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friday thoughts 112
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind this week. Let’s get into it.
GAIN Group Walk
As part of the Daily Walking Challenge, we’re doing a GAIN group walk with a post-walk coffee hangout — Saturday, January 31. Mark your calendars.
Lottery Winner
For the first time, I put my name into the Vermont 100 entry lottery and got selected for the 100k. I’ll be running 62 miles on July 18 and it will be my longest run ever.
Vermont is a rolling course with lots of ups and downs, but nothing too technical. It’s very runnable, and that’s part of the appeal. Training for this will be different than other ultras I’ve done because the course is mostly gravel roads and fields, versus steep, technical climbs.
The VT 100 is also unique in that it’s the only 100-mile race that still has an equine category. The older 100s, like Vermont (started in 1989), have their roots in horse racing. Everyone I know who has run it says the horses are one of the best parts of the race.
Speaking of 100k
The difference between these two shoes is crazy. You may call me crazy, but I’m only interested in running in something closer to the old shoe. Sure, we’re faster than ever before, but I can’t help but think these types of running shoes are moving us in the wrong direction — away from being better runners who are connected to their bodies and understand how to move.
1 Rep Every 7 Seconds × 24 Hours
I talk about this idea all the time: how many total pounds you move in a session. Expanding that idea out to 24 hours is insane.
Lifting 155 pounds one rep every seven seconds for 24 hours adds up to 1.8 million pounds.
For some perspective, deadlifting 225 pounds for 8 sets of 3 is only 5,400 pounds.
Even 30 reps at 315 pounds comes in just shy of 10,000 pounds.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the gym.
— Justin Miner
Movement Patterns and programs
The fundamental movement patterns are a collection of shapes and positions that our bodies can make.
When creating a training program, I use these fundamental movement patterns to guide exercise selection.
Fundamental Movement Patterns:
Squat
Hinge
Push (horizontal / vertical)
Pull (horizontal / vertical)
Single Leg (hip dominant / knee dominant)
Core / Carry / Throw
As a general framework, I aim for clients to hit each movement pattern every workout. This ensures we are exposing our bodies to the appropriate ranges of motion and properly working all the major muscles.
This classification makes it easy for us to individualize training plans. We can work around an injury or customize a program for a specific goal.
Pressing aggravates your shoulder? Let’s dial that knob back. Maybe once per week is enough with the right variation, or maybe we cut it altogether for a period of time.
Lunges bug your knee? We can focus on more hip-dominant single-leg movements instead and revisit quad-dominant work in a month or two.
Want a bigger bench press? We can turn up the volume and press more frequently.
Keep in mind, these are not exercises themselves. They are classifications of movement. Specific exercises are derived from these patterns and shapes.
—Justin Miner
Streaks and Starting anew
This inevitably happens during the Daily Walking Challenge or any streak based habit you’re trying to do everyday.
You miss a day.
Now what?
Keep going!
While you’ve lost your streak, starting again is the more important aspect of this. It’s the real challenge.
Someone once told me this in regard to their meditation practice. They had a 91 day streak, missed a day and then a 149 day streak.
People call me overly optimistic sometimes, but these numbers don’t lie. What’s more impressive? A 91 day streak and stopping all together or 239 out of 240 days?
The walking streak is cool, but starting again after missing a day or two is even more important. The goal isn’t to walk perfectly, it’s to walk more and build a lasting habit. Stick with it!
—Justin Miner
IMprove your Push ups
Push ups are frustrating. On one hand, they are a simple exercise, require no equipment, and are something most people in the world are familiar with. Because of that, many people assume they should be able to do them easily. However, push ups require a lot of strength, technique, and practice.
Eventually, poor technique will halt your progress. Whether your shoulders start to feel achy or you have plateaued and cannot add more reps, it is likely that both strength and technique are the issue.
Here is a checklist to make sure you are doing everything possible to build the strength and technique required for big sets of perfect push ups.
They should be hard, but not too hard
Reaching failure is a sure way to stall progress. We want you to use a variation that is challenging enough to complete the prescribed reps, but not so difficult that it leads to frequent misses or sloppy technique. When you train to failure, your body does not adapt as well. Whatever the target reps are, always try to leave one or two reps in the tank. This concept is called reps in reserve, and knowing your RIR is a high-level gym skill.
Frequency
If push ups are really on your mind, talk to your coach about adding an additional day to get more reps in. One day should be hard, with grinder reps focused on increasing difficulty and building strength. The other day should be an easy, volume-building day where you complete 40 to 50 reps using a variation that feels comfortable.
Place a premium on accessory movements
A push up is essentially a plank where you bend your arms. Seriously, think about that. Lock in your plank technique, grip the ground, engage your glutes, use your upper back, breathe with intention, and recognize that the more robust you are here, the better your push ups will be.
Mobilize your wrists
If your wrists are stiff, they can place extra stress on your shoulders during push ups. Stretching them before your sets can make a significant difference. Sometimes this alone is enough to unlock better technique.
Even if you never achieve a push up on the floor, pursuing one is still a worthwhile training goal. It builds total body strength, awareness, and control.
—Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Happy Monday!
We made an official ruling at the gym on Friday: It’s now too late to say Happy New Year. Once January climbs to double digits it’s time to say farewell to the new year’s greeting.
Leaving the grocery store last night I was pleased to see the sun still lingering in the sky after 4pm.
I know we’re in the thick of winter, but a couple warmer days and more sunlight was really nice.
It’s the start of week 2 on the daily walking challenge and the weather is looking great for some walking this week now that most of the slippy stuff from last week is melted.
Second full week of the year, keep the momentum going!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 111
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind lately. Let’s get into it!
Walking Challenge Day 5
We managed to get slippery ice day and a warm sunny day both on the first week of the Daily Walking Challenge. The first weekend always presents a challenge, stick with it and get out there!
More 2025 By The Numbers
Here are some other things I tallied up while researching for my 2025 By The Numbers.
Locke Trail Loop - CCW: 11 loops
This is a segment I made on Strava years ago. I ran it at least 11 times, in the counterclockwise direction, and at least 5 times in the clockwise direction. The CCW version is more aesthetic, and gets the big climb out the way first—which is why I prefer it. I set a big PR on this loop in September and haven’t done the full thing since.
Stratham Hill Park Visits: 22
I had at least 22 visits to Stratham Hill Park. When I started a new coaching schedule this summer, I committed to get there at least once a week for some training and outside time, and I would say it paid off. I’m tracking my visits to the park by looking at the “Kitty Rock Down” segment—I always include this trail when running there.
Parker Mountain Summit: 20?
I climbed Parker Mountain in Strafford at least 20 times. Definitely 15 from the main trail plus a handful from the other side or the town forest and a few double climb days too.
I find it interesting that the 3 places I run the most are all about equal in visits throughout the year.
NH 4000 Footers: I climbed Washington, Tecumseh, Osceolas, and the Tripyramids for 6 on the year. And finished my 48 on Tecumseh!
Books: Apple Books hit me with a yearly recap and I couldn’t believe it. I read more than ever this year, and it was totally because I found a bunch of books I really liked. I read about 35 books last year. All of them fiction, except one nonfiction written by GAIN Member Zorana, The Creativity Choice.
All my other fiction books were in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I started out with a classic, Hyperion, which Kelly Starrett talked me into after I said I couldn’t get into it. I followed that with a head first dive into Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books, about 18 of them. Stormlght Archive and Mistborn being amongst my favorites.
GAIN ATTENDANCE
Top 10 Check Ins 2025:
Jay P. - 228
Nancy Q. - 224
Jeff H. - 198
Adam M. - 189
Riley S. - 182
Robert L. - 178
Robin N. - 174
Ed G. - 170
Kendall B - 163
Marc S - 154
Speaking of Reading
Ironically enjoy this short-form social media post about how we don’t consume anything long-form any more.
Thanks for reading, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
2025 By The Numbers
Greetings! It’s time for the yearly edition of By The Numbers.
Each month, I reflect on workouts, sleep stats, and steps. At the end of the year, those monthly snapshots turn into a long-term view of trends:
Am I getting roughly the same number of steps year to year?
How’s my sleep trending over time?
What does my training volume actually look like across an entire year?
Let’s get into it.
Steps
Total Steps: 4,159,365
Daily Average: 11,396
Four million steps.
That’s about 290,000 more steps in 2025 than 2024—basically an entire extra month of walking, or roughly 800 extra steps per day across the year.
Put another way: I could have taken 50 zero-step days and still averaged 10,000 steps per day for the year.
Biggest day: August 12 — MMD 50K with ~75,000 steps
Highest month: July (both 2024 and 2025), ~465,000 steps
Lowest month: March, ~245,000 steps
My intuition was that I walked more this year, but I didn’t expect the gap to be this large. My best guess is that the extra steps came from a lot of small things adding up: more bus-stop walks, more time on the gym floor, and generally moving a bit more throughout the day.
Sleep
Average Sleep Score: 78
Average Sleep Duration: 6:53
Sleep data is harder to analyze long-term than steps. My sleep score history only goes back to November 2024, whereas I can track steps all the way back to 2019. That’s an interesting note when analyzing the data.
Overall, sleep was pretty solid for most of the year. I did have a 6–8 week stretch of poorer sleep, where my average score dipped to about 73. Not disastrous, but noticeable compared to the rest of the year.
After that stretch, the data becomes far less erratic. The line smooths out, which mirrors how much more consistent I became with sleep habits once I realized things were slipping.
Workouts
Total Workouts: 312
(Lifting, running, intervals, etc.)
Average: ~26 workouts per month
Frequency: ~6x per week
Running (2025)
Miles: 612
Time: 126 hours, 24 minutes
Vertical Gain: 85,091 ft
Running (2024 comparison)
Miles: 673
Time: 139 hours
Vertical Gain: 111,738 ft
I thought I might edge out last year’s mileage, but in hindsight it makes sense that I didn’t. In 2024, I ran a 50-mile race and completed a 50-something-day run streak leading into it. Logging 50 miles in a single day is a huge spike compared to a more evenly distributed training year.
This year’s training was more productive and focused. I shifted my attention toward shorter races and getting faster. That meant more time on the track, more road running, and lots and lots of hills.
The single most impactful thing I did for my running this year was Fast Mile Summer, where I ran a 5:30.5 mile.
2025 Race Calendar
Sunapee Scramble — June 1
Mount Washington Road Race — June 15 (DNS, but trained heavily for it)
Loon Mountain Race — July 13
1-Mile Time Trial — August 8
MMD 50K — August 10
Vulcan’s Fury Half Marathon — October 12
Great Bay 5K (time trial) — October 23
It was genuinely fun to dig into all this data and reflect on the year as a whole. 2025 was a great year of training, and having the numbers makes that clear without relying on memory alone.
I’m looking forward to seeing what this next year brings.
— Justin Miner
New Goals? Write it down
Have new goals on your mind in the new year?
This might sound too simple, but here’s a habit that will help you stick with your goals: write them down.
Putting it down on paper solidifies the goal in ways that your just your mind can’t. It makes it feel real.
If you’re charging into the year with a walking streak on your mind, thinking about another gym day or want to start running a little more—write it down and proclaim it’s your goal.
—Justin Miner
December by the Numbers
Welcome to this month’s edition of By The Numbers, where I break down data from my watch and training log to reflect on the past month.
Each month, I track a few simple metrics—average sleep, daily steps, and total workouts. I’ve been doing this consistently for over two years, and it’s become one of the most useful tools I have for spotting trends, holding myself accountable, and fine-tuning habits. I highly recommend building a practice like this into your own routine.
Let’s get into it.
Steps
Total: 343,351
Daily Average: 11,076
A nice comeback from November, with about 60,000 more total steps this month. December also helped solidify another full year averaging over 10,000 steps per day.
Somehow, December included my longest 10k-step streak of the year at 12 consecutive days. Not exactly a massive streak, but honestly, I’m not even sure how it happened.
Sleep
Average Sleep Duration: 6 hours, 45 minutes
Average Sleep Score: 79
HRV:
7-day average: 56 ms
Overnight average: 71 ms
Overall, a good month of sleep. I hit my highest sleep score of the year (91) twice in December. I still can’t seem to get past that number, but I’ve noticed that when I’m consistently getting up at the same time, my sleep scores tend to follow.
HRV dipped slightly right after Thanksgiving during the first few days of the month, then stayed right at baseline for most of December—except for one day when it jumped above my baseline range. That was the first time I showed as “unbalanced” due to too much variability, which caught my attention. I’d always assumed more variability was better.
Workouts
Total Workouts: 15
Runs: 8
Lift: 4
AirBike: 2
Sled: 1
I took the sled out for 37 laps on my birthday, my first b-day sled in 4 years.
Overall, enthusiasm to train has been a bit lackluster. I’ve been getting out for trail runs and genuinely enjoying them, but lifting has been harder to get into a rhythm with. Right now, I’m trying to focus on checking the box—getting the work done with minimal fanfare and trusting consistency over motivation.
Final Thoughts
Thanks for reading along. As always, I encourage you to build a monthly reflection practice like this into your routine. It’s one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep your health, fitness, and daily habits moving in the right direction over the long haul.
— Justin Miner
Monday Check In / Daily walking Challenge
Happy New Year!
I’m excited to get back into a normal swing of things.
Each year in January I hit the reset button on many peoples’ programs and you may notice it on your this week.
It’s a chance to get back to the basics and revisit some movements and structures we haven’t done in a while.
It reminds me of this excellent Greg Glassman quote:
“Stick to the basics and when you feel you've mastered them it's time to start all over again, begin anew - again with the basics - this time paying closer attention.”
In other news, our Daily Walking Challenge starts today—sign up with this link and get to stepping. 20 minutes everyday for the next 30 days.
SIGN UP to WALK (link live until 9pm)
See you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 110
Happy 2026! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind lately.
I took a couple of weeks off from the blog around the holidays, and it feels good to be back on here. We’re at the gym regular Friday hours today.
Daily Walking Challenge
It’s time for another edition of our daily walking challenge. With the cold and icy weather, people have been craving this challenge as an excuse to get outside and move a little more.
The rules are simple, just like in years past:
20-minute walk every day (consecutive minutes)
Starts Monday Jan 5
Ends February 4
Honor system, track your days on your own and strive to go 30 for 30
The goal is consistency, more movement, discipline, and building a habit or routine that could last the rest of the year.
SIGN UP HERE (free, open to anyone)
BASELINE TESTINg
There will be a new January Challenge up today, but anyone who needs to finish up on the GAIN Baseline is obviously welcome to. Here are some of my thoughts about the Baseline so far.
Most peoples’ grip strength is better than they assumed.
Same with the farmer’s carry
About 50% of people get a stronger grip score on their non-dominant hand versus their dominant hand
I know correlation doesn’t mean causation, but looking at the 20 second power output test: the longer you’ve been taking creatine the better score you got. Creatine is getting all sorts of attention lately for things like brain health and sleep deprivation. Cool. But remember, creatine is a molecule gives your body access to immediate burst of energy. So to all the people who finished the test and said, “I just didn’t have as much oomph as I wanted,” get on the creatine in 2026.
Goblet Squat - maybe the most impactful test. Many people squatted 20 reps for a weight they didn’t think they could get more than 10. What that showed is that people-especially if you’ve been training for a few years-get comfortable with a specific weight, and don’t often go past it. Understanding reps in reserve, and getting your rep ranges right is critical—especially when you’re in the post-newbie, but-not-quite advanced stage.
GAIN WORD OF THE YEAR
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary chose “slop” as the word of the year.
Here at GAIN, my word of the year was RIR — Reps in Reserve.
Understanding RIR is one of the keys to continuing to make progress and avoiding boredom in your training. It gives you a better lens for judging effort and challenge, rather than just counting reps and checking boxes.
Here’s how it works. If you finish a set of 10 push-ups with your hands elevated on a bar and feel like you could have done 10 more, you had 10 reps in reserve. RIR is an estimate—it’s a hypothesis based on how the set felt—but it’s still incredibly useful.
I love RIR because it tunes you in to your body. It forces you to pay attention. And more often than not, it reveals that you’re simply not being challenged enough.
When the goal is to get stronger, about 2 reps in reserve is the sweet spot. Maybe 0–1 RIR if you’re very serious about your training. But most people are walking around with 5–10 reps in reserve, and if that’s the case, you’re not even close to creating the stress needed to build stronger bones, more muscle, and real strength.
It might just become my word again in 2026.
Sports
I’m really torn about sports and kids.
I love sports, and played many of them and eventually played hockey in college. It took disciple, hard work and commitment. I’m happy I did it because I learned all about those sorts of things. And also I always had something to do or play when I was a kid. It was the most serious thing in the world for me.
It seems like all sports is about getting kids to a high-level. Changing schools, playing year round, not trying other sports or activities, and maybe even generally missing out on a being a kid.
I want my kids to play sports, but not too seriously.
The main reason: I want them to call me up and ask me to go for a run when I’m 60, they’ll be in their early 30s.
I don’t care if they’re high level athletes at 11, if they are, it’s likely detrimental to their relationships with physical activity in their 30s.
I have the same thoughts with lifting btw. I want them to lift as soon as they want, but the main goal will be to keep it fun, and something that hopefully they can do for a lifetime—not just hard for a couple years a fizzle out.
“Early success is poor indicator of long-term greatness. It might even be a negative signal.”
That’s a wrap for today, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 109
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind and my feed throughout the past week. This is the 46th Friday Thoughts blog of the year, and the 250-something post of 2025. It will also be the last blog of the year. I’m shutting it down for the next couple weeks, like I typically do, and I’ll be back on here in January. Enjoy!
GAIN BASELINE
Here’s how I’ve been doing on the baseline:
SOLEC - 9 sec right, 30 sec leff
Hang - 2:02, shoutout to the 5:30pm Crew for the hanging motivation and to Ed for hanging on for nearly 3 minutes.
Grip - 147 pounds
AirBike - 24 calories
Farmer’s Carry - 106LB’s x 1:59
Goblet Squat - this is my last remaining challenge.
All the hype around this has been really fun, keep it up, people!
Holiday Hours Reminder
Modified Hours 12/24
Closed 12/25 & 26
Modified 12/31
Closed 1/1
Thankfully Not Doing THat
I’m in a bit of a training slump. No, it isn’t even fair to call it a slump. I’ve just been plain busy. Which means I’ve been getting 2-3 workouts in a week versus my usual. I was seeking some guidance from my training log and scrolled back to December of last year. I was reminded of the Ten Thousand Kettlebell Swing Challenge - 10k swings in the month. That was rough, and I’m happy I’m not doing that again. But it was a nice reminder—the whole point of doing that challenge was to keep me moving in December. Motivation is low, it’s dark, it’s busy and not having to think on what to do has its appeal.
I ended a couple hundred swings short. Instead of doing something drastic like that now, I’m just riding the wave with the optimism that my training load will pick up once things settle down. It’s also that time of year that I’m thinking about my race calendar for 2026, and that will provide me with a boost.
11 Years Ago
This was our “soft opening.” A group-style workout on December 20, 2014. Somehow, as a 26 year old, I convinced those people to show up a give it a shot. Crazy!
That’s a wrap for today and for the year. Looking forward to doing 2025 By The Numbers when I come back. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you around in the gym.
I’ll be back on the blog in January!
—Justin Miner
GAIN BASELINE
The new GAIN Baseline has been the talk of the gym.
These six simple tests give us an observable, measurable, and repeatable way to tell the truth about our training:
Is it working?
Are your numbers improving, holding steady, or slipping?
This kind of data is often the cure for boredom in the gym. It shows how consistency compounds over time—and the results may surprise you.
So far, many people are hanging longer, carrying heavier, and squatting more than they expected. That’s not a coincidence. The members doing well on these tests have been showing up and putting in solid work all year. This is simply their training showing up on paper.
The Six Tests
SOLEC Balance Test
Grip Strength
Dead Hang
AirBike 20-Second Sprint
20-Rep Max Goblet Squat
Farmer’s Carry
You have through the end of the year to complete the GAIN Baseline so you’ll have meaningful data to carry into 2026.
See you in the gym.
—Justin Miner
Holiday Schedule
With Christmas and New Year’s coming up, here’s our adjusted schedule for the holidays:
Monday 12/22 – Normal schedule
Tuesday 12/23 – Normal schedule
Wednesday 12/24 (Christmas Eve)
• 7:30am
• 8:30am
• 9:30am
No gaps between classes
Thursday 12/25 – Closed
Friday 12/26 – Closed
Monday 12/29 – Normal schedule
Tuesday 12/30 – Normal schedule
Wednesday 12/31 (New Year’s Eve)
• 7:30am
• 9:00am
• 10:30am
• 12:00pm
Thursday 1/1 (New Year’s Day) – Closed
Friday 1/2 – Open, normal hours
Thanks for planning ahead, and enjoy the holidays!
—Justin Miner
Foundation of easy days
I saw this quote recently:
“PRs are built on the foundation of easy days.”
It resonated with me, and I hope it does with you too—because not every session you come to the gym needs to be a heroic effort.
Most of what we do in the gym will feel pretty easy. Progress can feel slow, almost unremarkable at times.
Not every workout needs to end with you lying on the floor or walking away sore. That idea, that soreness and sweat are indicators of effectiveness, is nonsense.
Most days, you just need to go in and check the box.
Move around.
Elevate your heart rate.
Expose your body to a few meaningful ranges of motion.
Then move on with your day.
Over a long enough timeline, most sessions should feel easy.
That isn’t a bad thing.
That’s training.
— Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Happy Monday!
This will be our last normal week before the holiday schedule kicks in.
We are open Monday 12/22 and Tuesday 12/23 normal hours, and then we’ll open for a few hours on Christmas Eve morning at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30—please note, no gaps between classes, and I expect these to be very full so do your best to get out on time.
Closed on 12/25 & 12/26
I’m figuring out New Year’s week today-what’s on the schedule now may change. We’ll definitely be closed on New Year’s Day.
There are two more Mondays left in 2025 after this, let’s make the most of the week.
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 108
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind over the past seven days. Enjoy!
Snow Running
Running in snow is the best. Someone said it best to me last night: the amount of outside activities I’m doing in the winter directly correlates with how grumpy, or not, I am with the weather. At the start of 2025, I committed to running through the whole winter, something I hadn’t managed in a few years. Most of the time, I did a 30-minute neighborhood run. This year, I wanted to get back in the woods and out on the trails.
After the first snow last week, I had the itch to get my winter running gear out, and I’m happy I did. Cold weather and a little sun, plus packed-down trails, equals perfect snow running conditions. It smooths out the trails, and winter woods are the ultimate running scenery. Besides, nothing makes you feel warm in 20 degrees like a big hill to climb.
Inspired by the video below, I headed to the hardware store and got a bunch of 3/8 hex screws and zipped them into the lugs of my shoes. When I had heard of this in the past, I imagined putting the screws in from inside the shoes, leaving the pointy end to dig into the ice. That seemed too aggressive, never mind a recipe for wet feet. What you actually do is drill from the soles, picking the biggest lugs to drive the screw into. The head of the screw is the traction, not the pointy part.
This was perfect for “I don’t quite need microspikes” weather. Nothing against them, but if I can avoid using them, I’m going to.
Baseline Testing Underway
Our December Baseline Challenge is underway. Six simple tests to gauge your strength, balance, and power. The idea is to know these numbers so we can see if we’re getting better, worse, or staying the same. I think for a lot of you, this will be proof your training is working, especially if you’re feeling stuck or bored with your program.
I find people who feel this way often fall into a routine of using the same weights over and over, stalling their progress not because of boredom, but because the intensity is no longer there and they’re no longer on the edge of their abilities. Something like the 20-rep max goblet squat test often surprises people with how much they can do, and it’s valuable for future training sessions to dial in appropriate loading and reps in reserve.
People are picking away at the six challenges as we near halfway through the month. Today is the day to get started if you haven’t yet.
The three easiest to bang out after a workout in five minutes:
SOLEC (one-leg, eyes-closed balance test)
Grip strength (takes literally seven seconds)
Hang (I’ve been avoiding this one)
The goblet squat pairs well with a Monday or Day 1 workout. Same with the 20-second AirBike sprint. You can fit that in any time you have conditioning. As for the farmer’s carry, I think it’s a good finisher after some intervals or a Day 2.
Keep in mind, you don’t need to game this too much. We just want to set some baseline numbers to revisit in a few months.
January Walking Challenge?
On one of the cold days earlier this week, two people within minutes mentioned bringing back the January Daily Walking Challenge. Consider this your early warning. A 20-minute walk every day for the month of January. And it totally goes with what I said earlier, doesn’t it? When you have a reason to get outside and do something, the weather doesn’t seem quite so bad.
Happy Birthday, Nolan
Believe it or not, Nolan turns 3 today. Happy birthday, Nolan.
See you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Unsymmetrical
Yesterday I was stacking wood. Moving it from a pile on the ground, to the wheelbarrow, then inside. Somewhere in the middle of it, I caught myself doing something I know everyone at the gym asks about:
Why is one side so much harder than the other?
If the gym is where we go to “fix” imbalances, you’d think years of unilateral work would even everything out. But that’s never really been the case for me. What has happened is that my “bad side” has become more reliable. Stronger. More trustworthy. And honestly, that’s the point—it may never feel identical, but it can feel dependable.
Here’s the thing:
Our imbalances aren’t gym problems. They’re life problems. Patterns built into thousands of tiny decisions we repeat every day.
Yesterday alone, I got in and out of my truck six times. Always the same leg stepping in first. I’ve never used a kitchen knife with my left hand, so every time I chop something in the kitchen, I stand the same way. I scrub dishes with my right arm. I load the dishwasher with my right hand. I drive with the same foot. I open doors the same way. None of that is “wrong,” but it all adds up.
Back to loading wood:
I noticed that every time I scooped and rotated the logs into the wheelbarrow, I was turning right-to-left. Every time. When I tried switching sides, it felt awkward—unnatural, even. And of course it did. I’ve been rehearsing the opposite pattern forever.
When you add up these daily repetitions, it’s hard to argue that 3 sets of 8 split squats will magically erase the imbalances built over 30 something years. There’s just too much working against perfect symmetry.
But here’s what the gym can do:
Make you aware of these patterns
Build capacity on the weaker side
Give you enough strength and control that the imbalance stops being a liability
Teach you how to move with intention, not just convenience
You may never cure every asymmetry—and I don’t think you need to. The real win is becoming more aware of how you move, noticing your defaults, and giving yourself the tools to adjust when it matters.
—Justin Miner
Three Types of Workouts
One of my favorite strength coaches is Dan John—the guy who created the goblet squat. He talks about three types of workouts most gym-goers will experience over their lifetime. These aren’t his favorite back squat or bench press sessions, nor are they his preferred rep schemes. Instead, he’s describing how workouts feel subjectively, both during and after.
Here’s the breakdown:
One out of five workouts are pretty good.
Things click, you’ve got some pop, and everything moves the way it should.
Three out of five are “check the box.”
You get in, get out, and get the work done. Nothing magical, maybe you’re going through the motions or motivation is low, but you still show up.
One out of five are trash.
You’re tired, something feels off, you don’t want to be there, and everything feels heavy.
I remind people of this often: not every session in the gym is going to be heroic. Most will be “meh,” some will be bad, and a few will feel great. That’s normal. And honestly, with these dark winter days, a lot of people are in that “check the box” phase, myself included.
It all boils down to consistency and your ability to keep doing the thing. Knowing that workouts like this happen, and that it’s normal, will hopefully help you keep your head in the game for longer.
—Justin Miner
Holiday Giving: Operation Blessing
This month, we’re putting out our collecting basket to help support our neighbors in need during the holiday season.
We’re proud to partner with Operation Blessing, a local organization providing food, clothing, household essentials, warm showers, and a safe, welcoming place for individuals and families in difficult circumstances.
Andrea P, from the 10:30 class, has been volunteering at Operation Blessing, and recommended we put our collective effort towards helping them out. Be sure to chat with her if you need any more specific ideas or are unsure about an item.
Here is a more specific list of ideas of what to bring in.
FOOD:
Nonperishable food (PB, jelly, canned goods, etc.)
Pantry staples (condiments, cooking supplies)
Household essentials (cooking utensils, cleaning, etc)
CLOTHING (kids and adults):
New or slightly used seasonal clothing (coats, mittens, hats, etc.)
Shoes, shoes, shoes and boots.
Shirts, ties, blouses, pants - think job interview-type clothing
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS:
Curtains
Linens
Dishes
Pots and Pans
Laundry baskets
Small kitchen appliances (coffee maker, crockpot)
Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for getting involved!
—Justin Miner