline and Autonomy Clash

 

There are times in which the discipline that we’ve committed ourselves to restricts our autonomy. Autonomy is a fundamental human need in different amounts across individuals. However, we all need it to a degree. Don’t feel like benching? Too bad. Suck it up. Don’t feel like doing conditioning? Tough cookies. Get it done. 

 

While this approach will help us stick to our commitments, we are ignoring important information. Intuitive information. Enter fast thinking. If you really don’t feel like lifting, there may be a good reason for it. Grinding through sessions is a good skill to possess, but my contention is that this skill shouldn’t always be expressed. The reason is that always choosing the routine you’ve committed yourself to betrays some deep desires. 

 

So, what’s the answer? Do your best to balance discipline and autonomy. There are most certainly times in your life in which you won’t make very disciplined decisions. If you’re on vacation, I would contend that discipline should be the last thing on your mind. Relax and follow your interests. Get away from the structure for a while. But at the same time, don’t use your intuition and impulses to justify making decisions that don’t align with your goals. 

 

There is a season for everything. Discipline can help us transform ourselves into the people we want to be in the future. This is an important endeavor, but not at the expense of completely sacrificing good food with the people we love, being silly and impulsive, or spending time not doing a whole lot at all.

Vicky Zhen

Fitness

I’m Vicky, one of the newest members of the UF family. I’m a student at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Dietetics and Nutrition and minoring in Exercise Science. I’m interested in being a registered dietitian and/or go into food science. My favorite food is fruit. A food that I hate is mayo (if you like mayo, you’re actually disgusting). My education plan says a lot about my interests: I like to cook/eat and exercise. I used to run cross country and long distance track events in high school. Now, I’m a 57 kg powerlifter and the social media chair for Pitt’s Powerlifting team. My best lift is squat; worst is deadlift. Fuck deadlift. Bench is chillin’. My goals are to place top 5 at Collegiate Nationals this upcoming school year and have a 1000lb+ meet total before I graduate. Some cools things you don’t need to know about me, but I’ll tell you anyway: my dream superpower would be to read people’s minds. And when I was around 6 yrs old, I voluntarily jumped out of a moving car with no suicidal motives, I swear.

 

My experience being a powerlifter.

 

Before I discovered powerlifting, a big insecurity of mine was that I’d never find that thing that I’m passionate about. You always hear online of people chasing after their dreams and pursuing their passion(s). I could never empathize with those people until I became a part of this sport. Almost every time I get ready to train, I feel excited to grow, to be better than my last training day. And through training, I’ve learned so much about the sport and about myself. But the one thing I love the most about this sport is the community. Everyone supports each other. Whether it’s a quick spot, a ride to the gym, a handle, an extra lever for your broken lever belt, technique advice, some words of encouragement on a rough lifting day, someone is there to offer help always. The seemingly small acts of kindness are what drive me in this sport.

 

When I officially joined the Pitt Powerlifting team in January 2020, I knew close to nothing (and I still have a lot to learn) but I wanted to get stronger like my more experienced teammates. But the more I became a part of the sport, the more I realized that lifting heavy is actually a fraction of the whole picture. For instance, at the first meet that I spotted and loaded, my senior took charge in shouting plate colors and rack heights for each lifter. I admire her strength in the weight room, but her leadership at that meet made a lasting impact on me. I want to be someone like her. I want to be someone who can impact other lifters and make meets a better experience, make powerlifting a better sport. This is the one thing I’d advise new lifters: find your place in this community. Powerlifting isn’t just about the PRs or the number on the bar. What are you contributing to this sport?

Happy Training Hour and Open Mic

Alcohol, Fitness, Life Health, Training, ,

One of our goals at UF is to be the most unique and diverse gym in the world. It appears as though we are doing a decent job with this, when you consider what we have done in the last few years. Here is a short list:

 

  1. Hosted “Bike Ride for Black Lives” fundraiser for Urban League of Greater PGH.
  2. Donated from our last meet to Veterans Place.
  3. Hosted two comedy shows (one was a fundraiser for OUT Athletics).
  4. Hosted a workout fundraiser for a friend and member who had cancer.
  5. Hosted two USPA sanctioned powerlifting meets.
  6. Hosted an in house push pull.
  7. Hosted workouts at Wigle Whiskey and Threadbare.
  8. Hosted Pittsburgh’s first ever metal, whiskey, and yoga event.
  9. Hosted outdoor workouts with our friends at Allegheny City Brewing.
  10. Hosted outdoor workouts with our friends at CommonPlace Coffee.

 

This is a short list of some of the things we have done. In addition to these things, you can come to UF anytime and see some of the strongest people around training and helping each other achieve their goals.

 

Now onto what our next event will be, on Friday Aug 27th at 6 PM, we are going to host a workout in our performance lab. This workout will be free to anyone and we invite you to bring friends. Following the workout we will head over to see our friends at Federal Galley for an open mic night. This is a free event yet we are asking people who want to pay to please just donate directly to our friends DanileStrong. I cannot promise that Curtis will sing a duet with CeJ, but who knows?

 

 

The Benefits of Paused Reps

Fitness

In the world of strength training, we understand that progress is not always linear. There will be times of consistent progress, and there will be times where we feel like we’ve hit a wall, whether physically or mentally. Sometimes, getting through these periods can be as simple as changing exercises, adjusting sets and reps, or even our sleep habits, stress management, and nutrition. On the other hand, sometimes it takes a more challenging approach. When it comes to building strength and muscle, there aren’t too many techniques that can do the trick as well as performing paused reps. If you’re a regular in our Powerful class, then you’ve witnessed paused reps first hand. If you haven’t performed paused reps, then here’s your 101. 

 

The hardest part of most lifts is when the primary muscles that are performing the movement are in the lengthened position and when the weight being moved is at the bottom portion of the range of motion. For example, the bottom of the squat when the range of motion is the greatest and the quads and glutes are at their greatest stretch. The greater the range of motion, the harder it becomes for those muscles to produce the maximal force needed to complete the movement. One of the best ways to overcome this obstacle is to spend more time in that position, also known as paused reps. When performing a paused rep, the goal is to perform a 1-3 second pause in the bottom portion of the lift. As mentioned earlier, with squats, this is around parallel. With bench, this is on your chest, and with the deadlift, this is as soon as the bar breaks the floor. As you get better at performing these type of repetitions, you will become stronger in the hardest part of the range of motion, ultimately leading to greater muscle recruitment and force production.

 

When incorporating paused reps into your program, start with 60% of your one rep max for 3 sets of 3-5 reps. Progress as needed each week based off of how it feels. If it’s very challenging, then stay there for the next workout with the goal of performing higher quality reps. If 60% is relatively easy, then increase by 2.5%-5% the following workout. After 4-6 weeks, go back to performing standard repetitions. Use what you’ve learned over the previous 4-6 weeks and apply it to your standard repetitions. You will find that the weights move easier, you feel more confident when performing the lifts, and you will break through those training plateaus. 

Best of da’ Burgh

State of the Union

Fellow Union lovers, friends, family and distant relatives…it’s your time.

 

This is your time to show Union your love and vote for us for City Paper’s  “Best of Pittsburgh” Best Fitness Center. We were very close last time at taking home the gold and we’d love for you all to hype us up to the Incline, across all three rivers and back dahn the Clemente Bridge to take this year’s Best Of!

 

Voting is super easy and you can vote vote voter every day until August 31st. Just go to www.pghcitypaper.com, click Best Of Pittsburgh then head over to goods and services to find Best Fitness center and boom Union Fitness is there for you.

 

Let’s rock the vote and shock the world by voting Union Fitness Best Of Pittsburgh.

 

Thank you from Pants N’at and Back!

 

Cheers

 

CeJ

August Challenges

Fitness, Life Health

Hi friends! I am so excited for this new trend we are going to be starting each month.  We have done a handful of challenges and I love the effort it brings out in all of those that participate.  However, they have not happened consistently and that is something I would like to make happen.  Each month you can expect new challenges and new prizes. My hope is to pick challenges that allow every member to feel involved so as the month changes, so will the goal of the challenge.  

 

For the month of August, there are three challenges that all center on classes that we offer here at Union Fitness.  Our evening classes have been steadily full but we would love to see more faces at 6am and noon – although classes in the evening can still count for one of the choices. 

 

Early bird gets the worm.

 

  • whoever attends the most 6am classes will be the winner of this category and receive a gift card to a local coffee / breakfast shop.

 

Lunch Time Achiever.

 

  • whoever attends the most lunch time classes will be the winner of this category and receive a gift card to a local lunch spot.

 

Class Killer.

 

  • whoever attends the most overall classes will be the winner of this category and receive a gift basket filled with a variety of gym goodies.

 

If you decide to join (which I hope you do!!), there are only two things that I need you to do.  First of all, come to classes! Secondly, print your name on the appropriate paper and add a tally after each class.  You may compete in all three if you would like, but if you happen to win more than one category you will receive the prize you want most.  The person following your lead will receive the prize for the other categories. 

 

Cayt

Density Training & the Juarez Valley Method

Fitness

August is almost upon us, and everyone is squeezing in those last minute trips and vacations while the weather is still nice. During vacation, there always seems to be that urge to fit in a few workouts in order to stay on track with the progress we have made over the previous months. Although it is never a bad thing to take a week off from training when traveling, it also isn’t a bad idea to squeeze in a few short workouts if you have the intentions to do so. For this, my advice is to keep them short, simple, and effective through a density training. Specifically, bodyweight density training. Density training takes into account the two variables of volume and duration. In short, this is how much work you can get done in a particular amount of time. This can ultimately help to increase your work capacity, which we know has many benefits within our overall strength, conditioning, physique, and health.

 

When it comes to bodyweight density training, one of my favorite routines is the Juarez Valley method. This method stems from the Juarez Valley prison in Mexico, where inmates would do a specific bodyweight workout using the length of their 8 foot cell. The individual would pick a number, either 10, 15, or 20. That number would represent the number of sets that would be completed. The repetitions go in ascending order on the even numbered sets and descending order on the odd numbered sets alternatively forming a valley structure. In the middle, they meet. For example, in Juarez valley 10, Set 1 has 10 reps (descending order) and Set 2 has 1 rep (ascending order). This method is typically performed with squats or push-ups, but can be used with other bodyweight exercises as well. Below is a full example of the Juarez Valley 20 for squats.

 

Set 1: 20 reps

Set 2: 1 rep

Set 3: 19 reps

Set 4: 2 reps

Set 5: 18 reps

Set 6: 3 reps

Set 7: 17 reps

Set 8: 4 reps

Set 9: 16 reps

Set 10: 5 reps

Set 11: 15 reps

Set 12: 6 reps

Set 13: 14 reps

Set 14: 7 reps

Set 15: 13 reps

Set 16: 8 reps

Set 17: 12 reps

Set 18: 9 reps

Set 19: 11 reps

Set 20: 10 reps

 

That’s a total of 210 bodyweight squats. Keep in mind, the goal is to complete all of the reps and sets in the shortest amount of time possible, aka density training. Record your time and try to beat it on your next workout. Incorporate these into your weekly routine and see the benefits.

Threadbare and Wigle Bootcamp, Daniel Strong

Alcohol, Life Health

Thank you to our friends at  Wigle Whiskey for hosting us last weekend. We had a blast working out at your House of Whiskey and raising a glass after a fantastic bootcamp. To all of those who attended, thank you for bringing the thunder and you certainly partied hard, because the sweat showed. We slammed some battle ropes, tossed some medicine balls, crushed some body weight exercises and even took a tour of some local staircases. Your efforts also helped donate money to (Children’s Organ Transplant Association) COTA Daniel Strong. This charity has already raised $42,000 and is looking to reach $50,000. Daniel is in need of a Kidney transplant.

 

Are you sad that you missed out, well well now, have no fear, there are 2 more boot camps coming your way.

 

 

Saturday August 21st at 10am 

 

We are coming back for our third and final bootcamp at Threadbare Cider House in Spring Garden. We are turning this one up to 11 with more adventures, challenges and games. This is a ticketed event that can be purchased on Threadbare’s website and will include the bootcamp, a first libation and 9.99% charitable donation to Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.

 

Sunday August 29th at 10am

 

Wigle Whiskey’s great revenge with our 3rd bootcamp at the Strip district location. Sign up on Wigle’s website to grab your ticket that includes the bootcamp, first libation and donation to our little friend Danny (who is raising money for a kidney transplant). Danny & his parents might even stop down to say hello.

 

To sweeten this deal, CJ will include a free week of unlimited classes to any new or non-member of Union and to our current members, you can pick a time and date to train/workout alongside CJ. How freaking fun!

 

Let’s get together and party some more! To sign up for our next boot camp, go to Threadbare Cider’s website and grab your tickets on their event page. We can’t wait to raise a glass or two with YOU!

 

Cheers,

CJ

Cayt’s New Challenge

State of the Union

I have been at UF for close to three years now, and within that time I have seen so much growth and change, not only in our four walls but in the surrounding area of the North Side.  I started here in January 2019 as a personal trainer and helped out at the front desk while finishing Massage Therapy school.  Union Fitness quickly became my home away from home partially due to the hours I would spend here, but mostly because of the people I get to call my coworkers. It is an environment like no other and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to continue to grow here as I accept a new role.

 

Yesterday was my first day as the Director of Business Operations here at Union Fitness.  There are a few new responsibilities that are spelled out plain and simple like managing the front desk, helping to coordinate event details, and monitoring some numbers. However, the title is rather broad, and Todd is a manager that gives the freedom to build our position into what we feel is needed.

 

I am very proud to work at the best gym in Pittsburgh, and I am very excited to have more of a leadership role to help make our gym even better. There are members that have been here longer than I have and there are many new faces.  My hope as we enter this hopeful phase after a long year is that we continue to grow while becoming even more of a family-like gym.  You can find me at the front desk or coaching cardio classes, personal training, and massaging, which I will still be incorporating throughout my weekly schedule. Please come to me or reach out with anything you would like to see moving forward.