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

A few weeks ago, I flew out to Las Vegas to compete in my 16th powerlifting meet. This was the first meet that I’ve had to travel to the other side of the country for, and the first one where I was competing in another timezone. Although there were many challenges that came along with this, this was hands down the most fun I’ve had competing in any meet, and for many reasons, this one meant more to me than any meet I’ve ever competed in. With this being my first meet since my surgery, I felt extremely grateful for my opportunity to compete and do what I love. In training, every rep, set, weight, and training session possessed so much more meaning than it ever had up until this point. Along with this, I was able to experience all of it with my wife right by my side. From the day of my surgery, to my final deadlift of the meet, she was there every step of the way. I truly could not have done it without her. In all honesty, I was fighting holding back my emotions the entire day of the competition. Thinking about what I had been through to get to that point. The second I stepped off of the platform after my last lift of the day, I walked outside, gave Liz a huge hug, and just cried.

After returning home, I took the next week to reflect on the experience. This included all aspects. From the preparation, to the execution, there were many things that I learned and took away.

1)Time change can greatly impact your performance: Whether you’re going west or east, any change in time can throw you out of your routine. All you can do is control what you can and roll with the punches.

2)Plan and control everything that you can: For an event such as this one, you should have your check list ready the week before the competition. This includes your flight schedule, your bags and equipment, your food and water, your approach for the meet, and your plans once you arrive.

3)There will always be things out of your control: It’s absolutely necessary to plan for as much as possible if you want to have a successful competition. However, there are always things that will be out of your control. At the meet, there was a piece of equipment that I had never used before. It threw me off at first, but I stayed calm and trusted myself and everything that I had done up until that point.

4)Even when you’re alone, you’re never alone: Powerlifting is a great community. Although it was only my wife and I at the meet, there were numerous people who were willing to help anyone with whatever they needed. A gentleman who I had only meet once before offered to help me wrap my knees for squatting. There will always be someone there to give you a hand.

5)If you’re serious about competing, you need to travel: Doing local meets are fun and convenient, but getting outside of your comfort zone is where you find what you’re truly made of. The amount of experience and knowledge you gain from doing something like that is absolutely priceless.

I will be taking the next few weeks to enjoy spending time with family and friends over the holidays, then plans will begin for the next competition. I hope you all have a safe and happy Holiday season!

– Curtis Miller

If you have not heard of “75 Hard,” it is an online fitness challenge. It was created by Andy Frisella, Andy is the CEO 1st Phorm International. He developed this challenge in 2019 and it went viral. Last year a friend of mine asked me to do it with her. I figured I would give it a try, and I want to share my thoughts with each of you. But, first let me list the “rules.” He refers to them as “daily tasks.”

1. Follow any nutrition plan designed for your goals, with zero alcohol and no cheat meals.
2. Complete two 45-minute workouts every day, one of which must be outside.
3. Drink a gallon of water every day.
4. Read 10 pages of an educational or self-improvement book every day.
5. Take a progress picture every day.

I love eating desert so my nutritional plan was simple. No desert. This wasn’t very challenging, and I set it up this way as I wanted something I knew I would stick to. I also cut alcohol out, and this was not as hard as I thought it would be. I performed the workouts daily and this part was easy. If you already train this is simple. I did not like the fact that it was two independent workouts. For instance I may bike for 2 hours at Frick park.  Does this mean I need to do another 45 minute workout? Drinking water is something we all need to do, and I am glad I was reminded. As for the reading, I did this, but I already do this. One thing I tweaked slightly here was defining, “an educational or self-improvement book.” All books are educational so I just continued reading as normal. Finally, the progress pics were definitely not my thing, yet I did them. I shared on here and I hated taking it and sharing it.

Results.

What I found is as with most “challenges” if you are already committed then you don’t need a challenge to be better. I was shocked that taking alcohol out didn’t change much for me. I really thought I’d feel a difference, as I enjoy a glass of wine most evenings. I also thought the progress pic made sense for some, but was dumb for me. I saw a change in my body during this, yet I didn’t need the pics to tell me this.

My advice if you are thinking of doing a similar challenge.

If you are reading this and already train you probably don’t need one of these challenges. It reminded me of reading success/self help books in my 20’s. Back then I thought “YES! I am reading the greatest info ever.” Today I see it differently, I look at these books as good reminders to keep me honest. If you need rules and are not consistent then give something like this a try. If you are already engaged in your training and life then the rules may seem too arbitrary for you.

Do a challenge, don’t do a challenge. Just make sure you are making strides towards a better you.

It’s that time again! Tomorrow morning we will be hosting the 2nd annual Kabuki Open powerlifting meet, right here at your very own Union Fitness. This will be the 8th sanctioned meet that has been held at Union Fitness since opening in November of 2016. If you have never been to a powerlifting meet, I highly recommend that you check one out! Especially our meets here at Union. I may be bias, but we are fortunate to have an amazing facility and support that allows us to hold some of the best meets that I’ve ever been a part of. Regardless of if you’re a competitor, or a spectator, there is something for you. This year we will have meals on hand from FitFresh Kitchen, Protein bars from Fortifx, apparel from Live Large and At War Athletics, and services from the Athlete Recovery Lounge, just to name a few. On top of that, 25% of the admission will be donated to Veteran’s Place here in Pittsburgh.

One of the most gratifying things is seeing some of our members and staff sign up and train to compete in their first official powerlifting meet. After our most recent push/pull meet that we held this past year, I had multiple members tell me that they would like to compete in a full powerlifting meet, without even knowing what to fully expect. By setting their own goals, doing their own research, and with the help of our staff here at UF, they are now prepared to step on the platform and compete in their first official event. This sport is for absolutely anyone. Regardless of age or training experience, powerlifting has something wonderful to offer.

If you would like to stop by, lifting will begin at 9am right outside of the main entrance. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children. If you are planning to use the gym while you’re here, the fitness center will be open, although the Strength Lab will be closed for competitors to use for warming up. We look forward to seeing all of you here, and maybe we will even see you on the platform at our next event next June.

– Curtis Miller

Union, the party don’t start until YOU walk in!

Thank you to our friends at Threadbare Cider in Spring Garden for hosting us last weekend. We had a blast working out at your House of Cider and raising a glass or two after a fantastic bootcamp. To all of those who attended, thank you for bringing the thunder and you certainly partied hard, because the sweat showed. We slammed some battle ropes, tossed some medicine balls, crushed some body weight exercises and even took a tour of some local staircases. Your efforts also helped donate some money to Pittsburgh Local Parks Conservancy. Cheers to you and we hope to see all of you again.

Are you sad that you missed out, well well now, have no fear, there are 3 more boot camps coming your way.

Our next boot camp is at Wigle Whiskey in the Strip on Sunday, July 25th at 10am. This boot camp will include a badass workout sweat session with CeJ & Skylyn, a free Highball Cocktail and a percent of each ticket will go to (Children’s Organ Transplant Association) COTA Daniel Strong. This charity has already raised $19,000 and is looking to reach $50,000. Daniel is in need of a Kidney transplant.

To sweeten this deal, CJ will include a free week of unlimited classes to any new or non-member of Union and to our current members, you can pick a time and date to train/workout alongside CJ. How freaking fun!

Let’s get together and party some more! To sign up for our next boot camp, go to Wigle Whiskey’s website and grab your tickets on their event page. We can’t wait to raise a glass or two with YOU!

Here at UF we love our members so much it’s time we show you off and have CJ climb the incline like King Kong, he will shout your presence from atop of the highest point of Mt. Washington!

This week we’d like to shout out Tyler Kendrick.

Ladies & Gents, here is Tyler in his own words!

I’m from the mean streets of Jamestown NY and I was born in the meaner streets of Indiana PA.

I’m the office manager of Pittsburgh’s largest coworking space as well as an actor, comedian, writer and Pittsburgh’s first and only Black improvised comedy instructor.

I love Union Fitness because of its superb fitness expertise from their staff and their drive to build and cultivate a positive environment.

I train mainly to maintain good mental health and physical health.

I love long walks on the beach and hate burpees.

My training dream team would be Michael B. Jordan, Charlotte Flair, Kumail Nanjiani and Holly Holm.

If I could be any piece of equipment at Union Fitness I’d be the sled because we’re both known for making people miserable.

A food I could eat everyday of my life is definitely mozzarella stix with marinara sauce and mild Buffalo wings with blue cheese.