1. Explosive Power Development: Plyometrics focus on increasing an athlete’s explosive strength and power. These exercises involve rapid stretching (eccentric phase) followed by a powerful contraction (concentric phase), improving the efficiency and speed of force production.
2. Improved Athletic Performance: By enhancing the efficiency of the neuromuscular system, plyometrics can improve speed, agility, and overall athletic performance. This is crucial for sports that require quick changes in direction, jumps, or sprints.
3. Injury Prevention: When done correctly, plyometrics can strengthen muscles and connective tissues, potentially reducing the risk of injury by improving joint stability and coordination.

1. Increased Muscular Power: Regular plyometric training enhances the ability of muscles to generate force quickly, which translates into improved performance in activities that require explosive movements.
2. Enhanced Neuromuscular Efficiency: Plyometrics improve the communication between the nervous system and muscles, leading to quicker and more efficient motor responses.
3. Improved Jumping Ability and Speed: Exercises like box jumps and depth jumps can increase vertical jump height and sprinting speed, beneficial for many sports.
4. Better Coordination and Balance: The rapid and dynamic nature of plyometric exercises improves proprioception and balance, contributing to overall athletic ability.

1. Sports Training: Plyometrics are widely used in sports like basketball, football, and track and field to enhance performance. For instance, a basketball player might use plyometric exercises to improve jumping ability for rebounding and shooting.
2. Rehabilitation: In physical therapy, plyometrics are sometimes used to help athletes recover from injuries by rebuilding strength and functionality in a controlled, progressive manner.
3. General Fitness: For non-athletes, incorporating plyometric exercises can lead to improved cardiovascular fitness, increased muscle strength, and better overall conditioning.
4. Functional Movements: Plyometrics can aid in improving functional movements such as jumping, sprinting, and explosive lifting, which are beneficial in everyday activities.

Hey Team! 

I just wanted to take the time for everyone who enjoys Pittsburgh history, exploring the city, and getting a little workout in along the way about the Pittsburgh city steps. Union’s very own, Laura Zurowski, has been doing Pittsburgh step tours for some time now and knows the history like the back of her hand. Laura took the word from the original city step guide and gave it a new life in the newly published “City Steps of Pittsburgh: A History and Guide.”  

If you’re interested in checking out the book please head to your local book store to get this amazing Pittsburgh find – written by an amazing member of our community.  

Now stop reading this and go yourself a copy of “City Steps of Pittsburgh: A History and Guide.”  

Miranda 

Empty Your Pockets Folks

I am totally kidding about the title, this blog is just to remind everyone of the boot camp I am hosting with Hannah, Lauren, and Jade next Saturday on July 20th at 10am. I created this boot camp in an effort to raise money for Irina. Irina is a friend of one my personal training clients named Sasha. Every month, Irina flies into Pittsburgh for cancer treatment from Ukraine. Sasha lets her stay at her home for free, picks her up from the Pittsburgh airport, and drives her to all of her appointments. For those that don’t know, this cancer treatment is saving Irinas life. She does not have access to the cancer treatment that she needs in Ukraine because of the war. Irina also does not want to move to the United States because her husband is stuck in Ukraine due to him being under the age of 60 and being required to stay in Ukraine as a military obligation. Along with that, Sashas husband is a physician at AHN, so Irina also benefits from retrieving her treatment at AHN in Pittsburgh. As you can imagine, traveling out of Ukraine during the war with Russia is very difficult. Irina has to take two trains to Poland and then multiple flights from Poland to Pittsburgh every single month. It is a very costly expense and that is why I want to help her.

Sasha has been lifelong friends with Irina because both Sasha and her husband are from Ukraine as well. Irinas husband actually taught Sashas children Karate many years ago. That is where the connection lies and why Sasha and her husband help Irina as much as they can.

I know that we have issues in the United States and our economy is not the best. However, if you could spare any money at all or promote this on your social media I would really appreciate it. Any little thing helps and this money can be a giant help to Irina who is in need.

Again, I will be hosting a bootcamp on July 20th at 10am that will consist of weight training, cardio, and will finish up with some yoga on the front lawn. If you can make it down that would be great and if not, no worries at all. Like I mentioned above, any little thing helps and I appreciate you all! We have flyers posted all around our gym and the North shore with the go fund me link as well as in our instagram bio!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope this gives a better understanding of the situation!!

-Zain

Hello everyone!

I am Zoey, I am an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist. I grew up in Westmoreland County and graduated from Hempfield Area Senior High School. I received my B.S. in Exercise Physiology from Saint Francis University, and I am currently finishing up my M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. I plan on pursuing a career in Tactical Strength and Conditioning and Military Human Performance Research. My goal as an Exercise Physiologist is to help everyone live a long, happy, healthy, and STRONG life. I have loved exercise all my life. I was a swimmer for 13 years, and I finished off my career swimming for SFU on the NCAA Division I level. Lifting has always been a big part of my life, and I want to continue to share my love and passion for it with everyone. Aside from lifting, I love to hike and country line dance!

Hey everyone!

With summer rolling around, I thought I would share with you all a few fairly easy high protein foods that I like to cook when I meal prep.

1. Spicy Salsa Chicken- Dense in protein, low in fat, and is a good mix up if you are tired of eating plain grilled chicken.

Ingredients- 1-2 cans/glasses of salsa. 1 Franks hot sauce, salt and pepper. 1 package of chicken breast

1. Get a crock pot and throw in the pack of raw chicken breast.
2. Season it as you would like while it is in crock pot.
3. Dump all the salsa into the crock pot and ensure all the chicken is covered.
4. Add as much Franks hot sauce as you would like
5. Cook on low heat for 8 hours

2. Grass Fed Steak- Everyone loves a good steak. High in protein but moderately high in fat.

Ingredients- Grass Fed Steak, Goya Adobo Seasoning, Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Season steak on both sides with adobo seasoning and tenderize by beating the steak
3. Heat up Olive oil on pan on high
4. Once pan has heated with the olive oil, place steaks on pan for 30-45s on each side. This is done to get a nice pan sear on each side of the steak
5. After each side of all steaks are seared, throw them onto a baking sheet and cook for 6-8 minutes in the oven. Check to see if your steak is done by using a thermometer or by cutting into it. May need to throw steaks back in if they are too rare for your liking!

3. Ground Turkey and Grass Fed Beef Burgers- High in protein but moderately high in fat. Can substitute for all ground turkey instead of ground beef to lower fat content.

Ingredients- 2 lbs of 93-7 Ground Turkey (or leaner), 1 lb of 80-20 ground beef, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, Olive oil

1. Combine ground beef and ground turkey together in a bowl. Mix together for a few minutes to get a solid mixture of the two meats.
2. Add 3 T of Worcestershire sauce along with desired amount of salt and pepper to the ground turkey and ground beef. Mix well again.
3. Preheat olive oil in pan on medium-high
4. Make 12 patties with the 3 lbs of raw meat by rolling meat into balls and forming them to make a burger size. I use a pampered chef burger press.
5. Once pan is hot, throw the patties onto the pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat. The trick is to only flip the burger ONCE.
6. Now you have fairly high protein burger patties. Feel free to add bread or lettuce as a bun and whatever condiments you would like!

If you end up using any of these small recipes then please let me know! I think they are all pretty tasty but the Salsa Hot Chicken is probably the easiest to make!

-Zain

As the great poet of our time, Limp Bizkit once said ” And if my day keeps going this way, I just might break something tonight”. 

Well another way to keep that energy rolling in a more productive manner, why don’t we try incorporating the sledge hammer into our training. Sledgehammer training will put your strength, power, coordination, endurance and chutzpah to the test. From a 4lbs sledge to a hulking 65lbs sledge, there are various movements to utilize this tool. A classic staple is the tride and true slam to tire, but you can use the sledge to complete a “KB ” like flow series, mace movements and other functional everyday movements. Completing these movements will not only improve your overall performance from your head to your toes, but it will leave you feeling like one bad mother, shut your mouth. Sledgehammer training offers an array of benefits no matter what type of athlete you may be. Include them in your circuit training for an intense cardio session to elevate your heart rate and improve aerobic capacity and metabolic conditioning or use it as a tool to build strength, power, and explosiveness. Incorporating sledgehammer movements into your training will naturally strengthen the forearms, improve wrist mobility, and increase grip strength. Sledgehammer training uses full range movements which will improve functional fitness, coordination, and agility. My personal favorite combo with the sledgehammer is when I build the exercise into my metabolic conditioning circuit day. For example, I will use the sledgehammer to hit a tire for :30 seconds, alternating sides of the swing, then farmers carry to my next exercise, hit my roulette ab pick of the training then jog back to the top and start all over. This quick blog is just to get you thinking of how you can add variety and spice into your exercise routine. If you’d like to try any of these sledge movements, please ask me and I would love to show you how. We can have a Summer sledge party.  

-Sledge On  

CeJ 

Variety is the spice of life and you know in CeJ’s kitchen we kick the heat up to 11.

With Veterans Day coming up I thought it would be a good time to share some of my experiences in the Navy. A lot of people at UF ask me about my experience in the Navy and where I have been in the world. However, I don’t always remember exactly everything I have done so I wanted to take the time to list all the countries I have visited during my service and rank them based on how much fun I had while visiting! 

1. Manila, Philippines. This one was my favorite simply because I saw Nelly the rapper at 2am in a VIP club section inside a casino. Along with that I enjoyed trying to speak the native language of Tagalog and the food there was delicious. Adobo and Lumpia are my favorites!
2. This place was one of the cleanest places I have ever seen in my entire life. I got to visit the infamous Marina Bay Sands and see the outlook over the city with the infinity pool.  
3. South Korea. I enjoyed South Korea because I got to have authentic Korean BBQ and I got some of my favorite jerseys of sports icons for very cheap!
4. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I enjoyed Brazil because of how tropical it was. Along with that, I got to see the culture of soccer or futbol. It was really cool seeing so many young children playing soccer all over the place!
5. Although Vietnam is a communist country it was very beautiful and the people there were extremely nice. We had a taxi driver that showed us around and also gave us a historical perspective on the Vietnam war. He showed us where the United States had its own base and more.
6. Valparaiso, Chile. This was probably the poorest country I visited. I really got to witness what a 3^rd world country looked like and it made me appreciate what we have in the United States. I also enjoyed this port because although I was underage our commanding officer allowed all sailors to abide by Chiles drinking laws. Thus meaning I was allowed to buy whatever alcohol I wanted when I was 18. I do not really remember a whole lot after the drinking started but I do remember it was a good time!
7. I was unsure if I should put Hawaii on this list or not because it is a state and not a country. However, the reason it is this low is because of that reason. Hawaii was very touristy but was still very beautiful. The hikes I did while we were there were some of the best hiking I have ever done!
8. Guam is a territory that was also poor. Funny story, when I visited here, I did not have a phone while I was there because I broke it on the first day of my deployment. So, I had to use an iPod to take all my pictures and communicate with my family back home. This was extra difficult because the Wi-Fi in Guam at the time was very poor. None the less, Guam is also very pretty, and I got the worst sunburn of my life there. I thought it would be a good idea to not wear sunscreen after working night shift for weeks and not seeing the sun. I learned the hard way to always wear sunscreen when you are that close to the equator!
9. I forget the exact city that we visited in Peru, but it was my very first port that I got to see. One memory that sticks out in my mind is clubbing with some of my friends there!
10. Okinawa, Japan. The reason Japan is so low on this list was because I only spent one night there. And during that one-night span I got food poisoning and broke my phone for the second time. So, I didn’t really get the full experience with this one!

So, there it is! A list of every single country I went to during my time in the Navy. This ranking was purely based off my own experience and if I had more time or freedom then it could have been a lot different. Lastly, I wanted to take the time to say Happy Veterans Day to every single veteran and those who are currently serving. With everything that is going on in the world today I am especially thankful for these men and women. It is a scary time to be in the military and let’s hope that peace can remain with the United States but also peace can be made in other countries that are currently at war! 

Zain 

I was in grad school at Virginia Commonwealth University, we had a guest lecturer. This was how Sept 11th 2001 started for me. Truth be told my day started at 6 AM with a team lift in a basement gym that I worked in. After a few groups I went to my grad class, sport law was the name of the class. That Tuesday we had a guest lecturer. He began his presentation, only a few minutes into his lecture our professor came in and said, “Everyone call your family, we are under attack.” I will never forget this moment. For anyone who is old enough to remember where they were on 9/11 they will never forget this moment. It is etched in my head with a few other moments.

Today as we remember 9/11 I am asking you to think about moments that changed you. Now ask yourself some questions, what can I do to help improve myself and those around me? If today was my last day on earth would I be content with how I had spent my time? What impact am I making today? I ask these questions today and everyday, as we don’t know what the future holds for us and our loved ones.

Share some love today.

Todd

The adage is true, “Days are long and years are short” (Gretchen Rubin). As I age I try to remember to take moments and be thankful for everyone and everything around me. With that in mind today I want to introduce you to a few friends of mine (that you may already know). This is my chance to thank some of the people that keep UF running, and me from working too hard :-).

First up is CeJ, also known as CJ or Charles Edward Jasper. What you may not know is that CJ and I have worked together too many times to count. He began interning with us when I was director of strength and conditioning at Robert Morris. He spent years bouncing around as a strength coach with stops at The Ohio State University, The Mets, Morehead State, Youngstown State, as well as a return trip to RMU with yours truly.

One thing I can say separates CJ is how he thinks. My running joke is CJ always thinks outside the box, so much so that sometimes I have to pull him back into the box. Due to how he thinks, and works, he always has an idea. Most of the summer events we run are his idea, he also handles all programming for our most popular class (powerful). In addition there is an added bonus with CJ, we also get one Skylyn to hang around the gym and be a positive force.

CJ I am thankful for your friendship and the chance to work with you. CJ is a friend and a co-worker for that I am grateful.

Next up is Toria Crispin! Tordawg is a two time MVP employee of the U! Toria came to us while working full time at Pitt. She was living in Parkview and wanted to pick up a part time job. Curtis hired her she brought her awesome self here from day 1. She worked here while holding down her full time job, and was awesome stepping up during the Covid time period.

She did leave us to take a job at University of Colorado at Denver. When a position opened up she was my first call. I knew she would not only be a great fit for us, but that we would also be a great fit for her. After some arm twisting I convinced her to come back and join us at the U. I can honestly say she keeps me on point most days. Without her at work we would probably or definitely mess up more things than I already do daily.

I am thankful for Toria’s friendship and that she is here with us at the U. When you see her pat her on the shoulder (make sure it’s her good shoulder) and thank her for all she does for us.

Finally, the new guy, Zain. Zain had some big shoes to fill, he took over after Curtis moved on from the U. If you don’t know his story (because he is humble and rarely tells his story), I will share some of it here. Zain is a veteran. Zain served in the Navy, his 21st b-day was ruined by international battles. He has seen more of the world than most of us.

After his service Zain went to Pitt where he competed in bodybuilding and powerlifting. He was on Pitt’s powerlifting team and received his masters at Pitt. Additionally Zain has been working two full time jobs for the last 3 months. In order to finish his masters he needed to do an internship, he did an internship at the UPMC complex in Cranberry while working here full time. He rarely talks about it and shows up everyday ready to work. I respect how he handled this. It also means that he set a high standard so if he gets lazy I can always remind him that his work load is now half of what it was all summer.

Zain we are lucky to have you at the U and we appreciate all you do and bring to the U.

There are many other people at Union Fitness that make us better everyday. I also want to thank all of our people for what they do. I know I am an imperfect leader, yet I keep trying to learn and grow daily. Our goal is to empower our people so they can empower our members and our community.

Thank you for spending time reading about these awesome people!

Todd Hamer