Category Archives: Life Health

The Benefits of Proper Sleep

Life Health

At Union fitness we all have goals that we wish to achieve through optimal training. When people think about optimal training they usually look at factors like their programming, nutrition, and recovery. These are all important factors to consider but I would like to focus on a specific part of recovery which is sleep. Everyone by now knows that sleep is important to optimal training but is something that commonly isn’t prioritized. In this blog I will list some benefits of sleep and their relation to training along with some tips for better sleep.

 

Benefits of proper sleep

 

Recovery:

Training hard is required to make progress, but also needs to be followed by proper recovery. Part of this recovery process is done in our sleep as our bodies release hormones to repair damaged tissues or muscles, reduce inflammation (if any), and induce muscle growth. Improper sleep rushes this process and can increase the amount of time you need to recover between training sessions. Training without proper recovery can lead to injuries or less progress.

 

Cognitive function:

Improper sleep can result in less focus and higher cortisol (stress) levels. Both of these have an impact as it takes our attention away from training. When programming training sessions, each part is designed with a specific purpose to meet your overall goal. As a result, any attention taken away from that training is impeding your progress towards that goal. Stress and feeling unfocused are also common reasons for people to skip training sessions.

 

Immune system:

Improper sleep can also lead to a weakened immune system making you more susceptible to sickness. Being sick impacts how well you perform in training and can even prevent it all together.

 

Energy:

During training we use different energy stores in our body to fuel the work being done. Sleep is a time where our body can restore these energy storages to allow us to come right back at it the next day. Without proper sleep these energy storages might not replenish as effectively. In some studies it has been shown that no sleep leads to no additional energy stored and ⅓ more energy used. I’m hoping none of us go without sleep but this gives you an idea of its impact.

 

 

Tips for better sleep

 

  • Sleep 7-9 hours every night
  • Make a sleep schedule and stick to it
  • Having a bedtime routine
  • Try not to take naps during the day, if you do keep them under 90 minutes.
  • Avoid caffeine after the morning
  • Avoid alcohol or substance use before bed
  • Reduce screen time and exposure to light for as long as possible before bed.
  • Don’t eat large meals close to bedtime.
  • Eat a small snack before bed. Avoid sugary snacks or ones with caffeine (like chocolate).
  • Exercise!

 

Sleep plays a huge role in our overall health and can have a huge impact on training. In order to live our best lives and progress towards our goals we need to properly sleep!

 

 

Josh

Caffeine/Preworkout Use, Safety, and Benefits

Life Health

The use of caffeine in the fitness industry has recently increased by a significant margin. With approximately 80-90% of the world using caffeine daily, with the average daily intake being around 200 mg, we can see this has become a very popular supplement. As someone who uses caffeine almost on a daily basis, I wanted to share some of the benefits and side effects/down sides of caffeine use, specifically in the field of exercise.

 

Benefits

1. May increase muscular strength and endurance. Some studies have shown that the ingestion of 3-6 mg/kg of body weight of caffeine can improve strength by 2-7%. This may be small but can be a deciding factor in the completion of a maximal effort repetition. Some data is still varied, and shows minimal effects of caffeine on performance, but depending on the person it can be beneficial.

 

2. May improve sports performance across wide variety of sports. Caffeine use has been measured in a broad range of sports from basketball to combat sports. These have shown small improvements in certain individuals within their sports, but it is still not consistently proven to work. Similar to muscular strength and endurance, it depends on the person, as genetics do play a big role on the effectiveness of caffeine on performance.

 

3. May improve focus. Caffeine has been shown to improve cognitive function during various tasks. Whether it is schoolwork, work at your job, or your exercise, caffeine may provide you that extra edge to lock in and meet that deadline. For me personally, I have had plenty of good and bad experiences with the use of caffeine in this aspect. There have been plenty of times where I am able to dial in and bang out my workout or assignment efficiently, while other times it has no effect or even makes me less focused than before. As always, it depends on a case-by-case basis.

 

Disadvantages

1. Can cause insomnia or difficulty sleeping. The goal of caffeine is to block adenosine receptors and the inhibition of phosodiesterases. This provides us the feeling of having energy through indirectly inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters such as GABA and serotonin. If we consume caffeine too late in the day, it can begin to disrupt our sleep cycles over an extended period of time. Depending on your tolerance levels and dosage, we should NOT be consuming caffeine at least 6 hours before bed, some even say up to 10 hours before bed.

 

2. Can cause anxiety, depending on the individual. According to a meta-analysis of eight different studies, the consumption of over 400 mg of caffeine can lead to an increased risk of anxiety, even in healthy individuals. From personal experience, I have had pretty severe anxiety from a very large dose of caffeine. So, we need to be careful with our consumption due to these adverse effects.

 

3. Can lead to addiction with withdrawal symptoms. We can become dependent on caffeine and build up a tolerance level as we continue usage of the substance. Caffeine is considered a psychoactive substance, which is in the same classification as alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana. When a tolerance is built up for any substance, it takes more and more of that substance to feel the same effects as before. If we decide not to consume caffeine on a given day, we may feel withdrawal symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and irritability.

 

Nico

Feel Powerful at Union Fitness

Fitness, Life Health, Training

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025,

 

 

I’m very appreciative of everyone who has made this gym a community of support and a home of strength. If you are new to the neighborhood and want to join our party of strength, you will be welcomed with arms wide open. Everyone deserves a place to train, with professional coaches, supportive members and overall unmatched vibes. As we all know, the people make the place, and for that I thank yinz. This is a very special group of humans and I’m happy to share this time in history with you.

 

 

For the next few weeks in our #Powerful class we will be focusing our training for the April Push Pull Charity Event. (Tentative date for the event is April 5th, 2025). The goal of our #Powerful class is to improve our technique , strength and confidence in our bigger barbell movements; squat, bench & deadlift. We will then be using smaller movements to build muscle, improve body composition and have some damn fun! As long as you show up and apply yourself, I can guarantee you will see and feel the results of your efforts. On Mondays and Wednesdays the training will be upper body focused, whereas Tuesdays and Thursdays will emphasize lower body movements. Friday, will be led and programmed by our 1 and only Dr. Jared, the strongest Physical Therapist this side of the Mississippi. I program the Monday through Thursday training days and, if you stop in on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, you’ll even get to hang out and throw weights around with me and the Crew…they are awesome. We Want You To Join #Powerful!

 

 

If you’re not interested in the Push Pull event, #Powerful will still be a badass class for you if you’re looking to train with a community, build confidence in the gym, have fun, push each other, and learn old & new exercises. We are currently running a special on classes for the month that you can check out on our website and as always, the first class is Free. If you have any more questions on anything, please reach out and I would be so happy to assist.

 

 

Come on out and join us and let’s crush some weights in 2025 and have some fun!

 

 

Always Get Bumpy,

 

CeJ

SMART Goals in the New Year

Life Health, Training

The New Year is a fresh start, filled with hope and the motivation to become a healthier, stronger, and more active version of yourself. However, with so many resolutions in mind, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and lose track of your fitness goals.

 

This is where SMART goals come in! SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It’s a proven framework for setting goals that are clear, actionable, and attainable. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how to set SMART fitness goals and ensure you stay on track to achieve them throughout the year.

 

What Are SMART Goals?

SMART goals provide a structure that guides your actions, ensuring that your goals are clear and realistic. Let’s break down each component of a SMART goal:

  • S – Specific: Your goal should be clear and specific. Avoid vague goals like “get in shape.” Instead, focus on something more detailed, like “I want to lose 10 pounds by March.”
  • M – Measurable: You should be able to track your progress. Having measurable outcomes will help you stay motivated and see how far you’ve come. For example, “I will run 3 miles without stopping” is measurable, whereas “I want to get better at running” is not.
  • A – Achievable: Set a goal that’s challenging but still within reach. While it’s great to aim high, setting unrealistic goals will only lead to frustration. Consider your current fitness level and other commitments when deciding what’s achievable.
  • R – Relevant: Your goal should be aligned with your overall health and fitness objectives. It needs to resonate with your personal desires and be something you truly want to achieve. If you’re working on building strength, setting a goal to improve your squat form or increase your max weight can be relevant.
  • T – Time-bound: Every goal needs a deadline. This helps create urgency and prevents procrastination. For instance, “I want to run a 5K race in under 30 minutes by April” sets a clear timeframe to work toward.

 

 

How to Apply SMART Goals to Your Fitness Journey

Let’s take a closer look at how to apply the SMART framework to some common fitness goals.

 

  1. Weight Loss Goal
  • Specific: “I want to lose 15 pounds.”
  • Measurable: “I will track my weight using a scale every week.”
  • Achievable: “Losing 1-2 pounds per week is healthy and realistic for me.”
  • Relevant: “I want to lose weight to improve my overall health and feel more confident.”
  • Time-bound: “I will lose 15 pounds within the next 3 months.”

Final SMART Goal: “I want to lose 15 pounds by the end of March by eating a balanced diet and exercising 3 times a week.”

 

  1. Strength Training Goal
  • Specific: “I want to increase my squat strength.”
  • Measurable: “I will track my max squat weight each week.”
  • Achievable: “Increasing my squat by 10 pounds in the next month is achievable.”
  • Relevant: “Improving my squat strength will help me build overall muscle and improve athletic performance.”
  • Time-bound: “I will add 10 pounds to my squat max by February 28th.”

Final SMART Goal: “I will increase my squat by 10 pounds by February 28th by adding two strength training sessions each week and focusing on proper form.”

 

  1. Running Goal
  • Specific: “I want to improve my 5K time.”
  • Measurable: “I will time myself during a 5K run each month.”
  • Achievable: “I can realistically improve my 5K time by 2 minutes over the next month with consistent training.”
  • Relevant: “Improving my running time will help me become faster and healthier.”
  • Time-bound: “I will run a 5K in under 25 minutes by the end of February.”

Final SMART Goal: “I will reduce my 5K time to under 25 minutes by February 28th by running three times per week and doing interval training.”

 

  1. Flexibility and Mobility Goal
  • Specific: “I want to improve my flexibility.”
  • Measurable: “I will track my progress by measuring how far I can reach in a hamstring stretch each week.”
  • Achievable: “Stretching daily for 15 minutes will improve my flexibility over the next 6 weeks.”
  • Relevant: “Improving my flexibility will reduce muscle tightness and lower the risk of injury.”
  • Time-bound: “I will improve my hamstring stretch reach by 3 inches within 6 weeks.”

Final SMART Goal: “I will improve my flexibility by stretching for 15 minutes every day, aiming to increase my hamstring stretch reach by 3 inches by February 15th.”

 

 

Tips for Staying on Track with Your SMART Goals

  1. Track Your Progress Regularly: Set reminders to track your progress and adjust your plan if necessary. Using fitness apps or journaling can help keep you accountable.
  2. Celebrate Small Wins: Break larger goals into smaller milestones. For example, if your goal is to lose 15 pounds, celebrate every 5-pound milestone to keep motivation high.
  3. Adjust When Necessary: Life happens! If your goal feels too ambitious or if things aren’t going as planned, don’t be afraid to adjust your timeline or approach.
  4. Stay Consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to fitness. Commit to sticking to your plan, even on the days when motivation is low.

 

 

Conclusion

Setting SMART goals is one of the best ways to stay focused and motivated throughout the year. By making your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, you set yourself up for success and avoid feeling overwhelmed by vague resolutions. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, build strength, or improve flexibility, using the SMART framework ensures that your goals are clear and achievable—and that you’re equipped to crush them in 2025!

So, take a moment, think about what you want to achieve in your fitness journey, and write down your SMART goals today. The New Year is your perfect opportunity to make lasting changes, and with SMART goals, you’ll be well on your way to success.

 

Toria

Seasonal Fitness Tips

Fitness, Life Health

Tis the spooky season, fellow UF members! These upcoming months are going to get cold but also festive! Don’t fret and let the weather deter you from staying motivated and getting those workouts in. Here are some tips to help keep you going throughout these next few months: 

Fall 

  • Get outside! Take some walks in nature and enjoy the slight chill in the air and the changing of the leaves. Go on a local hike or even travel somewhere to get a better view of the fall scenery. Maybe somewhere like a state park or a lake? 
  • Join a fall sport such as the classics – soccer and/or football. It is always fun to try something new and play a sport you enjoy. 

Winter 

  • Embrace all of the indoor workouts! Maybe even try to pick up something new like indoor swimming or pickleball, basketball/volleyball too. 
  • Join or participate in a winter specific sport such as skiing, snowboarding, or ice skating. I might be biased but I love winter because that is prime hockey season. This might be a fun way to stay active. 
  • Stay motivated by setting goals for the upcoming New Year. 

General Tips 

  • Adjust your routine based on how you feel during each season. Listen to your body! 
  • Mix it up and incorporate a nice variety of activities to keep things interesting while training. 
  • Create seasonal fitness goals to keep yourself motivated and track all of your wins and progress. 

 

Stay fit my friends! 

– Toria 

Having Agency

Life Health

What’s up UF!

 

I am sure that in the world of social media you see thousands of posts giving all sorts of advice. From how to properly do a back squat or deal with hard times in your life. An intricate explanation of what is needed to accomplish this idea usually follows. A ten part plan with a whole map of each step you need to take. However, the key missing piece that seems to always be left out is the simplest. Having the agency. 

 

Agency is defined as the ability to take control and action in your life. While this idea may be the simplest in theory it’s always the hardest. It’s easy to make an excuse and start when its convenient, or that life somehow always gets in the way. You can’t make the commitment to your goals because you’re too tired or something bad happened that threw your whole day into chaos. In those unexpected moments that’s when you have to double down and continue to be consistent. 

 

The only thing in life that stands between you and everything you’ve ever wanted to do, is doing it. So before you make that excuse, think about how every small step you take in the direction of what you want is perhaps no small step at all, but in fact the greatest journey of your life.  

 

To quote Marcus Aurelius: “You could be good today. But instead you choose tomorrow” 

 

That’s it, just start. 

 

Everything you’ve ever wanted will be in the palm of your hand before you know it.  

 

Dylan Heisey

Healthy Eating with Jen

Clean Eating, Life Health

Hi Union Fitness! 

 

With so much nutrition information available at our fingertips, it’s easy to get stuck dealing with analysis paralysis and decision fatigue or to fall down the crash dieting rabbit hole. Here are a few basic principles that I aim to follow in order to simplify the decision process, fuel performance, and maintain a healthy relationship with food: 

 

  1. Plan ahead. Whether I’m prepping meals for the week or heading to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for a special occasion, having a plan helps reduce decision fatigue and saves me time for the fun part: making and eating tasty food! Pro tip: freezing your meal preps helps them taste fresh for longer. No one likes refrigerator flavored chicken! Just remember to thaw them in the fridge or on a low power in the microwave before heating them up.
  2. Strive for small changes. Like laughably small. Breaking down large goals into small, easily achievable steps helps make big goals more attainable and makes us more likely to stick with new habits. Trying to increase protein intake, reduce ultra-processed food consumption, and eat more vegetables all at once is a huge undertaking for most people, myself included. Instead, add a greek yogurt to your breakfast or focus on opting for fruit over candy even 50% of the time. Use the small improvements to generate momentum, and remember, perfect is the enemy of better. 
  3. Eat for fuel and enjoyment. As a competitive athlete of 20 years and a budding therapist, I am a firm believer in the concept that there are no “good” or “bad” foods. Be it fuel and performance or pleasure and community, all food serves a purpose. Learning how to name that purpose and balance appropriately attending to our physical, emotional, and social needs is key to ensuring a healthy relationship with food. 

 

Finally, take some time to enjoy your food today. After all, we have to eat to live – might as well make it fun! 

 

-Jen 

The Benefits of Yoga: Beyond Flexibility and Stress Relief

Fitness, Life Health, Training

Since it has been practiced for thousands of years, yoga is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Although many people think of yoga as a means of increasing flexibility and reducing stress, the benefits of the practice go far beyond these well-known benefits. We’ll explore the many advantages of yoga in this blog post, as well as how adding it to your routine can improve your general health.

 

What is Yoga?

In order to enhance one’s physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, yoga incorporates breathing techniques, physical postures, meditation, and ethical concepts. Yoga comes in a wide variety of forms, from intense forms like Vinyasa and Ashtanga to more restorative forms like Hatha and Yin.

 

Physical Benefits of Yoga

1. Increased Flexibility:

One of the most well-known benefits of yoga is improved flexibility. Regular practice helps lengthen and stretch muscles, making it easier to move and reducing the risk of injuries.

 

2. Improved Strength:

Yoga poses require you to support your body weight in various ways, building strength in muscles that may not be used regularly in other forms of exercise. This includes core strength, which is crucial for overall stability and balance.

 

3. Enhanced Balance and Coordination:

Many yoga poses challenge your balance and coordination. Improved balance can prevent falls and injuries.

 

4. Better Posture:

Yoga emphasizes body alignment and awareness, which can lead to improved posture. Good posture reduces strain on the spine and helps prevent back and neck pain.

 

5. Increased Blood Flow and Circulation:

The various postures and breathing exercises in yoga promote better blood flow and circulation. This can lead to improved cardiovascular health and reduced risk of chronic diseases.

 

6. Boosted Immune System:

Yoga can strengthen the immune system by reducing stress and inflammation, improving circulation, and stimulating the lymphatic system, which helps fight infections.

 

Mental and Emotional Benefits of Yoga

1. Stress Reduction:

Yoga is renowned for its stress-relieving properties. The combination of physical activity, controlled breathing, and meditation helps calm the mind, reduce cortisol levels, and promote relaxation.

 

2. Improved Focus and Concentration:

Yoga requires mindfulness and concentration, which can enhance your ability to focus in other areas of your life. This mental clarity can lead to better decision-making and productivity.

 

3. Enhanced Mood and Emotional Well-Being:

Regular yoga practice can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. The release of endorphins during exercise, coupled with the calming effects of deep breathing and meditation, contributes to an overall sense of well-being.

 

4. Better Sleep:

Yoga can improve the quality of your sleep by promoting relaxation and reducing stress. Certain poses and breathing techniques can help prepare your body and mind for a restful night’s sleep.

 

5. Increased Self-Awareness:

Yoga encourages introspection and self-awareness, helping you become more in tune with your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. This heightened awareness can lead to personal growth and a deeper understanding of yourself.

 

Yoga provides a comprehensive approach to health and wellbeing that is good for the body, mind, and soul. You may increase your level of inner calm, lower stress, sharpen your mind, and improve your physical health by adding yoga into your regimen. Accept the trip and see for yourself how yoga may change your life.

 

Jade

Self Accountability

Fitness, Life Health, Training

What’s up everyone! Today I wanted to take the time to talk about Self-Accountability and how it could be the reason that you may not be obtaining the results that you would like with your fitness goals.

In my opinion, we have one of the best staff in Pittsburgh with our trainers and coaches. They have superb knowledge, are good people, have the ability to empathize, and can guide you in the right direction. If they don’t have the knowledge on a particular topic, they also always seek out more information from others to learn on that particular topic or they will dive into research with peer reviewed articles or case studies.

Although our trainers and coaches are great at Union Fitness, they can only guide you in the right direction and can only push you to a certain degree. For example, when I am doing initial consultations with potential clients, they come in with these awesome goals and large aspirations that are 100% obtainable. However, they fail to realize that sessions tend to be only 1-3 times a week. The hard truth that some people need to learn is that working out once a week, twice a week, or even three times a week is not enough in the long run to reach their particular goal. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 300 to 450 minutes of exercise a week to achieve maximum health gains. This means that even if you are training three times a week with a trainer, it’s not enough to achieve your goals. You would need to do some type of activity on your own without a coach or trainer that way you are doing enough to reach your goals.

In my own experience in training with clients, the clients that see the best results are the ones that did extra work outside of our sessions. It could be exercise that I programmed myself for them, an outside source like another gym or classes, or something that they enjoy and are comfortable doing on their own.

To bring things back full circle, this means there needs to be some type of self-accountability when you are on your own. At the end of the day, it comes down to the client and what they are willing to do to reach their goals. Exercising once, twice, or three times a week is definitely great and if that’s all you can muster then that is fine too but there are definitely gains being left on the table. So if you are a current client and are reading this, do not be afraid to ask your trainer for extra programming to do on your own. This will speed up the process of your goals and make things more obtainable.

In conclusion, I am writing this blog to simply provide information to our members and whoever might be reading this. My intention is to not make anyone feel bad or to call anyone out. We often look to blame others for our issues, problems, or lack of progress in our lives but sometimes it takes a hard look in the mirror. Am I really doing everything I could be doing  to achieve my goals? Am I exercising with intent rather than going through the motions? That is for you to decide! Again, I want to reiterate that I am trying to give you a gentle nudge to push you in the right direction. That way you can be your happiest and best self!

I’ll leave you with this. You could have all the money in the world, the best trainers in the world, the best coaches in the world, the best support in the world, and the best nutritionists in the world, but if you do not execute and remain self disciplined then you will not get the results that you would like.

I hope this blog helps some of you out that are struggling with your goals. Do not give up and always strive for more! You will be surprised at how durable, resilient, and mentally strong you really are and can become. It will not be easy, but if it was easy then everyone would do it.

-Zain

Comfort: Our Own Worst Enemy

Life Health

From an early age most of us have been taught or programmed to think that comfort equals happiness and that we should take the path of least resistance. While comfort can help with unwinding after a long day and may give temporary relief, it can do more harm than good if comfort is the only thing you seek. Comfort is like a drug, and once you have it, it is extremely difficult to change that habit. What can tend to happen is that we bleed our dopamine system dry of happiness through constant scrolling, drugs, alcohol, binge watching tv or gambling because it gives us that temporary comfort or happiness. We stop doing the things that we used to do and instead focus on getting our dopamine fix to feel somewhat happy for a very brief period of time. This then creates a habit that prevents us from growing professionally, spiritually, or socially. This lack of growth, whether we realize it intrinsically or not, creates the real root of our unhappiness. We realize we are not pursuing the best version of ourselves and this makes us restart the never ending cycle of getting our dopamine fix to only wake up the next day with bitterness. We repeat this constant cycle over and over again to the point where we can become bitter, depressed, or discontent with life. However, in saying all of this above, the good thing is that this can all be prevented! From my own opinion, the pursuit of something bigger that makes us uncomfortable is actually what makes us happy. Basically, forcing ourselves to be uncomfortable and doing extremely difficult tasks makes us feel better about ourselves because we are growing in some type of manner. This gives us a sense of purpose, confidence, some control of our lives and ultimately allows us to create our own happiness. So after reading all of this, I challenge you all to be more disciplined, to set goals, to be your true self, and strive for growth rather than comfort. It is 100% okay to unwind here and there with whatever makes you feel comfortable but just don’t make it a habit that consumes your life. The people that choose an easy life tend to have a hard or unhappy life but the people who choose a hard life tend to have an easier or happy life. The same way that dogs need physical activity to be happy, humans also need mental stimulation and problem solving to be happy. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and always strive for growth UF fam!

 

Gainz out!!