Tag Archives: Wellness

It Goes Beyond the Gym

Clean Eating, Diet, Fitness, Life Health, Meal Prep, Nutrition, , , , , , , ,

You’ve probably heard it before, “ you can’t outwork a bad diet.” I mean you can try but at some point you’ll either hit a plateau with your goals or you’ll start feeling “blah” and those are things that happen when either you’re not eating enough or you’re not fueling your body with the proper nutrients it needs to perform simple daily tasks.

 

If you’re an athlete within your respected sport or a member of Union Fitness coming in at 5:30PM to get bumpy with CJ in #Powerful, you’ve probably more than likely heard someone or our staff briefly mention anything in regards to nutrition. Not only do we want our clients to perform to the best of their abilities but we also want them to feel good in their everyday life. This all starts and ends with the basics of good nutrition. Good nutrition can be defined as eating whole and nutrient dense foods. Generally in a good diet we want to look for foods that contain vitamins, minerals, complex carbs, lean protein and healthy fats. These foods include, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, and lean protein (when prepared with little to no saturated facts or added sugars/sodium).

 

So back to the all defining phrase, “you can’t outwork a bad diet.” For example, let’s use an early 30’s female, who works a full-time job, eats out a lot, workouts 1 hour a day and likes to enjoy a glass of wine before ending her evening – This would be what her day looks like.

 

6AM Wake-Up

 

Breakfast: breakfast sandwich from fast-food chain + coffee

Heads into work for 9AM

Lunch: chicken salad with ranch and a diet soda

Afternoon snack: greek yogurt with granola + water

Leaves work at 5PM

Takes CJ’s 5:30PM #Powerful

Dinner: burger and fries + glass of wine

 

Now let’s break this down a little, overall she’s not eating terribly but we can nit pick at a few things. First, she’s not eating enough and more specifically she’s not eating enough whole and nutrient dense foods. Secondly, her fast-food breakfast sandwich, diet soda and a burger/fries will eventually leave her feeling the “blah” sensation at some point (if her eating is consistently like this). Her water intake is also very low and my overall observation is she just needs to replace a few things that would fuel her body better.

 

Let’s take a look at the same woman but with a better understanding of eating well.

 

6AM Wake-Up

 

Breakfast: glass of water, breakfast wrap (homemade) + coffee

Heads into work for 9AM

Snack: greek yogurt with granola/blueberries + water

Lunch: glass of water, chicken salad with balsamic dressing and a soda water

Afternoon Snack: Protein bar, banana + glass of water

Leaves work at 5PM

Takes CJ’s 5:30PM #Powerful

Post-Workout: Protein shake + granola bar

Dinner: Seafood pasta + glass of wine

 

After she has learned the basics of good nutrition she implemented a few things, increasing her water intake, increasing her protein intake, choosing drink options that are healthier and making sure her meals are portioned and opting for more homemade meals and whole foods. She is eating more and fueling her body for the simple things like daily tasks whilst getting the nutrients she needs to help her get through a PM workout.

 

The goal here is to understand that regardless if you want to gain muscle or lose weight, you’re going to need to eat but what your nutritional plan looks like is going to be specific to your own goals and your genetic makeup. While we’re at it too, diet culture has long engrained in us that we need to eat less to lose weight and thats not necessary the case (but thats another blog post for another time).

 

It all comes down to fueling your body for daily life and working out. So, whatever your goals may be keep in mind whole and nutrient dense foods are the answer, shop the perimeter of your grocery store and allow yourself to eat the things you love in moderation.

 

Much love,

 

J

What are we doing to be good neighbors?

State of the Union, ,

Recently we posted about how we at Union Fitness want to be a part of the solution in this world. There are numerous issues facing our world today. A global pandemic has affected our country more than most. There have been racial strife throughout our country and the world. In addition we still have obesity, homeless veterans, unequal educational system and many other issues. We are “just a gym” so how we make our neighborhood and the world a better place?

 

Below I have listed groups that we have worked with and what we are doing and added links so if you want to get involved you can help out as well. This is our opportunity to improve our little piece of the city and our world.

  1. We have hosted events for and raised money to support Wounded Warrior Project. We have donated our time and space to their cause as well as held classes to raise money for them. https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org
  2. We have hosted events and raised money to give to the Hillman Cancer Center. This was a special event as one of our members was diagnosed with cancer and overcame it with the help of these fine people.https://www.mdanderson.org/
  3. Hosting a few classes to donate food to Northside Commons Ministry was a great opportunity to help in our own back yard. This is a group that is always in need of food and money to help with their cause. https://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/agency/northside-common-ministries/
  4.  A group we are just beginning to work with is Pgh Parks Conservancy.We will be cleaning the park. This is a great opportunity help in our own  back yard.   https://www.pittsburghparks.org
  5. We are working to combine forces with Urban Impact to aid them and assist in training their youth sports teams.  https://www.uifpgh.org/home
  6.  We have donated goods to the Women’s Shelter of Greater PGH. www.wcpittsburgh.org    
  7. For our friend CeJ’s Big Bad B-Day we raised money for the Northside Humane Animal Rescue.https://www.humaneanimalrescue.org

This is just a short list of groups we have worked with. We are now working to come up with more groups that we can work with. Yet, if you are looking for a place to start making the world a better place these groups all do great work. 

My Five

Clean Eating, Diet, Fitness, Life Health, , , , , ,

I feel like its been a hot minute since I last wrote a blog and whilst I normally have something to say in regards to nutrition, training or even mental wellness today I’m taking a different approach. I’m going to throw at you five things I cannot possible live without, this is in regards to every aspect of my life and a little “get to know me” type of post if you’re new to Union Fitness and have no idea who that blonde chick in the Birkenstock’s is.

 

My Five

 

Coffee: I’m a huge advocate for letting your body wake up naturally rather then jump out of bed and literally run for the freshly made pot waiting for you on the counter. However, there is nothing like it when I take that first sip in the morning, I truly do go to bed thinking about that initial cup of coffee. I will argue that Starbucks is consistently just okay and I’d much rather opt in for a small business brew that has been locally sourced.

 

Breakfast Food: I don’t know about any of y’all but I could eat breakfast at all hours of the day, I mean its basically an excuse to eat dessert at 8AM in the morning. I’d say my favorite breakfast meal that I don’t normally get to eat would be a crepes with a Nutella spread, bananas + strawberries doused in maple syrup (because I’m also Canadian, duh).

 

The Gym: Pretty sure a lot of people feel me here, especially post-quarantine I realized how much of my socializing in life comes from the gym atmosphere. Not only is it a huge hobby of mine it’s also my job and I’m very thankful to be able to do what I love on a day to day basis. The gym has allowed me to grow immensely over the past six years and within the last three, getting more involved in the competitive aspect I’ve truly learned how important it is to love the process and love the day in/day out mentality.

 

Leggings: I’m getting pretty basic here with my top five but if I’m being real with you, I own two pairs of jeans and thats 100% the truth. Leggings are my work, workout and life choice of clothing and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I despise clothes that are tight and especially during specific times of the year sometimes I really just hate clothes and would much rather live on a private island so I could wear a bikini all day long.

 

Ice Cream: Hands down would do absolutely anything (that is legal) for Ben & Jerrys. I’m a fan of chocolate Halo Top but lets be honest, if I’m going to have ice cream I’m going to eat the real stuff, even if a lot of dairy hurts my stomach. I’m just a huge ice cream girl, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a whole pint in one sitting, truly wondering if maybe I could handle another. Name a better ice cream company, I’ll wait….

 

As generic as my answers are they are so truthful, my life is super boring and primarily revolves around work, training, eating and sleeping but honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, now that I’ve told you all my five, I’m nominating my fellow co-worker Cayt Neff to white about her five things she can’t live without!

 

Much love,
J

Four pillars: Training

Training, , , , , , ,

Disclaimer: There is a big distinction that I want to make when you read this article. To accomplish any goal you must work hard but doing pointless work for the sake of working hard is dangerous. Hard work does not need to be complicated but precise and consistent.

 

This training article is not going to be about how I believe everyone needs to be a “beast”. There are enough videos out there that yell at you for an hour telling you to work harder. This article does not address what the best program is either. If must know I believe 5/3/1 is, simply because it’s easy to follow.

 

Of course, I believe that a good program helps to achieve a goal but the real challenge is to recover from that program. Hence why the first two pillars are about recovery. I truly mean a challenge. It is psychologically and physically challenging to recover better. It takes time and self-discipline. Now how to address programming.

 

Training needs to be simple. The more complex the program is the more room for error on your part. Most people do not need an intricate program with the latest research. Yes, I believe that some programs are better than others but what I mean is when you are starting out, make the simplest program ever. By simple I mean you are going to come in and do 3×20 on leg press and hamstring curls. Done. That’s a wrap for the day. Now, what are you doing tomorrow? The easier this program is, the more likely you are going to do it for a long period of time. The length of time following a program is far more important than the intensity of the program.

 

 

Injuries will slow you down. Injuries are inevitable no matter what level you are at, how long you have been doing it, or the intensity that you bring. What I believe to be far more controllable is the severity and length of the injury. Most people can remember that their shoulder felt weird that day when they decided to max out. Or when you woke up and your back wasn’t fully prime for that hard deadlift day. You probably did the workout anyway because you are no (whatever word you choose) and now your back/shoulder has been hurting. Congrats.

 

Here is another idea. Do the things that specifically only make your body feel good. If the pain or aggravation persists go see a doctor or physical therapist but what do they know. People know that I am bias towards physical therapist but a good therapist can help tremendously in keeping you on the path to accomplish your goal. Now ideally you have a program that has certain warm-up exercises or assistant exercises that will help the reduce severity of an injury that was to come.

 

Your primary focus should be on your weakness. Again the program doesn’t need the most complex excel sheet you can find but it does need to work on your weak points as the focus. In my case, my hamstrings are not a strong point for me. They have no idea what they are doing and are constantly sore. Hamstring exercises have always been in my programs but not to the extent they should have been. When I currently train legs  ¾ of the workout are now hamstring focus and my back has thanked me for it. This is where a coach, personal trainer, or training partner can be a tremendous help. One of these people should let you know what “thing” needs to focus on.

Why Team?

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

When I was younger nothing stuck for me, it wasn’t until my mother forced me into swimming that I eventually learned to love it. I started on a summer swim team, it was an outdoor pool and this less than 100lb girl would shiver like no other, my lips were blue and I was always and I mean always cold at practice. It was so bad that my mother had to buy me a wetsuit just so I could withstand an hour plus of practice. The Colby Sailfish is what started it all for me and from there my parents decided to put me into winter swimming, I remember it being a huge deal and caused so much drama. Back then moving from summer swimming to winter meant you wanted to be more competitive and looking back I realized if that never would have happened then I wouldn’t have been as competitive as I am today.

 

Swimming was a big part of my life and it helped me learn the importance of routine and structure. I followed swimming with cross-county and paired those together for the remainder of my school years. It didn’t leave much room for anything else but my life was sports and for as long as I can remember, even at 27 thats how it has always been. I’ve always enjoyed putting my all into something that gave me results based upon what I put in, it was entirely up to me and how hard I wanted to work. It showed me that work ethic didn’t throw out favors and it didn’t give away trophies for participation, there was a clear winner based upon time that was spent grinding.

 

My biggest takeaway from swimming was relays, it didn’t occur to me until later in life that I absolutely enjoyed the rush of being on a team consisting of four people. I’d always push myself harder, I’d swim faster and I’d leave it all out there in the pool for my teammates. This translated fluidly to when I started competing in the sport of Functional Fitness, being on a team consisting on two males and two females took pushing myself to a whole new level. In all my years of being an athlete I have never pushed myself to the point I continue to push myself on a day to day basis with my current teammates. 

 

This is why I think playing sports when you are younger is so important, it truly is part of what makes you who you are in this present moment. It teaches you things that you will carry throughout your life and give you skills that you can apply to many situations that aren’t even closely related to sports. When I was put on a relay in swimming I knew that I had a part to play in the outcome and with that being said, in life you play a part alongside many people. This can be your relationship, as a daughter, brother or sister, it could be as a parent or a coach. We are all constantly surrounded by opportunities to showcase our ability to work within a social structure and create something beautiful alongside others.

 

So, to answer the title of this blog, why team? I think it all comes down to being able to share something greater than yourself with other people. When working within a team generally you know your teammates abilities and they know yours so you’re able to jump in when they need a break and vise-versa. To be able to have this understanding amongst three other people is so rare and to even be able to communicate in such a way that you all understand what each individual is feeling is a learned skill from your younger years of competing. 

 

At the end of the day I absolutely love being on a team, it has given me a sense of belonging in a world that makes it so hard to be yourself. It’s also more than a team, they are your friends, your family, not because you spend so much time together but because you truly do care about each individual. I think I’ll always choose to be on a team in every aspect of my life, not just my athletic pursuits. If the life lessons of team sports taught me this much that it carried through till my 27th year around the sun then there is something to be said about the kind of person you turn into when you learn to let people help you and they let you help them in return.

 

Much love,

 

Jocelyn

UF Adventure Team

Fitness, Life Health, Training, , , , ,

For those of you who couldn’t join us last Saturday we had a fun day of outdoor exercise and showed our new expansion (The Performance Lab). We here at UF are happy to be expanding our services to all of our members. One area I am hoping to see growth is our outdoor activities.

 

One of the events we had last weekend was the first ever UF bike ride. It was a small affair with 4 riders, but an active and fun group. We rode our bikes from here through the Northside and into the strip district for a nice tour of our fine city. The ride consisted of a few nice little climbs but nothing too bad.

 

I hope events such as this ride become a more normal activity here at UF. With all that we as a society have been through in the last three months let’s all try to get outside more. Find ways to connect with your community and see the beauty in the world. My challenge to UF is to find ways to be active, while remaining safe and healthy.

 

Thank you all for what you do, and if you have new ideas as to how we can get outside and be better people, neighbors and friends please tell us.

 

Peace and Love,

 

Todd Hamer

Welcome Back!

Training, , ,

As you may have seen this Saturday June 13th, 2020 we will be showing off our new digs. This blog is just a reminder about what we will have going on, and how we will have a great and safe day of training.

 

All training this Saturday will be outside on our brand new turf area adjacent to our new performance center. Here is the schedule.

 

9 AM Powerful with CeJ

10 AM Yoga

11 AM Cardiolab

12 PM Powerful

1 PM Bootcamp

2 PM Yoga

2 PM UF Bike ride. Bring your own bike and we will ride the local trails for an hour or so.

 

We have a few local sponsors that will may have some free stuff for you :-)! So bring a friend and we are keeping all classes under 15 people. All classes will be held outside so that we can all train safely.

 

Hope to see you Saturday!

Todd Hamer

Stronger Together

State of the Union,

We want to let you know that we are here to support you through all that is happening in our country.  The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have ignited demonstrations around the country.We stand in support of and in solidarity with the people and communities who are championing equality.

 

In our community we want these unfortunate events to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion and our stand against racism.

 

The issues people are voicing today are deep-rooted and require meaningful change.  We understand that to make change takes action.  Solving these issues will take an unrelenting commitment to fight against racism and on behalf of equality.  That action needs to begin with all of us and we look forward to working to build a more equitable future for our company, communities, and country. To help drive these vital changes, going forward we are committing that a portion of all future charitable donations by Union Fitness will be committed to Black owned businesses, community based organizations and underrepresented people in our local neighborhoods.

 

We wish you all well.

 

UF

Four Pillar’s: Nutrition

Uncategorized, , , ,

Nutritional deficiency: an inadequate supply of essential nutrients (as vitamins and minerals) in the diet resulting in malnutrition or disease.

 

Nutritional deficiencies are common among most people. In the first link below Dr. Rhonda Patrick talks about how people who don’t take a multivitamin have inadequate vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A. I am not prescribing vitamins but I want to give you an idea of how common it is to be deficient. She goes on to discuss that people who take a multivitamin can still be deficient in these vitamins.

 

If you remember in my last article I talk about optimal levels. I talk about how you don’t have to be deficient in something to feel the symptoms of not being at optimal levels. Now, the best way to know what your levels are at, of anything whether it be hormones or vitamins, is to get blood work. But once you get blood work done you are probably asking “what is an optimal level?” This is where I believe a dietitian can play a huge role. There are many experts online that give free info on such things. My favorites on nutrition are Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Eric Serrano, and Stan Efferding. Playing with your levels, to a degree, shouldn’t be harmful. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING YOUR VITAMINS FROM FOOD FIRST! Meaning if you are low in a vitamin try to consume the food that has an abundance of it before mega-dosing with a vitamin supplement.

 

Let’s talk about absorption. Many people like to go out and buy a multivitamin that has every vitamin and mineral. Getting the multivitamin that has 3000% of each thing. Don’t do this. Please. Certain vitamins inhibit other vitamin absorption so you might as well throw that pill into the toilet and save some of your time. Calcium is notorious for this. Calcium is known to inhibit iron and zinc. So if you are taking one of these I would avoid taking them with foods that are high in calcium such as dairy unless prescribed by a doctor or dietitian. Now there is also the opposite, certain vitamins increase absorption. For example, Vitamin D helps calcium absorption. Keep this in mind when taking certain supplements or about to buy some multivitamins that guarantee everything in them.

 

 

I am sure you are reading this saying “well I eat healthily and take a multivitamin so I am probably at optimal levels let alone deficient in the vitamin.” For that reason, Let me share my experience with vitamin deficiency. When training more constantly I would eat red meat as my main source of protein, for more than half my meals. But during this time I was becoming chronically tired, yawning throughout the day, not recovering from workouts, and craving ice-cold water constantly. When I say poor recovery, I mean it once took 7 days to recover from a hamstring workout. I first tried to increase my sleep time from 7-8 hours to over 9 hours; it didn’t work. I started increasing some anaerobic training thinking this would assist in recovery; now I wasn’t recovering from the anaerobic training. I finally reduced my time lifting weights: which made a moderate difference but decreased my progression.  I finally spoke to two different nutritionists. One recommended B vitamins supplement (which I was already taking) and the other recommended an adrenal cleanse. Both did not work. Finally, I had a blood test that showed I was deficient in Iron. Now, if you are thinking this makes no sense considering the amount of red meat I was eating you would be spot on. But then I had another that showed the same results. I started supplementing with 15 mg of iron and after 2 days, my energy levels increased to the equivalent of feeling as though I drank 3 cups of coffee. My workout recovery improved, naps during the day were no longer necessary, and I barely yawn now. It also resulted in drinking far less caffeine. This could be from multiple factors but either way, it’s important to check what you might be missing.

 

By the way, your fancy pre-workout is not going to fix your vitamin deficiency but it will mask it.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0u8UdZeOhc&t=158s

Calcium and Iron 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21462112/

Calcium and Zinc 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9174476/

Vitamin D and Calcium 

https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/osteoporosis/role-calcium-vitamin-d-bone-health

Examples of Combinations of Vitamin’s 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Nutritions-dynamic-duos

Trigger Points

Life Health, Training,

Have you ever encountered a situation that made you feel emotionally triggered? Well, the muscles in your body can feel triggered, too. In fact, your body has trigger points at any given moment. You may or may not have heard your Massage Therapist mention trigger points, but today I am going to delve into the what’s, why’s, and hows of these little (maybe big) buggers.

 

“I have a knot in my *fill in the blank,” said by all of us at some point. Technically your muscles don’t have little people inside tying the fibers together into knots, but what you are feeling does seem knotty and rope-like. Those are the trigger points. Muscle fiber(s) can become triggered typically by something like injury or overuse. These lesions that are now within the sarcoplasmic reticulum cause a release of excess calcium ions which create the sustained muscle contraction. These sustained contractions lead to a poor supply of oxygen which in turn decreases the ability of the small tears from healing.

 

By the muscle remaining contracted, it is shortened which decreases the range of motion as a defense mechanism to prevent injury. You may begin to notice this happening as pain in the relative area and/or weakness. While the muscle is doing what it is programmed to do to prevent injury, it is not effectively doing the action it is meant to do which is a problem. Think about it: you want to do a bicep curl but your bicep (“problem muscle”) says, “naw I don’t feel great, the other guys can help”. The bicep is the prime mover and not doing the work, so in order to complete the curl, our body has to recruit other muscles around the area to do something that is not their job, or at least not their primary role. Can you see how although the body will perform the movement, it isn’t optimal? The longer we decide to work through the pain and allow compensations to occur, the trigger point will worsen causing the muscle to become weaker and more dysfunctional. It will continue to prevent the affected muscles from fully lengthening and relaxing as well as tire quickly, recover slowly, and contract excessively. If we want to continue to become stronger and function well, we need to move optimally.

 

Although we are capable of working through the pain during the early stages, that is also when we are most able to combat the problem before it develops into something more serious. There are a few different ways to take care of your muscles if you are already feeling the symptoms. You can try on your own through the use of foam rollers, body tempering items, percussion guns, or other items that can release the surrounding fascia. If you would like to plan a professional treatment once or twice a month and let someone else do the work, I would recommend finding a Massage Therapist you can trust. Having someone who is trained to palpate muscle, identify trigger points, and also understands the surrounding area is a beneficial option for your recovery.

 

At the end of the day, despite how careful we are and how great we are with taking care of our body, there will always be trigger points floating around the body. It is not a reason to live in constant fear, avoid movement, or overthink how you move. However, if you are aware of your body mechanics and devote yourself to proper nutrition, sleep, and forms of therapy, you can certainly help prevent and mitigate further problems from occurring.