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Core value #6: Have Fun!

We believe your wellness shouldn’t be a chore, but rather a celebration of what your body can do! We work very hard to foster a fun learning environment where our heroes can be themselves and help each other to get better at the things that are important to them. Being able to cut loose and laugh at ourselves makes learning easier and less like work. Have you ever found yourself having fun while accomplishing a difficult task? When this happens, often times you get to the end of a long, hard day and can’t believe how quickly and easily it went! This is what we strive for every day at H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness! We are committed to working hard, but having fun while we do it!

#hitpittsburghfitness

Core Value #5: Constantly learn and improve.

One of our major themes is “1% Better Everyday!” We apply this thinking to our program, our facility, our staff, and our heroes equally. At H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness, learning and improvement present themselves in several forms:

First and most importantly, we must ask questions and actively listen to our heroes. Most people can instantly pinpoint the areas where they need the most help and by being inquisitive and actively seeking to understand the needs of our heroes we can best position ourselves to help our awesome community of awesome people to do awesome things! The very best ideas are usually the solution to a single hero’s problem. By asking for and taking action on the honest feedback our heroes provide we can constantly refine our systems to better serve them and in turn “Change the Way Fitness is Done In Pittsburgh!”

At H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness we also utilize continuing education and coaching from the masters of fitness industry to constantly improve our program. We are very proud of the amount of time and money we continually reinvest to always stay on the cutting edge of exercise, nutrition, and behavioral science. Like our heroes, we believe in experienced coaching and hire the very best in the industry to guide us on our journey of constant improvement.

#hitpittsburghfitness

Core Value #4: Take fitness, not ourselves, seriously.

At H.I.T. PIttsburgh Fitness our #1 goal is results. While we pride ourselves on constant improvement, we also pride ourselves on our ability to have some fun while we do it!

Fitness and nutrition is serious business and we take the business of client results very seriously. We are committed to being on the cutting edge of exercise science and the best training modalities, nutrition coaching, and most importantly, fitness community building! We are committed to constantly investing in our gym, our community, and ourselves through continuing education. We want to change the way fitness is done in Pittsburgh and we are serious about it

However, we don’t take ourselves too seriously! A fitness program is a collaborative effort, and the ability to have fun and blow off steam together is an important part of what we do. Whether we are just joking around in the gym or hanging out for a H.I.T. Pittsburgh Margarita Night, our members are our friends and teammates! We have one of the greatest jobs in the world because we get paid to help our friends get better at the stuff that is important to them!

#HITpittsburghFITNESS

Core Value #3:Respect and Include Everyone

H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness is a place where all people can feel welcomed, respected, comfortable, and supported. Because we lead by our core values, our staff and heroes can rest assured that our community will be full of awesome people helping each other to do awesome things. In our gym, every member has a voice and we are constantly seeking honest feedback to ensure we are providing what our heroes need to accomplish their goals.

At H.I.T. Pittsburgh we are proud of our diversity, and anyone who abides by our core values can be a hero. We also strive to make our gym a safe place, and that is why our facility is designated a “Politics Free Zone.” We find that in these times of increasing political polarization and anxiety, it’s nice to have a space where politics are off limits. Even when we agree (and we often do) it’s nice to leave the cares and worries of the day at the door and focus on helping each other to get better!

#hitpittsburghfitness

Core Value #3:Respect and Include Everyone

Core Value #2: Do no harm.

Our job is to help people get better at the stuff they want to be better at. To accomplish this you must first do no harm. (I’m often amazed at how often this one gets missed in the fitness industry!) Fitness doesn’t have to and shouldn’t hurt! While it is healthy to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and strive to get better, it’s important to remember that actual pain is how the body tells us when we are doing something we probably shouldn’t do.

We believe in safe, effective, individualized programming. We ask lots of open ended questions and use active listening to understand what our clients want to achieve and why. When we understand all of this, we design a program to systematically direct them from where they are to where they want to be.

It all starts with our Strategy Session, a detailed interview and assessment process, designed to allow us to get to know our new heroes. We do a detailed health history, postural analysis, and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) with every new hero.

The information gathered in the Strategy Session allows us to identify which movement patterns are safe to train (and use to help us get stronger!) and also any movement patterns that may need some corrective exercises to help our heroes to feel and move their best!

Core Value #1: Be nice.

It is amazing how much can be accomplished when your default position is simply to “Be Nice.” It is our goal to increase the overall niceness in the world by constantly asking ourselves if our actions or the words we choose fulfill this most important core value. By constantly testing ourselves against this principle, we can inspire others to be conscious of this very important metric.

Many people will go through their long, stressful days and not encounter anyone being nice to them. We want to break that cycle and let people know that we care about their success and that H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness is a place where it is safe to let yourself get out of your comfort zone because you are surrounded by nice people who only want to lift you up and empower you to be your best.

Being nice inspires trust and trust is the backbone of what we do. We are often helping people to make some sort of mental or physical change and trust is the currency of that change.

When in doubt default to core value #1 and “BE NICE!”

Core Value #2: Do No Harm

This is a huge one for us and although you would think that this is common sense for any fitness program, it is all too often the exception rather than the norm. In my years of training experience I have watched personal trainers do things that ranged from simply ineffective to incredibly dangerous. While there are certainly some qualified fitness professionals out there, too many trainers are uneducated about how the body works and rely on gym tradition and videos they find on YouTube to design their workouts.

If I can teach you one thing let it be this: HIRE YOUR COACH ON PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE AND NOT BECAUSE THEY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE IN SHAPE. I know plenty of really buff people who can't do a proper squat themselves let alone be able to assess and coach it. This is one major reason that we are "changing the way fitness is done in Pittsburgh!"

Every hero that comes through our doors is put through a strategy session that consists of a thorough health history screening, goal planning and design, and a DETAILED ASSESSMENT using the Functional Movement System's FMS screening.

The result is a safe and effective PROGRAM written for YOU, with YOUR GOALS and unique starting point in mind. Remember our job is not to make you sore or tired, it is to make you feel and move BETTER. Beware of cookie cutter fitness programs that don't take the time to understand you, your history, and what you want to achieve. I always encourage my heroes to ask "why" they are doing a particular exercise because your coach should know as we are here to guide and educate you about fitness.

What I'm Grateful for today: Friday 3/31/2017

My AMAZING mentors, partners, and fellow fitPros (all the people in the trenches changing lives every day).

Every day I am privileged enough to talk to a group of people who live, eat, and breath fitness and wellness.

Dr. Pete Thomas is a Pittsburgh treasure, and the guy I call when I can't figure out a joint issue. Pete is one of the most knowledgeable body professionals I have ever met, and even though he is a DC and AT in my opinion he is the best physical therapist in the city.

Cindy McCormick and Rebecca Householder of Centre Ave. Massage & Spa. aren't just the best at what the do, they are the ONLY ones that do what they do. With their unique advanced integration of ART, myofascial release, and orthopedic massage, these therapists can help you heal with their hands.

Danny Twoguns of Twoguns Training Systems in Erie is a fitness mastermind that I am honored to call a mentor and friend. His gym is like a lab and he is ALWAYS ahead of the curve when it comes to exercise science and building community. His gym is a magical place (complete with many unicorns) and we are lucky to have his experience on our side.

Last but certainly not least, Rachel Cosgrove and Alwyn Cosgrove and their amazing Results Fitness University. Two of the most important people in fitness developed a place where the most dedicated fitness professionals in the world can gather and learn and share ideas on how to get better at helping people. I am so very grateful to be around so many great people who inspire me to take the risks necessary to accomplish great things. (please note I could tag every single RFUer here for all of their help and guidance!)

Thank you all for helping our program to get better by setting the bar so very high. If you want to be in with this crowd you had best make helping people, knowledge, excellence, mindset, dedication, and growth your priorities. I am a lucky guy and I love you all!

What I'm Grateful For Today: Friday 3/24/2017

Bill Murray

I get asked a lot: So...what is up with your weird fascination with Bill Murray? I usually reply, I'm so glad you asked! I think it is important to point out right from the gate that I'm not a huge movie buff; I can barely find time to sit on my couch, let alone dedicate 2 precious hours to movies. While I do enjoy a good film, and I do love the Mur's work, this is far from the reason I am grateful for him today. Lemme explain!

My love of Bill Murray, the man, started in the oddest of places: in my car, listening to "The Howard Stern Show." I was in a very stressful place at the time. I felt stuck and disrespected by a job where I felt my contributions and dedication were being undervalued. I was often jealous of friends that I thought were way more successful then me. I was nearing 40 and though I had an awesome wife and a bevy of awesome friends, I had a hard time appreciating what I had. I was drinking too much and generally felt like an angry turd most of the time, which I often tried to hide behind a happy face. I was fast approaching a mid life crisis! But back to Bill..

Stern asked him (and I'm paraphrasing here), "During your Saturday night live days and under the intense pressure of live TV, how were you always so ON, and why do you always seem to be having such an awesome time doing what ever you are doing." Bill's reply went something like this, "You know, I always try to stay relaxed, I keep my sense of humor, and I try to not take myself too seriously!"

BOOM! IT WAS EXACTLY THE MESSAGE I NEEDED AT THE TIME! I decided right then and there that from that moment on, I would follow in Bill Murray's foot steps and try to live my life by the following three principals:

1. Stay Relaxed 2. Keep a sense of humor 3. Don't take myself too seriously

As a reminder to keep to these guiding core values, I would cut small pictures (usually just 1"x1" black and white thumbnails printed off the image search on google) and tape them in various places where I would see them to remind me to do these three things. I placed one on my coffee pot. I placed one on my fridge. I placed one on the dash board of my car. I placed them around the gym, and slowly with effort and constant reminders, my situation began to improve.

I was able to take a step back and look at some of the metrics I was judging my life against and I came to the realization that I was being a dick and needed to change my perspective. I needed to look at life through a different lens and change my metrics if I wanted my life to improve. If I wasn't happy with the way I was being treated, I needed to do something different. It was one of the reasons why I eventually had the courage to quit my job and open HIT Pittsburgh Fitness. It was how I could be happy for my friends and their successes instead of jealous. It was how I could become a better friend, a better husband, and a better man.

In that way, I will be forever grateful for the Mur (and I should probably give some props to Stern too, despite what you think of him that guy is one hell of an interviewer!) If you made it through this whole thing I thank you, and if you find yourself where I was a few years ago, take my advice and just let go, life is too short. Open yourself up to personal growth, and to learning. If you need help...just H.I.T. me up!

The New Basics of Fitness #3

Many times when I speak to a new client I am reminded of how much the fitness industry has changed over the last 10 years and how many people are unaware of what I call "The New Basics of Fitness." While exercise science has taken a quantum leap, I find that many people are still confused and tend to fall back on gym tradition instead of modern science. This series of blog posts seeks to bring people up to date and share some of the new basic knowledge that fitness professionals are using to help people get amazing results.

New Basic Rule #3: Sit-ups and Crunches (Loaded Spinal Flexion) are No Bueno!

Sit-ups, of many varieties, have been a workout staple for generations. They are taught in schools and are even part of the Army’s standards for fitness. Enter any gym on any given day and you will likely see scores of people performing various variations of what we fit pros call loaded spinal flexion. It has been proven by people way smarter than me that this type of exercise is not good for back or spinal health and at their core (pun intended) these exercises show a gross misunderstanding of our core musculature and what it is intended to do. But wait... this is how we always done it?!? Sorry to burst your bubble, but in this case if that is the way you have always done it, then you have been doing it wrong for a long time!

Without getting too technical, the primary function of your core muscles is to stabilize the spine when you move. While the core does flex, extend, and rotate the spine, it’s primary role is to resist extension and rotation as you move your limbs through space. This is why anti-extension exercises like planks and side planks are much more beneficial (though they are OFTEN performed wrong...Hint: if you can plank for 7 minutes you are probably doing it wrong!)

The spine also does not like to be loaded AND flexed at the same time. In the case of the sit-up, the lever arm is created by your body weight and therefore loads the spine as your flex it! Some people even add external loads like weights or even use a loaded ab machine at the gym (I call it the spinal injury machine). Dr. Stewart McGill, a leading expert in spine and back health, actually credits our love of sit-ups with creating a ton of low back pain and conditions. If you want a better understanding of how the core works, just google Stewart McGill’s big 3 core exercises and prepare to be educated.

I think that the sit-up craze is also built on another major fitness myth, namely “spot reduction.” “Spot Reduction” is the idea that if you work a body part you burn the fat off of it faster. This has been a cheap trick used by the tv fitness industry to sell the ab device of the week and neoprine sweat sleeves that go around you abs. If you take one thing away from this post, it should be this: SPOT REDUCTION IS A MYTH AND NO AMOUNT OF CRUNCHES WILL REDUCE YOUR BELLY FAT! The only way to get that six pack is to bring your entire body fat percentage down to a low level, and unfortunately, belly and butt fat are the very last things to go because that is where humans have their largest fat stores.

I know this can be a lot to take in and many of you are wondering what you should do! That is why hiring a well qualified fitness coach to provide you with a fitness education is really important!

Need some help? The professionals at H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness are always happy to help with professional program design based on your goals and your starting point! Have questions? H.I.T. us up!

Core Value #1-Be nice.

This value is so very important because it sets the tone for our gym. Grumpy from an early morning wake-up call? No worries, just be nice, your team will help you through!

Does that new hero keep getting in your way because they don't yet understand how the gym flow works? Just be nice and try to help them!

Is a team member having a bad day? Be nice, it'll go a long way.

When in doubt, just be nice, it can be liberating!

The New Basics of Fitness #1

New Basic Rule #1: You body doesn't work one part at a time, so you shouldn't train it one part at a time. Body part splits are a gym tradition rather than effective exercise science and too many people are still splitting up their workouts by body part: legs one day, chest another, and MAYBE back and ALWAYS biceps.

This style of lifting (steeped in bodybuilder goals and tradition) has long been proven to be LESS effective for the goals that most gym goers have. Few health concerned people enter the gym wanting to look like the terminator, but many, many are still modeling their training programs after his.

The "new basic" is full body workouts that rely more on movement patterns like push, pull, lunge, squat, hinge (think deadlifts), and carry. In other words, exercises and lifts that mimic real life and developmental movement patterns. We now craft workouts around movements rather than body parts with much better and faster results.

For decades, most resistance programs were modeled after what the professional bodybuilders did and gym tradition was developed from THEIR workouts and THEIR goals. What many people fail to understand is that bodybuilding is an extreme. Bodybuilders are very dedicated to their “sport.” Many bodybuilders spend multiple hours per day in the gym and many still take a mountain of supplements or even steroids for rapid recovery from their long workouts. Their goal is to be as big and lean as possible for a VERY SHORT TIME (the time they spend in front of judges in their underwear or swimsuits.) Their programs are built for maximum hypertrophy (muscle cell volume) and their goal is to break down each muscle group as much as they can at each workout. So if YOUR goal is to lose body fat or just feel or move better so you can chase around your kids, dividing your body into parts is most likely not the most effective way to achieve your goals.

Even a simple full body push/pull split is more effective for the average person who just wants to look, feel, and move their best. That is the “new basic” of workout design. Need some help? The professionals at H.I.T. Pittsburgh Fitness are always happy to help with professional program design based on your goals and your starting point! Have questions? H.I.T. us up!

What I'm Grateful for Today: Friday 3/17/2017

Rebecca Householder: The Most Amazing Friend, Wife, Partner, Massage Bad Ass, and All Around Awesome Baby Momma a guy could ask for!

Few know this, but Becky and I fell in love over the movie Spaceballs. We were young and in our "restaurant working, bar hanging" days. We would end up at the local watering hole after work, have a few (often too many) drinks and end up back at her place...watching Spaceballs. This went on for over a month. Work. Drinks. Spaceballs. We may have been the last people on earth to know that we were in love. (Which is funny in itself, considering we hated each other when we first met, but that is a story for another blog post!) My point here is that we were friends, true friends, long before we were an item.

Flash forward many years (our 10 year wedding anniversary is right around the corner!) and we still are the best of friends. She is truly the Tela to my He-Man, the Dark Helmet to my Col. Sanders, and my business and life partner taboot!

This week, she took close to a week away from HER primary business, the awesome Centre Ave. Massage & Spa to come to Valencia CA, and meet my Results Fitness University family and help me to help more people by changing the way fitness is done in Pittsburgh at HIT Pittsburgh Fitness.

Standing between her and the great people at RFU I am humbled and honored (and even a little surprised to even be at the table!) Friend, Wife, Partner, Massage Bad Ass, DVRT Diva, and all around amazing person...Rebecca Householder I'm grateful for you!

What I am Grateful for Today: Friday 3/10/2017

YOU SHOULD READ THIS SHIT!

MY AMAZING GROUP OF HEROES! MY HUMBLE BRAG!

Something truly magical happened this week. As I prepared for another extended west coast trip (my second this year already) to the mecca of fitness knowledge, Valencia CA, home of Results Fitness University. I once again started to worry about leaving my heroes for that long without having anyone else to train them. They all pay a monthly fee and are so very understanding when I need to take time to refill the old fitness brain so our program constantly improves and helps more people. I never want anyone in my program to feel they are being under served.

I of course told my heroes to pick up some extra sessions the previous and following weeks, and expanded the class sizes a bit this week to fit more people in, but it still bothered me that that my gym would be closed to my heroes for almost a week! I decided to do a sign up sheet to see if I could coordinate some heroes to come in and get it done on their own (every thing is pre-programmed by me) so if they really wanted to they could get the job done. What transpired next was MY PROUDEST MOMENT AS A COACH TO DATE!

My little list filled up pretty damn fast. Heroes started to coordinate times and their schedules so they could meet at the gym together. One hero (my main man Chris Capato) even offered to open the gym from 4:30-6:30 on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to be sure that other heroes would be able to access the gym more easily. Late night heroes said they'd lock up and make sure everything was put back into place, and veterans said that they'd be happy to help the newer clients if they had a set-up or form question.

The results was a nearly full schedule that looked very much like our active business schedule. I AM HUMBLED BUT NOT A BIT SURPRISED BY THESE GENEROUS PEOPLE AND THE AWESOME COMMUNITY THEY ALLOW ME TO LEAD!

Many times after returning from one of my west coasters, I have read the posts of fellow fitness pros in my group about how their employees were able to keep their businesses running smoothly while they were away and I've always felt just a little bit jealous. While I am still excited to build an awesome team when I return (my new goal is to have another coach in place by July so I can spend some time with my baby boy who is on the way July27th!), I am not so jealous anymore. MY TEAM IS TRULY INSPIRING AND TODAY I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE HEROES OF H.I.T. PITTSBURGH FITNESS! I love you guys and thank you for allowing me to be your coach!

What I'm Grateful for Today 3/3/2017: Book Learnin'!

When I decided to open my own business I asked a very successful Pittsburgh businessman (Henry Wang) what I should do and where I should start (please note: I knew exactly JACK and SHIT about being an entrepreneur). At the time I had no idea that what he would say would forever change my life. I had no clue that he was about to tell me what all successful people had in common, the HUGE SECRET to success! He said, simply, "Start reading."

I'll admit, at the time, I was a bit disappointed. I thought he was going to drop some serious insider business shit on me. The dude drives a Tesla and owns companies on multiple continents for Chrst's sake. I thought he would tell me where I could find a magic funding source, or who to talk to in the city to find great locations. Nope, he just said, "Start Reading." What I came to learn though was that he WAS telling me where to find the magic funding source, and how to find the best location, and a million other answers to questions I didn't even know i had yet.

Another really smart guy I know once said that reading books is how you get to hang out with the most successful people that you would most likely never have access to. I will never get to meet Steve Jobs and I'll probably never get to meet Richard Branson, or Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates, but I can read their books and listen to their wisdom and learn from their successes and their failures.

Today, I have almost completely given up fiction. I do still allow myself to read the newest Stephen King, but generally, my reading list is about people and how to be a better person and a better leader. What I have found is that often books do my job for me better than I could do it myself. By constantly seeking knowledge, I'm in a better place to offer the RIGHT knowledge to people when they need it. This helps me to fulfill my missionHIT Pittsburgh Fitness. Today I'm grateful for my books and my audible subscription! Thank you and love you all!

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