We have 4 more Ryde instructor introductions to share with the UF Community on today’s blog. Please welcome Bill, Natalie, Mallory and Meagan! 

Bill Battistone

I am originally from Chicago, Illinois, but went to school in Des Moines, Iowa, where I studied education and met my wife. I was a teacher and football/wrestling coach in Des Moines before moving to Iowa City to begin work as an Assistant Principal while my wife finished graduate school. I am currently the Principal of Avonworth Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA, and have been there for the past five years since our family relocated to Pittsburgh. When I am not working, I enjoy golf, watching, playing, and refereeing rugby, and being a big Pittsburgh sports fan! I live in Troy Hill with my partner, Martina, and our newborn daughter, Zadie (born November 12, 2021). We also have a dog (Remington) and a cat (Blitz). I started teaching ryde and bootcamp classes at Urban Elements in 2020 and have really enjoyed continuing to teach at UF! I pride myself on fun playlists, structuring my classes around the songs, trying to create an environment where the time just flies by!

Natalie Paoletta

Hey I’m Natalie!

I currently am a Master in Business Administration and work as a healthcare recruiter as my day job. I started teaching just over a year ago and teaching fitness classes has become a huge passion of mine!

I have always been active and enjoy a good workout but fell in love with teaching after I received my certification in February of 2021. Shortly after my teaching journey in yoga started, I was encouraged to start teaching Ryde and HIIT classes.

My classes are designed with all fitness levels in mind. They will challenge you but keep it fun at the same time. I like to have an energetic teaching style that will help you push through to achieve your fitness goals. Come Ryde with me Tuesdays at 5:30!

Mallory Fallert

I started using the ryde bikes in a small studio in the south hills and fell in love instantaneously with them! I soon began teaching in 2019 at Urban Elements in the North Shore. As a registered yoga instructor, I love the connection I was able to have with these bikes physically, mentally, and emotionally. Every ride is YOUR ryde!

I encourage you to come as you are on the bike and while riding. All I want is for you to feel lighter than you did when ending my class. Whether that be a big sweat puddle or letting go of the negativity that doesn’t serve you! I am always up for the perfect kinds of beats that make my classes fly by! With my high energy and cues you won’t even realize how hard you just pushed yourself!

Meagan Gnibus

Meagan is a RN currently finishing a graduate degree in Nurse Anesthesia at the University of Pittsburgh (December, baby!).  She moved back to PA after living in Florida for over a decade where she attended The Florida State University.

Meagan began her fitness instructor journey in 2013 when she was invited to take a spin class taught by Sharon Skittle.  It was the ass kicking workout that pushed her to pursue Real Ryder Certification with Urban Elements and Cycology. She would go on to complete her 200-hour yoga training with Urban Elements as well and continued to teach there for 8 years.

A little over a year ago she joined Union Fitness as a substitute yoga instructor and when Urban Elements had to close their doors, came to us as a scheduled Ryde instructor.

You can catch Meagan every Sunday morning where she blends a variety of music genres and mixes up traditional Real Ryder moves with playful combinations to keep your heart rate up and balance your muscle groups.  Every workout is different and guaranteed to leave you feeling ready for brunch and good about the work you put in!

Unsure about changing Sunday from a rest day to a play day? Take the gamble…you won’t be disappointed.

You can catch Bill teaching bright and early Mondays, Natalie and Mallory teaching Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Meagan every Sunday morning!

As I wrote about last week I have been dealing with a minor injury. Anyone who trains will eventually deal with some injuries. Today I am going to lay out what I am doing to recover from my injury.

My injury occurred Tuesday January 18th, this puts me about two weeks out. The first week I did nothing. Week two was rehab and all machine lifts. I am going to show you want I will be doing this week to begin to work my way back to training.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Bike 10 minutes

Rehab stuff 

90/90 hip stretch x10

DeadBugs x10

Single Leg Raise x10

Toe Touch Heels Elevated, Toes Elevated, Feet Flat x3 each

ISO Squats 10 count at bottom x5

3 sets of each of these.

Chins 20×1 with 10 sec rest. This is done as escalating density training. The goal is to keep volume static yet get more work in less time over the month.

Then off to machines. At this point I just do each machine we have for 4 sets. First set 20 reps, second set for 15, third is 12, final set is 10 reps.

Tues/Thur

Bike started at 20 minutes and add 2 minutes each day. This week I’ll start at 26 minutes. After this I repeat the entire rehab cycle I do on M/W/F, the only difference is I add 30 seconds of battle rope between each set. The goal is keep HR between 120-135 for the entire session.

I feel much better after last week and hope that I keep progressing. The goal is to be back squatting and moving 100% in about 8 weeks.

This Friday January 14th, it’s a Chatham Hockey night in Pittsburgh!

At Union we have had the opportunity to work with The Chatham University Men’s Hockey program for 2 seasons now. They were Union’s first collegiate program to train at UF through a prior coaching and work relationship made at Robert Morris University. The men’s hockey team brings exciting energy, hard working attitude and team support to every training session at Union, long story short they work hard. During the off season the men would train 5 days a week performing, maximal lifts, explosive jumps and throws, powerful olympic movements, athletic exercises and much more to gear up for their season. The men are still working hard in season to stay buzzing on the ice and fuel the tanks for a seek and destroy season. All their hard work and dedication to making each day better, learning from the last play is paying off and we are excited to see the team grow and to continue to build our relationship with the players, coaches and Chatham community. The Men’s hard work, enjoyment and success training with us at Union has sparked 9 more athletic teams from Chatham to join us this year. We are more than excited to Roll with the Cougs!

So now is our chance to show our support and love for our student athletes and watch some good old fashioned and historic hockey being played in Pittsburgh. This Friday get to the Hunt Armory on 324 Emerson Street in Shady Side at 7pm puck drop and let’s scream for our Cougs! This will be the first ever NCAA hockey game to be played at this site.

See ya Friday,

CeJ

When it comes to trying to be the most efficient we can be with our lifts, there are so many cues and words being thrown around that it can become overwhelming at times. Every “coach” has a list of cues that they use when working with their clients. The fact is that we only need to focus on and perfect a couple cues in order to make great technical progress with each lift. Listed below are three cues that I use with every individual that I work with in order to become proficient with the squat, bench press, and deadlift.

Squat

1)Twist into the floor: Your feet are one of the most crucial aspects of a quality squat. I like to think about it from the floor up. Spread your toes and plant them into the floor while focusing on three points of contact. The ball under the big toe, the ball under the pinky toe, and the heel. Twist outward (without rolling on the outside of your foot) in order to engage your hips. Keep that pressure & tension the entire squat.

2)Push into your belt: Bracing is absolutely crucial for a big strong squat. Flexing your abs IS NOT the same as bracing and pushing into your belt. When you take a big breath before you lift, it should go deep into your diaphragm and down & out into your obliques, abs, and even lower back when done correctly. A simple and effective way to practice this technique is to use a small micro mini band around your mid section to push into in order to provide feedback.

3)Pull the bar into your back: Pulling your shoulder blades together as tightly as possible while having your hands as close as possible to your shoulders certainly helps to keep the back rigid, but it provides little engagement and structure of the big lat muscles which connect down at the waist and keep the entire back erect. This will also help to keep your sternum tall. When you squat, think about doing a behind the neck lat pulldown. That is the same tension and concept that you want to feel when you are pulling the bar down into your back during the squat.

Bench

1)Set your lats: Just as we start the squat with the feet, It’s good to start the bench with the upper back. When laying down on the bench, think about pulling your shoulder blades down towards your back pockets as hard as possible. This will pull your sternum up towards the ceiling and provide a very strong base and foundation for a solid bench, as your lats are one of the biggest and strongest muscles in our body.

2)Bend the bar: When you grab the bar, think about putting all of the pressure on the outside pad of your palm underneath of your pinky finger. Squeeze that area as hard as possible while thinking about “bending” the bar in your hands just as you would if you were trying to break a stick. This will build a tremendous amount of tension in your back along with stability as you pull the bar down and press it.

3)Push yourself into the bench: A lot of times we think about pressing the bar off of us as hard as possible. It’s our natural instinct. This usually leads to losing that tension that we’ve previously created in our back. When you bring the bar down to your chest, focus on driving your head, neck, and upper back down into the bench as hard as possible as soon as you go to press the bar. This will keep you much more stable and give you more power.

Deadlift

1)Lats in back pockets: As with the squat and bench press, our lats are a huge benefactor for a strong and stable deadlift. As you’re setting up to grab the bar, pull those lats down into your back pockets and pull your sternum up so it’s facing the floor out in front of you. This will keep you in a strong & safe position while providing a ton of tension and rigidity throughout the lift.

2)Pull the bar through your body: One of the biggest things that will cause a difficult lift is letting the bar drift out away from your shins and your body. To correct this, focus on using those lats to pull the bar as close as possible to your body, almost as if someone had a band attached to it and was trying to pull it away from you. This will keep those lats tight and give you your best chance of staying in a strong position.

3)Leg press through the floor: Although we think of the deadlift as a “pull” the truth is, a majority of it is initiated by a “push”. Just as you drive a leg press away from you or press yourself away from the floor during a squat, you want to do the same with the beginning of a deadlift. Combining this cue while simultaneously focusing on your lats will give you the tension and position needed to perform a perfect lift.

As always, stop by and ask for any help related to these cues or any other aspect of your training program. We are more than happy to help.

– Curtis Miller