Welcome to the GAIN Blog
The blog is updated Monday-Friday. Tune in for posts and discussion about health, fitness, nutrition, training experiments and reflection. We share articles, videos and more. We post the link to our Instagram story every day, make sure to follow along there to never miss a post.
MOnday Check In
Happy 11th Monday of 2026.
I’m not going to make any workout predictions for myself this week. This week should, however, be much easier logistically than the previous one. I need to build some momentum with my training. It feels like I just keep saying I’ll get to it eventually.
The Ergathon is on Saturday at Seacoast Athletics. It was really fun last year and I’m looking forward to it again.
I’ll post all the details later this week for anyone who wants to come down and cheer on the GAIN teams.
That’s all, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 121
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind throughout the week. Enjoy!
0 for 3
On Monday’s blog I said I was aiming to run outside 3 times this week. Well, I haven’t managed a single one. It’s been a crazy week with lot of extra logistics. Honestly, I’m just happy I got a couple of workouts in. Including a treadmill workout that was a huge confidence boost.
Repeat Workout 1 year later
Last Spring I spent a lot of time on the AirRunner. It laid the foundation for the fast mile project and set me up to have a good summer of running. I decided to repeat one of the workouts from last year to compare my times and heart rate from 12-months ago to now. The results were surprising.
The workout was:
Every 3 minutes-
run 400m @ steady pace, walk during rest
Last year my average time was 1:36.
This year my average time was 1:30.
Looking at the heart rate graphs, they’re very similar, though my max was lower this year. The times is what I was pumped about. Not only is my average better—all my reps were tighter. Meaning I did all of them within a few seconds. In 2025 I had a big spread, and made a note that it was a tough workout. This time it felt like no big deal.
Lay this to rest
I can’t wait for some of you to tell me that coffee actually does dehydrate you because it a diuretic… Seriously though, I learned this in my college nutrition course and have battled people ever since. Coffee is mostly WATER! So hydrate yourself with some hot brown water, like I’m doing right now.
Easy Meal Prep
This is so easy how can you have any excuses?
INSTAGRAM TRAINERS ARGUE IF SQUATS ARE BAD
Meanwhile, they’re so important astronauts do them in space.
IDK
A few of you sent me this video of the 9 year old girl deadlifting 180 pounds at the Arnold. And honestly, I’m torn.
I think it’s amazing. Inspiring, cool and she’s super strong.
I just can’t stress enough how little I care about elite kids.
I get it. Maybe she’s super self motivated, wants to do it and it’s all her idea. But even still, who cares? Why is this a good justification? And just because a kid wants to do it, doesn’t mean it’s good. My kid would watch Despicable Me 24/7 and only eat cupcakes if it were up to him. Should I let him because he’s passionate about minions?
I’ll be more impressed with her if she has a healthy relationship with exercising at 19, and I’m not sure if trying to be the best 9 year old in the world will EVER allow that to happen.
Thanks for reading, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
time, focus and competence in the gym
The controlled environment of the gym is rich for learning. And even if you haven’t thought of it before, exercising is a skill.
Here’s an example of how you learn in the gym, and you may not even be aware of it—because that’s exactly where we’re going to start. The first stage is unconscious incompetence.
There are four levels of competence when learning or developing a skill. The first stage is unconscious incompetence. That means you don’t know how to squat, and you don’t even know it—you’re unaware of the deficit. This describes many people who walk into a gym for the first time.
The next stage is conscious incompetence. You don’t understand how to squat perfectly, but you’re aware of the lack of understanding. You know that you need coaching cues and eyes on your form to make sure it’s right.
The next stage is where many of you are in regard to training: conscious competence. You understand how to squat well, but it requires a lot of brainpower to do it. If you start thinking about work while doing goblet squats, your form gets sloppy. You need to focus in order to do it well.
The final stage is called unconscious competence. It’s second nature. You can easily perform the skill without any thought or brainpower.
In the gym, this is a hard place to get to. You might reach it with squats but not deadlifts or push-ups. We’re all different here, but one thing makes this stage possible for all of us: time and focus.
We’ve got to put the time in and use our brains to learn and develop new skills. The end game for all of this is to become better movers—unconsciously. So that when we’re hiking, kayaking, or playing tennis, we move better in safer and more powerful positions automatically.
Focus in the gym so you can have fun in life outside the gym.
—Justin Miner
Surprising Thing We Tell New People
Do less.
Seriously.
When people come in here ready to train 4 or 5 days per week, they’re fired up and motivated. Often they mention how they’re also starting yoga 3 days a week, getting a puppy, recently started a new job, and are going to stretch for 30 minutes every night after a 60-minute sauna session.
People show up motivated and ready to commit and make change. Remember though—that motivation won’t linger.
It’s incredibly unremarkable to train 25 times in 5 weeks and then stop altogether. It won’t change your life at all.
Contrast that with two or three days a week forever.
In other words, you don’t need to make your whole life revolve around the gym. I don’t recommend it. But you do need a plan you can stick with.
A couple months—or even a couple years—isn’t going to impact your strength or fitness all that much.
But doing it for decades will.
—Justin Miner
When to Ditch Your Shoes
If you want strong and resilient feet, the best way to strengthen them is to spend time barefoot.
Without shoes your balance will be different. You’ll be more connected to the ground. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your feet will work a little harder and, therefore, get stronger.
When should you ditch the shoes? Whenever you can. Warm-ups are a good place to start. Basically any exercise where your feet are planted on the floor is fair game.
Barefoot jump rope — bad idea.
Barefoot deadlifts — good idea.
Barefoot goblet squats — good idea.
Barefoot split squats — could go either way.
Single-leg hinges — definitely barefoot.
If you want strong and healthy feet this summer, get to work now!
—Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Pretty dark out there this morning!
Changing the clocks is always weird, especially when we lose an hour of sleep.
My method is to try not to think about what time it used to be. Once you start doing that you’re messing around with your brain too much. I do the same thing when traveling-just accept what time it is now and hope to adjust quickly.
This worked last week. Goal for the week: 3 outside runs.
When it starts warming up, it can be a little tricky to get a good run in. Especially on trails. The trails start breaking down, and the packed down snow and ice lingers in the trees for a while. That means it’s time to get out on the road. Something I wanted to be doing in the month of February and only did once. The trail conditions were too nice!
Have a good start to the week and see you in the gym
—Justin Miner
Friday THoughts 120
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind throughout the week. Enjoy!
4 for 4
On the Monday blog I said I was going to train everyday this week. I nearly messed up Monday. The plan was for a quick lift when I got to the gym in the morning. I got sided tracked doing work things, which happens when you work where you workout.
I ended up doing a few rounds of pull ups and strict presses—my go to when I need a low barrier-to-entry workout.
On Tuesday conditions were prime for a snow run with Clem.
Wednesday I deadlifts, half kneeling angled bar press, push ups and split squats.
Thursday, Taylor and I did an AirBike workout together: 5×1 mile - start every 5 minutes. That was a doozy.
Next up, the 26.2 Open Workout.
Prev Main
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to meet one of our newest members, Ariel. She owns a massage and facial stretch therapy studio here in Portsmouth called Preventative Maintenance. If you know me, you know I love the concept of preventative maintenance on your body. I did a facial stretch session this week and thought it was awesome.
Check out Prev Main if you need a massage, or want to see what the fascial stretch session is all about.
Also, details coming soon: Ariel is going to led some recovery-focused weekend classes here-with a chance to try out the fascial stretch therapy!
Scientist Don’t Want You to Know!
I found this to be well done. I completely agree with the pronunciation of foods, “I can say gasoline and bleach, but not Worcestershire Sauce.” The only thing I disagree with here is the grocery store filming being a yellow flag. No way. It’s a full on red flag.
Secret Running Snack
This is actually my top-secret ultra running fuel.
Seriously though, Barrington’s own, Calef’s Country Store, has a similar menu item called the Cleve and it’s really good. I tried it soon after we moved here and then started making my own running version (swapping out the hot pepper jam for regular jelly).
Packs a lot of calories for long mountain days.
Paraolympics
Are underway today. Sled hockey is wild!
Thanks for reading, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
February 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: 252,532
Daily Average: 9,019
Less than January 20206, but more than February 2025. I’ll take it.
Sleep
Average Sleep Score: 80
Average Duration: 6 hours 53 minutes
My sleep score is climbing! I had a great week of sleep on vacation, with averages higher than normal. I’m trying to carrying that sleeping energy into this week, and so far, so good.
Vacation week sleep scores
Workouts
I didn’t have a good guess as to how many workouts I did in February. I took the whole week off during vacation . Before we left I was able to test the waters and do some heavy deadlifts—which felt really good. Much better than expected. My lower back had been a little cranky from wrestling snowmobiles around all winter, and some heavy deadlifts got my confidence back.
Total: 14
Runs: 4
Bike: 6
Lift: 4
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
Deliberate Practice
We've all heard the saying practice makes perfect. Have you ever thought about how to practice though?
You’ve likely heard of the 10 thousand hour rule; It states that it accumulating many hours your craft'/skill will make you a true master. The type of practice that you accumulate matters though, you can’t just go through the motions. Deliberate practice is the most effective way to carve and hone your skills and abilities.
Deliberate practice requires three criteria:
A clearly defined stretch goal. The task must be clear and challenging to achieve.
Immediate informative feedback. Success or failure in the task must be clear and provide new information.
Repetition. The task must provide an opportunity to alter our effort for a better result.
Deliberate practice methods are found in all top performers routines. It requires focus, intensity, and commitment over time. If you want to improve at something, build some deliberate practice into your routine to fast track your progress.
—Justin Miner
March Challenge
Sled Combine
Speed. Strength. Power.
This month we’re using the 25-foot turf to test three things:
Speed.
Strength.
Power.
We’re going fast.
We’re going heavy.
And we’re going fast and heavy.
After last month’s longer grind, we’re due for a short burst. And there’s nothing better for short bursts than the sled.
Event 1 — Speed Test
How quickly can you cover 25 feet?
We’ll use a standardized load so everyone is pushing the same weight. This lets us see who can move a moderate load the fastest.
Women: 4 plates
Men: 6 plates
Score = Fastest time
Event 2 — Heavy Drive
How heavy can you go?
This one is pure strength with a time cap.
Load the sled as heavy as possible and drive it 25 feet in under 10 seconds. Ten seconds is generous. If it takes longer, it doesn’t count.
Score = Heaviest successful load under 10 seconds
Event 3 — Power Score
Power is strength expressed quickly.
It’s not just about how heavy you can go.
It’s about how heavy you can go and still move it fast.
We’ll calculate a simple Power Score:
Power = (Load × 25) ÷ Time
Example:
Sled load
4 × 45 lb plates + 2 × 70 lb kettlebells = 320 lb
Power Score
(320 × 25) ÷ 4.41 seconds = 1814
For the math sticklers: no, this isn’t peer-reviewed physics data we’re publishing. It’s a clean, simple number that rewards moving heavy loads quickly — and that’s the point.
Score = Highest number wins
GAIN SLED COMBINE — Official Format
1. Speed Test
Fastest 25 ft
Women: 4 plates
Men: 6 plates
Score = fastest time
2. Heavy Drive
Heaviest 25 ft under 10 seconds
Score = heaviest successful load
3. Power Score
Highest calculated power number
Power = (Load × 25) ÷ Time
Score = highest number
Rules
Load = weight added to the sled (25 lb minimum)
Multiple attempts allowed
Three separate scores — one for each event
Timing rounded to two decimal places (X.XX)
Clock starts on first sled movement
Clock stops when sled crosses the black tape finish line
Monday Check In
Happy Monday!
I’m excited to be back in the gym today. We had a great week hanging out in the mountains playing in the snow.
I’m excited to get back into my normal routine today —even though I was gone for a week, Taylor was gone the week before and I’m looking forward to a “regular” week.
My simple goal for the week: workout everyday.
Enjoy!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 119
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, coming to you from Twin Mountain, NH.
SkiING
Over the past 10 winters I have had countless people make their return to skiing after a long hiatus. A lot of the conversations go the same:
Them:” “Hey, I went skiing for the first time in 20 years!'“
Me: “Wow. That’s incredible! How did it go?
Them: “Horrible. Everything hurt and my legs weren’t ready for it.
Me: “But you did it… And you just mentioned you haven’t tried in over 20 years…”
Nothing prepares you for skiing better than doing the thing. The positive aspect I aim to point out is that you were confident enough to try.
Anyway, I got to live this experience.
I hadn’t been snowboarding since 2007, I was a senior in high school.
After spending the morning honing in my skiing skills with Elliot, I strapped on my snowboard and proceeded to be shocked at how much came rushing back to me.
I was nervous the whole way up on the chairlift, because no one wants to fall getting off one of those. And somehow I managed a smooth dismount, and then it all came rushing back. I was strapping my other foot on while standing on, hoping along flat spots and riding like I never had a break. Expect for my legs. Wow they were burning!
All I could think of was that my legs weren’t prepared—and the only thing that could have prepared them? More exposures to snowboarding, not more time in the gym.
That’s all for this week, catch you in the gym on Monday!
—Justin Miner
Add to Subtract
Gyms are good at helping people make changes in their life is because it’s a new thing to add in.
You need to commute to the gym, be there for an hour and commute back to home or work or wherever. You can’t fake it. You have to carve out that time and actually show up.
Health and fitness often emphasizes subtraction. Take diets for example, they often eliminate something that is deemed “bad.” Cut this thing out, stop doing this, no more of this type of food. The restriction and focus on what you can’t do makes compliance difficult.
If you’re having trouble getting to the gym, remember, once you add this habit in, other good habits are going to fall in place and you’ll subtract bad habits with the addition of your new one.
—Justin Miner
Now Hiring
We’re searching for someone to join our small, established coaching team at GAIN Strength & Conditioning.
This role is ideal for a coach or trainer who loves working with people, values long-term development over quick fixes, and wants meaningful responsibility inside a semi-private training environment.
This is a salaried position with consistent hours, autonomy on the floor, opportunities to earn additional income through private training, and real room to grow as a coach.
If you—or someone you know—might be a good fit, reach out to me directly at justin@gainsc.com.
—Justin Miner
Heaviest Ball in the gym
In 2015 I learned something important about the human mind and how we create our own limitations.
Back then we only had two medicine balls at the gym. An 8 pound ball and a 12 pounder.
After a few months the 8 pound ball was looking beat up, but the 12 pounder looked brand new. If someone was waiting for the 8 pound ball, I would suggest they try their medicine ball slams with the 12 pound ball instead.
“No way,” they would reply, “It's the heaviest ball in the gym!”
I bought another 8 pound ball. Soon both of the 8s were wearing down and the 12 pounder was pristine.
This time, when it was time to order some new medicine balls, I bought a 14 and 20 pound ball.
Something funny happened.
Suddenly, the 12 pound ball was no longer the heaviest. People who wouldn't use the 12 started using the 14, since now it wasn't even close to the heaviest medicine ball in the gym.
The same thing happened with the kettlebells. No one would swing a 45 pound kettlebell when it was the heaviest one in here. But, once there were several heavier than that, more and more people started to swing the 45.
We need context for everything. Including figuring out our limitations and comfort zone.
Seeing the heaviest medicine ball in the gym can be intimidating. But it isn't intimidating when it's the second, or third heaviest.
—Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Happy Monday!
The gym is closed today due to the storm.
We’ll be back at it tomorrow.
—Justin Miner
Friday thoughts 117
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 SKI DAY
There’s a solid crew planning to hit the slopes at Ragged Mountain tomorrow.
Olympian Speed Skater Home Gym
Honestly wished we got a better view of the gym in the video, but I appreciate high level athletes building their own home gyms nonetheless.
Speed skating training hours
This is one of those classic, I don’t really know the source to this but I saw it on the Internet. Allegedly this speed skater logs 30-35 hours per week of training—which is nuts.
USA Hockey
Hopefully you caught the US Women’s Hockey Team winning gold yesterday afternoon against Canada. The men’s team is playing today at 3:10 against Slovenia—winner gets a trip to the gold medal game.
That’s all for today. I’ll be at the gym all day, see you there!
—Justin Miner
Praise for the Split Squat
I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the split squat.
It’s a versatile exercise that builds stability and strength, gives you a bit of a stretch, and is easy to load or unload. Almost everyone can do some variation of it.
It mirrors the shapes we make while playing sports and closely resembles the positions required to get up and down from the floor unassisted. In other words, it scales easily. High-level athletes and older adults training for independence can both get a lot out of it.
Along with squats and deadlifts, split squats and their many variations should be staples in your training program.
Justin Miner
Now Hiring
We’re searching for someone to join our small, established coaching team at GAIN Strength & Conditioning.
This role is ideal for a coach or trainer who loves working with people, values long-term development over quick fixes, and wants meaningful responsibility inside a semi-private training environment.
This is a salaried position with consistent hours, autonomy on the floor, opportunities to earn additional income through private training, and real room to grow as a coach.
If you—or someone you know—might be a good fit, reach out to me directly at justin@gainsc.com.
—Justin Miner
Do tHis to Be Stronger Today
If you want to get stronger, this one thing will help you more than anything:
Rest more.
That’s the big secret. Take more time between sets. You’ll recover more. Your muscles have a chance to reset and prepare for the next effort. When you’re more recovered, you can apply more force.
More force = more strength.
There are times when we intentionally limit rest to build fatigue and stress the system in a different way. Conditioning days. Density work. That has its place.
But when the goal is strength, rest is necessary.
Slow down. Take your time between sets. Often, one more minute is the difference between a few extra push-ups or reaching for the heavier kettlebell on your goblet squats.
—Justin Miner