Category Archives: Training

Tell Me “Why”

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

 

Jenn’s Long Strange Trip to Pittsburgh

Where do I even begin… I came to Pittsburgh in October of 2021 on my first ever assignment as a traveler at UPMC hospital and was only planning on staying for a 3 month contract. Little did I know 3 months would turn into a year. It has truly been a pleasure and an honor that I had the chance to get to know Curtis and Todd and the rest of the amazing employees and other members of Union Fitness.

 

I started my fitness journey way back in July of 2019 in my home state of Delaware with 2 personal trainers, one for weightlifting that I saw 3 times a week and one for CrossFit that I also saw 3 times a week, with one day of rest. My main goal at the time was to lose a little weight and tone up in the process however, it didn’t take long at all for me to get hooked on powerlifting! The feeling of being able to lift heavier weight each week was intoxicating and I knew I would never look back. Everything was going great and I finally found the courage to sign up for my first meet which was supposed to take place in May of 2020, then disaster struck and Covid shut the world down. Although I stayed very busy in the hospital, my meet was cancelled and my fitness journey came to a complete stop.

 

Fast forward about 2 whole years later to when I found Union Fitness, and decided to get back in the game in late March of 2022. I knew from the very first time I talked to Curtis on the phone to set up my initial consult that it was going to be a great fit for me! After my face-to-face consult, it was decided that my 4x a week training would benefit the most by splitting 2 days each with Curtis and Todd and I just cannot say enough positive things about these two gentlemen. They each have their own unique training styles and I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from both of them. In just 6 months, after not setting foot in a gym for about 2 years, I was able to surpass my PRs from 2019 as well as compete in my very first meet here at Union Fitness! They pushed me, encouraged me, tested me, gave me advice, believed in me, made me laugh constantly, and stood by me every step of the way! It amazed me how they continued to come up with new workouts and ways for me to train and push myself. Just when my body started getting “used” to one thing, sure enough I would have that awesome full body soreness for a couple of days after a new idea they had Lol. I have grown so much as a person and a lifter thanks to them and thanks to all of the wonderful family at Union who I have come to know and will truly miss.

 

I hope my travels will bring be back here one day. Quite possibly for the fall meet in 2023! It has been an honor and a pleasure! Thank you everyone! And a very special thank you to Curtis and Todd! I’ll be forever grateful for everything you both have done for me!😊

 

Jenn

There Is No Success Like Failure

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 9th 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

Share Your Story

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

Sport Massage and the Texas Bar Open

A few weeks ago, Union hosted the Texas Power Bar Open powerlifting meet on September 10th. I was one of the massage therapists asked to provide on-site sports massage therapy to the competitors. It has been an opportunity I’d been looking forward to since I began to study massage therapy, so I was elated to oblige and do my best for down-to-earth and hard-working athletes. I want to talk about my experiences leading up to and at the meet itself.

 

Several of my clients had begun to train for this meet months in advance. It was very inspiring to be a part of their growth and progress throughout this time. I was there for the tough training days and the really uplifting, powerful weeks, to be physically supportive with bodywork and a cheerleader in their corner. I truly enjoy helping people do and be their best so, I don’t do it for the thanks, but I did receive and appreciate them.

 

The day of the meet was active and exciting, everyone suited in their singlets and t-shirts. I rolled in with my table, chair, and Theragun in hand and made my way to the station under the easy-up, dodging lantern flies. The day began to blow by, competitor after competitor, one effortful lift after another. Soon, I too got to work; lifters that I knew and had not known yet came to me with twinges here and tightness there, combining my knowledge and intent to make magic happen for them. Their words, not mine. With the ten to fifteen minutes I lent my hands, I believe I was able to make a positive difference in those athlete’s performances. 

 

My takeaways from the meet:

 

  1. Doesn’t matter who you are, you can be strong.
  2. Making use of an on-site therapist is only beneficial.
  3. I can’t wait to compete again, and have the crowd behind me next year. 

 

To end, a definition and sign-off quote:

 

Sports massage, or athletic massage, is the application of massage techniques that combine sound anatomic and physiologic knowledge, an understanding of strength training and conditioning, and specific massage skills to enhance athletic performance. This bodywork practice enables an athlete to attain their highest potential by accelerating the body’s natural restorative processes, enabling them to participate more often in rigorous physical training and conditioning.

 

“To be anyone else but the happiest version of yourself is a waste.”

 

MJA

Live DJ Charity Event Recap

Hello!

 

Rachael jumping on the blog today to say THANK YOU to everyone who participated and donated to our charity DJ Bootcamp on September 17th. We raised $450 dollars for PPWP and had a ton of fun doing it! We had a perfect weather day, lots of smiles, hard work put in, and couldn’t have done it without the awesome community we have here at Union Fitness. 

 

Thank you to the UF mgmt. team for making this happen and to everyone who helped make the day possible (from set up to clean up)! Looking forward to more events in the future!

 

Rachael

Why Union Fitness?

I am proud of the work we do here at UF. I also know that we offer more than most commercial gyms in the area. Today I want to highlight some of the things that make us different than the other gyms in the area.

 

Special Events.

 

  1. Fundraiser Bootcamps. Rachel Riddell hosted a fundraiser bootcamp this weekend. we were happy to have 30 members and non-members here at UF to RYDE and enjoy a nice day outdoor on our turf.
  2. Comedy Shows- We led a bootcamp then hosted a comedy show with a fundraiser for the LGBTQ+ community.
  3. Bike Rides. We are happy to have worked with POGOHas well as Bike PGH to host numerous bike rides throughout out community. While raising money for bike safety.

 

Private space for our classes. 

 

We are one of the few gyms that offers a private training space in a different building for our classes. Our performance lab is the perfect space to take our flagship class powerful. We also host yoga as well as other events in this space.

 

Team Training.

 

We are proud to be the home of both Point Park University as well as Chatham University athletic programs. We oversee the training of the teams from both of these fine local universities. To the average member this may not seem like a great thing, yet having the college students around always brings an extra energy and intensity to the gym.

 

PITT IS IT. 

 

UF loves our hometown. We also love Pitt and are happy to have our Pitt powerlifters train here. While most of the Pitt lifters don’t lift here full time, most of the lifters do train here at different times. Seeing and supporting these young lifters brings a great energy to UF.

 

Fitness Center.

 

The fitness center does not get enough love. The fitness center offers everything you would need to get strong and fit. UF has many pieces of cardio equipment as well as racks, dumbbells, and kettlebells.

 

Strength Lab.

 

The strength lab is the Cadillac of training. We have everything you need to get strong and then some. Monolifts, platforms, racks, competition benches, and many different barbells. The strength lab always has competent spotters and a great group of lifters, who are willing to help each other and you get strong!

 

Personal Training. 

 

I am very proud of all the personal trainers that we have here at UF. The trainers here are a diverse group of strong trainers, and they do an amazing job with their clients. Curtis oversees all of this and he is a rock star with empowering our trainers.

 

Powerlifting.

 

One thing UF is known for is our powerlifting. We have our share of strong humans, and we host two meets a year. One thing that separates us from other gyms with powerlifting is our willingness to help all lifters. This weekend, World Record holder Bonica Brown trained at UF alongside many first time lifters back in the strength lab.

 

There is a basic overview of UF and why I know that we are the best at what we do. Come visit us anytime, and ask any questions.

 

Hamer

 

 

 

First Meet Experience

This past Saturday, Union Fitness hosted the 2022 Texas Power Bar Open which happened to be my first meet that I’ve competed in. I have spectated and volunteered at three other meets that were hosted here at UF, but never actually lifted in one.

 

I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by several “meet veterans” at UF who were able to help me prepare for everything in the months beforehand. Curtis, Todd, and Zain helped me stay ready and answered all questions that I had both during training and on meet day.

 

I learned so many new things about myself and powerlifting throughout my training. I was able to test my limits, hit some solid PR’s, and I learned how to successfully train for a meet.

 

Going into meet day, I knew next to nothing about weigh-ins, lift commands, or how the flights of lifters worked throughout the day. Thankfully, I had the UF team with me for weigh-ins to help me know what I needed to bring and how the flow of it all went. I started training with the lift commands towards the last weeks of training, so I was still a little rusty but ended up not missing any of them on meet day. As far as the flights of lifters went, I had Zain by my side all day to help me to know when I was going to step out onto the platform and also what numbers I would strive to hit on the next attempts.

 

I ended up going 8/9 on my lifts, which I was very happy with. And I also hit a huge deadlift PR, which I was very excited about! I couldn’t have made it through the whole day without Ava, Diana, and Miranda (who all three also competed and did awesome) helping to motivate me and we hyped each other up all day, Zain who helped me with everything from warmups to figuring out my next attempts to getting me platform ready, Curtis who helped with my training program for months and he shared all of his powerlifting wisdom with me, Todd who gave me some pre squat trap slaps to get me ready to lift and as I’ve said before he’s my everyday hype man, and last but not least my dude Malik who kept my muscles ready to make the gainz and hit my lifts.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped make my first meet experience a great one. I’m planning to do some more in the future, and I’m looking forward to it!

 

Toria

Neat Adaptations to Anaerobic Training

They blinded me with science.

 

Today let’s take a quick look at what happens inside our body when we start a weight lifting/ resistance training program. This style of exercise is called anaerobic training.  Anaerobic training is defined as high-intensity, intermittent bouts of exercise like weight training, plyometric drills, speed, agility, and interval training.

 

Anaerobic exercise results in benefits and increased levels of these functions listed below.

 

Cardiac output & Stroke volume: Heart can beat faster and harder to provide more oxygen and nutrients to active muscles.

 

Heart rate: Decreases resting HR & blood pressure.

 

Oxygen uptake: Increases ability to take in oxygen from the respiratory system and deliver it to the working tissues

 

Neural adaptations: Motor cortex activity increases when the level of force developed increases and when new exercises or movements are being learned. Aka learning new exercises will create a “muscle memory”.

 

Bone & connective tissue: Strengthens bones, tendons, ligaments and fascia.

 

Muscular growth: Muscle hypertrophy is muscular enlargement from an increase in the cross-sectional area of the existing fibers.

 

Strength & Power: Mean strength & power increases up to 73%  in untrained athletes.

 

Body Composition: Increases in lean tissue mass, daily metabolic rate, and energy expenditure during exercise are outcomes of resistance training.

 

Flexibility : Anaerobic training potentially can have a positive impact on flexibility, primarily if the individual has poor flexibility to begin with & completes the exercise with use of full range of motion.

 

Aerobic Capacity: Circuit training and programs using high volume and short rest periods have been shown to improve VO2max.

 

Motor Performance: Resistance training has been shown to increase running economy, jumping, sprinting, golf swings, throwing and hand eye coordination.

 

Come toss some weights around on a regular basis and reap all these neat benefits and gains with these adaptations to anaerobic training.

 

Get Bumpy,

CEJ

Live DJ Charity Based Bootcamp

Hello To All of The Wonderful People of Union Fitness!

 

The UF Team would like to announce that we are hosting our first ever RYDE, Bootcamp, and Yoga workout event next Saturday September 17th at Noon. We will have live music from DJ Dre Williams to add to the fun of the event as well!

 

This team-teaching event will have everyone on the bikes for 20 minutes, a strength focused bootcamp for 20 minutes, and then we will all finish together with 20 minutes of yoga led by Kayla Hersperger. This is a donation-based class to a local charity, and we can accept Venmo or checks on the day of the event. Due to the size limit of the class, make sure to reserve your spot (and your friends!) on MindBody as soon as you get the chance to.

 

Hope to see you there,

Team UF