Category Archives: Fitness

Tis’ the Season of Bulking

Clean Eating, Diet, Fitness, Life Health

UF has a very diverse membership, we have competitive lifters, athletes, business workers, yoga fans, and everyone in between. For some of these people bulking is a good word, for others it is an unwanted side affect of the holidays. The cold weather tends to bring less hikes, less sunlight, and more cookies/libations into the Pittsburgh region. For those of you who would like to avoid bulking this time of the year, I have some tips to help you out.

 

  1. Focus on what matters. Will one cookie or one drink be the difference maker? NO! Yet, one drink and one cookie nightly will be. So enjoy the cookie at the party and realize it won’t be the one that matters, the ones you have at home may be the difference maker. So have fun, be social, enjoy the cookie tray, then go home and get back to your healthy eating habits.
  2. Stick to your plan. Just like in step one, we must continue to do what is right when no one is watching. Look in your kitchen, do you have healthy or unhealthy options? Surround yourself with good options.
  3. Find mini workouts. Make a commitment to walk, jog, move, or do anything throughout the day that will burn a few extra calories. If you have a dog walk the little guy he needs it.
  4. Set a new routine. Over the next few months set some new goals. Make your goals input not outcome based. If you have an Apple Watch then a simple one is fill your rings. If not then how about just walking daily. Set a very simple achievable goal and stick to it daily.
  5. Come see us at UF more! Yeah I had to plug the gym here. We are hosting out annual Turkey Burn workout. Come and burn a few hundred calories prior to stuff your face. Then go stuff your face and enjoy every bite.
  6. Last but not least. Give yourself a break. We will all mess up, and we will all fall off the wagon, that’s OK, just get back up and keep moving. Life, fitness, and health are all marathons, do what you can to keep moving.

 

Happy holiday season and happy bulk season too for our lifters.

Take a Break Fam

Fitness

Each day we walk into the gym, our main goal should always be to get better in one aspect or another. We put so much effort into our exercise selection, weight selection, rest periods, and even our preparation outside of the gym. However, one thing that may often be overlooked is our ability to properly recover from our training sessions in order to continue to see progress over the weeks, months, and years. In order to do this, it is very important that we schedule proper deload weeks or deload sessions. 

 

Deloading is the process of incorporating a lighter training week or training session in order to let the body recover. This is also a great time to address any technical issues or make any form adjustments that may be needed. As we add up the days and weeks of hard training, our bodies accumulate fatigue, which when escalated to a certain point can cause plateaus, injury, or even sickness. Obviously, this is something that we want to avoid, and can be avoided by staying in-tune with our program and our bodies.

 

When considering the best time to perform a deload, there are a few tell tale signs.

 

  1. If you’re feeling fatigued and beat up: This is the ultimate sign that you need to deload. If you are more sore than normal, or you are continuously mentally fatigued, take a light week to ease your mind and refresh your body.
  2. If you have hit a plateau: Often times, when we feel like we are unable to continue progressing, it’s due to the fact that your body & mind just need a break. Mentally, it’s hard for us to take a break because we feel as though we will lose progress. In reality, that break is going to propel us one step forward.
  3. If life is crazy and stress is accumulating: Our bodies do not know the difference between physical or mental stress. All stress has the same affect on how our body functions, and if we continue to let it add up, it will lead to the same outcome as the buildup of physical fatigue.

 

When it comes to performing a deload, there are multiple ways that they can be approached. There is no right or wrong way, it just comes down to what you feel works best for you and your goals.

 

  1. Reduce the load: This method consists of decreasing the amount of weight that you have been using over the past weeks while roughly keeping the same exercises, sets, and reps. When doing this, using around 60-70% of the load that you previously used.
  2. Reduce the volume: This consists of using the same weights as you have been over the previous weeks, but reducing the number of sets and reps. This may be best suited for someone who is preparing for a competition or event, but can still be beneficial for anyone.
  3. Change your exercise selection: This one can be a little tricky because you don’t want to add in a new exercise that may introduce increased fatigue and soreness. However, if you have been perform heavy, hard movements for weeks on end, getting away from those movements for a week may not be a bad idea. An example of this would be replacing a barbell squat with a goblet squat, or a barbell bench press with a dumbbell bench press.
  4. Take the week completely off: This is something that I don’t recommend that often, but it can be very beneficial depending on how you’re feeling. If you feel as though you are on the verge of a cold, or are very stressed and fatigued, sometimes it’s best to take the week off, go for a couple of short walks, read, or even meditate.

 

– Curtis Miller

Falling in Love with Training

Fitness, Life Health, Training

This past week I had a good conversation with a very close friend of mine regarding some struggles that he had been facing with his training. More specifically, we discussed how some of life’s challenges have had a direct impact on the overall success of his training sessions, as well as his mindset towards training itself. After a few minutes of discussion and throwing around some ideas to help him going forward, he said “ I think one of my biggest issues is that I need to fall in love with training again”. 

 

This took me back for a second, as I was recently in the same exact situation as he. Before my injury, I found myself going through the motions, with training feeling more like a job than anything else. I was so caught up in the end result that I lost sight of filling each box of daily gratitude and appreciating the fact that I had the opportunity to do something that I love dearly. After my surgery, I took the time to reflect on everything in my life up to that point. I found myself thinking about my life with training in it, as well as my life before I found my love of training. Before I was able to return to training, I often found myself looking through old pictures, videos, and thinking about how and why I first got into lifting. Throughout that process, I was able to come back into training with a clear mind; focusing on making the most of each day and opportunity to train, instead of just looking towards the end goal.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, when you have very specific goals that involve being the absolute best version of yourself possible, you are going to have very tough days. Not every time you walk into the gym is going to be pure joy, sunshine, and rainbows. The higher the goal that you set, the more challenge and responsibility comes along with it. Everything from your nutrition, sleep, stress management, and even relationships have to be managed precisely in order to fit your goals. Over time, if we do not approach these things with a complete understanding, focus, and care, it can become very easy to lose sight of what attracted us to this journey in the first place, and why we are doing what we are. When we lose sight of this, we may find ourselves doing it for the wrong reasons.

 

My advice for anyone reading this, from my own personal experience, is to remember to be grateful for each and every opportunity that is placed in front of you. Be grateful for the struggle and every challenge. Be appreciative of the less-than-stelar days, and even more so of the good days. Sit down from time to time and reflect on why you’re doing what you’re doing, and why you began in the first place. Think of how your life would be different without that thing in it. Remember that at the end of the day, you are healthy and strong enough to have the opportunity to do something that many people are unable to do. That is a gift in itself. Finally, please don’t ever let the thought of the end goal distort the joy that comes with the ride.

 

– Curtis Miller

The Adventures of Dave

Fitness, Life Health

Here at UF we have a diverse, sometimes strong, and interesting staff. I am very proud that we have been able to pull so many interesting people together to make us what we are today. In this blog I want to give you a better understanding of Dave Jackson. Also, you will have the opportunity to take on a new challenge with Dave.

 

Dave started working here back in 2020. Taking on a new job with face to face clients during a pandemic has to be a challenge, and Dave has risen to the occasion. You can see him teaching most morning powerful classes, training clients, as well as working with some of our teams. What some of you may not know is that Dave has spent time with some big time college football programs. Yes I am biased, yet I have seen that once one has spent time training in the college environment they are generally prepared for most challenges in training.

 

This summer Dave decided to do the Racheal Carson trail challenge. I have done this event over ten times and it is not for the faint of heart. He not only did it, he did it in a top 40 time (most people that finish that fast do nothing other than hike and jog). He then decided to do the Kabuki Open here at UF. He hit his goals there. Now he’s training to run the EQT PGH Ten Miler. This is a ten mile race in the city. So we now are going to help him training, and hopefully have some fun doing it.

 

Starting this Friday Dave is hosting our newest class. It is a running class. 7 AM every Friday lace up your shoes and join Dave as he leads the group on a run. As with all of our classes just sign up through our website.

 

Until next time let’s all tell Dave good job on reaching his goals  and please someone outrun  him this Friday so we can all go back to talking trash.

 

Welcome April

Fitness, Life Health

Hi, I’m April, the latest and greatest addition to the Union Fitness team. I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and on track to complete my Nutrition Coach Certification in the next couple of weeks. My goal is to get exposed to as much as I can, as early on as I can. Fitness has been a passion of mine since I was 14, but I never thought it would turn into a career for me, and to be honest, I still don’t know if that’s the end all be all. This is what I do know: making goals for yourself and crushing them feels incredible, but you know what’s even better? Facilitating others in the process of changing their habits and crushing their goals. Fitness and healthy living have changed my life in such a positive way, and my goal is to show others it can do the same for them. I’m not going to lie, the process is challenging, but once you get going, everything turns into a habit. Before you know it, your lifestyle is changing, your mindset is changing, and you’re becoming the best version of yourself. 

 

As funny as it may sound, I was extremely unathletic growing up, or at least that’s what I told myself. I stopped playing sports in middle school because I convinced myself I wasn’t skilled enough for anything. STUPID RIGHT?? Well, that’s what happens when you start listening to all the nonsense in your head and comparing yourself to others. However, all of that changed when I picked up the weights. I felt like I had finally found something I was “good” at. It was the only thing I didn’t look at as a competition between me and everybody else, but rather a competition between me, myself, and I. Once I became consistent with my training and the right nutrition, I saw the results of my hard work and became addicted. 

 

If that wasn’t enough info about myself, let me tell you a little bit more. My favorite food is sushi, and my favorite dessert is ice cream. Fun fact, I worked at an ice cream store for 3 years in high school, and yes, I overindulged on ice cream every time I had a shift. I have a massive, sweet tooth! Ironic enough though, I’ve never had a cavity (knock on wood). My favorite lift at the moment is sumo deadlifts and my least favorite is back squats. Another extremely random fact, I have met and heard the stories of three Holocaust survivors. Shoutout to Mr. Haberman at Shaler Area Highschool for opening the eyes of so many young students and offering them a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet with survivors.

 

Anyways, to get back on track, I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I have only been at Union Fitness for a short time and have already learned so many things and met so many cool and genuine people. I can’t wait to continue learning and growing in such a positive and supportive environment. 

Gym Etiquette

Fitness

UF is very lucky as we have some of the best members and employees. Weights tend to be re-racked, the gym tends to be clean, and we have a group of people who all help one another. Now with that said here are some areas that we all need reminding at times. Let’s all be better with our gym etiquette.

  1. Respect other people while they are training. This is a broad rule, as it everyone has their own goals and reasons for training, yet this should cover most issues.
  2. Learn how to spot someone. If someone asks for a spot, then help them out. You should know how many reps they are doing, how hard the set will be and when if ever they need your assistance.
  3. Keep your space clean. This includes wiping down equipment, and also not carrying your entire suitcase to each piece of equipment.
  4. Personal hygiene. Enough said, just respect yourself and others.
  5. Allow others to focus. When someone is preparing for a big lift allow them space, and do not walk directly in front of them.
  6. Share. Try not to take up more equipment or space than is neccesary.
  7. Have fun! Realistically if all one wants to do is be healthy a gym is probably not necessary. We all do this for different reasons. Some want to set world records, some want to look better, and for others this may just be a mental break. So work to make your training (and those around you) a fun experience.

 

I hope as you can see from this short list that respecting yourself and respecting others.

Simplifying the Warm Up

Fitness, Training

Earlier this morning, I found myself sitting in the office with Todd and Dave having a discussion on what we believe to be the “best” warm-up routine for lifting. Before I dig deeper into our consensus, let’s touch on the most common types of warm-up routines that we see performed in the gym. 

 

1) Static stretching: I’d venture to say that this might be the most common warm-up routine that you will see. With static stretching, a position is held for a specific length of time in order to lengthen the muscle while simultaneously promoting blood flow into the muscle being stretched. Examples of this include hamstring and quad stretches, Pigeon stretch, doorway stretch, etc. 

 

2) Dynamic stretching: This consists of performing repetitive movements within a particular range of motion that are closely related to the main movement of that particular training session. As with static stretching, the goal is to promote blood flow throughout the body and specifically in the area of intended use for that training session. An example of this could be PVC around the world, walking knee hugs, Spiderman hip stretch, etc. 

 

3) Cardiovascular based warm-up: This includes 5-10 minutes of movement on machines such as treadmills, bikes, rowers, ellipticals, etc. The goal here is to increase heart rate in order to circulate blood flow throughout the entire body while raising the internal temperature of the muscles in preparation for performing movement. 

 

4) Getting under the bar and getting straight to work: I see this quite often, regardless of age or experience level. An individual will walk in, place the bar in the rack, throw some weight on, and start performing their main movement.

 

So which one did we decide on? Well, all of them can be beneficial in their own way, and when incorporated properly. However, too much of anything can be a bad thing, and too much emphasis on any of these can directly impact the overall success of your session. What we often see is too much time spent on stretching and warming up, and not enough time and focus being placed on the specificity of the main movements. At the same time, by walking into the gym and instantly jumping under a bar, you may be missing out on getting the body best prepared to perform to the best of it’s ability once your muscles are loaded with heavy weights. At the end of the day, the warm-up best suited for you is whatever is needed for you to be able to get into the positions needed to best perform your lifts. For example, performing shoulder movements that will allow you to get under a barbell in the best position to perform your squat, or hip drills that allow you to open up your hips & properly use your glutes in order to get into the bottom portion of the squat. Unless you are performing specific rehab movements, or are working around a very specific injury, the more time that is spent on performing a warm-up, the more time that you are taking away from the most important part of the training session.

 

So, keep your warm-ups limited to only the things that you feel are necessary. Get your heart rate up, get a sweat going, get your muscles loose and firing, and get to work. Spend as much of the time that you have available focused on getting better at your lifts, and you’ll end up right where you want to be.

Open Mic & Bootcamps with CeJ

Fitness

Team Union and friends, check out this weekend’s fun bootcamp events we have planned!

 

Friday August 27th at 6pm

 

Union Fitness & Federal Galley are hosting the very first bootcamp & open mic night. Meet us at Union at 6pm for a Friday night sweat session with your favorite Coaches and then jog on over to Federal Galley and let your talents shine. You heard that right, it’s Open Mic Night at Federal Galley. This is a free bootcamp that you can sign up for on Union Fitness’ website. We are excited ti see you and your talents!

 

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, I 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!

 

Wigle Events | Wigle Whiskey

Tempo Training; What, When, and How

Fitness, Training

In my most recent blog, I discussed the importance of performing paused reps and how to incorporate them into your training. Today, I’m going to go one step further and discuss tempo reps, and how you can use them within your training arsenal in order to continue progressing and knocking out your goals. The purpose of incorporating tempo work into your training is to emphasize your time in a particular portion of each lift in order to become more comfortable being in that portion, and therefore becoming stronger and more efficient within that given lift. First, let’s dive into the meaning of tempo in relation to the repetition.

 

In regards to performing a particular exercise, the tempo is the rate or pace that the exercise is being performed. Therefore, rep tempo is the rate at which you perform reps within a given set.

 

When written on paper, tempo is typically shown as a 3 digit code that looks something like this: (4-1-3). Each number portrays the amount of time in seconds to perform that specific portion of the exercise. The first digit (4) is always the eccentric (‘lowering’ or ‘negative’) portion of the lift. During a squat, that would consist of the descent into the bottom for a count of 4 seconds. The second digit (1) represents the mid-point of the lift. In the squat, this would be the bottom portion where you would typically transition from the descent to the ascent, except now you would hold for 1 second before ascending, just as we discussed in the last blog on paused reps. The third digit (3) would then be the concentric (‘lifting’ or ‘positive’) portion of the lift. This would be standing up with the bar for a count of 3 seconds.

 

Keep in mind, you can make the tempo whatever you want depending on where you think each lift needs the most emphasis. Let’s continue to use the squat as an example. If you have a problem with staying under control and in a good stable position on the descent of the squat, then you would want the greatest tempo to be applied to that part of the lift, with 4-5 seconds usually being the sweet spot. If you lose tension in the bottom of the squat, then you would want to add a pause around 1-3 seconds. If you are typically stable on the descent and in the bottom, but lose positioning on the way up, then, you guessed it, would want to add a tempo to the ascent. For this, 3-4 seconds is ideal.

 

When adding them into your training program, start with around 60% of your one rep max for anywhere from 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps. As you become more familiar, you can slowly increase the weight by 2.5-5% of your one rep max. This can be done weekly, but it doesn’t have to be. If you aren’t feeling ready to progress in weight, then stay at the same as the previous week with the goal of performing each rep more efficiently. Try this for 4-6 weeks and then go back to performing standard tempo repetitions and see the difference.

 

We are programmed to think that every lift should be performed as fast as possible in order to develop the most amount of force, recruit the most fast twitch muscle fibers, etc. The reality is, if we cannot move efficiently within each lift, then speed becomes irrelevant. So if you find yourself struggling to keep good form and tension within a given lift, or just want to change up your training program with a new challenge, try incorporating tempos and see the benefits for yourself.

 

– Curtis Miller

Last Chance Bootcamp

Alcohol, Fitness, Life Health,

Union Friends, Family and Fantastic Fans,

 

This is the last hurrah for our Summer Bootcamp Series with Threadbare Cider & Wigle Whiskey. Are you sad that you missed out on the previous two,  well well now, have no fear, here is your chance to sign-up & jump in on these boot camps. If you made it to 1 or 2 of the previous bootcamps, let’s go for that double or hat trick. I’d love to workout and party with you after.

 

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, I 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!

 

Summer Bootcamp with Union Fitness – 8/21 – Threadbare Cider and Mead

Wigle Events | Wigle Whiskey

 

Cheers,

CJ