Category Archives: Life Health

Hello Iron Chefs of the World

Clean Eating, Diet, Life Health, Meal Prep, Nutrition
Today I bring to you some more tasty quarantine foods we have devoured. Both the Swedish Chef, Chef Boyardee and the late great Chef Bourdain approve of these delectable dishes. I present to you a snack, appetizer, meal & dessert.

Road House Kick Deviled Eggs:

 Ingredients; Eggs, Mayo (lite), Spicy Brown Muzzy (mustard), Salt, Pepper, Garlic & Onion Powder and Paprika.
Directions; Gracefully place eggs in a pot of water and boil for 5ish minutes-peel eggs,  slice them in half & toss the yoke in a bowl with all other ingredients- mix away- stuff filling into the halved eggs and dust with some more paprika and Blammy!

Jalapeno & Goat Cheese Sweet Pepper Poppers:
 
Ingredients; Sweet Peppers, Goat Cheese, Jalapeno.
Directions; halve sweet peppers, mix goat cheese and diced jalapeno into bowl, stuff filling into the sweet peps then toss in the oven at 400 for 10 or so minutes and you got some nice Poppers.
 
Hold on to Your Butt Sichuan Shrimp & Eggplant with Rice:
 
Ingredients: Shrimp, Eggplant, Sticky Rice, Chili Garlic Paste, Sichuan Peppercorns, Honey, Ginger, Low Sodium Soy Sauce, Veggie Broth, Dried Chilis, Green Onions & Corn Starch.
Directions; Cook rice- Toss all sauce ingredients into a pot and simmer til you get a thiccck sauce- saute shrimp & eggplant with any of the seasoning above- toss all together and hold onto your tongues.

Black Bean, Avocado & Dark Chocolate Brownies:
 
Ingredients; 1 can Black Beans, Avacado, 3 Eggs, 1/2 cup Unsweet Cocoa Powder, 1/4 cup Butta, 1 tsp Vanilla, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 3/4 cup Sugar (we used half stevia brown and half regular), 1 tsp Salt, Dark Chocolate Chips.
Directions; Mix it all up- layer mix over foil in a baking pan at 360 for about 20 minutes-Let cool for and few and wipe the drool off your mouth-Enjoy.

Please let me know what you think of these food ideas/recipes. If you have some fan favorites you’d like Union’s Top Chef to try, send it on over! Have fun with these and make them your own special way.
Bon Appetit,
-CeJ

How to Support Local and Small Businesses

Life Health, State of the Union, Uncategorized
Hello my friends,

 

During these strange times a lot of our favorite small and local businesses are taking a hit from the effects of CV-19 and social distancing. It’s time like these that if we are able to lend a hand to those small business and choose their products/ services over the big mega-mart business, now is the time. I know for dang sure when all this is over I want to sprint to my favorite small businesses in person and give them my love and support. I’ve ordered take out (food, craft beers & coffee) from my beloved local business and plan to order a handful of gift cards to distribute to family & friends to support while we still practice social distancing. Until then here are some ideas of things we can do to keep our friends  & cherished businesses alive.

 

Support Small & Local Businesses 

 

1) Share your go to businesses on your social media page and give them a shout out for their goods.
2) Leave a review on Google, Yelp our that business’ web-page to help boost online ratings.
3) Refer your friends to what these businesses have to offer and the current services they provide.
4) Buy gift cards now for future expenses.
5) Don’t cancel events that you planned with that business, reschedule.
6) Check to see if the business is offering online services (therapy, music lessons, financial advisement etc). Shameless shout out check out UF’s Instagram live classes they are offering.
7) Pick Small/Local over the mega-marts and big companies when shopping online or in person.
8) Take care of the service workers that you are picking up your take out or craft beer growler with a nice tip.
9) Offer your unique services that may be able to promote or assist your favorite places.
10) Give a donation.
11) Be a good person, say thank you and reach out when you can.

 

If you know a friend or just want to share your favorite small/local business please comment on and share this article. At Union we are in the works on some ways that we can support our members businesses and the places around us. I can’t wait to see you when things get under control. Stay strong, healthy and go support your local business.

 

“Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.” -The Beatles

 

Cheers,

 

CeJ

CeJ’s Turn on Music

Life Health, Training

Hello to all my headbangers & dance dance revolutionaries out there.

 

Some of you may not know this but growing up, I was in a rock band called “Sunday Brunch”.  Some say we were the greatest band of all time, some say nay we were just a tribute and others, well, they weren’t in our band. We would practice in my best friend’s mom’s garage or basement so we were an OG underground garage band. I was on the bass slapping down some chunky lines and belting out the occasional backup vocals. I grew up listening to motown, funk and some oldies from my parents, mainly on car rides with my Dad. The first CD i bought was Iron Maiden’s Killers because I thought the cover and song names seemed cool and the second was Tenacious D’s first studio album. Ever since then my taste in music has been vibrantly eclectic.

 

I love live music and if you know me you know I sacrifice quality zzzs to travel to shows and get in some mosh pits. So I’m gonna piggy back off Curtis and his training playlist and give you my top 5  training genres with 5 bands and my go to song that accompanies that band. If you don’t know a band or song well then you better go check it out, you might get jiggy with it…see what I did there?

 

Metal:

Mastodon- Blood & Thunder
System of a Down- Sugar
Children of Bodom- Are You Dead Yet
Rammstein- Te Quiero
Atreyu- Bleeding Mascara
Rock:
Iron Maiden- The Number of the Beast
Motorhead- Ace of Spades
Foo Fighters- White Limo
Coheed & Cambria- The Dark Sentencer
Ozzy- Paranoid
Punk:
Flogging Molly- Drunken Lullabies
AFI- White Offerings
Anti- Flag-The Press Corpse
Andrew WK- Party Hard
Transplants- Tall Cans in the Air
Rap:
Run The Jewels- RTJ
DMX- X Gon Give it to Ya
Missy Elliott- Pass that Dutch
Limp Bizkit- Rollin (Yeah I know what you’re thinking…but it’s Nu Metal and my blog, so keep rollin!)
Waka Flocka- Karma
Fun Stuff:
Talking Heads- Burning Down the House
Die Antwoord- Banana Brain
Gogol Bordello- Start Wearing Purple
Ghost- Dance Macabre

Gypsy Kings- Bamboleo

 

I hope you found some new bands or a couple that you already enjoy and want to listen to now. I’d love to know your go to training bands/songs, so let your Dood know! If you hated any or all of my selections let me hear it too,nothing better than a solid music debate. For example I am team Megadeth over Metallica, change my mind.

“Good night now ladies and gents.
That’s the end of the show, now it’s time to go.”  -Cheap Trick
-Cej

Setting your standard, and books to read

Life Health

I worked in higher education for two decades, and I’ve also been a columnist for elitefts.com for nearly a decade. During this time, I’ve presented and spoke about standards and culture and how we do what we do. I believe most universities enjoy these meetings because they make people feel good about how they are investing their time at work. This isn’t an insult to higher education. It’s the truth of human nature.

 

 

A few years ago, I came up with my personal philosophy while sitting in one of these meetings. My philosophy fits into this saying: “To improve the student through and of the human body.” This was my standard, and today as general manager of Union Fitness (UF), the only thing that has changed is that instead of students, I’m trying to improve all who enter our doors. 

 

How do you set your standard?

 

At times, I find myself frustrated when someone does something differently than how I wanted it done. At that moment, I take a step back and remember that it’s my fault. As the leader of UF, I’m in charge, and if we fail the employees or members, I’ve failed each of you. I must lead and make it clear to each and every person what we are trying to accomplish. Decide what your standards are and then communicate them.

 

In my first month on the job, we came up with the standards that we expect here. This was the seven tenants that we should follow. I posted them and shared these widely. After they were shared, I failed in making sure that we lived these each and every day. Cody Miller reminded me of this a few weeks ago when he asked if I could repeat all seven and I couldn’t. This made me realize that I failed my own standard. 

 

During this unprecedented time, we all are at home. I ask you to set your standard and ask yourself what you can do to not only make yourself better but make our world a better place to be. With this in mind, let me shift gears and give you a few books that I recommend. I hope you take this time to learn and grow.

 

  1. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Brafman: This book taught me about investing my time. Too often, we do something and it fails. Then we do it again without making the necessary changes. This book shows real life examples of how we must change our behavior in order to grow.
  2. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: I strongly believe that reading fiction and non-fiction alike will help us understand culture and humanity. While this book is famous for changing how we look at the meat packing industry, it really is more about humanity.
  3. Under the Bar by Dave Tate: If you’re reading this, I assume you train. Follow what Dave has learned through his long lifting and coaching career. 
  4. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink: I have a funny story about this book. Someone sent me this book and there was no return address. I put the book in my computer bag and planned to read it soon. I forgot about it until someone broke into my car and stole my computer bag. A few days later I was walking down the road and saw that my elderly neighbor had a bag that was in her yard (down a wall). I jumped down to grab her bag. When I grabbed it, I noticed that it was my bag and the books were still in it. This is the lesson of the book. Own your responsibilities. The person who broke into my car should probably read this book. 
  5. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan: Michael is one of the best authors of our time. He has written on a wide range of topics and always has an amazing way of tying his topic into how it affects society. 
  6. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond: Actually, just read anything that Jared Diamond has ever written. Much like Michal Pollan, Diamond’s books run the gamut of topics, and he ties everything into how it affects humanity.
  7. Into the Wild and Into Thin Air by John Krakauer: I’ve read every book that John Krakauer has written and I highly recommend that you find any of his books and enjoy his easy writing style and amazing stories of human survival.
  8. To the Last Breath by Francis Slakey: This book has haunted me for years. Francis Slakey has an amazing story about climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents while also surfing every ocean. During his trips, he learns about humanity as well as his connection to the greater world. 

 

I’ve been lucky enough to meet and listen to many of these authors speak. I was on NPR with Michael Pollan and have shared emails with many of these other authors. I would to see what books you recommend, so please comment on our Instagram page with your thoughts.

 

Thanks and be safe.

 

 

Todd Hamer

Challenge your perspective.

Fitness, Life Health, Training

These are very uncertain times that we are living in. With things changing day to day in the world, it’s hard to tell what tomorrow will bring. Unfortunately, there are many things that are out of our control right now. That’s just the reality of it. However, it’s important to stay focused on the things that we can control. Especially those things that are most important, but which we often easily overlook. During these times of change, it’s easy to force ourselves to keep moving just to stay busy, even if that means adding more stress. My advice, slow down and challenge your perspective.

 

 

A little over a week ago, I was admitted into the hospital for a few tests and precautionary measures. I ended up having a case of the flu, as well and pneumonia. It’s safe to say that this put me on my ass for a while. During that period of forced downtime, I began reflecting on different things. Things that I had never really thought about before, or at least for a very long time. Over the past week, I have reached out to friends and family to see how they were doing. One of the common responses I received was that they were worried about their training, or bummed that the gym was closed. Believe me, I completely understand. Especially when you’ve done something a certain way for so long and have established progress and a routine. Then all of a sudden it feels like it was taken from you. But guess what, it’s going to be okay! Maybe even a blessing in disguise.

 

 

I’ve been training in one capacity or another for 12 years straight. During that time, I have never gone a week without training, until now. While I was sick, I went 13 days without any sort of exercise. Yesterday was my first day back, and it felt like I had never exercised a day in my entire life. My routine was simple. I walked 2 miles, then did 2 sets of 10 tempo goblet squats with a 25lb bag of jasmine rice, 2 sets of 10 pull-ups from an I-beam in my basement, and 2 sets of 15 push-ups. I was absolutely gassed. The flu and pneumonia definitely took a toll on me. After I was finished, I sat down and reflected. I was not one bit depressed or upset with how much I had declined while not being able to train, or the fact that I did not train 2 weeks, for I understood that 2 weeks of not exercising is not going to erase what I have built in 12 years (remember that). In fact, it gave me time to focus on other things in my life. Things that maybe I’ve been over looking and taking for granted. That’s very easy to do if we let it happen.

 

 

The same holds true for all of you reading this. It makes me happy to see everyone continuing to find ways to workout and train during these times, but remember not to let it consume you. Don’t train because you feel like you HAVE to, or because you want people to know that you still are. If you chose to train, do it because you love it, and because it gives you joy. If you chose to take a break, that’s fine. Honestly, there’s no better time then now. If you’ve been exercising for any extended amount of time, there’s even a good chance that your body actually needs a break, and it will help your progress in the long run. Your strength wasn’t built in two weeks, and it certainly won’t leave you that quickly.

 

 

During this time of quarantine, the lack of worrying about my workouts has given me time to focus on my perspective. What is really important in my life, and what can I learn today? I challenge you to do the same. Slow down, and take some time out of your day to reflect on what is truly important in your life. I’ve talked to my parents every day since the start of this Pandemic. That’s something that I’ve now realized I don’t do enough of. I’ve gotten in touch with friends and family who I haven’t spoken to in quite some time. Yesterday I watched my Fiancé sew masks together to be donated to Hospitals in need. That inspired me more than I can explain, and even inspired me to learn how to sew. I saw a picture of a friend of mine on Instagram with his Guitar. Something that maybe he hasn’t taken the time to do in a while.

 

 

During these times of uncertainty, slow down, and take some time to challenge your perspective. Reach out to those who you care about, put your phone away and go for a walk, read a book, write something, and learn something new that you’ve always been curious about. Believe it or not, this will all be over before we know it. When that time comes, I hope we are all able to look ourselves in the mirror and know that we have become a better person because of it. 

Banana Bread: A Little Humbling + My 5 Commitments

Clean Eating, Diet, Life Health

Good morning Union Fam,

 

You’ll probably see a mix between fitness and life content from me going forward because we happen to be in such a weird time in our lives. I might tell you some stories, talk about horrible baking experiences, or maybe give you some ideas for workouts. Whatever it is, it’ll always be full-out transparency and honesty from my mouth.

 

 

It’s been a rough week to say the least (can I get an Amen?), and yesterday I was in such a funk that I did two things: I downloaded my graphic design programs again and baked banana bread, two things that I haven’t had the time to do because life gets in the way.

 

 

My days were always a little jam packed before this pandemic made us all slow down. There were a lot of things I just didn’t have time for anymore and some things took precedent over others. I’ve always been a very creative person. I have a minor in graphic design and I bake well. It’s just fun to make really tasty things. I’m trying to look at this trying time as positively as I can and bring things back into my life that I once loved.

 

 

Now, a quick break thanks to our sponsor of this post—banana bread.

 

 

I’m by no means a baker, so like any normal person, I googled a recipe and went to work. To be fair, I actually took it out 20 minutes too early and cut into it only to realize that I didn’t cook it long enough. So back in the oven it went.

 

 

Recipe:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1.2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 small handfuls of chocolate chips (optional)

 

 

I cooked the banana bread at 350 degrees, combined wet and dry ingredients separately, and then in one bowl, mixed it altogether with two small handfuls of chocolate chips.

 

 

Below are the ingredients that I had around the house:

 

 

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post. Shout out to the banana bread.

 

 

I know I’m not the only one worried about working out, but in the grand scheme of things, this pandemic has humbled me into realizing what is most important in this life. I do, however, encourage you to move 30 minutes to an hour a day, and if you want to keep up your normally scheduled rest day, by all means, do so. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to stay on a structured routine, do things we enjoy, and be kind to ourselves and bodies.

 

 

I won’t sit here and write all about what I think you should do because that’s not why you read the things I write about to begin with. Instead, I’ll tell you about what I’m going to commit to. Here are five things I’m promising to myself:

  1. Move my body once a day, even on rest days.
  2. Eat as well as I can during this time and fuel properly (snack breaks approved).
  3. Get back into graphic design and bring back my entire creative vibe.
  4. Keep myself motivated by contributing quality content for my UF fam.
  5. Be kind to myself with whatever that entails.

 

Now, what are your five things? Post them on your IG story and tag us. We want to see them.

 

 

Lastly, before I end this post, this all goes without saying, but if anyone out there needs anything from me or any other Union Fitness staff member, please reach out. We are here for you every single day regardless of what is going on. We care about you and love you all.

 

 

The most humbling thing about all this is realizing that it’s the people in my life who mean more to me than the goals I was in the middle of chasing.

 

 

Much love,

J

Win Member of the Month

Life Health, Training

Hear Ye Hear Ye,

 

Good people of Union Fitness I bring you news that the work you put in this month could lead to great honor, in this dojo of wellness.

 

“But how Sir Bumps-a-lot, please tell us more?!” The people proclaimed!

 

This month you, the great people of Union Fitness have the opportunity to compete to win The Member of the Month, an accolade held in the highest of regards. Who doesn’t love a little friendly competition?!

 

We have assembled a 5 point list with how you can achieve your glory.

* Dominate 3 classes or 4 sign-ins a week.
* Bring a friend (Bonus points if they join).
* Hit a new personal record and show your favorite coach (aka The Bumpiest).
* Tag your Union Fitness training in your social media posts.
* Do something great for your community and share what you did with us through social media or in real life (community service, volunteer work, charitable donation, etc.).

 

Unlock all 5 accomplishments, score your points and make your own luck to win. The Member of the Month….Glory awaits.

 

Thank you all and let’s have some fun, this beat is sick!

 

Cheers, CeJ

HIIT Training or Cody’s Wild Ride?

Fitness, Life Health, Training

If you didn’t catch my last blog post, Stew and I have been having some fun with safety squats on Saturday mornings. It feels like we’ve been running these sets of 10 for 3 months or so, but in actuality, it’s only been 5 weeks. I guess that’s what happens when you are in pain. Time moves slowly.

 

Two weeks ago (the week after my abysmal performance), Stew said he was going to deload that week and invited me to join him, to which I replied, “Cody doesn’t deload.” I have a strong aversion to deloads. It’s not that they don’t have merit, it’s more that I’m too stubborn and foolish to voluntarily take them. I usually just keep training hard until I’m so destroyed that I can’t move or I get injured. That’s when I take a deload. You know…like a smart person.

 

That Saturday, Stew did some easy sets of 10 with 335, and I chose to push the weight if it was there. I was fortunate enough to hit a top set of 395 for 10. I felt as though I had redeemed myself. I did some more sets of 10 with 345 and called it a day.

 

That set the stage nicely for last week. Stew was coming off his deload, and I was still under the childish delusion that I can keep getting stronger every week without end. Stew had a great performance with 405 for 10. I also had a good performance with 425 for 8 (I missed the 9th rep). After my top set, I dropped down and hit 365 for 3 sets of 10. All 30 reps felt like max effort, and like every Saturday, I walked out of the gym feeling broken.

 

After Stew’s top set, something interesting happened. He was feeling nauseous (Stew routinely dry heaves after hard sets of 10), and he wasn’t able to drop down and do work with the safety squat. After the frustration of not being able to perform wore off, Stew declared, “I’m going to do sets of 20 on the belt squat.” I replied, “Good. Go punish yourself.” He did.

 

On his last set of belt squat, he decided that 20 reps wasn’t enough for redemption. A set of 40 reps, however, might do the trick. I imagine they had similar thought processes in the Soviet gulags. As the amazing training partner that I am, I would hobble over in between my sets of squats to shower Stew with support, encouragement, and affirmation. This was communicated with loving phrases such as “make friends with the pain”, “it’s not that hard, just stand up”, and “no one at the gym will like you if you don’t get 40 reps.”

 

10 minutes later, when Stew was coherent and could form intelligible words again, we joked and laughed about how deranged we both were, and about how excited we were for next week.

 

This is how Stew and I have fun.

CJ’s plan for impacting all!

Life Health, , , , , ,

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later! Opportunity favors the bold.”

― Richard Branson

 

 

At Union Fitness we have an amazing opportunity to impact the day and lives of our members every time they walk into our doors. At times, the answer is easy, just be a good person and give our members a great training experience. Other times, the answer lies beneath the surface of training, people want to be a part of something more, a sense of friendship and community. The opportunity I have here is to be a good human, training partner, coach and community member to continue to help build Union as not only a gym but a place of support, encouragement and comfort…a real judgment free zone (shots fired).

 

 

How do I do this…sometimes I don’t know, it takes time to build trust and relationships. Saying hello and introducing yourself makes a stranger, no longer a stranger. Being a good training partner comes with some responsibilities, holding each other accountable to show up, keeping each other motivated to stay the course outside the gym and someone that makes training fun. When it comes to coaching you have to meet people where they are at in their training/wellness journey. Giving a member too little or too much may make them unmotivated to return or discourage their progress. A good coach has to motivate but also be realistic at the same time with progress, always be supportive nonetheless. Finally to build our family and community atmosphere we have to support each other no matter the weight on the bar or distance of race. We can even show our love outside the gym by supporting our members local business, events, hobbies and our community as a whole. It’s always great to see a familiar smiling face at an outside event.

 

 

Some cool events support events coming to Union are:

Feb 25th – CEJ’s Birthday Powerful class with donations going to a local Animal Shelter

March 15th- All Out For Amelia with donations going to families & children impacted by cancer

 

 

If you have any cool events coming up or neat ideas, let us know! If you want to try and event, but aren’t sure, say yes and we can figure it out together.

 

 

Long story short, be good to yourself and others and live well.

Cheers,

CEJ

CJ’s long strange trip

Clean Eating, Fitness, Life Health, Training

Hello Union Fam,

I’m back and I sure did miss all your smiling bumpy faces while I was on vacation.

 

For the past week I was in Sunny San Diego, exploring and hanging out with Ron Burgundy, Skylyn, some seals and Skylyn’s Fit Ink team. I had never been to San Diego before or California until this trip and I must say San Diego is pretty rad. The weather was unreal, the sights were spectacular, the food was baller and the company of course was top notch.

 

Some people fear that taking a vacation will devastate their current training, I say Nay Nay! I will tell you firsthand that I came back from vacation feeling fresh and tossed some weights my first couple of trainings back on home soil. “CeJ, how did you do this?” Well my bumpiest of friends, let me tell you.

 

To stay on track with my training during vacation I made a training plan, reloaded, hydrated, ate well and had a freaking blast!

 

I had planned to take a reload on vacation as training shouldn’t be the center of a vacation and, I knew this would be a great time to try a different gym’s equipment and just ride the pump. I planned my split out ahead of time so I knew the focus of that day’s training. My split was: Upper Push, Upper Pull, Cardio Circuit with Abs, Lower Body, Upper Push and Upper Pull during my 6 day adventure. A reload is when the training volume and intensity is decreased, this gives the body and the central nervous system some time to recover from your wild training sessions. Do yourself a favor and take a reload on your vacation and try not to spend more than an hour at the gym or your place of training. Stay hydrated my friends! Traveling can dehydrate you and sometimes we just forget to drink with all the excitement of vacation. Carry a water bottle with you and drink it while you’re on the move. When it comes to eating, please try new local places and foods, spice up your taste buds. If you are worried about eating too much, then share some plates with your adventure partner(s) and don’t stress. The most important thing I have to say about staying on track during your vacation time is to live it the heck up and make all the memories you can! You can always make more money and gainzzz, you can’t always make more time. Thank you San Diego, it was a pleasure.

 

 

PS now that I’m back, come and train with me.

Stay Bumpy

-CeJ