There are endless opportunities to engage in cardio (aerobic) exercise in our everyday lives. You could get your heart rate up by using the stairs instead of the elevators, taking a bike ride, coming to UF and using the ellipticals, rowers, etc. By participating in regular aerobic exercise, we are encouraging our hearts to work smarter and not harder. What I mean by this is that when we perform aerobic exercise, our heart is working overtime to pump blood throughout the whole body to the places we need it the most. By conditioning the heart to pump blood more efficiently while exercising, this makes it easier for the heart to pump blood more efficiently while at rest, and as a result your blood pressure will decrease. With exercise and consistent training, the heart will be performing its essential functions while being under a lot less stress in the long run. I also want to highlight a few of the other benefits that come along with aerobic training and exercise in general:

• Lowers the “bad” cholesterol levels – exercise works to eliminate the “bad” cholesterol also known as LDL by increasing the “good” cholesterol in the bloodstream otherwise known as HDL.

• Decreases the risk for type 2 diabetes – exercise can increase insulin sensitivity which means that the body will require less insulin to control its blood sugar levels. The muscles also extract glucose from the blood during exercise. This helps to prevent blood sugar levels from rising too high.

• Triggers the release of “feel good” chemicals in the brain – This includes serotonin, norepinephrine, endorphins, and dopamine. These are some factors contributing toward what helps us to be in a good mood and feel mentally healthy in general.

• Reduces inflammation – exercise causes muscle cells to release a protein called IL-6 which has anti-inflammatory effects

• Decreases the risk of heart disease and stroke

There are so many other benefits to aerobic training, but I just wanted to highlight a few today to get you thinking about how important and beneficial it is to incorporate this into our daily lives.

Toria

In the last 6 years I have moved 10 times. So, when talking about changing your environment, I have gone through it for sure. All of these changes have taught me one thing, that my environment is the biggest factor on not just my training, but my mental health as well. When we are not happy in our environment, you can start to feel yourself losing discipline. As your training starts to fall apart, so can your overall health.

Before my most recent move to Pittsburgh, I was training at a gym that I considered home. I would drive 30 minutes to train at Unrivaled Strength and 30 minutes back every day. A lot of people asked me why I wouldn’t just go to the L.A. Fitness down the block from my apartment and my response was that I needed to train in an environment that matched my goals for myself. I was happy, my lifts and my mental health were thriving. Amid your busiest work or school day, I hope you can look forward to training hard at whatever gym it is you feel your best at.

When I moved to Pittsburgh, I knew I had to find a gym like the one I was going to prior to the move, and the owner of that gym, Justin Oliver, recommended Union Fitness. So, not only did I begin training at this gym, but working here as a strength coach and trainer as well. I found myself back in an environment where I am surrounded by individuals with similar goals and a similar mindset to mine. I have mentors who I can train with and learn from every day. This is a gym that allows individuals to be authentic, learn from one another, and most importantly be strong every day.

Your gym should always feel like home, so when people ask me how I stay motivated or how I stay disciplined my answer is always the same: find the best environment for yourself. It isn’t always the same for everybody, and it may take months or years to find. But when you find it, everything will start to fall into place.

After all, a fish can only grow as large as the tank they live in.

Maria

Hello everyone!

If you are new to the community or even if you are a veteran UF member, I wanted to let you know (or remind you) about our free class that we offer here three days a week at lunchtime.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12-12:30pm, we offer a class called “Blitz.” Blitz is a quick 30-minute class that you can hop in during your lunch hour or if you have a free 30-minutes during your afternoon. The class is taught by myself, our GM, Todd, and one of our awesome trainers, April. Todd created this class about 2 years ago, and it is open to anyone and everyone. This means that you don’t have to be a UF member to be able to join in on the fun. Although this class may inspire you to join us. 🙂

On Mondays, the class focuses mainly on squats and lower body movements.

On Wednesdays, the focus is mainly upper body pressing and other accessories.

And on Fridays we have a total body circuit training party.

It’s a great way to get up and moving and learn some basic lifting movements in the middle of your day!

Come join the fun, bring a friend, and head on over to Blitz class.

P.S If you are unable to make it here on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday afternoon and are looking for a longer cardio based class, be sure to check out our Cardio Lab classes offered at 12pm on Tuesday/Thursday’s as well.

See you there!

Toria

Beginning the first week of November, our Friday Powerful class will be taking a slightly different approach. If you are someone who trains throughout the week, whether it be at our classes here at Union Fitness, or your own workouts, you know first hand how the body and mind can feel by the end of the week. Taking this into account, our Friday class will now be a combination of bodyweight training with a focus on movement and mobility, followed by a cool-down period with an emphasis on stretching. Our goal here is to help you recover from a long week of work, those grueling training sessions, and anything else that life has thrown at you, while also preparing your body for any tasks that the weekend has in store.

Don’t get it twisted, this will still be a great and challenging workout, just as we always aim to provide for our members. However, we will be introducing you to a slightly different approach to training that will yield you the same results as our previous class, but with the addition of getting your body exposed to different movements and positions that will have a long list of benefits. Whether you sit at a desk or are on your feet all day, this workout will have an increased benefit on not only your day to day function, but also your long-term function and strength down the road.

For added benefits, we recommend combining this class with one of our amazing Yoga classes throughout the week. The combination of the two will have your body and mind prepared to take on any challenge that is thrown at it. I can promise you that by investing in these workouts, you will see an increase in movement quality, joint & muscular function and strength, and an increase in overall well-being. For more details or any questions, be sure to grab me at the gym and I’ll be more than happy to help. 

– Curtis Miller 

Hello UF Community!

I was training one of my clients yesterday, and we were listening to classic throwbacks by the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, etc. As we all know, one of the Backstreet Boys most famous songs is “I Want It That Way” from the year 1999. The chorus of that song goes a little something like “Tell me why (ain’t nothin but a heartache)… Tell me why…”

I have some food for thought for you today. I want you to think about your reasons “why.” What I mean by that is not necessarily just to think about why you might have a heartache or even why you may have joined the gym, but to reflect on why you do certain things in your everyday lives. Take some time to think about your true passions and your daily personal values. Examples could be why you chose your current job, why do you love or hate what you do for a living, why did you decide to get up and out of bed this morning, why did you choose your current 2022 goals, why did you do that extra set of deadlifts last night or eat that extra donut for breakfast.

I’m challenging you to dig a little bit deeper into your thoughts today, because why not reflect on why it is we do what we do and feel the ways that we do daily.

I kept this one short and sweet, but I hope that it gets those brain wheels turning and you discover some deeper knowledge within yourselves.

Toria