Category Archives: Life Health

Creating Balance

Fitness, Life Health

You have probably heard many times in your life, “be sure to find a balance” whether we are talking about health, fitness, career, relationships, finance, etc. But I like to say it is more about creating balance than finding it. The goal is to live a full life without losing yourself, and that doesn’t always look the same for everyone. So, you must create your own life with whatever the perfect balance looks and feels like for you.

 

I like to look at balance and life as a “wheel” with different components of things that we value in life, those things I mentioned before (health, fitness, career, relationships, finance, etc.), and the beautiful part is that nobody’s wheel is the same, and you can create your own to build your own life and your own happiness. And a little tip- never compare your wheel to someone else’s. You may have a larger portion of career in your wheel than others, because your career makes you happy and you love your job, and that is perfectly okay if you feel fulfilled and balanced.

 

I wish I could tell you that I have mastered my perfect balance, but truth is like many of us, I haven’t even come close, and that is okay. Because just like we ourselves are always a work in progress, so is our balance. I am constantly changing where I give my focus and time, trying to figure out what feels right. In my own life, I have several different pieces to my wheel: career, school, football, and fitness. But lately I have felt like something was missing, so I did some work on myself to try and figure out what it was. Which we must do many times in our lives. So, I tried something new and went for a hike by myself, something I haven’t done before. It brought me stillness and gave me a chance to relax from how busy my usual day-to-day is, and I realized this was what I was missing, and I am going to make room for it in my wheel of balance.

 

We are creating that balance for ourselves every day, and I hope that you can create yours to find your own happiness and fulfillment. Remember, your wheel is your own and it is always a work in progress, just promise yourself you will always keep progressing.

 

Maria

Dylan’s time is NOW!

Life Health

Do you ever feel like you lack the motivation to start something new or maybe something you started but never finished? I hope todays blog post will give you the boost to take action!

 

Wishing for things to be different or thinking about how, if you could just go back in time and make the smallest change it would make everything better. We tend to focus on the past because it’s no longer facing us eye to eye. It’s behind us and already happened, thus taking the fear away. But as The Great British American philosopher Alan Watts once said: For there is never anything but the present, and if one cannot live there, one cannot live anywhere. 

 

We cannot afford to wait another second. Wonder what life would be like if the things we dreamed about happened before or in the future. It is easy to wait for an opportunity to start again. Whatever goal or aspiration you have in mind might work better if you start on a Monday. You might catch yourself saying to yourself “tomorrow” or you create the excuse of being too busy. That’s not the case. 

 

Taking a slow step towards your goals is still progress. Never let anyone tell you that you need to take massive leaps in order to obtain success. Just like making changes with yourself in the gym. You may not see your success immediately. Take 10 minutes a day, if you continue with that dedicated time towards a goal. That will amount to almost 61 hours. What will you do with that time?  

 

The best moment to start was yesterday, the second best time is now. 

“Sun’s Out Guns Out”

Life Health, Training

With the warm weather basically already here, I’m going to share with you my favorite “sun’s out guns out” training session!

1 1/2 Close grip bench press:

Set yourself up how you would do on a regular bench press but in this instance you’re going to place your hands close to the smooth part of the bar. Now you don’t want to have your hand very close because you’ll lose force output and it’s going to create unnecessary discomfort within your wrist. Once you’re all set up, you’ll go down all the way, come back up 1/2 way, come back down then come up all the way, that will be one rep for a total of 6 reps.

 

Spider Curls:

For this you’ll bring a bench up to an incline, you’ll put your chest on the bench with your arms dangling the side of the bench. From that chest supported position, you’ll curl your arms up and turn your wrist out as you curl then bring them down for total of 12 reps

 

Lateral raise super set:

Many of you have probably done this movement but this time you’ll do 1/2 lateral raise for 10 reps, then full lateral raise for 10 reps, and finally raise the weight to the top and you’ll do pulses for 10 reps. Make sure you take a little bit of a break after each set because these are a burner.

 

Rear Delt super set:

On this movement you’ll hinge at your hip, and with your palms facing your body you’ll raise the weight to the side then control on the way down do this for 15 reps. After that, you’ll grab a band raise it to chest

level and you’ll pull the band part like you want to rip it apart, do this for 30 reps.

 

Hanging Leg raises:

You have probably done this movement before but for this one you’ll hang on pull up bar like normally do for this movement and raise your legs for legs for as many reps as you can then on the last rep you’ll hold legs at the top for as long as you can.

 

For sets make them 3-4 sets, turn the burners on and let’s cookin!!!

 

-Dahveed Jorge

How You Can Support Women’s Sports

Life Health, Training

In honor of Women’s Month, I thought I would give you all some ways you can actively support women’s sports. One of the most important ways is to actively work on changing the conversation. This includes thinking about how we speak on the world of sports with others. For example, with it being March Madness time, when somebody asks you about your bracket just by saying “men’s or women’s bracket?” we can change the conversation and build awareness. Here is the link to fill out your own bracket for the Women’s NCAA tournament, 2023 Division I Women’s Basketball Official Bracket | NCAA.com .

 

Another very easy way we can support is by sharing posts on social media. Instagram and Twitter are a great way to market. Just by sharing a female athlete’s post, game schedule, or highlight reel, you can help them reach an even larger audience. Using your platform to openly support women’s sports can make a much bigger difference than you may think.

 

Another active way you can support women’s sports is by attending games or watching them on tv. Look up your local women’s sports team schedules at all levels, you may have a professional women’s team in your city and never have realized it! There is also a TV network called Women’s Sports Network. The Women’s Sports Network is a free, ad-supported, 24/7 streaming destination available on Amazon Freevee, FuboTV, LG Channels on LG Smart TVs, Local Now, Plex, Sports.tv, Tubi and Xumo that spotlight women’s sports content. To find out more visit The Wait is Over, The Women’s Sports Network Has Arrived (prnewswire.com) .

 

You can also volunteer as a coach for teams like girls flag football at your local school, volunteer as a line judge for volleyball tournaments, or even help set up for their home sporting events. A good resource to find these opportunities can be found at Get Involved with SportsPITTSBURGH – Visit Pittsburgh. Or reach out to your local schools to see where you can be of help. One of the biggest ways you can help out women’s sports is also by supporting their fundraisers, or becoming a sponsor, whether it is you personally or if you are a business owner. This can benefit both parties, it is a great marketing opportunity for the sponsors and can help fund a women’s sports team’s travel and other expenses.

 

If you ever have any questions about how you can get more involved and support women in sports, feel free to ask me the next time you see me at Union Fitness!

 

Maria

CJ’s Funky 6

Fitness, Life Health, Training

Hiya, my mobile muscle members,

 

As most of you already know and some will come to find out, I like to have fun with exercise, as a wise coach said, explore the corners. With this being said, I certainly have my own lingo, style and reasons for keeping exercise fresh and fun. Today I give to you my Funky 6 (pick-up sticks) most recent exercises that I have been exploring. These exercises give the user a huge bang for their buck. I say this because these exercises combine mobility, stability, coordination, balance, strength, endurance, brace, proprioception and more into an exercise.

 

 

Squat to Stretch with T-Spine Rotation Holding Light Band

 

 

How to: This classic with a twist will have you feeling good from your head to your toes. Heating up your calves, hamstrings, glutes, low back, t-spine, midsection and rear delts. You don’t need a micro-mini band but this addition will help strengthen your rear delts. Start in a standing position with your feet hip width apart. With a slight bend in the knee, reach down to your feet (with the band in your hands) from there pull your butt down, pick your chest up and position your elbows inside your knees with your feel flat to the ground (deep squat). Keep one hand down while the other rotates to the sky, switch then drop your head and raise your butt to the sky. You’ll feel a stretch from your calves to your back.

 

 

Loop Band March with Single Arm Overhead KB Hold

 

 

How to: You’ll need a small hip circle or loop band for your feet to do the marches, along with a kettlebell or weight to hold overhead in a shoulder press position. This exercise will get you sturdy from the floor and up to the sky. With the loop band on the arch of your shoe and around your shoe laces, press the kettlebell over your head and stabilize. Pressing the weight overhead will raise your center of gravity and for you to engage your midsection brace more. While you are marching you are strengthening and stabilizing at the ankles, knees, hips, midsection and shoulders. Talk about a hole in one.

 

 

Mini Band Hourglass Walks

 

 

How to: We work front & back all the time, let’s give side to side movement some love with this exercise. By working laterally we will be challenging our coordination, proprioception and working lesser used movement patterns. Take a mini band and step your feet shoulder width apart on the bottom of the band. With your hands make the band cross into an X and press overhead. You are working overhead stability, single leg strength and improving commonly weak muscles, those glutes. This one may look easy but it is a doozy.

 

 

 

Glider Knee Over Toe Split Squat with T-Spine Open the Book

 

 

How to: You’ll step yourself into a balanced split squat position. You can decide to elevate your front foot with a rubber mat or flat weight plate or keep both feet level on the ground. From here start to glide your knee forward, pushing your knee over your toes while keeping that front heel stapled to the ground. When you reach this position take the same arm of the knee that is forward, reach and hold that foot while the opposite arm (away from the knee) rotates and reaches open to the sky. Bring the top hand back down and now glide back into your starting split squat position. This exercise is great for ankle, knee & hip mobility and stability, while strengthening those areas. The t-spine rotation is an added perk to challenge different ranges of motions that will be beneficial to your daily activities.

 

 

Banded Isometric Spanish Squat

 

 

How to: Grab a hefty band and anchor it around a rack at knee height. Step both legs inside the band, placing the band behind your knees. Take a few steps back to build tension. From there sink into a half or quarter squat, while you externally rotate against the band. This will light your quads, glutes and abs while preparing you for any lower body activity. These puppies help build happy and healthy joints, muscles and ligaments.

 

 

1/2 Kneeling T-Spine Wall Rotation to Dip

 

 

How to: Find a flat wall and drop into a 1/2 kneeling position (inside knee up with hip to the wall, while your outside knee is down). Use your hands to earmuff your head and press your inside arm against the wall. The inside arm will drive half a circle up and over on the wall then dip down to the glute. Bring the inside arm back up and over then dip down to the up knee. This is a great movment to wake up that T-spine and prep your spine/back for various positions and ranges of motion. This is most certainly a spicy meatball.

 

 

These are my funky 6 exercises that I have been adding into my training and using with some of my athletes. If you see me in the gym and want to see any of these exercises demoed, please come up and let’s get going. Give the funky 6 a try and let me know what you think and how they feel.  Get creative and go have some fun.

 

 

Cheers my mobile muscle members,

 

-CeJ

Get Moving Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Life Health, Training

Recently I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In trying this new sport, I’ve found new strength within myself that has allowed me to set and work towards new goals which have been enjoyable. Staying in your comfort zone can be tempting, but it can be difficult to grow and improve by doing this . By stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things, this can help you develop new skills, challenge your limits, and build confidence within yourself. Recently I’ve expanded my interest in various types of activities such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, different forms of strength training, and yoga. You don’t have to stick to these three things however if you’d like to experience something new, I’d give them a try.

 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that focuses on grappling and ground fighting techniques. It’s a great way to build strength, improve flexibility and coordination, and develop self-defense skills. When you practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you’re constantly learning new techniques and strategies, which can help you develop problem-solving skills and mental toughness. It can also be a great way to meet new people and build a sense of community.

 

Programming different forms of strength training, such as Conjugate Method, Isometrics, or French Contrast, can also help you step out of your comfort zone and push yourself physically. Strength training can help you build muscle mass, improve athletic performance in your desired sport/activity, and increase mental fortitude. It can also help you develop a sense of discipline and focus as you work towards achieving your fitness goals.

 

For some reason so many people are afraid of yoga. It’s another activity that can help you get out of your comfort zone and develop new skills. Yoga involves a series of poses and breathing exercises that can help you improve flexibility, balance, and strength through reducing stress and improving mental clarity. When you practice yoga, you’re learning to connect your mind, body, and soul, which can help you develop a greater sense of self-awareness and mindfulness.

 

Trying new activities can be intimidating, but it’s important to remember that growth and learning often come from stepping out of your comfort zone. By challenging your body and mind you will reach new levels you never imagined. Whether you decide to try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, strength training, yoga, or another type of activity entirely, the benefits of challenging yourself and trying new things are numerous. So, why not take the plunge and try something new today? You never know what kind of growth and transformation it might bring.

 

Dylan

Admirable Leadership Qualities

Fitness, Life Health

To build on Toria’s blog from yesterday on mentorship, I wanted to touch base on the qualities that I feel make a good leader and ultimately a good person. Although I am a Navy Veteran and have seen and done many things that some people have not, I am still very young and have much to learn. As I sit here and wish I could say that I emulate all these qualities that I will explain in this blog, these are qualities that I need to work on and I am actively working on to become a better person.

 

1. Empathy- In my opinion, this attribute is the most important one of all. This is the ability of being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to try and understand the way they may feel. This can happen by actively listening to someone’s problems, issues, or ideology whether you may disagree or agree with them. This means not being ignorant to what they are talking about.

 

2. Reliability- This is the ability of other people being able to rely on you. This means living up to your promises and doing exactly what you said you were going to do. For example, if you tell a friend that you will help them move out of their house then you better be there and not bail on them. This also means showing up to work on time or finishing work that you promised someone by a certain deadline. If no one can rely on you then how can you be a good leader?

 

3. Walking the Walk/ Getting in the trenches- This is what I call doing the grunt work. If you are in a leadership position then you shouldn’t put yourself above others. This means that you should work hand in hand with the people that you lead with the things that they do. For example, if you are a doctor, maybe it would be a good idea to do the work that your nurses do to get on their level and show them that you care about what they do. Using myself as an example, I cannot be the Lead Personal Trainer here at Union Fitness and not workout myself. I need to stay healthy and workout as hard as I can so that my clients can believe that they can do the same themselves.

 

4. Being caring- This goes hand in hand with empathy. No one wants to work for someone that does not care about their well-being. I think if people genuinely know that you care about them then that will entice them to work harder and be their best self around you!

 

With all these qualities being mentioned above, some people may not think that they are in a leadership role but I beg to differ. Each day that you make an interaction with someone is the opportunity to inspire someone else. Whether that is at work, at home, at the gym, or when you are out having fun with friends, someone could be looking up to you. So do your best to be the best person that you can be!

 

Zain

Importance of Mentorship

Fitness, Life Health

The world recently lost a very good friend and mentor of mine, Dr. Allan Shook. He put up a hard fight these past few years and he unfortunately lost his tough battle last week. Since he’s been gone, I’ve taken some time to reflect on how important his mentorship was to me, and how important it is to have people like him in all our lives whether it’s inside the gym or outside. Dr. Shook and his influence played a big part of why I am where I’m at today. He helped to guide me through the journey of realizing where I was in life vs. where I wanted to be. Dr. Shook was a big part of my life and one of my greatest mentors, but I am also lucky to have several other mentors and friends right here at UF that I would like to give credit to:

 

When I first started here as a part time front desk employee back in 2020, I had little to no knowledge on the gym business world and I wasn’t much of an avid lifter. So, I was very fortunate to work somewhere that I would get to lift with a variety of experienced individuals and learn about how to run a gym from selling memberships to coaching classes clients, and teams.

 

Before I started here, I honestly had no idea who Todd, CJ, or Curtis were. (Well CJ came and spoke to the Exercise Science Club I was in at Slippery Rock University, so I knew of him, but didn’t know the current CJ that we all know and love (most of the time)). I ended up just sending a random email to Curtis one day asking for a job or to shadow him, and he had asked me to come in for an interview. Since then, the three of them have become some of my biggest mentors and good friends along the way.

 

Curtis – Throughout my time spent with Curtis, he has helped to shape me into a better trainer and a better person. He always answers any client or exercise questions that I may have, as well as giving me a hand with my own training. Curtis took the time out of his own busy client schedule to help me prepare for my very first Powerlifting meet back in September. He would help me to program and execute my workouts effectively so that I could have a successful meet. He’s a positive role model and mentor for me and for a lot of people.

 

CJ – I’m not sure where to begin with CJ. I always joke about how he’s the older brother that I never wanted (even though I always did want an older brother). CJ is the reason I was able to become comfortable with coaching group classes. I used to take CJ’s Powerful classes, and after a while of shadowing and learning from both him and Curtis, he offered me a coaching spot of my own. Without him throwing me into the fire and then starting to coach on my own, I would have never been comfortable with leading classes. He was able to help me develop those leadership skills and overcome my shyness.

 

And finally, Todd – I think we officially became friends when he tossed a beer at me at 9am one day, and I chugged it. Back when I first started at UF, he allowed me to coach some of his classes as well as shadow him to gain some other coaching skills. I knew Todd was well respected and well known in the strength and conditioning world, so I knew I could learn a lot from him while at UF. Todd has what seems like an endless network of people within the field and outside of the field as well. I think it’s mostly because he starts up a conversation with anyone within earshot of him whether he knows them personally or not, but also because he’s great at what he does. Since I’ve been at UF, he has challenged me to be better every day, and is always eager to throw out some knowledge.

 

I never realized how much of an impact these three would make on my life when I first met them. I am very fortunate to have found a place like UF and I think it’s important for us all to find people who we look up to and can help us grow daily. Whether it’s within your career, or within life in general.

 

 

Toria

Science Behind Variety in Cardiac Training

Fitness, Life Health, Training

It is easy to become stagnant in your training. No matter your goals, there are pros and cons to everything you do inside or outside of the gym. I want to do my best today to give you some basic science to different styles and variations in training. Let’s look mainly at heart health, as this topic could go on for hours, and I am not that entertaining of a writer.

 

Resistance Training for Heart Health. 

 

Resistance training when it comes to heart health is often misunderstood. Lifting and heavy lifting can do an amazing job in helping reduce cardiovascular disease. Too often, people assume that heart health is only about cardio, and we will get into these benefits later, but it is important to understand how resistance training can also aid in cardiovascular fitness.

 

The science on this topic is pretty clear. We know that when one does resistance training, the left ventricle will become thicker and stronger. This means that the heart has the ability to pump harder. However, with any benefit, there is also a down side. As the ventricle becomes stronger, it does not necessarily hold more blood. This means that in strong individuals, the heart has the ability to pump more blood by emptying the left ventricle with a more powerful contraction. This results in increased stroke volume. With stroke volume being the amount of blood pumped form the left ventricle per beat.

 

In addition to the increase in stroke volume, resistance training can increase blood pressure to extreme levels. This may sound like a bad thing, yet in an acute sense this is a great thing. Squatting tends to show the greatest increase in blood pressure, with numbers over 300/200. This is great news for these vessels that are under this extreme acute load because it allows adaptation in many ways. Firstly, it can make the vessels more pliable. And secondly, it can help clean these vessels of the junk that creates issues. Yes, I know that last sentence was very scientific. Just trust me it’s good.

 

Cardio/Conditioning for Heart Health.

 

I am sure everyone has heard how this is important. Heart health and cardio are linked together like peanut butter and jelly. Kenneth Cooper wrote the book, “Aerobics” in 1968 and since then, the answer to all things heart related is Cardio workouts. While this book makes some great points, it is still from its time and is a bit solipsistic. What should be taken from the book is that cardio is rarely a bad thing to do. But what type?

 

HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is great to stress the heart. I believe that everyone should stress their heart intensely once or twice a week. This type of training is similar in its adaptations to resistance training. While HITT is great, it can be overdone and does create a lot more stress for all parts of the body.

 

LSD or Long Slow Distance training has been referred to as Zone 2 training. In simple terms, this is keeping your heart rate at a controlled pace for longer durations. With this tyoe of training, you can track it based on heart rate (try to stay under 140) or just try to have a conversation during exercise. For example, if you can’t talk then it’s too fast, and you should slow down.

 

The biggest adaptation from LSD training is an increase in stroke volume due to an increase in volume that the left ventricle can hold. This is where stretching of the left ventricle occurs to make more room for blood. This will add to stroke volume, and if you do this in conjunction with increasing the strength of the left ventricle, then you will be a blood pumping machine.

 

LSD training can be done with walking, biking, hiking, jogging, or an any machine. Again, the key is to just keep the heart rate elevated for 20-60 minutes and you’ll reap the benefits.

 

After all of that, I’ll finish with this basic set up to your cardiac output training. Do LSD training 2-3 days a week for 30-60 minutes. Do your strength training 3 days a week for an hour.  Lastly, add some HIIT training in 2 days a week, with focusing on just getting that heart rate over  or at 90-%.

 

 

 

 

Meet the Interns; Michael Dowling

Life Health, Training

My name is Michael Dowling, I am a senior earning my Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Since January of 2023, I’ve had the awesome opportunity to be an intern at here at Union Fitness. For almost four years I have been going to the gym five to six days a week trying to better myself and get stronger. In the future I plan to compete in some powerlifting competitions, my first meet being Unions very own private “Push Pull” on April 23rd, 2023. I also plan to eventually compete in bodybuilding competitions in a few years after some more growth. My hobbies outside of the gym include cooking, spending time outdoors, being a cat dad, disc golfing, and watching sports. 

 

Union fitness is unlike any other gym I’ve ever heard of or worked out at. Not only do we get to work with the awesome and strong community of the north side, but we also get to work with Point Park University and Chatham’s athletic teams. As a young and still learning student in the fitness realm, I’d like to pursue a future career in strength and conditioning, more specifically as a strength coach. Union has provided me with awesome opportunities to help build these skills required to be a strength coach. So far, I’ve gotten to work with both men’s and women’s: soccer, track and field, baseball, lacrosse, and hockey teams. Working with these teams has been nothing but awesome. I love watching a team grow stronger as a whole and closer together as a team through working out and bonding. 

 

My goal as a future coach is to try to make my athletes truly enjoy and believe that working out is good for them as people not only physically, but mentally. I also would like to help any individual achieve any goal they have set out. I believe physical fitness is an extremely important aspect of human life on earth, the human body is an amazing thing and will find a way to compromise in any situation. You may be a grandparent trying to pick up your grandchildren, a college basketball player trying to increase their speed and vertical jump, or a powerlifter trying to increase their total at the next meet; you should always try to push yourself harder than last time. The weight room doesn’t discriminate against anybody, and exercise should never be seen as a punishment. 

 

I’ve been extremely lucky to have a mentor like Todd Hamer, who is one of a kind. When we first met, I could tell Todd was a genuine person who wanted to share his knowledge from 20+ years of strength and conditioning experience with all those smart enough to listen. He has been an awesome mentor thus far and has taught me a lot about strength and conditioning and a lot about the importance of interactions with people throughout life. Due to covid, the internet, and many other factors, face to face interactions and experiences are at an all time low. Todd often reminds me to seek out human interactions and the little things in life, even if it’s just asking your cashier or server “what’s your name, where are you from?”. 

 

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be here every day of the week at union, and I hope to meet you some time. Please say Hi if you see me! 

 

-Michael Dowling 

 

mwd32@pitt.edu