A few times a year I want to give each of you an update on all that is going on here at the U. Here is my state of the union address, and hopefully it will give you some insight into what is happening here at the U.

Spring is now upon us and we have some exciting events coming up as the weather warms.

1. Northside’s Strongest Bench Press/Deadlift Competition. This is our yearly in-house push pull competition. This year the competition will take place on Sunday, April 23rd. Weigh ins will be from 8:30-9:30. Rules clinic at 9:45 with lifting beginning at 10 AM. To sign up, go to our website and scroll to April 23rd. The cost is 25 dollars for this event and we will be donating to a local nonprofit. Our intern Eddie is working hard on finding the right local nonprofit as we speak.
2. Vote for the U. We are a finalist for Best of the Burgh inPittsburgh Magazine. If you think we are the best, then please go vote for us. To vote, just click on the link and scroll down to health and fitness. Union Fitness is the last gym on the list.
3. WRPF Iron City Open. Powerlifting is back this summer at the U. This meet is sold out for competitors, but we will have tons of room for you to come watch the lifting and visit our vendors.
4. CJ’s bootcamp series. CJ is working on setting up his bootcamps around the city. Once again he will be teaming up with some of the finest breweries, bars, and any other place that will have him. Dates to be released soon.
5. Two final events we are working on without having final details yet are, UF Pride Night and our UF Suicide Prevention Night. We have done a Pride night for 3 years and are happy to be planning one again this year. The Suicide Prevention Night is still in the works and will be late summer. We are working with a local nonprofit on this and are hopefully to make this a yearly event as well.

Thanks for following along with a run down of happenings here at the U.

Hamer

It has been a while since we have had a state of the union blog. With spring having sprung this weekend I figured it would be a good time to review some of the things we have going on at the U.

The warm weather has arrived and the garage door is open. We are again working on a busy summer of fun at Union (the U). Here is a short list of things we have going on in the near future.

This just a short list of things happening at the U this summer. Now go outside and enjoy the sun today!

Hamer

I always wanted to be a politician (for those who aren’t aware, I actually am one). Being a politician I have to be able to give a state of the Union (Fitness) address.

The last few months and 2021 has brought some changes to UF. We started 2021 by re-opening after a brief mandatory shut down. We have done our best to keep UF a clean and safe place to train for everyone. Below I will highlight some of our changes, accomplishments, and plans.

1. Fundraisers. We are proud to continue doing fundraisers to help our neighbors and our world. This year we worked with Urban Impact, Veterans Place, Wounded Warrior, OUT Athletics, and multiple food banks. We are also accepting non perishable food until the end of the month for our needy neighbors.
2. In 2021 we again hosted two USPA powerlifting meets. We also had an in house Push-Pull competition. Keep your eyes open for more opportunities to compete at UF.
3. Staff changes. We lost some quality staff this year. While we are sad to see them go we are always happy to see them get new opportunities. Cayt and Cody left to move to North Carolina. Dave left us to move to Georgia, we tried to keep Thor.
4. We are hosting a CVASPS clinic here in April. CVASPS is one of the most respected clinics on the topic of training. Click on the link to learn more.
5. New staff. We have hired some new staff, they will be writing introduction blogs, so keep reading our blogs to learn more about our new staff.
6. Staff is still training and competing. We have had staff compete in numerous lifting events this year. Follow along the blog to read more, and wish Curtis good luck in Vegas this weekend.
7. We have expanded our relationships with both Point Park and Chatham Athletics. We are proud to work with these two awesome universities.

Finally, to each of you, thank you for empowering us to help you along your health, fitness, and strength journey. As 2021 begins to fade into our rear view mirror please keep us up to date on your goals, and needs along this journey.

Yours in strength,

Todd Hamer