Category Archives: Life Health

Alcohol, Fitness, Life Health, State of the Union, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2021 is going to be FUN!

 

Hold on to your butts, we have more cool things coming your way and here are a few of the new things you’ll see at UF in 2021.

 

On Site at Union:

Charity/Fundraiser Super Group & Marathon Classes

Comedy, Coffee & Competition

Athlete & Agility

Metal/Rock N Roll Yoga

Movement & Mobility

Strongwoman/Strongman Conditioning

Battle of The Gyms

Health, Wellness & Training Education

Hands on Training Seminars

Monthly Challenges

Blood Drives

Toy/School Supply Drives

And More…

 

Union Fitness Adventure Series:

Mobile Pop-Up Bootcamps

Pittsburgh Stair Climb Tour

Bike Pittsburgh to D.C.

Hike Pittsburgh

Run Pittsburgh

Brewery & Bootcamps

And More…

 

Union, let us hear your voices! Tell us your ideas you may have and any interest in the above-mentioned events. For any event we would love to partner with local North Side or Pittsburgh area small business to support local and highlight those businesses. Send in those ideas and let’s rock n roll all over 2021.

 

Cheers,

 

CeJ

Happy New Year, We Need the Old You

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , , , ,

I have very eclectic taste in music so when I think I tend to go to what song fits the moment. I have realized this habit has rubbed off on my son. We will often be driving and jamming some tunes then Tenzing says, ‘”Dad this is the perfect song for this moment.” With that in mind I can’t write this blog without thinking about a song from the Old 97’s. In the song “The Magican” Rhett Miller sings these words, “Oh, but I wanna be with the real you.” This song has always haunted me as it reminds me that we need to be the real version of us. With this I welcome you to 2021.

 

If you made it this far you may be asking why you are still reading me ramble about a song and band you probably never head of? Because I want to make 2021 the year of the real you. Bring you to the gym, work, and life everyday. Often the date changes and people say it’s time for a new you. It isn’t! Today is a great day to evolve, and with that we must understand that the real you should be you, who is trying to improve daily.

 

Think of this in terms of lifting or training. When you began you never thought you could do what you currently do, until you put the work in. Then afterwards you were still you, just a stronger and more wise version of you. Let us not throw out the past, let us not throw out our mistakes. Bring them with you and let’s all grow, evolve, and make 2021 just another step in the right direction.

 

Now I am asking for you to help me. How can I, and UF help you in 2021. We have never seen a year like 2020, so we are open to new ideas. Share with me your thoughts and if we can, we will do what we can to help you improve the real you.

 

Happy New YEAR!

5 Ways to Make Your Pulls Ups Spicier than Rick Sebak’s Eggnog

Fitness, Life Health, ,

Happy Holidays my friends!

 

During December the members and staff of UF had a Challenge to see how many Chin/Pull-ups you can total for the month. The sheer word pull-up runs chills down the spine to many as they flash back to middle school P.E. as a gym teacher in questionable length shorts blows a whistle and shouts at you. Well have no fear, CeJ is here with 5 variations to help build you up to overcome your fears and frustrations of Chins/Pull-ups.

 

5 Variations

 

1) Band Assisted on Rack: Set any band on the J Hooks of the rack (make sure the Js are set tight and won’t fold in). Carefully step on the Band and grab the bar. The band will assist you a lot at the bottom and just a tad at the top. Always work great technique and full range of motion to engrain movement patterns.

 

2)Band Assisted on Bar: Similar to the movement above but now the band is attached to the bar and you can either put your knee or foot in the band. Foot will give you more assistance, knee will give you less.

 

3) Eccentric (Down Slow): Get up by jumping, climbing or just start at the top of your pull, with this movement, we just focus on the descent. Once at the top take 3-5 seconds down, control yourself to the bottom of your pull.

 

4) Isometric (Hold at Top): Similar to the movement above, now we are just holding ourself at the top position for as long and strong as we can.

 

5) Chain, Weighted, Band Resisted: Take your standard issue pull and now toss some resistance on. Still keep great form and give it hell.

 

Remember, any of these exercises can be modified and adapted to fit where you are in your wellness journey.

 

Video Demos are posted on our Instagram page, give em a peep!

 

Take your time with these and progress slow. You can do this with a positive attitude and a solid mindset. If you want a little push here and there, just let us know and we can get you there! If you have any questions, please let us know.

 

Cheers,

CeJ

New Year, New Strength, New Friends

Life Health, Training, , , , , , , , ,

UF and LEG1ON Training are excited to host our first ever combined bootcamp. On January 1st, 2021 UF and LEG1ON will come together on the UF outdoor turf to host a bootcamp that is free to all.

 

We have been trying to reach out and work with other local training facilities to offer Pittsburgh a better fitness and strength community. LEG1ON opened in 2020, and immediately gave us a gym that was open to working with us. Due to this relationship, we will be having more joint offerings in the future. The details of the bootcamp are below.

 

Time and Date: Jan 1st, 2020. 11 AM-Noon.

Location: Union Fitness, 100 South Commons, Pittsburgh PA, 15212

How do I sign up? Sign up on MindBody.

Is there a cost? This class is free to everyone.

What can I expect? You can expect two of the best gyms in Pittsburgh coming together with their best instructors, to give you a great workout to start the new year.

Will it be safe? Our outdoors space at UF is big, and we require masks at all times when on the premises.

 

We hope to see you here on Jan 1st to meet some new friends and have some fun.

 

Todd Hamer

 

Fill Those Sleeves. Holiday Edition.

Life Health, Uncategorized, ,

As 2020 comes to an end let’s remember why we train. We all know we train to fill our sleeves. As my good friend Dr Jacked (Scott Caulfield) has often reminded me, a good deadlift is important yet big arms are important(er). With big arms in mind let’s review some old pump up exercises from yesteryear.

 

Curl the ladder– In order to curl the ladder all one needs is an empty barbell. Take the bar and hold it at 90 degrees for a ten count then do 10 curls, repeat this for reps 9-1. Be sure to get a good 10 count hold between each set of curls. Do not set the barbell down until all reps are done.

 

100 rep curl– Simplest pump ever, just grab a bar and curl it for 100 reps as quickly as possible.

 

Dip & push down superset– Slow controlled set of 10-20 bodyweight dips as soon as you complete these begin with 25 band pushdowns. Make this a drop set by decreasing dip reps each set while increasing pushdown reps.

 

Roney push up challenge– This is named after a good friend Jim Roney. We used to use this as a finisher after bench day. Set down a pair of dumbbells. Do 1 push then 2 push ups with hands on the dumbbells. Then make it 2&4, then 3&6… keep going until 10&20.

 

Surf the rack– This can be done with any exercise (curls, extensions, lateral raises etc.). Start at a weight you can do ten reps with (let’s say 45 lbs.). Do ten reps, set the weight down and go to the next set of dumbbells down the line, do ten with that weight and continue until you have touched every lighter dumbell.

 

I hope this has given you some good ideas on how to get a pump this holiday season. We all need a little different way to make sure we are still having fun with training.

 

 

 

 

 

CeJ’s Rock N Rolling Mobility

Life Health

Union Fam,

 

It’s chilly, it’s dark, you might be stranded inside your dojo for the time being slamming away on your keyboard, or falling down the rabbit hole of tik-tok conspiracy theories. Have no fear, CeJ is here with some mobility exercises that can fire your day up and get you moving, grooving, and feeling right!

 

Run through 3-4 Sets of 5-10 Repetitions of each exercises 1-5 and repeat. (Rest as needed)

 

1) Sun Salutations.

2) Squat to stretch , add in rotations, squat to stretch with push back and rotation.

3) Inchworm to spiderperson to figure 4 and walk back.

4) Glute bridge with reach across, single leg glute bridge, Iso glute bridge with leg chops, Iso glute bridge with leg abduction/adduction.

5) Cannonball to V-sit, Cannonball to butterfly.

 

Make sure you breathe well during these exercises. Breathe deep into your nose, smooth exhale out of your mouth. Take your time with each exercise and work to increase overall range of motion as you go. Turn your favorite tunes on and get to rocking with some fun flow mobility exercises.

 

Thank you for reading and if you’d like to see demos of these exercises, they will be on our Instagram or just let us know and we can send you the videos.

 

Cheers,

 

CeJ

 

P.S. Who would be down for a mobility class taught by the Rock n Roll Wizard himself? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and let us know how you enjoyed these mobility exercises.

 

Outdoor Training, Online Classes, and Trying to Do What We Can

Fitness, Life Health, , , ,

Now that we have had a weekend to fully grasp the new orders from our state government I would like to give everyone an update as to what we are doing. Our goal is to follow all rules and regulations,  while doing the best we can to serve each and everyone of you. I have listed here how we are trying to do this in these unique times.

 

  1. We are offering outdoor activities to the best of our abilities for all of our members. Our turf area is mostly covered and we are going to do our best to keep it warm and snow free.
  2. We are offering online classes for free via instagram. We decided against using zoom as we don’t want to charge anyone for this service. So please log on and do some training with us. We have broken the classes into four categories. 1. Bodyweight class. 2. Class with weights. 3. Educational class (this will be more lecture based).      4. Yoga. Please feel free to sign up for any of these.
  3. We are loaning equipment up until the week that we will be permitted to re-open.
  4. We are spending this time reviewing our classes and schedules to best serve our members.
  5. We are also moving and cleaning under, over, and around all equipment. When we re-open we hope to be the cleanest gym on earth.
  6. While operating our normal hours we will be closing the outdoor training area from 6-7 AM&PM for powerful class. Anyone who is interested in taking this class we will upgrade you for the next 3 weeks free of charge.
  7. We are offering a 25 dollar 3 week membership to anyone who belongs to another gym. The one condition is that you keep your gyms membership. We do not want to take members. We understand that we are very fortunate to have our outdoor space, and want to offer people a place to train if they currently don’t have one.

 

This is our list as of now. As with everything we do we are always open to hear what you have to say. If there is anyway that we can serve you during this shut down please reach out. As stated early we will follow all the state rules and regulations, and will still do what we can to offer you a great place to train.

Catering for the Pandemic Nurses at AGH

Life Health, , ,

Hello Good People of Union Fitness,

 

The UF staff wants to give a huge THANK YOU to all of you that have donated and/or contributed to all of our charities and events we  have had in 2020!  None of the impact that we have made, would be possible without the generous help from you!

 

We are asking for your help one last time in 2020.  We are starting a GoFundMe page to raise money to provide lunch for the first responders at AGH. (Allegheny General Hospital).  During these times we MUST not forget about the people that are putting their lives and their loved ones lives at risk to serve our sick.  

 

We here at UF want to show our support and let the first responders know, that our community is behind them in all their efforts in fighting this pandemic.  We will be using Erin’s Deli to do the catering for us.  Erin’s Deli located in the bottom of the K&L building in downtown Pittsburgh has been effected by the pandemic and we want to help her out as well.

 

We are ALL in this together.  We must continue to support our friends, our community, and our neighborhood.  We must show them that, they’re people that cherish their hardwork and sacrifice.  Supplying them a lunch is minimal but, it means a great deal to them.  

 

So let’s end this dreadful year with some positivity by showing our gratitude to the people that are doing their best to make people feel better.  We owe them a piece of joy during this holiday season!

 

Matt Grayson

Holiday Tunes to Get Bumpy to

Life Health, ,

It’s time to crank up the volume to 11 with these 10 songs to get you in the Holiday spirit, while you smack some iron around!

 

“CeJ’s Top 10 Holiday Tunes to Get Bumpy To”

 

1) O Come All Ye Faithful- off of Bad Religon’s Christmas Songs Album. Punk rock and holiday jams really speeds things up.

 

2) Carol Of The Bells- off of August Burns Red Sleddin Hill,  A Holiday Album. Tune the guitars to drop D and get to shredding. They just dropped a new Holiday album, go check it out.

 

3) You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch- By Small Town Titans. The Grinch + Metal = Bumps.

 

4) The Hanukkah Song- Adam Sandler rocks this live version.

 

5) Things I Want- Jack Black, Tenacious D & Sum 41 join forces to melt your merry faces off.

 

6) The Season’s Upon Us- off of Dropkick Murphys Signed & Sealed in Blood. This song will make you sway back and forth with some nog in hand and family in a headlock.

 

7) Sock It To Me Santa- By Bob Seger & The Last Heard. If this song doesn’t get you moving, you might be a mean one Mr. Grinch.

 

8) All I Want For Christmas Is You-  By My Chemical Romance off of The 20 Songs that Keep Giving Album.

 

9) Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)-  By The Darkness. We’ve all hit the high note in ” I Believe In A Thing Called Love”, now let’s belt out some cheer here.

 

10) Making Christmas- By Rise Against is a cover from Danny Elfman’s (From Oingo Boingo) Nightmare Before Christmas score.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

x) Run Rudolph Run-Lemmy

x) What Christmas Means To Me- Stevie Wonder

x) Happy Holidays, You B- Blink 182

x) I Saw 3 Ships- B.E. Taylor

x) Christmas Christmas- Cheap Trick

 

 

Let me know some of your favorite Holiday songs to Get Bumpy to and drop them in the comments. Hope you enjoyed this list and found some new bangers.

 

 

Happy Holidays,

 

 

CeJ

Top Ten List: Dumb Things Lifters Do

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , , ,

For this Monday’s blog we are taking a humorous look at weird things we all do as lifters.

 

  1. Bug squasher squats. For the last few years I have noticed many lifters who unrack the bar and then do the bug squasher dance. Not sure when this began yet it makes zero sense and is funny to me (special shout out to Daniel McKim for the name).
  2. Slamming warm up sets. We all know that your 135 and 225 warm ups felt light. What we don’t need is a new divot in the deadlift platform because of your slam dunk warm up.
  3. While on deadlifts let’s talk about your set up. Barking at the bar while raising your arms to the heaven will not help you lift the weight. Settle down and lift the weight.
  4. Living on “pre-workout.” We all need a pick me up at times, yet if you cannot lift without one maybe you need more sleep, not more chemicals.
  5. Over-concerning yourself with records. We have all been to a holiday party (well before 2020) and heard, “my cousin’s friend is a world record holder.” Our “sport” has a record for everything so just get a PR and have fun.
  6. Making fun of CrossFit. Yes, it is an easy target yet if you can’t walk a flight of stairs maybe some CrossFit could help your GPP.
  7. Acting like bodybuilders are ego maniacs while we are humble. Sorry, reality check time. We all have egos and began lifting to feed that ego. It’s okay, and we can learn from those guys and gals in their string tank tops.
  8. RPE scales. Too often I see a video when the lifter says “RPE 8.5.” C’mon! First off, do we really need decimals? Secondly, when you miss your second rep the RPE is a 10. All joking aside with this one, be humble. It is fine to say that your set was really much harder than it should have been.
  9. Instafamous. Yes, we all know that you lifted today, and social media is a great way to learn from those around you. If you spend more time editing your videos than you did training then did you train?
  10. Missing life because of lifting. After these last 9 light-hearted comments this one is serious. Lifting is a lot of fun. Take it from a guy who has competed in more than 20 events. I have had some of the best lifers come up and offer to help me without me even asking. I have also seen people helping those who they are competing against. What I am begging of you is to live your life. See your family. If you miss a lift, it will be okay. If you have to shorten a lift to go see friends and family then do it. If 2020 taught us anything it is that none of us are islands. When I get my vaccine I will stop my lift early to buy any and all of you a coffee or beer.

 

Todd Hamer