Tag Archives: inspiration

Curtis’s Training Log

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I am currently 2 weeks out from my next powerlifting meet. It has been one year since I stepped on the platform. As far as my training goes, one of the best things that happened over this past year was forced downtime. For 10 weeks, I was unable to train with any sort of actual equipment. During that time, I was confined to my garage with only a few resistance bands, some cinderblocks, and 2 bags of rice, that’s it. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my body was hurting and in need of a break from lifting. This was the first time in the 12 years that I have been training and took more than a week off of any barbell training, that’s 12 years of putting a bar on my back and in my hands almost every single week. We never realize it at the time, but it adds up and can accumulate a great deal of fatigue when not addressed.

 

When those 10 weeks of quarantine ended, I was mentally and physically refreshed and ready to get back into training. My body felt great, my mind was clear, and I was more motivated than I have been in a very long time. After a couple of months of getting back into the grove, I picked a meet, put a plan together, set my goals, and got to work. With the help of my training partners, I am currently feeling the strongest and healthiest that I ever have.

 

Listed below is a layout of my last 3 training sessions. One for squat, one for bench, and one for deadlift.

 

Day 1: Heavy squat:

 

Competition squat: Worked up to a top single at 755lbs.

Belt squat machine: 5 plates per side: 4×10

Leg extensions: 50lbs: 4×15

Leg curls: 50lbs: 4×15

Ab rollouts: 3×15

 

Day 2: Heavy bench:

 

Competition bench: Worked up to a top single at 425.

Competition bench: Backdowns: 345lbs: 3×2

Flat bench fatbell press: 120lbs: 4×10

Chest supported row: 90lbs: 4×10

Dead stop skull crushers: 125lbs: 4×10

Band pull aparts: Red band: 5×20

 

Day 3: Last heavy deadlift:

 

Competition deadlift; Worked up to a top single at 765lbs.

Bent over barbell rows: 185lbs: 4×10

Cable lat pulldowns: 200lbs: 3×12

Leg extensions: 50lbs: 3×15

Leg curls: 50lbs: 3×15

 

My goal this meet is to break a 2000lb total. This is something that I have been working towards for a long time. Anything can happen on the day of the meet, the only thing that I can do is prepare to the best of my abilities and trust in myself and everything that I have done up to this point. The rest has already been decided.

ACB Spooky Bootcamp Brews & Boos

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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!

Staying Grounded

Life Health, ,

Every Saturday morning at 5:30AM you can find me at RAW with my other competitive teammates doing our weekly team training. A few weeks back our coach programmed a 40 minute piece that required a 14# vest, men wear 20# (mine happened to be 17# and that was rough). Normally vested workouts are something I look forward too, MURPH being one of my favorite workouts but this one was different.

 

Since quarantine my anxiety has been at an all time high. I have found it is at its worst whenever I have heavy snatches or high-effort breathing (usually movements pared together where catching your breath just might not happen and it’s all about how calm you can stay). Now imagine yourself doing a CrossFit-esque programmed workout and add a 17# vest onto your body that inhibits your ability to catch your breath fully. For 40 minutes I found myself on the verge of a full on panic-attack, I even had one of my teammates tell me for the entirety of that workout to keep breathing deeply. 

 

Picture this in your head, going from one movement to another (I was paired with a female teammates to spit the work) and I am on my hands and knees during my rest portions just trying to catch my breath – This is when I knew it was bad and after the workout was done I ripped off my vest and I just laid there trying to get full breaths in.

 

The reason I bring this up is because staying grounded not only to avoid a possible panic/anxiety attack but in your life is an important quality to possess. When we focus all of our time and attention into one thing, make it our top priority and forget about how vast life is and stay single-minded focus, we give that one thing the ability to control our thoughts and feelings. What happens if you fail? What happens if you succeed? What do you truly have to show for?

 

Staying grounded keeps you honest, humble and aligned throughout your entire life. This is exactly something that staying grounded to avoid that possible panic/anxiety attack does as well, it helps you find that calm again. When I feel these feelings of tightness in my chest, I look around me and do the following (a list of things sent to me to help me stay grounded).

 

1. Breath deeply in through my nose and out through my mouth

2. Then I will look around me to find:

5 things I can see

4 things I can touch

3 things I can hear

2 things I can smell 

1 emotion I feel

 

During a workout I mainly focus on breathing deeply and pick 5 things I can see – I’ll usually make eye contact with someone or try and cheer someone else on (even if their not on my team for that workout) this allows me to gather myself for a brief moment and find comfort in my peers whilst still being able to focus on the task I’m trying to complete, something that works for me.

 

Staying grounded in your daily life looks a little different but the application is the same, allowing yourself to prioritize other aspects of your life such as family, relationships or things that make you genuinely happy aside from the one thing that is your main goal. When we maintain balance with all things that make our life great, the achievements we obtain tastes that much sweeter. This mindset is more sustainable than one that isolates and secludes us from other aspects of our life, creating that longing sense of what next if we achieve greatness or find ourselves depressed if we are teetering on the edge of failure. 

 

The panic that set in whilst in the middle of that 40 minuet workout with my 17# vest is something I will feel on any given day if I do not have balance present within my life. My biggest takeaway from this experience is to always find my footing when life or experiences hit me in the face and stay grounded in what makes me feel calm.

 

If you too find yourself overwhelmed during training or life, take these tips and find your footing again.

Know Your Why

Life Health, , , ,

This week I officially celebrate one year working here at UF. I have learned much about running a gym and have made plenty of mistakes this past year. It has been a year unlike any other. I spent much of the time when we were closed considering a question many of us have asked. Why do we do what we do.

 

You may be asking yourself, isn’t “Start with Why,” the title of a book? Yes it is. In my 20’s and into my 30’s I read many books of the self help/success genre. As I have moved into my 40’s I have diversified my reading immensely. Much like training when you read you should grow with the books you read and the books you are currently reading should lead you down a path to more in-depth books. Just as your training should evolve, so should your mind.

 

This leads me back to our why. As a gym/training center/performance center our why is to help you improve. Now we can ask,  “How can we do this?” As I see it, we are a lifestyle company as well as an entertainment company. Lifestyle as we help people live and lead a better lifestyle. Entertainment as we want to make this a fun and exciting environment.

 

Knowing our why we have now added one more way to add to your lifestyle. Next to the cardio lab we have added a bookshelf. This bookshelf is our mini-library. You may notice the sign that says, take a book, leave a book, just please read more. This is our goal for our mini-library. All books are there for anyone who wants them and we hope you may even add to our books by dropping off a book that once helped you grow.

 

Thanks and please read more.

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

Bootcamp Comedy Show

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UF is beyond excited to announce our first ever bootcamp comedy show. We are going to  bring together all the good things of the world for one awesome night. Friday November 6th we are going to have a boot camp workout run by our funniest and most hype trainers, Matt Grayson and Charles Jasper.

 

Following the bootcamp style workout, 3 of our local comedians are going to take the stage. We are going to set up a stage on the turf outdoors and have seats inside and outside utilizing our new performance lab space. Each comedian will have about a 20 minute set to entertain us. We have also requested that they workout with us before hand (let’s hope they are up for it).

 

We will also be offering food and libations compliments of our newest partner, The Yard. Check out their offerings and hopefully they will bring us some of our favorite cheeses and beers.

 

In addition to all the fun we are asking anyone who registers for this class to bring some canned goods.  We will donate all the canned goods to the food pantry on Brighton Rd.

 

To register for this class, just go to MindBody and this will be listed as a class. As with any of our fundraiser events everyone is welcome, members and non-members, additionally this is a free class for everyone.

 

Let’s get bumpy, share some laughs and do more good in the world.

 

Thank You

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As many of you probably already know this weekend we hosted “Bike Ride for Black Lives.” This was a fundraiser and the brainchild of Jessie Theisen (one of our awesome members). We were able to raise close to 4,000 dollars that will be donated to the Urban League of Greater Pgh.

 

This was our first bike ride fundraiser and I was not sure how we would do. We did better than I thought we could have. 50 people got on their bikes and rode one of three options 50, 30 or 10 miles using our extensive trail system we have here in Pittsburgh.

 

This blog is more of a thank you to each and every one of you than anything else. I would be remiss if I did not add some special thank you’s to this list though. My family came through big time! I had aunts, uncles, my father, my wife, and son and a few cousins come out to either ride or volunteer. In addition, we had some members and employees who stepped up big time! Curtis and his lovely wife Liz did a great job with the rest station. CJ actually didn’t wreck this time. Sara Rusner, this couldn’t have happened without her. Matt Grayson (who is my consummate backup man) once again had my back. Matt got us shirts when our first order fell through, he took care of picking up food, coffee, etc and I am indebted to him for his help. Others involved here were Cayt, Katlyn, Cody, Dave, Racheal and the rest of our awesome staff.

 

Thanks to each and every one of you and let’s keep doing good work. One of our goals is to do something for society at least once a month, so bring me ideas.

 

Final thought, we even had a John Fetterman sighting on the trail. Next time Big John needs to be on his bike with us!

 

Thank you

 

Todd Hamer

Let’s Ride and Make the World a Better Place

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The week for our bike ride is upon us!

 

As you have probably seen we are hosting a bike ride fundraiser. We are excited as this is something new to Union Fitness. The ride is called “Bike Ride for Black Lives.” All funds raised will be donated to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.

 

FAQ

 

What are the ride options?

 

We are hosting a 10, 30 and 50 mile ride.

 

What are the routes?

 

We will have maps available the day of the ride.

 

The ten mile ride will leave Nova Place, ride to the Northside trail and follow the trail beside the Allegheny River and back to Nova Place.

 

The thirty mile ride will cross into town, then catch the Great Allegheny Passage and ride up past the waterfront and back (it will end at about Kennywood).

 

The fifty miler will follow a similar route to the thirty except follow the GAP past Mckeesport.

 

How do I register?

 

Click here and scroll down to Saturday. The ride is listed as one of our “classes.” This “class” is free to anyone (member or non-member of UF).

 

How do I donate?

 

All donations are taking place through our go fund me page, click here for that site. 

 

What time does the ride start?

10 mile family fun ride. This ride will leave UF at 10:30 AM with registration at 10 AM.

30 Mile Challenge. This ride will leave UF at 9:30 with registration at 9 AM.

50 Mile Challenge. This ride will leave UF at 8:30 with registration at 8 AM.

 

Will there be rest stops?

 

For the 30 and 50 mile rides we will have a support crew at the waterfront. They will have water, gatorade and snacks.

 

Let’s Roll.

Team UF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humble Beginnings

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When I was young, my dad had a small weight bench and a pair of dumbbells in our spare bedroom upstairs. He first showed me how to use them when I was around 10 years old or so, but after the first time that I took too much weight off of one side of the bar and it came up and hit me square in the mouth, I was over it. It wasn’t until I graduated high school that I actually found my way into the weight room.

 

Growing up, I was always extremely active and involved in sports. From growing up on my Grandfather’s farm, to helping my dad work on our 1970 Mustang, to racing dirt bikes and four wheelers, I was always doing something physical. From the age of 4, I played soccer and baseball up until the day that I graduated high school. I lived for all of it. These things were my way of hiding how shy and afraid I was on the inside. When I was standing on that pitcher’s mound or racing around a track, I felt unstoppable. Almost like a superhero. But when all of that went away and I had to go back into the real world, I was just a boy who was scared of what life was going to throw at him.

 

Eventually, I decided to put sports to the side and pursue a career for my love of cars. For a couple of years I worked in custom car shops as a metal fabricator and paint specialist. Although I absolutely loved it, there was now a hole in my life that I couldn’t fill. Without the strength and confidence that I gained from sports, I was still that scared kid from my childhood. One day, my best friend Trey asked me if I wanted to go to the gym with him after work. I hesitated as I flashed back to the time when the barbell hit me in the mouth at my parents house, but I still said yes. Scared and nervous, I walked into our old high school’s weight room as I was greeted by the football coaches. One of them, my History teacher Mr. Joseph, looked at me shocked and said “Miller! What are you doing here? Are you lost or something?”

 

Indeed I was lost. I was 145 pounds soaking wet, and had no idea what I was doing, but each day, I kept coming back. One month into working out 3 days per week, I received news that Trey was in a car accident, and was fighting for his life. I visited him in the hospital, and told myself that I would continue to train for him. As he progressed and got better, I began to realize what the gym had provided me during that time. It gave me the courage to keep pushing when I was sad and scared, and it gave me the strength to not give in even when I wanted to quit. 12 years later, and not a day goes by that I don’t try to repay and pass on everything that the gym has done for me. It has given me the strength to go back to school, to become an established professional, become an Elite powerlifter, build strong relationships, and face my fears every day in order to become a better human being. As long as I live, I will do my best to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to experience the same things that I have.

 

To Mr. Joseph, I am in fact still lost, but I’m finding my way a little more each day. Thank you for the encouragement.

The Power of Powerlifting

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

This past weekend, Union Fitness hosted the 3rd annual Iron City Open powerlifting meet. With the help of our staff, Doug Nostrant and his team of referees, along with our member volunteer spotters and loaders, we were able to have an extremely safe and successful event. I will be completely honest, this is an event that I was very unsure about happening a couple of months ago, and even up until a few before the competition. As far as I am aware, this was the first event that was held in the western PA area since before the start of the pandemic in March. 

 

What made this event special was not only the competitors that attended and the weight which they were able to lift, but all of the people who came together to make sure that everyone was safe and meeting all of the guidelines and standards necessary in order to be able to hold the event. From the outdoor tent, to the USPA referees making sure that the equipment was properly cleaned after every single lifter completed an attempt. That’s right, the bars and benches were disinfected and cleaned after each competitor touched it. You can’t ask for much more care and safety than that. All while wearing masks and face shields for 7 hours in 90 degree weather. This truly goes to show how strong the Powerlifting community is, and how much love and respect goes into it.

 

I am entering my 8th year as a competitor. During that time, I have personally competed in 15 competitions, and I have either attended and/or helped individuals in another 15 or so events. The more meets that I attend, and the more mature that I become, the more I understand and appreciate everything that the sport of powerlifting has to offer, and all of the people whom I’ve had the opportunity of meeting in the process. On the surface, powerlifting may look like a bunch of meat heads with low IQs walking around sweating, grunting, and yelling absurd statements just so they can pick something up one time and then put it down. However, if you dig deeper and spend some quality time in the community, you will meet some of the most genuine people who you’ve ever encountered, and you will witness first hand how powerlifting can help you become better in every aspect of life.

 

In powerlifting, you have to develop a plan of action and then take one step each day in order to reach that goal. It’s inevitable that you will encounter crossroads, hardships, and even frustration along the way. Over time, when approached correctly, this will equate to many small victories and lessons learned. Lessons which can not only help you become a better athlete, but can carry over into being better in your career, in your relationships, and within your own self. The best part of this is having the ability to pass on these lessons to other individuals so they can benefit from the same things which you have. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Living, learning, and passing on.