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Holiday Tunes to Get Bumpy to

Life Health, ,

It’s time to crank up the volume to 11 with these 10 songs to get you in the Holiday spirit, while you smack some iron around!

 

“CeJ’s Top 10 Holiday Tunes to Get Bumpy To”

 

1) O Come All Ye Faithful- off of Bad Religon’s Christmas Songs Album. Punk rock and holiday jams really speeds things up.

 

2) Carol Of The Bells- off of August Burns Red Sleddin Hill,  A Holiday Album. Tune the guitars to drop D and get to shredding. They just dropped a new Holiday album, go check it out.

 

3) You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch- By Small Town Titans. The Grinch + Metal = Bumps.

 

4) The Hanukkah Song- Adam Sandler rocks this live version.

 

5) Things I Want- Jack Black, Tenacious D & Sum 41 join forces to melt your merry faces off.

 

6) The Season’s Upon Us- off of Dropkick Murphys Signed & Sealed in Blood. This song will make you sway back and forth with some nog in hand and family in a headlock.

 

7) Sock It To Me Santa- By Bob Seger & The Last Heard. If this song doesn’t get you moving, you might be a mean one Mr. Grinch.

 

8) All I Want For Christmas Is You-  By My Chemical Romance off of The 20 Songs that Keep Giving Album.

 

9) Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)-  By The Darkness. We’ve all hit the high note in ” I Believe In A Thing Called Love”, now let’s belt out some cheer here.

 

10) Making Christmas- By Rise Against is a cover from Danny Elfman’s (From Oingo Boingo) Nightmare Before Christmas score.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

x) Run Rudolph Run-Lemmy

x) What Christmas Means To Me- Stevie Wonder

x) Happy Holidays, You B- Blink 182

x) I Saw 3 Ships- B.E. Taylor

x) Christmas Christmas- Cheap Trick

 

 

Let me know some of your favorite Holiday songs to Get Bumpy to and drop them in the comments. Hope you enjoyed this list and found some new bangers.

 

 

Happy Holidays,

 

 

CeJ

Top Ten List: Dumb Things Lifters Do

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , , ,

For this Monday’s blog we are taking a humorous look at weird things we all do as lifters.

 

  1. Bug squasher squats. For the last few years I have noticed many lifters who unrack the bar and then do the bug squasher dance. Not sure when this began yet it makes zero sense and is funny to me (special shout out to Daniel McKim for the name).
  2. Slamming warm up sets. We all know that your 135 and 225 warm ups felt light. What we don’t need is a new divot in the deadlift platform because of your slam dunk warm up.
  3. While on deadlifts let’s talk about your set up. Barking at the bar while raising your arms to the heaven will not help you lift the weight. Settle down and lift the weight.
  4. Living on “pre-workout.” We all need a pick me up at times, yet if you cannot lift without one maybe you need more sleep, not more chemicals.
  5. Over-concerning yourself with records. We have all been to a holiday party (well before 2020) and heard, “my cousin’s friend is a world record holder.” Our “sport” has a record for everything so just get a PR and have fun.
  6. Making fun of CrossFit. Yes, it is an easy target yet if you can’t walk a flight of stairs maybe some CrossFit could help your GPP.
  7. Acting like bodybuilders are ego maniacs while we are humble. Sorry, reality check time. We all have egos and began lifting to feed that ego. It’s okay, and we can learn from those guys and gals in their string tank tops.
  8. RPE scales. Too often I see a video when the lifter says “RPE 8.5.” C’mon! First off, do we really need decimals? Secondly, when you miss your second rep the RPE is a 10. All joking aside with this one, be humble. It is fine to say that your set was really much harder than it should have been.
  9. Instafamous. Yes, we all know that you lifted today, and social media is a great way to learn from those around you. If you spend more time editing your videos than you did training then did you train?
  10. Missing life because of lifting. After these last 9 light-hearted comments this one is serious. Lifting is a lot of fun. Take it from a guy who has competed in more than 20 events. I have had some of the best lifers come up and offer to help me without me even asking. I have also seen people helping those who they are competing against. What I am begging of you is to live your life. See your family. If you miss a lift, it will be okay. If you have to shorten a lift to go see friends and family then do it. If 2020 taught us anything it is that none of us are islands. When I get my vaccine I will stop my lift early to buy any and all of you a coffee or beer.

 

Todd Hamer

 

Week in Review

State of the Union,

This week has been a unique one here at UF. While 2020 will be a year none of us will soon forget I would want to review some of what we are doing not just this week but this year.

 

Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pgh.

 

Our own Matt Grayson has been helping out with this group for years. He is back at it again collecting good for this important organization. Please consider stopping by and helping out.

 

December Challenge.

 

We began a challenge here at the gym. With this challenge we are offering four options.

 

First will be a pull up challenge, just do as many as you can over the month. You don’t have to be at the gym, tag us and we can add your score up here.

 

Second is 2k challenge. Hit the Erg for a 2k. How many can you do in the a month?

 

Third Ski Erg 2k challenge. Same as erg challenge just this time on the ski erg.

 

Finally, we have a bike challenge. Ride an air-dyne bike for 3 miles. Like the above challenge, how many can you complete in one month?

 

All of the scoring sheets are located outside the cardio lab and the winner of each challenge gets a free massage.

 

Classes are BACK!!

 

We are excited to offer our classes again after a week off. We have also added time in our performance lab for any of our unlimited members to use as a private training space. Stop by the front desk to ask about scheduling a time.

 

This is a short overview of our week and hope this finds all of you well. Keep helping each other and be more like Josh Conroy our Member of the Month. Congrats Josh!!

 

TH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monthly Challenge

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , , , ,

For the month of December we are offering all of our members a chance to challenge yourself, as well as us here at UF. There will be 4 different options and scoring sheets are hanging outside of our cardio lab. With these challenges you can complete them in the gym or tag us on instagram and we will put your score up for you. The winner of each challenge will receive a free massage. For those of you who are not ready to come back to the gym we can save your massage for a later date. Here are the challenges.

 

Challenge 1, Erg 2k Challenge.

 

For this challenge the goal is to do as many 2K’s on the Erg (rower) as you can during the month. The rules are simple. Row 2000 meters and that is 1 point. Row 4000 that is 2 points  etc. If you row 3000 today and 3000 tomorrow that is still only 2, 2 k’s. So please be honest as we are on the honor system.

 

Challenge 2, Bike 3 mile Challenge. 

 

For this challenge you just have to ride 3 miles on an airdyne bike. Similar to the first challenge you will just be asked to do the ride, then record it. Also, similar to the first challenge this must be done in 3 mile increments.

 

Challenge 3, Ski Erg 2k Challenge.

 

Read challenge one and do the same thing on a ski erg.

 

Challenge 4 Pull Up Challenge.

 

This is the simplest challenge. The goal is to hit as many pull ups as you can in the month of Dec. These can be done anytime and anywhere. Just record how many you have done.

 

As I stated earlier the scoring sheets are posted in front of the cardio lab. Some of our staff will participate in these challenges as well. If you do any of these challenges at home just tag Union Fitness and we will add your score in for you. If you do anything here just record it on our score sheets.

 

Now let’s get back to training!

 

 

 

 

 

Union Fitness Labs Presents, The Virtual Bumpy Turkey Bowl & Burn

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , , ,

Gobble Gobble to all of our Thanksgiving Bumpy Battalions!

 

With everything going on we had to call a hot route into a Red 7 audible…if you don’t follow that one, then you should take a quick peek at Wedding Crashers backyard football scene to hype yourself up and “would you just go stand on the other side please?”

 

Sometime during your Thanksgiving feast, Macy’s Day Parade balloon critique, Foosball cheering, Planes Trains & Automobiles marathon & mid-day nap, come jump on our Instagram and sweat the gravy train out with our Virtual Bumpy Turkey Bowl & Burn workout. We will have it posted in the morning so you have all day to get the deal done.

 

If you haven’t checked it out yet, please click on our Thanksgiving donation blog. The proceeds will go to a local business and our first responders.

 

We are thankful for all of you and the amazing things you do!

 

Come catch me on the flippity flop and let’s get bumpy on Thanksgiving.

 

Cheers,

 

CeJ

Turkey Day Class

Fitness, Life Health, ,

Hi all! The best time of the year is upon us, and although events and gatherings are looking a little different, we are doing our best to bring some normalcy and holiday cheer.

 

Union Fitness is presenting its 2nd Annual Thanksgiving morning super class workout, and we are inviting you to start your day with us! The class will start at 9 am and go until 10:30 am, with one hour of work split between both lifting and cardio. To make this event possible and safe, we will be following all state regulations and setting up the event in the way that works best. We ask that those who choose to participate agree to follow what we have planned. Here are a few precautions we will have in place:

 

  • As a gym, we have been requiring temperature checks upon arrival and a mask to be worn for the duration of your visit. We will be doing the same for this class whether or not you are inside or outside.
  • We will have hand sanitizer and wipes provided in each area and have a 10-minute transition time to wipe down all items used.
  • We will be capping the class at 32 people, with no more than 8 people stationed together in each workout area throughout the gym and performance lab.

 

We will be offering this as a free class! All we ask is that you bring a food item or clothing/blanket/gloves as a donation. If you have any questions, please reach out. We look forward to having a fun workout together to start off the day of yummy eating or whatever you may have planned for Thanksgiving 2020 🙂

Halloween BoooooCamp

Fitness, Life Health, , , , , , , , , ,

We had a lot going on this past weekend here at the UF headquarters.  The weekend started off with our second powerlifting meet of the year.  We had about 60 competitors lifting and dropping tons upon tons of weights.  We always love hosting these events.

 

We also had our Halloween BoooooCamp over at our friends’, ACB (Allegheny City Brewing). CJ “The Grim Reaper” Jasper led our team of ghouls and goblins over to put on a very scary workout that included, rowers, Rogue bikes, ski ergs, battle ropes, and the deadly prowler.

 

We had 15 “trick or treaters” that came and crushed our workout!  We were lucky to have sunshine and great weather to give our trick or treaters an awesome experience.  What made this special is that we had a healthy split of Union Fitness members and non-members that came out and joined the fun.

 

I have to say CJ held NOTHING back on this 5 station, 3 min round, non-stop, grueling workout!  10 mins into the workout the sweat was rolling off the heads of the brave souls that came out for the spooky event.

 

Here at UF, when we work hard, we play hard!  After the 5 deadly stations, we were all treated to the tasty craft beers at ACB. Matt, Amy, and their staff always treat us well with all the different flavored beers.

 

Whenever we do special events or mobile workouts, our General Manager Todd Hamer is adamant about giving back to the community.  This BoooCamp was dedicated to Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  We asked the attendees of the BoooCamp to bring gift cards for our friends over at the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, and they did not disappoint!  We have worked with WCS before and we love all the amazing work they do for victims of domestic violence.

 

Please stay tuned to our blog and our social media pages for updates on our next events.

 

Grayson

Weekly Wrap Up

Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Happy Friday Union fam, it’s been a great week here at the facility and going into the weekend we have a handful of things planned for our members and clients. But first a slight recap from myself (Jocelyn):

 

I can only speak for myself but I know the rest of our staff would agree, getting to spend our time with all of you is a privilege none of us take lightly. We all got into this field because we enjoy guiding people along their own fitness journeys and with that being said it is truly one of the few reasons that gets me out of bed in the morning. Now, some days are harder than others obviously but sometimes all I need is great one hour coaching session to get those endorphins going again, if you’ve taken any of my classes you know I’m always dancing and cracking really bad jokes.

 

On Monday’s and Fridays I coach my class MOVEment which is a slight play off of the CrossFit programming I have grown to love and what got me to enjoy working out. It’s fun for me to come up with workouts and watch my classes run through them, you’ll always leave a MOVEment feeling like you got a solid hard workout.

 

With classes still gaining traction during this pandemic I’ve had some great opportunities to get to know clients in classes one on one. When I first started here at Union back in January I was a fresh face and then the pandemic hit and we were all forced through virtual connection. Luckily social media in that respect was a game changer and when we came back, seeing some faces I haven’t seen in a long time made me so happy. 

 

I might be biased but Cardio Lab might be one of my favorite classes to program for, my Tuesday crew is about the same every week and they have all come to expect the same thing from me, a hard workout (but they secretly love it). I’m sure they all come to listen to my Halsey inspired playlists and my terribly awful dance moves, I know I need to work on them guys.

 

If you’re around this weekend, come take a Friday evening MOVEment with me at 6PM for a great grindy conditioning piece or hangout with me on Saturday. I’ll be here at Union for the Kabuki Open and going over to Allegheny City Brewery to hangout while CJ and Grayson coach some of you all through our Bootcamp and Boo’s!

 

So, if you’re free come hangout, have a beer and enjoy a (fingers-crossed) beautiful day!

 

Much love Union fam,

 

Jocelyn

Jocelyn’s Training Log

Training, , ,

One thing I’ve been working hard on is my headspace and mentality when it comes to training. I like to describe myself as being deer-esque, which if you know me personally is so true because I’m very light, happy, and everywhere all at once kind of person. I know when it’s time to compete and be serious but channeling anger, attacking the bar and digging deep within myself is not an everyday reachable thing for me.

 

Over the past several weeks I’ve been working on really channeling this intense energy and pushing myself to a limit I feel like I wouldn’t be able to sustain, but I sit there, in discomfort, and just put my soul into the workout/training piece.

 

Last week we had our typical team training session which included a very gnarly 21-minute same sex, team conditioning. I was the shadow on a 2-person team, this means I will do the same scheme of work as one partner (mimicking their efforts but being there for an extra push for both partners). It’s not always fun being a “shadow” because you feel your effort doesn’t count but I took this mentality and pushed even harder whilst pushing my other two team members in the process.

 

This was the workout:

 

21 MINUTE CLOCK

AMRAP 5

Buy-in: 32 cal bike (split however with a partner)

100-yard sled push (45#x2) *I did 50 yards

MAX squat clean in remaining time (135#)

Finished with: 10 squat cleans

 

IMMEDIATELY INTO

AMRAP 7

Buy-in: 40 cal bike (split however with a partner)

100-yard sled push (45#x2) *I did 50 yards

MAX squat clean (145#)

Finished with: 9 squat cleans

 

IMMEDIATELY INTO

AMRAP 9

Buy-in: 45 cal bike (split however with a partner)

100-yard sled push (45#x2) *I did 50 yards

MAX squat clean (155#)

Finished with: 9 squat cleans

 

Normally I would look at a workout like this and be wary that I could even move the 155# bar as I did during this workout, the fact that I attacked each rep and got roughly around the same reps per round/weight is a win for me. The most rewarding feeling is when your coach comes up to you not once but twice to tell you how happy they were with how you executed the workout and how they are noticing the mentality shift you’ve been working on.

 

I left this session proud of myself, 155# is only 30# off of my best clean and even a few weeks back I hit 5# off of my max at the end of a disgustingly rough workout. Both of these times my mentality was strong, I dug my heels in and I didn’t pull back.

 

I’m not entirely sure what we’re training for right now besides the CrossFit Games Open in February when our 2021 season begins but I’m here, working hard because this is no time to sit back and relax, it’s all about the grind right now, so here I am.

Have Some Fun and Improve with Us

State of the Union, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last week I wrote about knowing our Why. Why are we here working in a gym? We are here to empower, educate and entertain everyone who enters our gym. Through this, we are offering a few different mediums to accomplish these goals. Today I want to highlight some of what we are doing and hopefully, something here will pique your interest.

 

  1. USPA Drug Tested Kabuki Open (Sat Oct, 31st 9 AM). This is a powerlifting meet that will be held under the tent here at UF. The meet is sold out, yet if you want to experience competitive powerlifting for the first time, we encourage you to stop by. The entry fee is only 5 dollars, and the tent will be heated so no worries about the weather.
  2. Getting Lean for Halloween Bootcamp (Sat Oct, 31st 11 AM). Join CeJ and Matt Grayson as they run you through a bootcamp in the parking lot of one of the finest breweries in Pittsburgh, Allegheny City Brewing. This outdoor workout will be one hour long before sharing some libation at ACB’s outdoor beer garden. This class is free for everyone.
  3. Comedy Bootcamp (Fri Nov, 6th 6 PM). This is a first for us here at UF. We will be holding a bootcamp followed by a comedy show with three local comedians. We will also have The Yard bringing food and libations. This class is also free for everyone
  4. Kabuki Squat, Bench, Deadlift Workshop (Fri Oct, 30th 3-7 PM). UF is hosting the Kabuki Squat, Bench, Deadlift Workshop in our performance lab. If you are serious about improving these lifts, I suggest you look into this workshop. Kyle Young of Kabuki Strength will cover all things squat, bench and deadlift related in this workshop. This event is 150 dollars and registration is through the Kabuki Strength website.

 

As you can see it will be a busy few weeks here at UF, and we will have more to come. As with everything we do, we will be requiring masks with anything indoors. Safety and health are of the utmost importance to us.