In the last 6 years I have moved 10 times. So, when talking about changing your environment, I have gone through it for sure. All of these changes have taught me one thing, that my environment is the biggest factor on not just my training, but my mental health as well. When we are not happy in our environment, you can start to feel yourself losing discipline. As your training starts to fall apart, so can your overall health.

Before my most recent move to Pittsburgh, I was training at a gym that I considered home. I would drive 30 minutes to train at Unrivaled Strength and 30 minutes back every day. A lot of people asked me why I wouldn’t just go to the L.A. Fitness down the block from my apartment and my response was that I needed to train in an environment that matched my goals for myself. I was happy, my lifts and my mental health were thriving. Amid your busiest work or school day, I hope you can look forward to training hard at whatever gym it is you feel your best at.

When I moved to Pittsburgh, I knew I had to find a gym like the one I was going to prior to the move, and the owner of that gym, Justin Oliver, recommended Union Fitness. So, not only did I begin training at this gym, but working here as a strength coach and trainer as well. I found myself back in an environment where I am surrounded by individuals with similar goals and a similar mindset to mine. I have mentors who I can train with and learn from every day. This is a gym that allows individuals to be authentic, learn from one another, and most importantly be strong every day.

Your gym should always feel like home, so when people ask me how I stay motivated or how I stay disciplined my answer is always the same: find the best environment for yourself. It isn’t always the same for everybody, and it may take months or years to find. But when you find it, everything will start to fall into place.

After all, a fish can only grow as large as the tank they live in.

Maria

Hello everyone!

If you are new to the community or even if you are a veteran UF member, I wanted to let you know (or remind you) about our free class that we offer here three days a week at lunchtime.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12-12:30pm, we offer a class called “Blitz.” Blitz is a quick 30-minute class that you can hop in during your lunch hour or if you have a free 30-minutes during your afternoon. The class is taught by myself, our GM, Todd, and one of our awesome trainers, April. Todd created this class about 2 years ago, and it is open to anyone and everyone. This means that you don’t have to be a UF member to be able to join in on the fun. Although this class may inspire you to join us. 🙂

On Mondays, the class focuses mainly on squats and lower body movements.

On Wednesdays, the focus is mainly upper body pressing and other accessories.

And on Fridays we have a total body circuit training party.

It’s a great way to get up and moving and learn some basic lifting movements in the middle of your day!

Come join the fun, bring a friend, and head on over to Blitz class.

P.S If you are unable to make it here on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday afternoon and are looking for a longer cardio based class, be sure to check out our Cardio Lab classes offered at 12pm on Tuesday/Thursday’s as well.

See you there!

Toria

Beginning the first week of November, our Friday Powerful class will be taking a slightly different approach. If you are someone who trains throughout the week, whether it be at our classes here at Union Fitness, or your own workouts, you know first hand how the body and mind can feel by the end of the week. Taking this into account, our Friday class will now be a combination of bodyweight training with a focus on movement and mobility, followed by a cool-down period with an emphasis on stretching. Our goal here is to help you recover from a long week of work, those grueling training sessions, and anything else that life has thrown at you, while also preparing your body for any tasks that the weekend has in store.

Don’t get it twisted, this will still be a great and challenging workout, just as we always aim to provide for our members. However, we will be introducing you to a slightly different approach to training that will yield you the same results as our previous class, but with the addition of getting your body exposed to different movements and positions that will have a long list of benefits. Whether you sit at a desk or are on your feet all day, this workout will have an increased benefit on not only your day to day function, but also your long-term function and strength down the road.

For added benefits, we recommend combining this class with one of our amazing Yoga classes throughout the week. The combination of the two will have your body and mind prepared to take on any challenge that is thrown at it. I can promise you that by investing in these workouts, you will see an increase in movement quality, joint & muscular function and strength, and an increase in overall well-being. For more details or any questions, be sure to grab me at the gym and I’ll be more than happy to help. 

– Curtis Miller 

Hello UF Community!

I was training one of my clients yesterday, and we were listening to classic throwbacks by the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, etc. As we all know, one of the Backstreet Boys most famous songs is “I Want It That Way” from the year 1999. The chorus of that song goes a little something like “Tell me why (ain’t nothin but a heartache)… Tell me why…”

I have some food for thought for you today. I want you to think about your reasons “why.” What I mean by that is not necessarily just to think about why you might have a heartache or even why you may have joined the gym, but to reflect on why you do certain things in your everyday lives. Take some time to think about your true passions and your daily personal values. Examples could be why you chose your current job, why do you love or hate what you do for a living, why did you decide to get up and out of bed this morning, why did you choose your current 2022 goals, why did you do that extra set of deadlifts last night or eat that extra donut for breakfast.

I’m challenging you to dig a little bit deeper into your thoughts today, because why not reflect on why it is we do what we do and feel the ways that we do daily.

I kept this one short and sweet, but I hope that it gets those brain wheels turning and you discover some deeper knowledge within yourselves.

Toria

It seems like often; we emphasize failure more than we do about celebrating success. If we changed the narrative and we celebrated failure the same way we do when we succeed what could happen? Imagine the drastic change that we would see in daily life. The fear would vanish, and people would do incredible things.

Some of the greatest people to ever live failed time and time again. When Michael Jordan was cut from his 9^th grade basketball team, I bet people didn’t think he would become one of the most influential athletes to ever live. Or how about when Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting while he was alive, now people pay millions. Albert Einstein couldn’t talk until he was 4 and couldn’t read until he was 7 years old. He then went on to change the way we view the world and shaped our own understanding of humanity. Three vastly different backgrounds but ended with the same result. No one could have imagined their impact.

No one thought they could become great because they focused exclusively on their failures. However, it is only because of their failure that they achieved something many only dream of. The greatness that is inside many of the people we look up to, can be found in every one of us. To become great at something you must be bad at it first. So the next time you fail, throw your arms up in excitement and celebrate and rejoice, its an opportunity to get better and take that step closer to achieving the impossible. I challenge you adopt this idea. No matter how big or small the challenges you face are it will always be okay to fail. Just continue to try and try again.

I leave you this quote from Michael Jordan: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Dylan

Over the past six months, Todd and I have had the wonderful opportunity of working with a member who has been in town as a traveling nurse. When she first came to us, she was coming off of being two years removed from a training routine. She told us that her goals were to get back into the shape she was in before she took time off, and to build her strength with the hopes of hitting personal bests in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Each week, she showed up 4 times, and most days at 6am. Todd and I knew she was dead serious about her goals, and she proved it each session. So, we put together a plan and provided her the best service we possibly could.

After 6 months of not missing a single workout, she signed up for and competed in her very first powerlifting competition right here at Union Fitness. It was safe to say that she was extremely nervous and had no idea what to expect (just as we all are for our first one). However, she showed up, put her heart and soul into every lift, and came out victorious. That day, we witnessed so much growth in her, as she did herself, that we knew she could take on anything that was placed in front of her.

We recently asked her to write us a short blog on her experience. At first, she was hesitant, as she didn’t want to be the center of attention, and was worried about what other’s might think. So, we let her think on it for a few days before I decided to have a conversation with her. What she didn’t realize was that she had a beautiful story to tell. One that involved moving 6 hours away to a city that she had never known, by her self. Aside from this, she was working at a job where she knew absolutely no one. She walked into a gym that she knew nothing about after taking 2 years completely off of training. She signed up to work with two goof ball trainers who she hadn’t built a relationship with yet. She then chose to continuously show up at 6am four days per week to achieve her goals, while signing up for and competing in a competition that she had never even seen in person. All of this in just 6 months. What she didn’t realize at first is that there were people who were going through the same challenges, or maybe who were even too hesitant to take those chances, just as she once was. 

As I type this, I ask you to do two things. First, take the time regularly to reflect on all of the amazing things you have accomplished over your lifetime. This is something we don’t do nearly enough. Next, pass it along. This is our greatest gift as humans, and without the ability and action of helping others, what good is it to experience and achieve all of the wonderful things that we have? Because, you never know how your experiences and the things that you have to share could impact the lives of those around you.

– Curtis Miller