Tag Archives: fitness

Jocelyn’s Training Log

Fitness, Life Health, , , , ,

For the last few weeks, I’ve been posting some of my training pieces and breaking down my mindset, something I’ve been working on heavily. Being positive and focused isn’t enough these days, you need to understand how to challenge yourself without teetering on the line of being overconfident because the bar loves to break an ego real quick.

 

Going into this session I was tired, not entirely sure how it was going to go but I started by focusing on getting my PT/mobility work done before my primer. This allowed me to prep my body for what was to come and focus on how I was feeling. Regardless if you’re an athlete or going to take a Powerful class, as humans we need to be hyper-aware and self-reflection keeps us in an understanding between body and mind (if you don’t journal, try it – I have a past blog post on this BUT stay tuned for another mindset journaling one soon).

 

After I had finished my PT/mobility and did the primer I had a better feeling of how to attack this session, below you’ll find a typical Strength/Conditioning session:

 

STRENGTH

Front Squats 5×2 (every 3 min)

Start at 70% of your 2RM and build each set

*worked up to 197# for a double then hit 200# for a single and failed my second rep

CONDITIONING 

6 Rounds

Every 5 minutes for MAX weight

3 Power Cleans starting weight 70% of your 1RM (building here)

2-6 Unbroken Ring Muscle-ups

400m Sprint 90%+

:90 REST IS A MUST

*125/135/145/150/152/155

*ALL sets of RMU: 3 UB

 

I’ve never front squatted 200# let alone 197# for two and I’m proud of that because clean & jerking 200# is one of my goals. I try not to compare my numbers to anyone else but myself because we’re in the business of building ourselves up, not knocking all the hard work we’ve done. I think a lot of people get caught up in comparison which in all honesty is very hard to do. I remember when I first started training competitively and how I felt, now as I’ve grown into my own as an athlete I find that comparison is few and far between. The only thing that stands between me and the bar is myself and in regards to mindset, if you want to do anything in life you have to believe in yourself.

 

After the front squat the boys and I moved into our main training piece, I was texting with my coach previously and mentioned that I was going to try and hit 3 unbroken reps for all sets of my ring muscle-ups. I remember clear as day in the middle of the workout regretting sending that text because now I had to hold myself accountable to my words (which I did, thankfully but not without struggle). This is what I mean when I talk about mindset because on my fourth set that last rep was very hard and all I was thinking was throwing my hips as hard as I could to get that last rep, giving up was no option and with that mindset, I succeeded.

 

I ended up power cleaning 155# for an unbroken touch and go set of three, my max power clean one rep is 165#, and being able to do three RMU unbroken for six sets left me feeling on top of the world. It’s been a very long time since I’ve PRed any lifts and made huge gains on my muscle up capacity, I attribute it to doing everything else outside of my life right.

KISS in the Age of HIT

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

KISS is it. No not the band. I know CeJ looks like he could be a member of the band circa 1977, yet let’s be honest here, they only have one good song. Now that I have alienated most of the Yinzers who love KISS, let’s talk about training. KISS is an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid. This is one of the best things I did as a strength coach to improve my coaching and my athletes.

 

How many periodization models can you name? Conjugate, concurrent, western, tri-phasic, block or even 531. The confusion in training can be too much for many people. I know I often made this mistake. I was speaking to our own Cody Miller the other day about how often I have over-complicated my programming (for myself and my athletes). While I have never been a huge fan of HIT training as a year-round training style, I do believe we can learn a lot from these people. Look at Marty Gallagher, Dr. Ken Leistner, Mike Mentzer or even Arthur Jones.

 

HIT

 

For those of you unfamiliar with this style of training, it is simple, short, and hard. Even the great Dorian Yates used many of HIT’s methods to build his impressive physique. Dorian was known for having one of the best backs in the history of bodybuilding. Yet his secret to training was simplicity. HIT stands for High Intensity Training (in their case intensity is used as a mindset not % of 1 rep max). HIT training sessions are generally short with low total sets and most sets being taken to concentric failure or beyond. Training can be done as often as 5 times a week but generally, it is done 2-4 times per week.

 

I am not advocating to change your regimen to entirely HIT training, but I am claiming that too many overthink their training and do more thinking than working. I even look at Dr. Micheal Yessis’s 1×20 program as a continuation of HIT training. The difference is Yessis doesn’t train the athlete to fail. Yet it’s still one hard set of work and then moves on to the next exercise. This style of training does have its place in the gym and should not be ignored.

 

Moral of the story

 

When in doubt, train harder. Over my two decades in the iron game, I have seen too many people searching for the answer when the answer is more hard work. Build some sweat equity and push yourself to somewhere you have never been. I know I don’t have the answer yet I know hard work is never wrong.

 

– Todd Hamer

Controlling the Variables

Life Health, Nutrition, Training, , , , , ,

When preparing for any event, game, or competition it is absolutely necessary to put as much focus into controlling all of the things that you have the ability to control. It’s also important to understand that there will be many factors that are outside of your control. The main thing to keep in mind is that the chips will fall where they may. There is no use in worrying or getting worked up about things that are out of your hands. The only thing you can do is prepare to the best of your abilities while controlling as many variables as possible. The rest of the time you are just rolling with the punches. Sounds kinda like life, huh?

 

Below is a list of things that you can control in order to achieve the best results possible on the day of your event, game, or competition.

 

Training program: Although it is not necessarily the most important aspect as most people believe, a properly designed training program is certainly a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to your overall success. A program that is precisely planned will help you be better in all aspects of physical performance while also helping to keep you injury free.

 

Nutrition & Sleep: These are two areas that often go hand in hand, and in my opinion are two of the most important yet underrated aspects of overall performance. When you have a nutrition plan that works for both yourself and your goals, you will have more energy, you will recover better from your training sessions, and you will make better overall progress. Similar to this, the right amount of quality sleep will also have an overall affect on the same things. When incorporated together, they can have a huge impact on your overall performance and success.

 

Stress, attitude, and your response: We cannot always control some of the things that happen to us in our life, or in the world. But we do have control over how we choose to respond to those situations. Stressors are everywhere, and always seem to find us at the most inconvenient times. Through techniques such as meditation, visualization, positive self talk, advice from quality people, etc., you can control those stressors and even use them to benefit your training and performance.

 

Individual relationships/ people you choose to be around: Choose to be around good people who will lift you up and good things will happen. Chose to surround yourself with people who hold you back, and that’s exactly what will happen. Having the right people in your corner for guidance and support is absolutely necessary when you want to be your best. Quality individuals will always keep you on track when you’re heading in the right direction, and will put you in check when you veer off course. 

 

Control these variables, and you will give yourself the best chance to succeed. Do not worry about or focus on those other things that are out of your control. Prepare to the best of your abilities and good things will happen one way or another. Stay strong, my friends.

Movemember & Men’s Health

Life Health, , , , , , , , ,

The votes have been counted, and we have declared Movember the winner for this month’s education and charity event.  What do you think of my stache? Pretty cool, huh?!? Below is a little reminder of what Movmeber is all about.

 

Movember is an annual event where all partaking grow mustaches during the month of November. This is done to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and men’s suicide. The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com. The goal of Movember is to “change the face of men’s health.”

 

By encouraging men (whom the charity refers to as “Mo Bros”) to get involved, Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis, and effective treatments, and ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths. Besides annual check-ups, the Movember Foundation encourages men to be aware of their family history of cancer and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Using the mustache as the driving symbol of the movement, Movember focuses on the three key areas of prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health/suicide prevention.

 

Now gents, I’m asking you to let the hairy caterpillar blossom and promote awareness for men’s health. Remember that we men are stubborn about mental health and think we are too tough to get sick. It’s time to change the narrative here and educate men on how to indicate early and prevent these issues. We have people who love us and want to see us live long and strong lives. Ladies, you’re in this one, too! You have fathers, brothers, sons, and friends who need your support and a kick in the ass at times to take care of their health. This month I will do a few more blogs on this topic. This one is just for you to help me bring attention to this issue, so tell me about some topics you’d like to hear about.

 

Click here you can go and donate to promote Men’s health awareness. 

 

CeJ

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

Exercise is Medicine

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , ,

I’m sure you have all heard of the phrase “Exercise is Medicine” before, but have you ever taken a few minutes to reflect on what it means to you? 

 

It is so easy to get stuck in a repeat cycle of being unmotivated and feeling a little bit down. We all have those mornings when the alarm goes off and all you want to do is close your eyes, roll over, and go back to sleep. Once you have one of those mornings it seems like the rest of the days that follow tend to go the same way. This time of year, (when the weather gets colder, the days feel longer, you eat a lot of great holiday food, and you wear heavier/bigger clothing) it can be difficult to find that motivation to get yourself out of bed and do anything – especially get to the gym and exercise. The days when it is most important to find some time for yourself to go out and exercise are those days where you have no motivation, and maybe not feeling like yourself. The benefits of exercise are more than just physical. 

 

Even just one short 10 minute workout per day has a high amount of benefits. Exercise can get your heart rate up, reduce some daily stresses, and increase concentration throughout the rest of your day. You don’t need to set aside hours of your day to go to the gym to see some gainz. Just be sure to give yourself some time to get that workout in and I can guarantee it will turn out to be the best time of your day! 

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.

ACB Spooky Bootcamp Brews & Boos

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

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!!!

 

Spooky season is in full effect with pumpkin spice lattes at every corner, scary movies on each night, and Grayson & I coming to lay down a Trick or Treat Bootcamp on October 31st, 11am at Allegheny City Brewery parking lot.

 

This will be a free charity bootcamp that anyone can come get spooky at. We ask our non-members to sign a quick waiver before you get your Saturday Scaries on. Please bring any canned goods you can spare as we will be donating all to a local food bank.

 

You know when Grayson and I get together, you are in for a nice couple of tricks! Have no fear, at the end, we’ll hook you up with the first round of treats and some cold brews from our good friends at ACB!

 

Like, comment, and share this article so we can have some spooky fun, show support to a local business and community!

 

It’s Showtime!

You’re Out of Your Element

Fitness, Life Health, , , , , ,

Hello my mighty morphing Power Rangers,

 

A few weeks ago, Union held the Bike Ride for Black Lives and since you know I am the cardiovascular love child of Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps, I had to hop on my Nimbus 2021 Bike and lead the pack for our 50-mile bike ride.

 

NAY NAY my friends! I am more like my good pal Gimli, ” I’m wasted on cross-country. We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances.” In my short career of riding bikes, I’ve crashed more times than rode over 20 miles and usually when my bike ride ends, the cold brews are cracked. Needless to say, I was out of my element for this bike ride.

 

My current bike is a classic 1987 hand-me-down from the OG Gray Beard himself. One of the first rides on this bike the lever arm fell off, so that was neat.  Bribed by doughnuts, beer, a free shirt and a great cause I accepted the challenge of doing something I’m not very good at, (never have done) and riding towards the sunset….well towards Kennywood. We left Union in a pack of 25 and very quickly I was in the back of the pack, you know, being the caboose. They say slow and steady wins the race, well at least I was still in the race. On our journey we had great weather and saw some great sights as we crossed over the Hot Metal Bridge, along the river, past Kennywood and even past our Lieutenant Governor Big John Fetterman (who we hope joins us next time).  Once I got cruising, I felt so good I rode a little past the 30-mile half way point to meet up with the 50-mile group that would be heading back. With them I had to haul to keep up while they were biking with ease.

 

I was out of my element on this bike adventure but with the challenge of my friends, fuel of a good cause and spirit of adventure it all got done and next time I’ll consider jumping in on the 50-mile ride…if I get my hands on some of those cushioned pants. Oh, and there indeed was beer at the end of this adventure.

 

Get out of your element more often my friends,

 

Cheers,

 

CEJ

Enjoy the Ride Part II

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For those of you who read the UF blog often you may remember I wrote a blog about biking and getting outdoors a few months ago. Here we are again, I am getting outside and getting my mind working. So let’s take a ride together.

 

Once a year I ride my bike (with some friends) from Pittsburgh to DC. This has been a yearly event that I began doing with my father and has grown to over 25 people. If you are unfamiliar with the GAP trail or the C&O, they run from Pgh to Washington DC uninterrupted. This year I was unable to do the entire ride due to a global pandemic. Trying to make lemonade out of lemons I decided to ride two days to OhioPyle and back. So without further ado here is the story of my ride.

 

We left Nova Place at 6:15 Friday, October 9th and began our trek. The ride takes you from the Northside, into the city, along the jail trail before you cross the hot metal street bridge, and from that point on there are no turns for about 70 miles. The day started brisk, it was 41 degrees and about 3 miles in I realized that I should have worn thicker socks. It took me 34 miles to finally warm up. Lessons are always learned during this ride.

 

After grabbing some friends in West Newton, we continued to ride until arriving at OhioPyle around 4 PM. Little know fact, Curtis Miller has family near OhioPyle yet he has never actually gone into the town.

 

One of the beauties of this ride is spending time with friends and the people you meet. The first person I met was the gentlemen that, “didn’t like humans.” When I said good morning in the middle of the woods, he told me I was an expletive for interrupting nature. For the next two minutes he berated me for ruining his peace. I ended our conversation with good afternoon (he didn’t like that either). When I arrived at OhioPyle (after a rinse off), I  went to the local pub where I met some local friends, and we all swapped stories and sat by the fire. Both of these encounters kept the ride fun.

 

Saturday morning we woke up and began our trek back to Pgh. Riding back is much easier as it is a slow down hill the entire day. We made great time, and I made it back to Nova Place two hours faster than it took to get to OhioPyle the previous day.

 

As I touched on, one of the best parts of the rides is the people. This got me thinking about training and the gym. Much like with any sport we are all part of a team and it is the people that make the real difference.  With this in mind, I want to thank all of you for being part of our team and trusting us with helping you reach your goals.

 

Yours in strength,

 

Todd Hamer