Category Archives: State of the Union

Let’s Talk Mental Health

Life Health, State of the Union

Recently we at UF found out that one of our instructor’s family members took his own life. This has shaken each and everyone one of us at the gym and we are more determined now to be a part of the solution.

 

Starting now all of our fundraising efforts for the next three months will go towards mental health and suicide prevention. On top of raising money for this cause we are now beginning a mental health speaker series. We are very lucky to be able to partner with one local and one nationally renowned university from another state. With these partnerships we are adding free educational lectures on mental health with some of the top professionals. These lectures will also be offered free online to anyone.

 

Our goal is to help everyone lead a better life and if we only focus on the physical side of health then we are doing everyone a disservice. So please feel free to join us as we will be announcing lectures within the next two weeks.

 

Finally, if you are willing to donate we have details to help the family who lost their loved one. Click here for the link. 

 

With that I wish you good health, physical and mental and remember you are not alone.

 

Todd Hamer

Push/Pull and Summer Strength Project

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

With the new year here and spring coming right around the corner, we have been hard at work planning our events for the upcoming months. If you have been with us for a period of time, then you are aware of our annual Strength Project event that we host each year. Last year, our Strength Project kicked off in January with the addition of a fund raiser and charity push/pull powerlifting competition. Unfortunately, our plans were sidelined with the onset of the pandemic, and although we did complete our goal for the fund raiser, we were unable to host our push/pull event for our members.

 

Well, that was last year, and this is a new year. With our sights set on providing you with new ideas and events, we are picking back up right where we left off. On Sunday March 21st we will be coming back to finish our Push/pull event as well as another fund raiser to support the Pittsburgh community (more details to come). The event will be free for any member who would like to sign up, along with anyone who had previously signed up for last years event but was unable to compete.

 

Following the conclusion of the push/pull event, we will be kicking off our Summer Strength Project beginning in early April with the goal of getting everyone ready for sunshine and adventures. Our Powerful and Cardio Lab coaches will be working together on the class programming to help you reach all of your goals. At the end of the Summer Strength Project in early June, we will be holding a cookout with food, drinks, and a hands on seminar. 

 

Be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for more details to come regarding these events.

 

Look for the Helpers

State of the Union, , ,

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers you will always find people who are helping.” Mr Rogers

 

We here in Pittsburgh are extremely fortunate to have had Fred Rogers as our neighbor for many years. His wife, Joanne still lives in the region. I often joke with our Baltimore friends (Curtis) that we here in Pittsburgh have Fred Rogers statue, and Baltimore has a statue of Ray Lewis (I’ll take Fred Rogers). At UF we do our best to not just look for the helpers, but to support the helpers when we can.

 

Matt Grayson (all star UF employee) approached me about the idea of raising money for some helpers back in November. As with any great idea I said yes, now let’s make it happen. Matt did an amazing job organizing and preparing this fundraiser. We raised over 800 dollars. That money went to Erin’s Deli so they could prepare meals for the helpers that work at Allegheny General Hospital. One of our goals is (as Mr Rogers taught us) is to be a good neighbor. Matt’s idea was a win win for us. We helped a local business that is struggling through Covid 19 shutdowns, and showed our appreciation for the workers at AGH.

 

I want to end this by thanking each and everyone one of you who given to this cause. I also want to ask you to keep us on task. We can and must do more to be a better gym and neighbor. If you have any ideas or specific groups that we could help with or partner with please tell us. We are here not just to serve you but to serve our community.

 

Thank you!

 

Todd Hamer

Weekly Wrap Up

Life Health, State of the Union, ,

Welcome BACK!!!!

 

Now that we are officially open for business again we are happy to have you all back and wish to thank each of you for supporting us. I am just going to touch on a few things going on here at UF.

 

  1. Our fundraiser to feed covid first responders at AGH is wrapping up. We will shut down the go fund me site this weekend. If you want to help out we appreciate it.
  2. We are offering a special that any member can upgrade to UF Unlimited membership this month for a 20 dollar add on to your current membership. If you ever wanted to try classes now is your chance.
  3. We have a few new employees bouncing around. Anthony is our newest intern and you may see him. Also, Gillian will be working the front desk as well as teaching some cardio lab classes. Please introduce yourself if you see some new faces.
  4. Finally, we have some great plans coming up. Our idea man himself CeJ wrote a blog about our plans earlier in the week so check that out. We also have tentative dates for our next meets so stay tuned for when we can release that information.

 

Thank you and 2020 was a wild year and 2021 is starting just as wild. I do ask that we spend some time daily on not just improving ourselves but improving society. Keep us in the loop as to how we can not only help you but how we can help the world.

 

Peace and Love.

 

Todd Hamer

Anthony’s Intern Introduction

Fitness, State of the Union, ,

My name is Anthony LoPresti and I will be interning here at Union Fitness from January to May. I am originally from West Chester, Pennsylvania but have been in Pittsburgh for the past 4 years attending the University of Pittsburgh. I am one semester away from obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science as well as commissioning into the United States Army as an Active-Duty Infantry Officer. 

 

I grew up mainly playing baseball but loved playing any sport ,even just as a pick-up game. By the time I got too high-school I was still focusing on baseball and wanted to play at the college level, so I began to take my off-season training more seriously. At this time, I began lifting weights and got more exposure to strength and conditioning. I very quickly fell in love with training, and really felt the difference that it made me for not only physically but mentally as well. Fast forward to college I decided to pursue the military as a career option and opted to join the ROTC program at Pitt instead of continuing to play baseball during college. My focus then switched solely to my training year-round. I started off college doing mostly bodybuilding training and in the last year have switched over to powerlifting. 

 

Upon graduating I have a few goals both involving the military as well as my career after the military. Once I enter the military my main goal is to go to Ranger School after my initial training as an Infantry Officer, as well as attend other specialty schools such as Airborne and Mountain Warfare. As a civilian my biggest goal is to own a gym as well as having an online coaching business. 

 

During my time here at Union Fitness I am hoping to broaden my spectrum of training since I have been mainly focused on powerlifting and bodybuilding. I am eager to learn more about what it takes to be a good coach/trainer as well as learn more information about different styles and philosophies of programming and coaching for all sorts of populations. I’m also looking forward to learning about the business/marketing side of a gym as well since I plan to open my own gym in the future. I think this is going to be a great learning opportunity for myself being surrounded by several different styles and personalities of trainers. I’m in a good position to learn a little bit from everyone and hopefully bring some of my own ideas here to Union Fitness. 

 

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

End of 2020 Update

State of the Union, , , , , , , , , ,

Here we are at the end of 2020. Nothing new can be said about this year so I won’t try. Yet I can give everyone an update as to where we are and where we are heading as a gym.

 

2021 Bootcamp with LEG1ON! 

We are starting 2021 off by doing a bootcamp with our friends from LEG1ON. This will happen Jan. 1, 2021 from 11-12 (maybe 12:30). This class will be free to everyone, so bring a friend and let’s have some outdoor fun! Sign up on MindBody.

 

Equipment Loan Program

For those of you who borrowed equipment over the last few weeks, please return the equipment by Saturday, Jan 2, 2021. When you return the equipment, please check in so we can check you off the list.

 

Return to Normal Schedule

UF will return to its normal schedule on Jan 4, 2021. This includes classes as well as all other gym operations. We will be requiring masks at all times. Please be respectful of those around you and continue to follow the mask protocol.For the rest of this week, our schedule is Dec. 31, 9AM-4PM, Jan 1, 9AM-4PM (we will be closed due to bootcamp from 10:30-12:30). Jan. 2 and 3 are regular weekend hours 9-4.

 

Plans for 2021.

One of our most popular programs in the past has been The Strength Project. We decided this year it was not appropriate to run this program. We are hoping to bring it back in late spring as a kick off to summer. We will continue doing smaller challenges until then. Our December challenge is wrapping up and we will post winners in our Newsletter.

 

This will be the final blog of 2020 and I want to thank everyone who is reading this. We all know it has been a strange year and we are proud of what we have done to try to help everyone get through this time. We will continue to try to do what we can to make the world a stronger, healthier, and smarter place as we move into 2021. Below is a list of organizations that we worked with this year. We will continue to look for partners in the region that make the world a better place.

 

Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh

Allegheny General Hospital

NorthSide Food Pantry

UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Wounded Warrior

Urban Impact

 

We have some big plans in 2021 and have some big partners ready to join us, so stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Wrap Up

State of the Union, , , , , ,

We must begin this wrap up with a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our members. We understand that 2020 hasn’t been an easy year. We have also been doing the best we can to keep everyone training and safe.

 

This week we have moved all training to our outdoor space. We will continue to follow all of the governors orders, while still giving you a safe place to train. In addition we are also offering 2 in person classes per day Monday-Friday as well as 2-3 virtual classes per day. These classes are a little different, we will offer three different types of classes. The first class is a traditional bodyweight class, the second will be with weights and the final will be an educational class.

 

In addition to all of these measures we are still loaning out equipment. Please come by and grab some equipment to keep your body moving during this holiday season.

 

Finally I personally want to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanza and Happy New Year! This is the last week prior to Christmas and if you eat too many cookies, drink too much egg nog or don’t exercise as much as you should over the next few weeks, it’s ok. Enjoy the season and unless you are preparing for a show then you can stop counting your macros this week and just be in the moment.

 

Hours of operation for the next two weeks.

Dec 20th-Dec 23rd normal hours.

Dec 24th 9AM-4PM.

Dec 25th Closed.

Dec 26-Dec 30th normal hours.

Dec 31st & Jan 1st 9AM-4PM.

 

 

 

 

Covid Update

State of the Union

Dear Union Fitness Member,

 

In accordance with Pennsylvania state regulations announced on December 10th, we will be closing our indoor spaces only starting December 11, 2020, at 9PM. To take care of our members we will once again be loaning out equipment beginning immediately. Come see us or reply to this email and we will do our best to satisfy as many of you as we can. Starting Monday, December 14th we will be running online classes and posting at-home workouts on our social media platforms. WE WILL BE OFFERING OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO ALL THAT ARE INTERESTED AT OUR PERFORMANCE LAB. Masks MUST be worn at ALL TIMES during these workouts.

 

Hours of operation will remain the same, Monday-Friday 5AM-9AM and 9AM-4PM on the weekends. We will be reserving 6-7 AM and 6-7 PM for class only time on the turf. Powerful will be the only class during this time.

 

Anyone wishing to suspend their membership, please email us.

 

Any additional questions can be emailed to me directly, at todd@unionfitness.com

 

We will send out further updates via email and our social media pages when available.

 

Stay strong, stay safe & we’ll go through this. In UNION there is STRENGTH.

 

– Todd Hamer

GM of Union Fitness

Week in Review

State of the Union,

This week has been a unique one here at UF. While 2020 will be a year none of us will soon forget I would want to review some of what we are doing not just this week but this year.

 

Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pgh.

 

Our own Matt Grayson has been helping out with this group for years. He is back at it again collecting good for this important organization. Please consider stopping by and helping out.

 

December Challenge.

 

We began a challenge here at the gym. With this challenge we are offering four options.

 

First will be a pull up challenge, just do as many as you can over the month. You don’t have to be at the gym, tag us and we can add your score up here.

 

Second is 2k challenge. Hit the Erg for a 2k. How many can you do in the a month?

 

Third Ski Erg 2k challenge. Same as erg challenge just this time on the ski erg.

 

Finally, we have a bike challenge. Ride an air-dyne bike for 3 miles. Like the above challenge, how many can you complete in one month?

 

All of the scoring sheets are located outside the cardio lab and the winner of each challenge gets a free massage.

 

Classes are BACK!!

 

We are excited to offer our classes again after a week off. We have also added time in our performance lab for any of our unlimited members to use as a private training space. Stop by the front desk to ask about scheduling a time.

 

This is a short overview of our week and hope this finds all of you well. Keep helping each other and be more like Josh Conroy our Member of the Month. Congrats Josh!!

 

TH