Alexa Ferri

Training Log: 4.5.19

My April Training log is a little different from my previous 3 months of training logs. Reason being, there is a new goal in mind for June. I am training for a full power meet. This is new to me. The goal, that is. I’ve had a small seed in my brain that wanted to do a meet, so now I am letting that come to life and blossom. Honestly, this is fun for me. A new experience. A new zone of comfort to hop out of. I’ve mostly trained in a very bodybuilding manner. I am not going to use absolute terms and say that bodybuilding is the end all be all for me however, it lights me up…(in the least meathead-y way possible or not). So, maybe I can inspirit a flame in one person, and that is to add some productive discomfort to their life and see what is possible.

As far as training goes, in the past I would have cycles of heavier compound lifts and I would have cycles of pure volume (very barfy) compound lifts. Both bring me happiness…well depending on my mood. My training for this meet is not too far off from a normal bodybuilding split for me. I have all my assistance work at 6-12 rep ranges, great. As for my main lifts, I am doing heavy work with speed work sprinkled in. Goal is to get faster.

-Squat and assistance

-Bench and assistance

-Deadlift and assistance

-Overhead Press and assistance

I am currently training 5 days per week. 4 days is my usual amount, but with this program there is a short day of some simple barbell movements and I am out. I have been reluctant to train more than 4 days per week for the past year due to hormonal imbalances from excessive training. My body is extremely sensitive to training and life stressors. Sometimes the life stressors I can’t control, but training I can, so let’s see how my body responds!

Here is a typical squat day for me:

Last blog I talked about how dependent I am upon my crockpot ever since having the baby. There’s only so much you can do with a crockpot though and I was bored. Needing constant variety in my life is both a blessing and a curse. And to be honest, I was a little embarrassed after my blog came out that I’ve been so lackadaisical in the kitchen.

So I decided to stop making excuses and break out the ole culinary skills. Making healthy dinners for my family makes me feel goooood and despite what I was telling myself in my head, it really doesn’t take that long to whip up something healthy and tasty. I’ve waited longer for Grubhub delivery than it took me to make this meal.



Sesame seared ahi tuna served with tri-colored roasted potatoes, sugar snap peas and topped with avocado slices.

The best part of this meal was the following conversation I had with Asha and Alina:

Asha: Mom, is this sushi? No is this steak?! It’s my favorite.
Me: Kinda. It’s chicken of the sea.
Asha: Ok so it’s chicken.
Me: No, it’s a fish. It’s ahi tuna.
Alina: ASHI TUNA?!?!

It took about twenty minutes of explaining to them that Ashi (a nickname we have for Asha) Tuna is not a real thing. But considering that they still ask for “Ashi Tuna” every night for dinner, I don’t think it stuck. The lesson learned here for me is that memories are made over food and family dinners together. My kids will have no fond recollections of the takeout meal we had delivered but will surely remember the time they thought they ate Asha for dinner. Cooking a meal is more than just the pieces of food thrown together. Food can be a lot more than just nutritional subsistence and I think I forget that from time to time.

Michael Hutchins, LMT, graduated from Pittsburgh Technical College in October 2018. He is certified in cupping and IASTM and has plans to become certified in body tempering – something we’ve been looking for here at UF! Some of his favorite modalities of massage are deep tissue and vibration therapy with the Hypervolt. In his spare time, he is also pursuing a Personal Training and Corrective Exercise Specialist Certification through NASM.

Growing up, Michael was inactive and didn’t take great care of his physical health. During his freshman year of high school, his friends convinced him to join the track team and he ended up falling in love with it. He put in the work and mileage over the summer to get into shape and eventually became one of the top runners in his school with a personal best 5k time of 16:14 – he’s still on the top 10 all-time board! After high school, Michael enlisted in the Marine Corps and began to pay more attention to what he ate and his personal fitness. In the fall of 2017, Michael enrolled in the massage program at Pittsburgh Technical College so he could learn more about the human body and how he could effectively treat injuries and prevent pain patterns from forming. Michael is really passionate about learning everything there is about massage and translating that into making his clients lives pain free. “I strongly believe massage should be a necessity in every body’s life and not just a luxury.”

I’m slowly making my way back to training regularly, and with powerlifting in mind specifically. I haven’t given up on weightlifting, but it’s taken a backseat while I try to regain some size and general strength.

Whenever I’m trying to rebuild my fitness, I use two really basic programs that show easy, quick progression: Couch to 5k to get my running fitness back, and 5/3/1 for strength. They are both fantastic and something I recommend to clients all the time (for good reason). Couch to 5k is a straightforward run/walk program – you take around 30 minutes 3x per week and slowly work back up to running for 30 straight minutes, or a 5k. I modify it to run/jog intervals to work my way back to my normal running pace.

As I’m really focusing on rebuilding size and strength right now, I’m taking it easy on cardio (just walking and getting on the elliptical occasionally) and paying more attention to my 5/3/1 progression. The basic idea: week 1 you work each major lift on a separate day with sets of 5, week 2 with sets of 3, week 3 with heavy singles. Add a little weight each cycle, watch the consistent strength gains come in.

The program typically includes a deload after each 3 week cycle, and in the past I always skipped it because I thought I was in good enough shape to not need a deload. INCORRECT. I’m being fanatical about taking that time off now, and even enjoying it. I can feel that my body needs it while I struggle to get enough to eat and sleep.

One of the things I love about 5/3/1 is the total freedom in choosing assistance work. I’m really going ham on the shoulder and glute movements and loving it. Not every day feels great, thats just the nature of training for me while figuring out my health, but today was AWESOME. Here’s what I did, and some video:

by Alexa Ferri

Alexa’s Super Interesting Meal

Ok, this is not a crazy elaborate meal, but it has been my staple for several weeks. If you walk in during lunch time you will find me guzzling this down at the front desk. Lindsey also loves when I microwave it during her fasting hours…

BUT it is lovely and here are a few reasons why this is my go-to: it is quick and easy to prepare. Check. I eat it for lunch and it fills me up (difficult to accomplish). Check. Potatoes are a great “faster” digesting carbohydrate for my post-training meal. Check. And I love potatoes. Check.

Ingredients:

-4.5oz Chicken Breast

-200 grams Honey Gold Potatoes

-30 grams Spinach

-40-50 grams Bell Peppers

The potatoes are actually what makes this. Chicken, spinach, and peppers are great, but the potatoes are delightful. Ok, how to make the potatoes:

1. Grab a bowl, cut the baby honey gold potatoes in half.
2. Pour in some avocado oil
3. Season with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and that is all.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
5. Broil for 8-10 minutes
6. Done. Simple. How I like to live.

Bring on the sunshine!!!

The sun is fighting through the clouds and cold temperatures. The birds are starting to sing and the trees and flowers are ready to bloom. We’re shaking off the rust by getting classes outdoors as the weather permits. In the meantime, see what our community has been up to all winter…

 
To follow along with our core values, here is a link to our website:

About

UF values- EPIC: Education—Passion—Integrity—Community

Education

Welcome Cayt Neff! She has joined us as a personal trainer, and will be offering massages once she completes her certification at the Pittsburgh School of Massage Therapy. If you haven’t met her yet, she struggles to not hold a smile on her face 24/7. She’ll also be stepping in to help our coaches in both the Strength Lab and Cardio Lab.

I will be attending the EliteFTS Strong(er) Sports Training Success Summit. Better yet- Cayt, CJ, and Keenan are joining me! The presenter list is stacked- Alwyn Cosgrove, JL Holdsworth, Buddy Morris, Dr. Eric Serrano, Dr. Ken Kinaki, and more. There will be plenty to learn in every facet of training- business, health, recovery, rehab, technique. We’ll report back next quarter!

Passion

Lynette Bauer is our April Member of the Month! She has been a member since way back in May of 2017 when she was quietly plugging away, building a strength and fitness base in the Fitness Center.  This January she decided to take a chance and up her fitness game by joining the 2019 Strength Project. In those two months, she’s realized some amazing strength gains, has gotten comfortable in yoga, and really pushes herself in the Cardio Lab. We are super proud of the effort and consistency she’s shown, and excited to see her continue making progress as a UF Unlimited member! Proving how much there is to gain by getting out of your comfort zone (see: routine).

Integrity (the state of being whole, undivided)

The 2019 Strength Project included 33 members of Union Fitness. Their goals ranged from losing weight, gaining weight, gaining strength, learning new techniques, maintaining accountability, etc. They all gained ground on some if not all of their goals. The result- 31 of them will continue their strength journey with Strength Lab and Cardio Lab classes. The integrity piece comes in because both morning and evening groups found new friends, new training partners, and new inspiration. I’m proud of our staff for the leadership, motivation, and creativity that they provided over the eight week project. We’re looking forward to creating new and different challenges like the Strength Project, so keep throwing ideas our way and we’ll work on this together!

Community

Sometimes life throws unwelcome hardships in our direction and, unfortunately, we have a few members that have had a rough winter. Please stay tuned for classes and other events that we’ll be hosting in an attempt to support those within our community that could use a hand.

On a lighter note, we have a big surprise to announce coming in the fall. More details coming soon!

Thank you all. I look forward to enjoying the summer at Union Fitness!

-Casey

Training Log: March

I love to joke during my training sessions that I can’t (code for: too lazy) do something because I just had a baby. It’s been 10 long months but in the grand scheme of body healing and altering body composition it’s really not that long. I tell all my clients, friends and anyone else that will listen that a woman gets a WHOLE year after giving birth to say, “I just had a baby”. In truth, it takes that long (sometimes even longer) to begin to feel like “yourself” again. Let’s be honest though, you’ll never really feel like the same person you were before you had a(nother) baby. If you asked me 10 months ago if that was a good or bad thing I would assuredly say it’s a terrible thing—there’s more skin sagging, stretch marks and a little (ok a LOT) of extra jiggling in places that previously never jiggled. But with a little training and a little hindsight, I’ve come to realize that I’ve only become stronger and more badass with each pregnancy and child.

Nearly 10 months postpartum means Archie is now nearly 10 months old—which for those without kids or those who blocked those sleepless nights from your memory banks that means he’s becoming ever increasingly crazy & adorably wild. There’s couch cruising, attempted dive bombs off the bed and the stuffing of every edible and inedible item in his mouth. It also means I’m only 2-ish months away from my goal of pumping breast milk for a year. Hormonally my body is still in milk-making drive not get strong AF drive. Yet despite that, I’ve still managed somehow to mentally feel strong AF even if my muscles haven’t quite caught up yet.

I wrote a blog back in September about some of my postpartum training frustrations, so I thought this would be as good a time as any for a little check in. These were my major setbacks/frustrations and what/how I’m currently doing in these departments:

Grossly under eating
I’m reeeeally trying to work on this knowing that my numbers are consistently coming in low. I’ve been concentrating on eating nutrient dense foods and beginning to relearn to appreciate the art of cooking.
 
Thinking I’m never doing enough
My TP (Training Partner) has played a huge role in helping me see things for how they really are. I was and am doing a-plenty. The last couple of months have been spent learning how to appreciate quality movements over quantity.
 
Expecting progress overnight
Hindsight is a beautiful thing, people. It’s given me the opportunity to see this postpartum period in a larger sense. I have made a ton of progress. I will continue to get better, stronger, faster, leaner. I am.
 
Weighing myself too often (and obsessing about the number) 
Now that I’m officially back at my pre-pregnancy weight it seems so silly to me that I fixated on my scale for so long even though I knew better. Hormones, stress and lack of sleep really do a number on your mental clarity sometimes.

Not sleeping enough
Unfortunately, not too much has changed in this department. Still chronically sleep deprived over here. SEND HELP.

Dogging (or plain avoiding) my cardio workouts
Well some things never change, I guess.
 

By Ryan McUmber:

The food that I eat is nothing exciting. I primarily use the old rule of 80 percent of my calories are healthy foods such as lean meats, quality plant based carbohydrates, and green cruciferous vegetables. The other 20 percent of my calories are foods that I enjoy. This can be some chips or these s’more cookies that I might be officially addicted to. Since I am trying to gain some weight I will let the numbers slide just a little bit to about 70% healthy foods and 30% not so healthy foods especially if I have those cookies.

But I don’t want to do this all the time. Mostly for the goal to keep my gut healthy. I know that eating a poor diet is not the best for physical appearance but more importantly it can affect my overall gut health.

With that being said, I have two favorite meals that I cycle through. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for my next food blog to find out what the other one is.

The first one is sweet potato and steak. I know this is one of the more boring healthy meals but it does offer a lot of extremely valuable nutrition. The steak offers Iron, which most people are not getting enough of, especially women, as well B-12 vitamins. The sweet potato offers a fair amount of vitamin A to keep my immune system healthy. I also consume the skin of the potato which some people find disgusting but it offers extra fiber to aid in healthy digestion.

You might find this meal ‘boring,’ but eating it knowing that you’re fueling your body and aiding in recovery, digestion, and long term health can make the basics much more appealing.

By Team UF, compiled by Casey Williams

In a recent staff meeting I asked our team, “If you could coach our clients on ‘how to be better at taking coaching, meaning how to get more out of each session, what would you tell them?” I loved their insight and I think it’s worthwhile to share because it will make us all better.

Alison
-Be on time. But also be patient if we can’t start early. 
-Use that early arrival to warm up at your pace, addressing anything in particular that might be a problem area (don’t know? Ask and have a plan for next time!)
-Set realistic expectations 
-Put what we do into practice: Sometimes “the work” is what you need to do outside of the gym- nutrition and recovery.

Ryan
-Ask questions to gain an understanding of why (proven that when the mind is engaged or bought in, you’ll get better results)
-Try to understand the process (why we’re doing what we’re doing, when and how we’re going to do it)
-Communicate during the session (was it too easy or too difficult, what about the particular exercise was easy or difficult, did -you love it or hate it)
-The more mental effort you put into the session the more we can help 

Alexa, the novelist
Ask why we are doing a particular exercise- having intention is beneficial for the mind/body connection. It also shows investment. It shows that they care. When clients show up and go through the motions they typically don’t see the same results.
Don’t solely rely on our training sessions. Talk with your trainer, come up with a plan, and get in here on your own. Report back with what you did and we’ll keep up your progress!
Understand that your results are not only coming from training, what you eat is 80% of it.
Have patience for the process.
Be concerned with not only aesthetics but your actual health and wellness.
Those that rely on extrinsic motivators typically see short term success. Having a stronger ‘why’ can lead to a better result in the long term (I want to be able to pick my grandkids up off the floor).
Those that are just training for particular event (i.e. a wedding) tend to yo-yo instead of create sustainable habits.

Ethan
-being on time
-being ready
-accountability when you’re on you’re own
-being positive

Cayt
-Trust your trainer
-Believe in yourself
-Take pride in what you’re doing
-There are 168 hours in every week. Take ownership of your role outside of your training session.
-Know why you are here and communicate that why.
-Make small changes- the snowflake doesn’t realize it’s part of the avalanche- Make it a goal to cook dinner if you’re eating every meal out. Start with one session per week if you’re not training at all right now. Be consistent and the results will come.

That’s a lot of constructive criticism coming from experienced individuals who live it everyday. To be succinct, I see three take aways from their feedback (along with my two cents).

If you want to get the most out of your personal training sessions…

BE PREPARED
Have your body here five minutes early and make sure your brain isn’t far behind. Life gets hectic, but it’s a bad habit to carry that with you. If you’ve committed to personal training, you have goals, and those goals center around making you a better you. Give yourself some love when you show up by leaving life at the door and challenging your mind and body for the next hour. The mental effort you add to your physical effort will pay dividends.

BE ENGAGED
How many times have you thought to yourself, “am I doing this right” but never uttered a word to your trainer? The old cliche applies- HELP US HELP YOU. At a bare minimum we need to know how you are feeling from the time you walk in to the time you leave. We can use some indicators- bags under the eyes, bad posture, sluggish OR upbeat, smiles, cracking jokes- to gauge where you are at on a particular day. But if a trainer has you doing something that just doesn’t feel right, ASK! We love teaching- that’s why we do this. And we’ll love it even more if you ask WHY we have you doing something. It lets us know that you’re thinking about it- and that you’re ready to take the next step in whatever progression your trainer has lined up for you.

BE ACCOUNTABLE
If you didn’t sleep well the last few nights, let your trainer know. If you had a bad weekend of nutrition, let your trainer know. We’re not here to make you feel bad, but we are here to hold you accountable. I know from experience that the vast majority of pro athletes can’t put 100% of their focus on training, nutrition, and recovery. They have families, contract negotiations, ego, and other frustrations that distract them. The ones that have success surround themselves with experts that hold them accountable. You don’t have to be a pro athlete to be accountable- you just need to be honest with your trainer and honest with yourself. We don’t expect perfection. You shouldn’t either. We’re in this together.

Training Log
Ryan McUmber

This past Saturday was a good day.

The whole UF team came together for a training session while doing a photoshoot. It got me amped up to squat heavy. Luckily these hips were feeling good.

I believe some of our team has made this clear but I want to hammer this in. A solid warm up will set up your workout. This means take your time and do exactly what you need to do. Don’t rush through it because you feel like you have to do a warm-up. The more effort you put into the warm up the more effort you will be able to put into your actual working sets.

Here is my lower body warm-up:
3x times through

• Single leg glute bridge with 2 sec pause at the top x5
• RKC planks 3 sets of 10 seconds
• Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) leg raises x8 each leg
• Banded Air squats x5
• Also sometimes some Box jumps: FOR HEIGHT not endurance
• So 3 sets of 3-5 reps

The goal of the day was to hit 3 sets of 1 at 425 on the Safety squat Bar (the bar of death). Well with everything feeling so damn good, I went for a triple on the last set and it went way better than I expected. Finally feeling out some heavy weight again got me excited about lifting and I plan to ride this wave.

I want to make a point that I am extremely grateful for the support that I have at Union. All the members have been encouraging and caring on how my training has been going. Thank you.