MEET OUR NEWEST TRAINER DEVAN!
We're thrilled to welcome Devan Bennett, our newest trainer, to the PFP team!
MASSAGE ETIQUETTE 101
Let’s be honest. For something that’s supposed to be relaxing, people have a lot of questions before their first massage. “Do I talk?” “Do I stay quiet?” “What if I snore?” “What if my stomach growls?” “What if I accidentally fall asleep?” First of all: take a deep breath. We’ve seen it all. To help calm those pre-massage nerves, here’s your guide to massage etiquette.
MORE THAN A MASSAGE
When most people think of getting a massage, they picture a quiet room, relaxing music, and maybe an hour away from the stresses of life. While we absolutely love helping you relax, massage at Pittsburgh Fitness Project is about so much more than that. It's about feeling heard, supported, and welcomed exactly as you are.
WEIGHTLIFTING AS AN ADULT: SKILL & STRENGTH
Learning new physical skills at any point can be beneficial to us in so many ways. What if learning that new skill also made us stronger and healthier? I am going to tell you about why learning a new skill like Olympic Weightlifting can be both a new route to your fitness goals and a fun and engaging physical skill.
TRAINING AROUND AN INJURY
If you have ever done any sort of exercise, physical activity, or any sport in your life, you have probably dealt with injuries in one way or another. Injury is a pretty broad term, but this can be anything that causes significant trouble to your activity level for longer than a few days, typically. Injuries can also vary in type from chronic injuries like tendonitis or acute injuries like rolling an ankle or tearing a muscle. In any form, they can cause us to lose our consistency with our routine of physical activity. Instead of letting this derail your progress or stop activity overall, there are plenty of ways to work around an injury.
THE ACSM’S REVISED STAND ON RESISTANCE TRAINING
It has been announced by The American College of Sports Medicine that they had recently revised their position statement on strength and resistance training since their last update in 2009. Research on the topic of resistance training has greatly expanded, and with these findings over the past sixteen years of clinical studies, there were several things that should be considered for discussion.
OZEMPIC & STRENGTH TRAINING
GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 medications, have revolutionized weight loss and treatment for various conditions like type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney and liver conditions, sleep apnea, and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Many people who use these medications lose up to 15-20% of their body weight. But with that weight loss, people lose lean muscle mass. Research shows that with any calorie deficit, your body will shed weight from both fat and muscle.
So, how can GLP-1 users prevent that? Let’s look at the steps you can take to prevent loss of muscle mass with Ozempic.
STUDENT ATHLETES: MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SUMMER
Summer is the perfect time for student athletes to get ahead before the next season begins. Without the demands of games, practices, and school schedules, athletes can focus on building strength, improving performance, and reducing their risk of injury. Whether you’re preparing for volleyball, soccer, football, basketball, cheer, softball, or another sport, summer training can help you hit the ground running when the season starts.
WHY WE HOLD PRIDE EVENTS AT PFP
As a lifelong gym user and athlete, I feel MOST comfortable in fitness spaces. However, for many people, this isn’t the case. Fitness spaces can be filled with prejudice and judgment, which can make them feel exclusionary (both consciously and subconsciously). Not everyone has the privilege of walking into any space and feeling safe and welcome. Which is why at PFP, our mission is to create a fitness community where people feel safe and are free to be themselves.
SQUAT VARIATIONS FOR OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING
In the sport of Olympic Weightlifting, squatting is king. It is the movement we as lifters use to drive most of the leg strength and overall adaptations for our performance. It allows us to increase our ability to apply force into the ground, which then translates force and power into the barbell when we lift. Let's discuss some of the best squat variations, why we use them, and how they’re programmed.
SUMMER ADVENTURE SEASON IS HERE
The second the weather gets nice, everyone suddenly becomes an outdoor athlete again. One weekend you’re casually “going for a hike,” and the next thing you know you’ve climbed 2,000 feet in elevation, your legs are cramping, and you’re questioning every life decision halfway up the mountain. So with adventure season officially here, remember recovery keeps you doing more!
PARENTS, BOOK A MASSAGE BEFORE SUMMER BREAK HITS!
Summer is fun… but let’s be honest, it’s also chaos. That’s why now is the perfect time to sneak in a massage before the cute little goblins are home full-time asking for rides, snacks, sunscreen, and “one more thing” every five minutes.
MASSAGE FOR RUNNERS
The weather gets nice, and suddenly everyone starts signing up for races again. Race season is here, and whether you’re training for a HYROX, running your first 5k, getting ready for a half marathon, or just adding more miles outside, your body definitely notices. Running has a way of making random muscles sore that you didn’t even know were involved. Tight calves, sore hips, heavy legs… and somehow your shoulders end up tense too. That’s where recovery work can really help.
SIMPLE GPP WORKOUTS FOR SPRING
General Physical Preparedness is a phase of training that emphasizes foundational strength and work capacity. Everyone benefits from GPP training, whether you’re an athlete, have a specific fitness goal, or simply want to exercise to stay healthy. GPP focuses on building a well-rounded base of strength, endurance, mobility, and coordination so your body can handle more challenging workouts and activities of everyday life with ease. This week, I’m sharing an example week of what GPP training could look like and how to apply it to your current goals.
WHY EVERYONE NEEDS GPP TRAINING
When it comes to getting stronger, leaner, and moving better, most people start too hard and too soon, and end up overwhelmed or injured. The real secret to long-term progress and resilience? General Physical Preparedness (GPP), or establishing a solid foundation of movement. GPP focuses on building a well-rounded base of strength, endurance, mobility, and coordination so your body can handle more challenging workouts and activities of everyday life with ease.
ONE MORE ON MOBILITY
Independence as you age is about both freedom and capability. It’s the confidence you can have to move freely, carry your groceries, get up off the floor, play with your kids or grandkids, and live your life without limitations. Mobility and strength are the foundations for that independence.
GETTING STRONGER FOR REAL LIFE
What does getting stronger actually mean for us as people? Many view strength or getting physically stronger as only something that avid gym-goers do to increase the number on a barbell or dumbbell. They may see it as unnecessary or a waste of time in their daily life. It is quite the contrary. A strong and healthy body can extend to help with so many things in our daily life. Whether it is making tasks easier, improving our self-efficacy and autonomy, or even just making it easier to enjoy ourselves. Getting stronger for real-life looks like a lot of things for different people, but let’s discuss some approachable methods you can use to get stronger for real-life things and situations.
HOW FASCIAL STRETCH THERAPY CAN HELP EVERYONE MOVE BETTER
Let’s be honest: most people do not think about mobility until something starts feeling tight, stiff, cranky, or just plain annoying. Maybe your hips complain when you stand up. Maybe your shoulders feel like they belong to someone twice your age after sitting at a desk all day. Maybe you stretch and somehow still feel tight five minutes later. That is where Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) comes in — and why so many people are paying attention to it.
CLEAN TECHNIQUE ESSENTIALS
The clean, much like snatching in weightlifting, requires not only power and strength, but good rhythm and timing. In order to execute it properly, we are going to go over some key technical aspects as well as some ways to internalize those cues and output them in your training sessions. We will highlight the overall goals first and then break down how we can ensure they're occurring in the lift properly.
MOVE BETTER, FEEL BETTER
Ever feel like your body just isn’t moving the way it used to—or the way you want it to? Maybe your hips feel tight, your shoulders are cranky, or your squat looks more like a “sit and hope for the best.” That’s where massage can quietly work some magic.