Category Archives: Fitness

Underrated Exercises for Strength

Fitness, Training

Exercises seem to come and go. One day everyone in the gym is doing a certain exercise then years later it changes. There are a few that in my opinion that have faded from use without much of a reason. Below is a list of some of these under-appreciated exercises.

 

  1. DB Pullover. This exercise was used extensively during the golden age of bodybuilding. The pullover trains the lats, pecs, triceps, and even the abs. Grab a DB and do 4 sets of 10 and I promise you’ll be sore.
  2. Floor Press. The floor press was a staple of bench training 15 years ago, it shows imbalances, removes legs from the lift,  and build immense power at the bottom of the press. Also, try I t with dumbbells.
  3. Front Squats. Front squats build everything. I do not know if there is an exercise that checks more boxes than the front squat. It’s great for mobility, strength, and a big from squat is impressive.
  4. Running. It doesn’t matter if it’s jogging or sprinting. Get out and run. If preparing to lift then sprint, if looking for basic conditioning do some tempo runs, if you want health and to see the world more run a mile.
  5. Carries. Farmer carries, waiter walks, single arm carries, overhead carries, and any variation you think of is good. Most lower body “unilateral” lifts are actual bi-lateral. Split squats and lunges are mainly bi-lateral. Walking with weight will force you to spend time on one leg. This will create a ton of stability and strength. So to start or end your lift, grab some weight and go for a walk.

 

This is a short list of awesome exercises. Give them a try and tell me if there is an exercise that you love that didn’t make the list then share that as well.

 

Hamer

College Night

Fitness,

Hey everyone! 

 

It is Montrell back with a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT.  March 31, 2022, at 7 pm, the fantastic four interns will be hosting the first-ever College NIGHT at Union Fitness! 

 

College Night will be a full-body workout in the Performance lab hosted by the Interns. The class will be open to college students for FREE. If you are interested in joining us please click the link and sign up. Whether you are an experienced lifter or never exercised a day in your life. Come out and help the interns sharpen their skills as coaches and enjoy the vibes of UF!

 

See you then,

 

Montrell 

Beware the Ides of March Madness

Fitness, Life Health

A strange thing has been happening in UF. Our daily attendance increased from January to February. In the fitness industry it is an unwritten rule that growth happens in January, and then drops off for the next few months. It is human nature to get excited about anything new. A new year, a new workout routine, a new gym etc.. The key is to keep moving when the new and shiny become the mundane, and daily routine.

 

March is the most important month of the year. As we experienced this weekend March can do whatever she wants and we are powerless to stop her. March can snow 8 inches, be 70 degrees, and even entice us with her green beer. The reason I see March as the most important month is it’s our last chance to really commit to a healthy and strong summer. You may have spent the previous two months training hard, or you may have fallen off throughout the new year. No matter what happened in the past two months, if you wish to be a better you for the summer, March is the time. Here are a few ways that you can stay on point to reach your summer goals.

 

  1. Math! Alwyn Cosgrove used to list out what percent of the year was gone in each of his newsletter. So remember at the end of March you will be 25% of the way done with this year. Are you 25% of the way towards your goals.
  2. Set some goals around current events. March Madness is a great chance to either be better or drink too much and eat garbage food. Instead of falling off during March Madness fill out a bracket with exercises. Make each game a bet with yourself. If team  A. wins then run a mile, if team B. wins then do 100 push ups. Make each game a different bet and have fun with March Madness.
  3. Et Tu Brute? Beware the ides of March. Also, beware the friends who truly want the best for you, yet will push you to bad decisions. We all have our own el guapo, make sure you are stronger than your el guapo (go watch the three amigos if you don’t get that reference).
  4. Schedule your summer event. It doesn’t matter if you have a vacation or a meet. Just make sure you schedule something, anything. Count the weeks and work backwards to schedule your goals.
  5. Enjoy the nice days (when we have them), and get out of the gym. Vitamin D is free so go get it when the sun is shining.

 

I hope this list keeps you on track and helps you reach new goals.

 

Hamer

It’s Ladies Night

Fitness, Life Health, Training

Hello Everyone!

 

We are super excited to say that we are going to be offering our first ever Ladies Night here at UF! This will be held next Saturday March 12th from 4:30 – 6:30pm and we are planning to continue to offer this event on the second Saturday of every month moving forward. The Strength Lab, Cardio Lab, and the Fitness Center will all be open for us to train in for those 2 free hours. All ladies are welcome whether you are a current member or a non-member. Come on out and have some fun, bring a friend, hit some PR’s, and meet some fellow strong ladies. 

 

We are looking forward to seeing all of you there and continuing to create a strong community together! 

 

Toria

Ladies of UF Dominate

Fitness

I began competing in powerlifting more than 20 years ago. Back in those days of dinosaurs and cave dwellings we didn’t even have RAW competitions. In 2022 RAW lifting is all there is. Times changes and either you evolve or you won’t last. I like to think that I am always open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. Another big change is the amount of strong women now competing. When I began competing there would be a few women in the first flight and that would be the it for female lifters. To be fair we must recognize the ladies who stepped up in those days, they were leaders.

 

We could look at the growth in female lifting from many fronts. We must admit that CrossFit assisted in the growth of female lifting. Additionally the growth of all female sports has clearly assisted in the growth of female lifters. Just looking at the women who train at UF, we had a a female win best lifter at a meet in Ohio this weekend (congrats Caroline), we also had a female squat 396 lbs at the same meet (congrats Emily).

 

One of the things that I am most proud of at UF is how open we are to all lifters. So many strong women train here daily and I want to publicly praise each of them. I will give special attention to a handful here. As mentioned Emily and Caroline killed it this weekend. Few people are as strong as Kelsey. Skylyn brings the heat to every lift, and every moment of her day. Katie may run 20 miles, then come in and squat heavy the next day. Ava has improved everyday that she comes in the gym. Yessie is the OG of female UF lifters. Jaci our Richmond visitor keeps up grounded in the olympic lifts with her multiple national championships. Liz shows heart at all of her lifts. Vicky is getting stronger everyday and we love seeing her growth.

 

As you can see we have a great group of strong women here and want to be a supportive and strong community. Thanks for making us better.

 

Hamer

 

Meet the Ryde Instructors

Fitness, Training

Now that we are almost two months into the newest addition of cardio classes to Union Fitness, we thought it’d be nice to share a little more about the Ryde instructors over the next few weeks. Kayla, Vanessa, and Rachael are first up on this week’s introductions!

 

Kayla Hersperger

 

Hi! I’m Kayla! I’m primarily a yoga teacher but I’ve been teaching RYDE classes since this past summer. I absolutely love putting together my playlists and class plan each week and look forward to teaching on Friday mornings.

 

I started indoor cycling about four years ago at Urban Elements when Britt and Sharon encouraged me to venture outside the yoga room. I hopped around to various studios and then when the pandemic hit, I became obsessed with the peloton bike. Since buying my own, I’m pretty much riding every day between my own bike and the classes at Union Fitness.

 

In my class you can expect to ride to the beat of the music. I take extreme care creating my playlists that are often themed and always exciting. If you don’t have fun in my class, I haven’t done my job. My goal is to get your heart pumping and your face smiling. Basically, we have a party on the bike.

 

Vanessa Matthews

 

Vanessa went to school to be a chemical engineer, but left her career to pursue her passion of fitness full time.  She opened her own personal training business and has taught many different group fitness formats since 2010. In 2015 she was fitness director at a local gym, and won her first figure competition, all of which seemed like significant accomplishments, until her health began to fail in 2016.  When she had her first baby in 2018, health issues continued to spiral out of control.

 

Chronic pain forced her to change her entire philosophy and approach to health, which she believes is holistic, and more about food and mindset than it is about exercise. After a 4.5 year break from teaching, and now with a 1 and 4 year old, Vanessa is back with a new outlook on life.  In her classes, she takes her students on a mental journey as well as a physical one.  If you catch one of her classes, you will feel like you can take on the world!

 

Rachael Riddell

 

Rachael graduated from the University of Colorado Doctor of Pharmacy Program in 2014 and manages a team of Clinical Pharmacists in Pittsburgh. Shortly after finishing pharmacy school, she started teaching cycling, bootcamp, and barre fitness classes in Denver. Her love of all things fitness followed her back to Pittsburgh in 2018 where she has continued to teach around the city.

 

All of Rachael’s workouts (on and off the bike) are intended to challenge what you think you are capable of doing and leave you feeling accomplished. Look forward to a playlist to keep your body moving to the beat in every class.

 

You can catch Kayla, Vanessa, and Rachael early mornings during the week and also on the Saturday rotation!

Are You a Monster Truck or Lambo?

Fitness, Life Health

I have a theory in life that we are all just boats sharing the same river. Within this river are barges, speed boats, kayaks, and everything in between. Each of us is doing our thing yet we are all creating wake for one another. When I make decisions I try to consider not just my fun, I also try to consider the wake that I am creating. This theory stands the test of time, yet one area it never quite worked out is when it comets my training. My training has moved more into the Henry Rollins approach, it is about me pushing to be a better me. This got me thinking, how we train becomes how we look, feel, and perform.

 

Monster Truck vs. Lambo

 

Tenzing and I went to watch Monster Jam last weekend and it was a blast (he watched the trucks, I people watched). Tenzing’s favorite truck (Megladon) was not there, yet his second favorite GraveDigger was there, my truck is El Toro Loco. While watching these impressive machines I let my mind wander about training. How do torque and horsepower work together to make these machines do some amazing tricks. For the uninitiated, give me a minute of your time to revisit some science. Zatsiorsky wrote about three methods to increase muscular tension.

 

  1. Maximal Effort (ME)- Moving a heavy load slowly.
  2. Dynamic Effort (DE)- Moving a light load quickly.
  3. Repetition Effort (RE)- Moving a moderate load for multiple reps.

 

Everything we do in training still falls into one of these methods. Too often I see people fall in love with one of these methods. Some love to be explosive, and train too often in an explosive manner. While others are always “grinding,” and training too often in a heavy manner. The last group love the pump, and always  use using RE to feel “bumpy” when they  leave the gym.

 

No one method of training is perfect and every program has holes in it. The key is to not being just a machine made for torque, (using ME all the time) or one made for horsepower (DE). Training should be a compliment to your life and at times your body will need to run, jump, or shovel snow. Train your body to do all of the above. Movement is medicine and if we wish to be healthy we shouldn’t train solely to be a monster truck or a lambo. We should train to be humans who can move.

 

Another way to think about this is as my good friend Brett Bartholomew said, “lift different weights, at different angles, at different times of the year, at different speeds.” I may have messed up that quote, yet you get the idea. The goal in training is to be prepared for life and to be strong means being strong at all things. The exception is when are preparing for a specific event (powerlifting or marathon will be very different training). Once the event is over return to training for your life.

 

Now let’s all go be a chevy volt.

 

🙂

 

 

 

Toria’s Exercise Variety

Fitness

We all know that humans tend to be creatures of routine and habit. This same concept goes for how we train in the weight room. We can tend to become narrow minded and focused on something so specific that we forget to include a variety in how we train.

 

The body will adapt to any demand that is placed on it. However, if you’re repeating the same training regimen for too long without variety in your exercises, your body will become much less responsive and lose the ability to continue to adapt. By creating a new stimulus, this will help to introduce more progress over time. For example, say that you have box jumps programmed into your routine for 4 weeks. I’m not saying that you should stop doing them all together after 4 weeks, but instead you should try to change aspects such as the number of repetitions and sets that you are doing or introducing things such as decreased rest periods, increased box height, or adding in seated jumps vs. standing. Another example could be for those of you who primarily train aerobically several days per week. Trying to incorporate some strength and mobility training exercises within your program as well could help you see some different or enhanced progress down the road.

 

Variation in your training can also include introducing new things such as trying out a new group class, getting outside to hike/bike/etc. I know it has been ridiculously cold recently but take advantage of the rare sunny days that we get in the winter and get out and get moving. Doing this may help you avoid possible boredom and increase your adherence to staying active. You don’t have to do different things every week and switch up your routine daily, however, just be sure to spice things up and don’t be hesitant to try out some new exercises and ways to be active. 

 

Toria

Ham’s Comeback

Fitness, Life Health, Training

As you may already know I injured myself training three weeks ago. While injuries are never fun we all know that bumps and bruises are part of training. I am going to use this opportunity to fix some issues that I have ignored for far too long. While trying to return to training I am going to keep Jared’s words in my head, “In two weeks you will think you are better, then for the next two months you will do something that reminds you that you aren’t” 

 

I began “working out” the week after my injury (while it appears that my injury is 100% soft tissue, I must be smart in returning). The reason I quoted working out is because there is a big difference between training, and working out. Training has a purpose and is striving towards goals. Working out is aimless and not nearly as focused. To be fair I began this process two weeks ago, and while it seemed aimless it honesty wasn’t. The goal the first two weeks was to move, work on my mobility, and return myself to pain free (mostly) movement. 

 

Now to begin my training.

 

Today I will begin my training again. This will be the first time I train with a barbell or any real weight. I will lay out my plan below. Before I do that here are some specifics about the plan. I discussed this with many people to come up with a solid plan. First thing you may notice is that the program looks upside down. I squat last. Curtis had this idea as I will be warmed up and moving better by the time I get to my squats. In addition the only barbell movement I am doing for the next 2-3 weeks is a front squat. Here is the program.

 

  1. Slider Leg Curl 3×15
  2. Bulgarian Split Squat (31X tempo) 3×8
  3. Chins 3×10
  4. SA Bench with Iso opposite arm 3×10
  5. SA Overhead Press 3×10
  6. SA Row with Iso opposite arm 3×10
  7. Trap Bar Carries 3×20 yards
  8. Front Squat (10 count iso) 3×3-5 

 

That is it. I will still begin each day with bike 10 minutes and about 15 minutes or rehab/mobility work. Wish me luck as I will be SORE. 

The Beauty of Injuries

Fitness, Training

Your body is going to hurt. I tell myself this everyday, as no matter what we do, or don’t do our bodies are going to hurt. As we train (and age) bodies break down, and if we don’t train, we still age and the body will still break down. My philosophy is, if my body is going to hurt then I should make it hurt by doing things. Another saying that helps me make sense of injuries is, “I want to come to end of each day tired, beaten, and victorious.” I have no clue who said this yet I love the thought.

 

MLK Day and Snow.

 

Last Monday was MLK day and as you all know it snowed. When I woke up Tenzing said, “Dad it’s MLK day we should do something for the world.” I responded with sure what do you got? “Let’s shovel our neighborhood.” So we grabbed shovels, remote control trucks (they ran recon), set my GPS and began shoveling. Tenzing did more remote control driving than shoveling, we made it 2.58 miles of sidewalks throughout our neighborhood. When I returned home I was soaked in sweat yet felt good. The rest of the day was spent sled-riding and the basic snow playing stuff.

 

Tuesday Squats and Deadlifts. 

 

Tuesday was normal morning and I felt no soreness from the shoveling. I began my deadlift sessions with a basic warm (about ten min). As always I started front squatting prior to deadlifts. Before I deadlift I have been front squatting 6×2 at 225 with 45 seconds rest. I treat this as both a warm up and a light pre-fatique prior to deadlifting. On set 5 I allowed the bar to control me (always control the weight, don’t let the weight control you), I shifted forward and felt the weight move onto my toes. I finished the set, racked the bar and went back to timing for my next set. Hit set 6 and felt a little off, but nothing too bad. I began deadlifting and something felt “off.” I didn’t know what is was, but my back didn’t feel right. I did some light traction, stretching, and had Toria walk on my back. Went back to deads and did my warm ups sets at 135,225,315, at this point I was two warm ups from my work sets for the day. I normally wouldn’t wear a belt for 365 but figured better safe than sorry. Threw my belt on and pulled 365 as the slowest rep I have ever experienced (ok that’s a lie but it was slow and painful). At this point I knew something was wrong.

 

I made it home to fall onto my couch and not move all night. I am a Boy Scout leader and I had a meeting that night. I attempted to put my socks on yet I couldn’t even sit up. Erica (my wife) began arguing that I was not able to go to the meeting. I argued I could make it and she won when I couldn’t get off the couch. I figured something was bad.

 

Wednesday, Recovery Begins.

 

Wednesday I saw Magic Hands Malik. If you do not know Malik he is one of our massage therapists. Malik spent and hour working my back and hips and it did wonders. Then my guy Jared took a look at me and said what Malik said, you are a mess.

 

Thursday-Monday.

 

I began my rehab. Lots of McGill type rehab/prehab work. If you are not familiar with Dr Stuart McGill than a good start would be google McGill big 3. Dr McGill is the back expert.  The pain has reduced and I was even able to put my own socks on Saturday. Monday is a new day and I feel much improved. The theory is I didn’t do any damage to the disks, yet I did make my muscles angry. So from here I am going to begin training today.

 

Moving forward.

 

Next will I will lay out my rehab and training plan for the next 12 weeks. I am very lucky to be surrounded by so many helpful, smart, and kind people. I will tell you that I am seeing Malik weekly for the next 4 weeks.

 

Until next week, stay healthy.

 

Hamer