All posts by rnagy

State of the Union; The Staff

State of the Union

Today is one of our beloved staff members last days. I am always sad when a valued member of the team (and a friend) leaves us. Yet as I told Toria, I am sad that you are leaving yet excited to see your adventures and watch you grow. Today if you get a chance stop by and say goodbye to our friend Toria on her last day at UF.

 

While thinking about Toria leaving I thought it would be a good time to give props to the best gym staff in Pittsburgh.

 

Cody Miller- Cody and I have known each other for over a decade now and he is a true friend to myself and my family. Cody was most recently a strength coach at Clemson, prior to joining UF. He is also one heck of a powerlifter. In addition he is one of the smartest strength coaches I know (and I know many), even if he drives me nuts, like any little brother should.

 

Cayt Neff– Can you name anyone who has the expertise to be your Personal Trainer and your massage therapist? I can, and it’s Cayt. Cayt always surprises me as she seems quiet yet her compassion for her clients is top notch.

 

Ethan Raese– I have been fortunate enough to oversee scores of coaches throughout my career and I have never received as many glowing reviews as I have about Ethan. Not only is he a great coach and trainer, Ethan is also an accomplished musician. How many people do you know that have toured the world playing music?

 

Gillian Kane– Gil is our in house nerd due to her med school work. So when you see her at the front desk you may notice she is studying for her med school exams. She is also a former D1 athlete, she played volleyball at the George Washington University.

 

Matt Grayson– Matt and I go back about 15 years when I was just a young strength coach and he was a D-Line coach. We worked closely together to get a leadership academy rolling during our time at Robert Morris University. Matt is a true friend and he is here to help everyone he sees.

 

Jared Caroff– Don’t let this man’s youthful good looks fool you. He is an elite level powerlifter and in his other job he goes by Dr. Caroff. Jared is a DPT and one strong dude, find him opening the gym for us three days a week.

 

Jamar Cromwell– Jamar is our in house photographer and sometime front desk guy. Fun fact about Jamar, he like Ethan is an accomplished musician. Jamar is a jazz saxophonist and probably the most humble man to ever squat over 600.

 

Haley Tamilla– We miss Haley as she is out helping her family during a trying time. When she is here she is our go to yoga expert, and is committed to spreading the good word of yoga. We miss you Haley and can’t wait to see you again.

 

Steph Stahovic– Or as I call her model Steph. You can catch Steph taking or leading cardiolab classes. She is a true grinder. Steph often comes here in the morning to run a class, works all day, and then comes back to train at night.

 

Sara Runser– Or as I call her emo Bill Ellish (yes I stole the name, yet it fits). Sara came to us in early 2020 to teach some cardiolab classes, and she is awesome with the positive mental attitude she brings everyday. Also, you never know if she will have dark hair, blonde hair or even purple hair (I like the purple).

 

Dave Jackson– If you hear a booming voice then Dave is in the house. Like myself Dave came from the strength and conditioning world and you can tell by the fact that his coaching voice goes to 11. He handles most of the morning powerful classes and results don’t lie, he is doing an amazing job with the classes and the members.

 

Catlyn Brooke– Welcome back to one of longest tenured employees of UF. Catlyn has been an asset for years and we are excited that she is back after some time off. Catlyn is running utility for now as she has no set class schedule, but if you were here in the before times then you’ll be happy to see her back.

 

Shannon Taub– Welcome the rookie to the plate. Shannon has just joined us to teach some classes. She is a former D1 athlete at Duquesne and is coaching at Duquesne now as well. If you haven’t met her stop by and introduce yourself.

 

And finally the lady of the hour Toria Crispin– Toria joined us last summer and has done everything here and more. The entire management team of UF wants to send a huge thank you to Toria as she has stepped up, learned new things, grown and even rocked some tunes with me. She is leaving us to go do smart people things at the University of Colorado at Denver. We wish her nothing but the best and whenever anyone is in Denver you have a place to stay (yes I just offered her couch to anyone on earth). Toria thank you for all you have done for UF. Each of us are better for being your co-worker and friend.

 

 

 

Member Spotlight; Jacki Temple

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Tidbits

  • Grew up: near Charleston, SC, as a Navy and Air Force brat; Moved to Pittsburgh in 2004
  • Career: First as a graphic designer (15 years); currently a full-time artist (paintings and drawings)
  • Volunteer: (a lot) with Team Rubicon, a veteran-based disaster response organization
  • Sports: Runner for 29 years, hiker for 20 years, curler for 14 years
  • Trivia: I drink black tea from the British Isles (mostly Welsh and Irish) like a fiend. Seriously, I can’t survive without it. Must have milk and honey. Accompanied by toast is even better.

 

Narrative

 

I started competing in cross-country and track in 1989, at the age of 13. As I was graduating from high school, I was awarded a cross-country and track scholarship to Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC), which at the time was a NCAA-Div II school in the Southern Conference. One season into my scholarship, Wofford became a Division I school. After college, I kept running for enjoyment, health, and mental health, often competing in local and regional 5k, 10k, and half-marathon races. In total, I ran for 29 years, until 2018.

 

In 2004, I moved to Pittsburgh with my first husband, who is Canadian. In 2006 and again in 2010, we hiked 80 miles across the highlands in Scotland. In 2007, when he found a local ice rink that offered men’s league hockey, he noticed curling rings painted into the ice. Having grown up in Canada, he knew all about curling and thought it would be hilarious to get his Southern wife out on the ice. I fell in love with the game, and it turns out I’m a better curler than he is. After our divorce in 2010, he stopped playing, but I have continued to play and regularly travel to regional and national competitions. In 2016, I led a team of fairly green curlers to a bronze medal in nationals.

 

In 2011, I met and start dating Thad Fields, who is also a UF member. In January 2013, he became interested in Olympic weightlifting, and asked me if I’d be interested in training alongside him. By April, we found a coach and started training. By the end of April, my back had gotten too big for my wedding dress, and with the wedding upcoming in June, I had to quit Oly and just stick to running and jumping rope so I could lose enough bulk to fit into my dress.

 

In spring 2015, a close friend asked if I’d train with him for the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge. I was hooked after finishing the whole thing, and I trained for and attempted it each year through 2018. Unfortunately, starting in 2015, unknown underlying knee problems started making themselves known, and the saga with my knees started. For the first couple of years, my orthopedic doctor at the time just prescribed cortisone shots and physical therapy because he didn’t think the issues were serious. By the training season of 2018, however, I could barely walk and running was out of the question. By this time, I’d begun seeing a new orthopedic doc, and he identified the real issues. My kneecaps had been so out of alignment for so long, the cartilage on the back had been worn down to bone, and I needed surgery. The first of 4 surgeries on my knees occurred in June 2018, and my most recent one took place in January of this year. 

 

Constantly going through surgery and recovery for the past 2.5 years has been brutal. Being sidelined as a lifelong athlete is an emotional, physical, and mental challenge unlike anything else I’ve ever faced. That’s ultimately why I chose Union Fitness. I knew I needed more than just physical therapy twice a week if I wanted to get back to being an athlete. I knew I needed a trainer who understood my goals and ambitions, but who also understood the mental struggle that goes along with this journey I’m on. By the summer of 2019, Thad had already been a member of UF and training with Ethan Raese for over a year. I knew how much Thad loved UF, so when I went in for my consultation to get set up with a trainer, the person interviewing me recommended Ethan be my trainer as well. Working with him for the past almost 2 years has been incredible. He tailors my workouts with the things I’m doing in physical therapy, and I’ve recovered from my surgeries faster than expected because of the work I do with him. And he’s great at encouraging me or pushing me when I need it.

Curtis Tips for Push/Pull Event

Training, , , ,

We are coming up on one week out from our member push/pull event on Sunday March 21st. As many of you are aware, we had initially planned to hold the event this time last year, but obvious events kept us from doing so. Now that our Performance Lab is open with access to a great outdoor turf addition, we felt as though it was a great time to bring it back and give our members a fun event and a thank you for sticking with us over the past year.

 

There’s a good chance that a large majority of our members who will sign up for the push/pull have actually never taken part in this sort of event, and that is completely fine. Our only goal with this is to do something fun for our members who have been working hard and have stayed consistent with their training and goals throughout the past year. With the addition of food and drinks, there’s no doubt it will be a great time. Along with this, we will be raising money for the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation, and a couple of their staff members will be joining us to hang out and get to know our members.

 

As far as the specifics of a push/pull event, there are a few things that you will want to know and take into consideration before you begin.

 

First, it’s very important to understand the rules. This is something that we will be discussing throughout the week during Powerful class, but we will also hold a rules meeting at 7:30am on the morning of the event. In a push/pull event, you will be performing the bench press and the deadlift. For each lift, you will have 3 attempts to successfully lift as much weight as possible within the given rules. Before the event starts, you will give your opening attempt to the scorer. A good rule of thumb is to open with a weight that you could easily perform for 3 repetitions. After your opening attempt, you will go back to the scorer and let them know what weight you would like to lift for you 2nd attempt. During that time it will cycle through the rest of the individuals, and then come back to you for your 2nd attempt. Keep in mind, if you miss an attempt you cannot lower your weight. You can only attempt the same weight or choose to go up in weight, so choose wisely.

 

Next, there are certain commands that you will need to obey in order to have a successful lift. For the bench press, you will unrack the bar and wait for the judge to give you the “start” command. Once they do, you will lower the bar and touch your chest, pause it until it becomes motionless, and then the judge will give you the “press” command. Once you lock out the weight, you will hold it under control until the judge gives you the “rack” command. During that time, you must keep your glutes on the bench. If these are successfully done, then the result will be a “good lift”.

 

For the deadlift, there is only one command. You will walk up to the bar, and when you’re ready you will lift the weight and stand with it locked out. This means legs straight, hips into the bar, and chest tall. Once you are completely locked out, the judge will give you the “down” command. During that time you will lower the bar to the floor under control, and if all steps are done correctly, you will receive a “good lift”.

 

Last but not least, remember to have fun. This event is a way for you to challenge yourself, try something and learn something new, and to support and cheer along your fellow members and classmates who you have been working alongside of throughout your time here at Union Fitness. As always, do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions at all. We look forward to seeing you all enjoy yourselves. 

I’m old and I Love it.

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I have now competed in powerlifting for over 20 years. I was supposed to compete in 2020 but my meet was cancelled. I am so old in this sport that some of my shoes are older than some of the lifters we have here at UF. I remember meeting JM Blakley at one of my first meets. He was there to sell his VHS (I told you I’m old). So let me give you some thoughts from a guy who’s been doing this for a long time.

 

1999

 

Prince always knew that we could one day party like it’s 1999 and let me tell you we did. Inzer bench shirts and marathon deadlift suits are all we knew. Raw lifting was something that we did to prepare for putting our gear on. When I look back on it now the absurdity of it amazes me. Gear was too much, and lifters were too heavy. But, we did have some fun and I don’t regret any of it.

 

This brings me to yesterday when I was scrolling da gram. I saw JM Blakley came back into my life. He has a post reminding us that today is the youngest we will ever be for the rest of our lives. This one hit me and reminded me that I ain’t dead yet and I know I have some more fight and lifts still in me. So with that here is a short list to help me grow and have fun as you age.

 

  1. Don’t be a knucklehead (my dad always used this phrase as he didn’t swear).
  2. Try something new (you will only regret what you didn’t try).
  3. Risk it (nothing is guaranteed so roll the dice).
  4. Help the ‘others’ (look around the gym and see the lifters who is clueless? Give them a hand and help them find their way).
  5. Know that you don’t know (knowledge and wisdom are not the same thing).
  6. Read more diverse topics (we will get new ideas from outside of or bubble).
  7. Reach out to those you disagree with (our society needs this).

 

And remember we are all floating down the same river of life. Every time you make wake it affects everyone around you. So have some fun, rock some tunes, and try to respect the others floating around you.

 

Peace and Love,

Hamer

Cody’s Upcoming Meet

Training

As some of you may know, Union Fitness’ very own Cody Miller has been preparing for his upcoming Powerlifting meet that will take place this weekend. Many of you are fortunate to know the Cody who waddles through the fitness center in his classic gray sweats, jokes with the members, and loves training his clients. But most people don’t get to see the other side of Cody. The version of Cody who loves to train hard and is extremely dedicated to his craft. Although he stays very reserved and calm on the outside, on the inside he is focused, locked in, and intense. This is the sign of a true leader, and something that makes him so great at what he does. Cody is someone who has never asked for a handout or a favor, but is always humble and willing to continuously learn and evolve as an athlete and a professional. 

 

I remember the day I was getting ready to leave work to head to my last competition. As I was walking out the door he stops me, hugs me, and says “There is no past, there is no future, there is only the present”. As I was sitting in my hotel room getting ready to compete, I thought about his exact words. Those words meant so much, and are something we should all strive to live by. This weekend, I hope that he too can live by those words, and perform to the best of his ability on the platform.

 

You see, the platform is one of the few places where you can be 100% free. When you’re standing up there, staring at that weight in front of hundreds of people, for those few seconds in time, nothing else matters. Not your job, your bills, your past, or your future can hold you back. Weeks, months, and years of training, dedication, and sacrifice are all wrapped up into one lift. Every time Cody get’s under that bar this weekend, he is facing every ounce of challenge and adversity that he has ever faced. But regardless of the outcome, from the sheer fact that he will stand up on that platform and give everything that he has to give, he will be victorious.

 

I am blessed to know Cody and to have the opportunity to work with and learn from him each day. Now, please help me to wish him a safe and successful competition tomorrow. May the iron be in your favor this weekend, brother, and remember, there is no past, there is no future, there is only the present. Live it the present, sir.

Wyatt’s Intern Experience at UF

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My name is Wyatt and I am one of the interns at UF and as I am sure some of you know me by now, I go to school at Robert Morris University. I am majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Sports and a minor in Education. I have been here a little over a month now, and I feel like a stormtrooper that decided to try and become a Jedi master. I am sitting here trying to figure out how to turn the lightsaber on while everyone else is using the force to throw people around. 

 

The staff all know that exercise science is not my background, so they make sure they simplify things for me to understand (turn that lightsaber on). Some of you might be wondering, “Then why are you here?” Well, psychology and exercise science kind of go hand in hand. I say that because not too long ago I learned to increase maximum force and velocity; psychological techniques can help increase both. The psychological techniques that enhance motivation also increase effort, and effort is closely linked to motor unit recruitment. Another example of this is most people know that anxiety also plays a factor in performance. If you are going to hit a PR you will most likely experience cognitive and/or somatic state anxiety. By learning arousal regulation techniques, you can help keep anxiety at a level where you perform your best, and you can go on hitting those PRs. 

 

I plan to become a sports psychologist to help athletes mentally but learning the exercise science background gives me a whole other set of tools to use. When dealing with a team’s lack of progress, instead of a mental aspect creating the challenge, it could come down to the program they are on. This internship is very hands-on, so this experience is helping me come out of my introverted shell and become comfortable with coaching people. During the week, Anthony and I get to help out with training sessions, sometimes with college athletes or other times with a powerful class. Training athletes is a great opportunity for me because that is the area I want to start off working with: high school to college-age athletes. 

 

Since interning here, there has never been a dull moment. I wake up looking forward to coming in, learning, and hanging out with everyone. The staff here really knows their stuff and are diverse in the field of exercise science. I have never heard of a gym having former college strength and conditioning coaches, a physical therapist, a soon-to-be physician, a massage therapist, and someone who does research in exercise science. On top of that, they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Union Fitness needs to adapt the old slogan from Olive Garden- “When you’re here, you’re family.” Since the start of my internship here, I feel that I have been accepted into a family of people motivated to help others and better their knowledge of exercise science. I feel lucky to be a part of it. If you ever want to talk and you do not find me in the office, I am probably doing the splits, hanging upside down, or swinging across the monkey bars. 

Powerlifting Adventures With Sky CeJ…(more importantly Sky)

Training, , ,

To my most excellent Dudettes & Dudes,

 

Skylyn & I are beginning our powerlifting meet prep for the 2021 Iron City, Open and we want to share our adventures with you! On this 12 week journey we will show our training, go to meals, technique and cues we’re working on, recovery, the excitement of wrapping our knees and all of our nonviolent fist fights  & verbal screeches in between.

 

Just a quick brush up, a powerlifting meet. Meets usually start in the morning and go to late afternoon, so bring your snacks and maybe some caffeine. Women and men are broken down into weight classes and compete in their flights. The lifter will get three attempts to lift their maximal weight in the Squat, Bench & Deadlift (in that order). There are some commands and rules you have to follow, such as proper depth on the squat, a press command and not lifting your tush off the bench on the bench press and to lockout and hold your deadlift until the down command, to list a few. You add up to total weight of your top 3 successfully completed lifts and that is your total for the day. Remember at the end of the day, it’s a competition against yourself and really just to have fun tossing some weight around.

 

This week, we will be building our blueprint plan of attack for the next 12 weeks with some main goals being, build strength, movement efficiency and increase confident in the Squat, Bench & Deadlift. Our plans will be similar yet a bit different to address our specific needs and improve our weaknesses. For example, Sky may be able to handle more volume and frequency (reps/sets & amount of days/times performing a exercise during the week) than I would. So she may have an extra squat & bench session or a few more sets and reps in her program. Also most days we won’t be able to train together and will have to utilize different equipment and that is ok and we will make it work! So hold on to your butts, ask us some questions as we go and lets see where this ride takes us!

 

Be most excellent to one another!

 

CeJ

Music and Motivation

Fitness, Life Health, Training,

Have you ever thought about what training in a gym would have been like through the 80s and early 90s? Many of us remember the days of using Walkmans and Discmans so we could hear our own jams while working out. Along with that came the annoyances of your CDs skipping, your tapes getting chewed up, going through tons of batteries, headphone cables getting in the way, and so on. Imagine what it was like even before portable music players, you would have to listen to what ever radio station the gym had on, eww! It has been known for quite some time now that music is associated with increasing work output while training , but what really happens when you are listening to your favorite tracks while lifting? Are there certain songs that are better for training than others? Is there a time that listening to music while training can be detrimental or make no difference at all? Let’s take a little closer look at music as a training stimulus. 

 

The most obvious effect, I think, we can intuitively figure out about music’s impact on training, is giving us a distraction to take our mind off how hard we are working. If we don’t think we are training as hard, it is likely we can delay the onset of fatigue. This has been confirmed already by several studies. Music not only lowers the rate of perceived exertion through distraction, but also can improve mood and increase arousal . Who wouldn’t think these are all good things before and while training. If we feel good, we train better, and if we don’t know we are tired, we train longer. However, if we look deeper into the type of exercise and the impact music has on it, there are some interesting findings. 

 

To my surprise, it has been found that when performing strength exercises to failure, self-selected music appeared to have no advantage over listening to no music at all. Although, in this same study, positive effects of self-selected music were found on the performance of explosive plyometric jumps . Perhaps what this may suggest is music has a different impact on your training depending on the duration of the effort. In this case, music has a greater impact on short explosive bouts of exercises in comparison to high repetition training. If this is the case, what is music’s impact on longer intervals of training such as long-distance cardio work? 

 

As stated earlier, it has been found that music can lower the rate of perceived exertion while training1, 2 but how does this occur? Is there actually a change at the physiological level in the body or does music merely work as a distraction? In a study where subjects were given fast rhythm, slow rhythm, and no music while performing 2 different anaerobic repeated sprint tests. What was discovered was the levels of blood lactate and heart rate where not impacted on not only training with and without music but also the tempo of music . Despite music not having an effect on the physiological aspect of training, studies have shown that soft slow music can improve cardiorespiratory performance when compared to no music at all or faster paced loud music . It was suggested that the slow tempo music allowed for a “distraction effect” from the stress caused by fatigue. I would also assume that slower tempo music helps set a better and slower pace for long distance training which would help increase the time till fatigue rather than altering anything at the physiological level to reduce the onset of fatigue. 

 

This information leads me to several conclusions about music’s effects on exercise. First off, music has a greater impact on exercises that are anaerobic (under 8-10 seconds) and aerobic (longer than 2 minutes) than it does on lactic training (20-90 seconds). This is shown by music’s improvement on anaerobic plyometric training and cardiorespiratory performance, but not on strength exercises to failure. Second, while the tempo of music does not seem to yet be studied in single bouts of explosive plyometric exercises, music tempo does have an impact on aerobic exercise by increasing the time to exhaustion through a “distraction effect” and possibly better pacing. The third and final point I would like to make about music and training is when music can actually be detrimental. An example would be when working on technique, whether that is on your own or you are coaching someone else. As noted earlier, music can produce a “distraction effect” therefore while learning something new or adjusting your technique music acts as cognitive interference and impacts your training goals. 

 

Music is sweet. We all like jamming our favorite tunes when we train and thank god it is so much easier to do now than back in the day. This only really skims the surface of music as a training stimulus though. Hopefully, this short write up gives a little insight into selecting music for training or not getting bent out of shape when you are getting a body building session in and it’s not your jams on the speakers, it won’t make as big of a difference as you think. To wrap this up, I’ll leave my go to training record. I thought about doing a top 3, but I felt like that was even harder than picking 1 single album. After much internal strife, I came up with Madball “Look My Way”. This album is certified to increase all your lifts 15%. Go to this blog post on our Instagram and let us and everyone else know what your go to album or song is for the gym.

 

 1 Anshel, M.H., & MarisiD.Q. Effects of Music and Rhythm on Physical Performance. Research Quarterly, 49: 109-113, 1978

 

2 Hayakawa, Y. Miki, H. Takada K. & Takana, K. Effects of Music on Mood During Bench Stepping Exercise. Precept Mot Skills 90: 307-314. 2000

3 Baigini, M.S. et al, Effects of Self-Selected Music on Strength, Explosiveness, and Mood. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26(7): 1934-1938. 2012

4 Atan, T. Effects of Music on Anaerobic Exercise Performance. Biology of Sport 30(1): 35-39. 2013

5 Copeland, B.L. & Franks, B.D. Effects of Types and Intensities of Background Music on Treadmill Endurance. J. Sports Med. Phys. Fitness. 31: 100-103. 1991

6 Yamashita, J. et al, Effects of Music During Exercise on RPE, Heart Rate and the Autonomic Nervous System. J. Sports Med. Phys. Fitness. 46; 425-430. 2006

 

2021 Strength Project & Push/Pull

Fitness, Life Health,

Spring is almost upon us and we missed one of our favorite programs of the year so far in 2021, The Strength Project. We are bringing it back in a different way this year. We are also excited to announce our charity push/pull in just a few short weeks. Details for each event are below.

 

Strength Project 2021

 

In the past we used this with our unlimited members. In 2021 we want to open it to everyone. The way to get involved is easy.

  1. Over March/April take 30 classes or get 35 workouts on your own or… use 15 personal training sessions. To track this just sign the sheets hanging outside of the cardio lab.
  2. If you complete this you will earn a free massage and a workout with any of our staff members.
  3. We will also select a grand-prize winner for both male and female. The winners will be voted on by the staff. The winners will recieve a free unlimited month at UF and 3 PT sessions.

 

Push Pull 2021

 

We have been waiting patiently to host another push pull and the time is now upon us. We will host the 2021 Push Pull on March 21st at 10 AM. Weigh Ins will be from 7:30-9AM. The lifting will occur in the performance lab and we will have the garage door open so spectators and judges can be outside to help with social distancing. If we get lucky and have warm weather we will hold the entire event outside on our turf.

 

This year we will be raising money for the Pittsburgh Kids Foundation. One of our goals is to be more involved in the neighbor and this is an organization that works directly in the Northside to help less fortunate youth. We will have more information about how to give in the near future.  Visit their site here.  

 

For those of you unfamiliar or concerned about competing in a push pull competition, don’t fret. It is just a chance to challenge yourself in the bench press as well as the deadlift. We will have judges, spotters, loaders as well as others there to help you. If you are a competitive lifter and want to jump in as a training day great, and if you are new come on and try this event out as well.

 

Following the event we will (as always) share some outdoor food and libations. So make it a fun day, do some good, and move some weights!

 

Thanks and BE STRONG

Hamer

 

 

 

 

Happy B Day to THE WIZARD

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Today let’s all take a moment and wish the happiest of birthday’s to our own CeJ.

 

I have been working in the strength industry for over two decades now and very few people have had as much of an impact on me as CeJ (you can decide for yourself if he is a good or a bad impact).

 

Seriously though I want to take a few minutes today and make sure that we celebrate our one and only CeJ, The Wizard. CeJ and first became friends over a decade ago when he was just a young college student looking to cut his teeth in strength and conditioning. He has been a presence in my life ever since. When I was given the oppurtunity to take over Union Fitness as the general manager I knew we had to increase CeJ’s presence here. At the time he was running his own class. Powerful with CeJ was a different version of Powerful as CeJ does everything his own way, and it seems to work.

 

Now CeJ is here at UF full time and my biggest complaint is that the guy spends too much time at work. There are many days that he is here for morning classes and evening classes, he has helped grow our college training program from zero to where it is today (we train almost 100 collegiate student-athletes). In addition to what he brings to work his positive attitude is what truly makes CeJ such a special part of UF.

 

So today take a moment and text, DM, or just stop CeJ and sing Happy B Day to this (not so young) fella.