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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.
Friday Thoughts 129
Greetings. Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind. Enjoy!
TRAINING Ramblings
My legs were feeling pretty good this week coming off the 13 mile run at Mount A. Some people have asked me what’s next?
For the past 6 moths or so I have not been able to get my groove for training. I’ll string together a week or so but then something happens. And on one hand, such is life (see video below about deload weeks, and remember there are No Normal Weeks).
Because of this, plus 100 other factors, I’ve withdrawn from the Vermont 100k. The race has been around for nearly 40 years, so I know it’s not going anywhere and there will be another chance. This summer isn’t it though.
I do have some more races on the calendar, Market Square Day 10k and an ultra in the mountains I do every August.
Before I start training for MSD though, I need to get some consistency back in my training life.
What’s worked for me before is lower stakes, low barrier to entry workouts—and that’s what I’m going to lean on in the coming weeks. Short and simple. Straight to the point. Probably only 20-30 minutes total. The goal is to build some momentum and honestly, have fun. Training has felt very chore like, and maybe that’s part of the problem too.
Deload Week
I have this story of when I got my first personal training client. It was a big deal. We were going to train 6 days a week and he was super serious.
Before we started I spent hours planning our first month of training. And like the strength and conditioning textbooks say, every 4th week I would plan a deload week to back off volume and intensity. To allow for more recovery and to give the system a chance to recover and adapt.
Then our first workout happened. He was 20 minutes late, took two important phone calls and nearly died when I gave him medicine ball slams in a finisher. After 45 minutes my month long spreadsheet was trash. We had to modify so much on the first day that the rest of the program needed to be edited.
I learned then it’s really hard to plan for people weeks and weeks in advance. Especially if the person is just a regular person, not a superstar athlete training for the olympics—where deload weeks probably make more sense.
For normal people coming to GAIN, deloads happen. Vacation, sick kids, car breakdowns, and what have you.
Mike Boyle always said, why would I lower someone’s training effect with a deload when they’re going to miss a few days a month anyway?
Instead of a planned deload, let life happen, and if you’re in tune with your body, you’ll know when to take your foot off the gas a bit.
BOLT Score
I’ve written about the Bolt Score before. I learned it from the book Oxygen Advantage. The Bolt Score measures your co2 tolerance. I used the breathing exercises prescribed in the book while getting ready to pace for 50-miles at the Wasatch 100 Mile Endurance Run in 2024. The race is in Utah and the highpoint is 10,000 feet. I had never really exercised at altitude before. Leading up to the run I did a lot of slow exhales, and exhale holds while walking or running.
I got my score up into the 40 second range. I think it really helped me with the altitude, because it didn’t affect me at all.
Check it out, and your score may surprise you!
That’s it for today, thanks for reading.
See you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
May Challenge Workout “Kendra”
Kendra was a long-time GAIN member who passed away last year after a battle with cancer last year. She was Clem’s best friend, could do over 10 pulls up and ran multiple marathons every year. She was amazing, and inspiring to everyone she met.
I wanted to come up with a workout we could do to honor her memory.
At first, I imagined something with pull-ups and 375-pound deadlifts—to match her state powerlifting record—but that felt a bit excessive for the masses.
Then I thought back to Memorial Day 2023.
We had done “Murph” for a couple of years in a row. If you’re unfamiliar, Murph is a well-known workout created in honor of Navy SEAL Michael Murphy. It includes a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another 1-mile run, often done with a weight vest. Gyms across the country take it on each year as a Memorial Day tribute.
But in 2023, Kendra was in the middle of treatment, and another round of Murph wasn’t happening. So she sent me a different workout—another one created for a fallen soldier—called Jerry. I had heard of it, appreciated its simplicity, but had never done it.
JERRY
For Time:
1-mile Run
2000m Row
1-mile RunSgt. Major Jerry Dwayne Patton, 40, died on October 15, 2008, during High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) training while assigned to Army USSOCOM in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Molly, and sons Chad, Cody, Chase, and Connor.
On Memorial Day 2023, I took on Jerry with a handful of others, including Kendra and Chris Poulin. It was the right challenge.
Last year we ran it as our monthly challenge in May, and we’ll be doing that again this year.
Join me in celebrating her strength, her spirit, and her enduring impact.
Get involved!
—Justin Miner
April 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 Steps: 369, 130
Daily Average: 12,304
Steps are climbing! This is my highest monthly total since August 2025. A sure sign that summer is coming.
SLEEP
Average Sleep Score: 80
Average Sleep Duration: 6 hours 43 minutes
Sleep has been great for this past month. I’ve been busy, and because of that crashing hard each night. My average sleep score stayed the same, but my average duration is down a few minutes from last month. I think it mostly has to do with one night where I didn’t sleep at all—stomach bug. I logged my lowest sleep score ever, 23.
TRAINING
Runs: 13
Lift: 3
Yikes! Not my best month. That stomach bug really wiped me out. I got one good lift in earlier in the month. The others were later in the month once recovered. I was excited to ramp up the training but had no gas. This confirms there was no way I should have run more than I did last weekend.
I’m finally recovered from that bug and hoping for a more normal training month in May.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I always learn a thing or two when I do this monthly reflection, which is why I always encourage you to build a similar practice. It’s an easy way to check in and see how you’re doing and where you may be able to improve. Thanks for reading!
—Justin Miner
Monday Check IN
Greetings! Happy Monday.
The Big A 50k was this past Saturday. I ended up running 13 miles.
I wasn’t feeling a big push and my fitness wasn’t quite there. Nonetheless, I had a great time volunteering at the race for the rest of the day and because of the vibe and atmosphere, the Big A continues to be one of my favorite races. It was great to get move involved.
I was wiped out for the day on Sunday after spending all day at Mount Agamenticus.
I’ve been struggling to get into a rhythm. Getting sick, busy kid schedules and big changes at the gym are the contributing factors. This week, I’d like to get into a good routine and make sure I move every day.
What are you plans for the week? What do you want to accomplish?
Let me know what you’re looking to accomplish.
See you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 128
Greetings. Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind. Enjoy!
Big A 50k
The Big A 50k is tomorrow!
The first Saturday in May really sneaks up on you.
I’ve had a pretty meh few weeks of training. I was sick, better, sick again and missed two full weeks.
I have no expectations for the run. I would love to do the full 50k - but only if it doesn’t feel too expensive for my body.
Since I’ve been out of a training groove, and kind of have a lot going on in life, I don’t want to beat my legs up too bad and take another week of rest and recovery and further slip away from a good routine. That’s a priority for me over the race.
All that to say, I’m leaning towards two laps, or 20-miles tomorrow.
Evolution?
Last weekend two people during the London Marathon went sub-2 hours, which is obviously insane.
WHat’s interesting to me is the new shoe science, and how these shoes are actually making people so much faster. In the second post below it mentions that the line up on the podium were all wearing shoes that were recently developed. This shoe tech is new and it’s really changing running. The problem it creates, and performance enhancing drugs do the same thing, is it makes us wonder; could they have done that without this technology?
Is anyone going to break the 2-hour marathon in a pair of shoes from 1968? Or have we already squeezed all the performance out of those as possible? And there’s a certain marathon threshold that cannot be broken without the aid of super shoes?
By the way, the shoes worn to break the two hour marathon in London are available HERE (they’re only $500)
I am Impressed Though
I don’t mean to be a hater on the new marathon record. Quite the contrary actually, I’m pumped about. Obviously these runners are putting in the time and effort—and I don’t want the shoes to overshadow that. However, if it’s making such a difference, it will always raise that question: can we do this without super shoes?
HOW DARE THE QUEEN
Last year when we ran the fast mile program, leaning the following was my greatest inspiration.
You’ve probably heard the tale of the greek solider who inspired the first marathon.
Pheidippides, a Greek solider, ran from Marathon to Athens to announce victory over the Persians only to collapse and die from exhaustion.
That distance is 40km or just under 25 miles. That was the distance of the first marathon. It wasn’t until 1908, when the Queen wanted the race to start and end from the Windsor Castle and the Royal viewing box.
And so now, instead of a 40,000 meter marathon, we have a 42,195 meter marathon.
So keep in mind; if Queen Alexandria didn’t change the marathon distance in 1908—we would have broken the two hour marathon without the need of super shoes and maybe elite runners would have to look so silly with those things on their feet.
Thanks for reading, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Farewell Taylor
Today is Taylor’s last day at GAIN.
It’s hard to picture the gym without him. He’s been here for 9 years—which is completely unheard of in this industry. For a long time, every day I walked in, Taylor was already there. Giving Clementine some love, knowing when to talk and when to give me a minute. Someone I could vent to, bounce ideas off, and share both the frustrating and the good parts of training, life, and running a business.
A lot has changed in those 9 years. The gym has grown, and so have we. He’s not the young coach in his early twenties anymore. He’s a seasoned coach in his thirties who’s put in real time and real work.
This will be a big adjustment for all of us. But change like this is part of the deal if you’re committed to getting better. We adapt, we improve, and we keep going. That’s what this whole thing is built on - showing up, striving to get better, and putting in the time.
Taylor, I’m proud to have worked with you for as long as I have. I’m grateful you trusted me—and that you got it. You always understood the vision for the gym and what we’re trying to do.
You helped shape GAIN into what it is today. I won’t forget that.
—Justin Miner
PArty Time
Today’s the day — Coach T’s Send Off Party!
At the gym, 5-7pm
4pm session is on as normal, but we may be setting up while you’re finishing up.
Hope to see you there tonight.
—Justin Miner
How’s Your GRip
In college I participated in a peer’s research study that needed 20 strong, college-aged individuals. But instead of testing our squats or deadlifts, they used a hand dynamometer—a device that measures grip strength in pounds of force based on how hard you can squeeze.
It was a simple, low-skill way to screen for strength, and it was the first time I learned grip strength could be a predictor of overall body strength.
“A wealth of research already tells us that strength is good for us. People who lift weights are substantially less likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure and many other chronic illnesses than those who skip resistance exercise.”
From this article; What Grip Strength Can Tell You About How You’re Aging.
In other words, grip strength isn’t just about how hard you can squeeze—it can reflect how strong you are overall, and your strength is closely tied to your health and longevity.
We have a hand dynamometer at the gym, and it’s called the Truth-O-Meter. It won’t lie and it will tell you if you’re strong, or not.
Give it a squeeze the next time you’re at the gym!
—Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Greetings. Happy Monday!
Taylor’s last day at the gym is this week - Thursday April 30th will be his last day. We’re having his going away party on Wednesday 4/29 at the gym, 5-7pm. I hope you can join us!
Big A 50k is coming up this weekend. And maybe a couple days of garage door open weather to start the week.
Coach T is out today moving and packing. Luke and I will be covering all the sessions.
See you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 127
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts-where I share what’s been on my mind lately. Enjoy.
Party Time
Save the date for Taylor’s going away party at the gym.
WED APRIL 29
5-7PM
TRAPBAR Love
I love trapbar deadlifts. They’re so good at building leg strength without stressing out the back too much. More than that, they can teach you how to really brace and get good leverage to drive up. I’ve had more and more people trapbar deadlifting over the past year and the results are showing. People are getting strong, feeling good and becoming better movers.
SPECIFIC TRaPBAR
Good training is doing basic strength and conditioning consistently over time. Check out the Masters champ Rory McIlroy’s trapbar deadlifts. More than that, I appreciate the commentary of this video. While he’s referencing sport specific training and whether a golfer and a hockey player should train differently, the bigger message is that the simple, basic strength and conditioning makes better athletes.
Innovative Shoe Rack Wall….Good Execution!
Enjoy this throwback, 7 years ago today.
That’s all for today, see you in the gym!
—Justin MIner
a little zip
One of my favorite ways to help someone better understand a movement—especially a deadlift, squat, or push-up—is to add a little bit of speed.
Newer lifters are often juggling multiple cues, trying not to mess up their form. This can lead to overthinking or being overly cautious. And when you overanalyze a movement, it changes how you perform it—usually not for the better.
In these cases, I try to get the person to move a little faster. The goal is to smooth out the lift. More often than not, the result is a more confident, fluid movement.
Moving too slow can make stuff feel harder, we’ll use tempo to progress a movement, for example, by making you slow way down. Newbies tend to do this too much, which increases the intensity of the movement—even though they're just trying to think through it.
Speed activates more muscle. When you try to move quickly, your body recruits more muscle fibers to help. More muscle engagement means more force—and that means more strength.
I'm not saying you should recklessly rush through your lifts, but the next time you're in the gym, try putting a little zip into your squats, deadlifts, bench presses, or push-ups. You might be surprised at how much stronger and more connected you feel.
—Justin Miner
Weight Selection / RIR
For the past few weeks I’ve given many clients the following workout:
10-10-10-5-5-5
Goblet Squats
Push ups
The purpose of this rep scheme was to get a check in on reps in reserve—how many reps could you theoretically do if you didn’t stop at 10?
If you easily did 10 reps, say at 25 pounds, the 30 pound dumbbell or 35 pound kettlebell might not seem so intimidating for only 5 reps.
Weight selection like this makes sure you’re getting the right intensity for your workout. If you just choose the same weights regardless of the reps, you’re probably not challenge yourself enough. And if that’s the case, you’re not getting stronger muscles or signaling to your bones get in line.
I talk a lot about movement quality, playing the long game and pacing yourself. Don’t forget, strength training is intentional stress on your body so it adapts. Scenarios like this offer up a chance to take a risk, approach the edge and try something you might have avoided otherwise.
—Justin Miner
Taylor’s Going Away Party
As you’ve probably heard by now, Taylor and Caroline (and Cocoa) are heading to the South Shore to be closer to family.
Taylor’s been a part of GAIN for nearly 9 years and will be missed around here.
His last day is April 30th. Over the next couple weeks, he’ll be working with our new coach, Luke, who just started this week.
We’re hosting a going away party to celebrate Taylor and have a good time together.
WHEN: Wednesday, April 29th, 5–7pm
WHERE: GAIN
WHAT: We’ve got a few fun surprises planned. Check out the Red Party Packet by the coaches’ desk in the gym. There are sign-ups for food and a few other things in there. Keep it quiet though, don’t let Taylor in on it.
That’s all for now. Hope to see you there.
—Justin Miner
Monday Check in
Greetings! Happy Monday.
Luke’s first day at GAIN is today. He’ll be shadowing Coach Taylor and learning the swing of things, be sure to say hi.
Reminder that Coach T’s party is next week - Wednesday April 29, 5pm @ GAIN.
That’s all for now, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
Friday Thoughts 126
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind. Enjoy!
Farewell Coach Taylor
Taylor and Caroline and packing up and moving at the end of the month to be closer to family. This will be a big adjustment for all of us, Taylor has been working at GAIN for nearly 9 years. Save the date for his going away party: Wednesday April 29 @ 5pm at GAIN.
Luke is the new guy. He will be following along with Taylor starting on Monday. He’ll be saying hi and getting to know you all. Luke comes from a one-on-one training environment and is eager to step up and fill this role.
Mobility Class
Last call for mobility class this weekend….Or is it?
It’s the last session in Ariel’s 4-week mobility series. If you’ve been saying you need to try this out, here’s your chance.
Can’t make it? Don’t stress too much—Ariel is going to host a some weekend sessions each month over the summer to keep your range of motion in and check and leave you feeling limber.
Training Update
My body wasn’t ready for hard training this week after catching a stomach bug over the weekend.
The Big A 50k is two weeks away.
I did get out for an easy trail run. It was nice to run on fresh legs, and I did feel good. But I was wiped out afterwards and wondered if I did a bit too much despite it being an easy effort. Hoping to get out once or twice this weekend as my energy levels and nutrient stores climb back out of the hole.
BIG A 50k - Group run and volunteers needed
Adam and I are leading a group run around the Big A 50k course next weekend. It’s a 10-mile loop done at super-chill pace.
SAT April 25 @ 9am - meet at Big A summit
Volunteers are needed on race day!
CLICK HERE to grab a spot helping keep the aid station tidy, keeping time for runners, flipping burgers or anything else needed to help keep race day running smoothly.
Point Vector Isometrics
This is the fancy term/explanation of why we love the old kettlebell on the quads after a work or when your knee is feeling cranky for no reason.
Made Up Statistics
I read the book How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. The book came out in the 50s but is eye opening to the manipulation of numbers to make them say certain things. Years ago I ranted about how my dish soap claims “50% less scrubbing” But, like, wtf does that even mean? I enjoyed this video talking about divorce rates and how the numbers aren’t always what it seems.
That’s a wrap, thanks for reading.
—Justin Miner
Mobility Class - Saturday @ 9
If you want to stretch out, loosen up, and feel less stiff and achy, this is for you.
A lot of people tell me they need to stretch more, but be honest, you might do a 6 second hold here or there, but otherwise it isn’t on your mind.
Having Ariel guide you through a routine takes the guess work out of it and makes you stay engaged.
Click below to get involved:
MOBILITY CLASS DROP IN $30
Saturday 4/18 @ 9am
It won;t be your last chance - we’re keeping mobility class rolling throughout the summer - details soon!
—Justin Miner
No Normal Weeks
We’ve developed this saying around our house in the past year: there are no normal weeks.
What Hannah and I are referencing is that every week has something going on out of the ordinary.
Someone is sick, a car needs repairs, someone is traveling, extra work pops up, or whatever it is.
We used to get to Monday and say, “this is going to be a normal week!” Inevitably, something would come up and it wouldn’t be a “normal” week.
Now the mantra is: there are no normal weeks. We’ve got to be able to bend and adapt, while still being rigid in what we want to get done.
Because if you’re waiting for the perfect, quiet, distraction-free week to train, eat well, or start at the gym… you’re going to be waiting a long time.
The people who make progress aren’t the ones who string together perfect weeks. They’re the ones who do a good job in imperfect ones.
They get 2 workouts instead of 4.
They shorten a session instead of skipping it.
They go for a 20 minute walk when the day gets away from them.
It doesn’t look impressive in the moment. But it adds up. Much more so than 4 workouts one week, 0 the next two.
A “normal week” is a trap. It sets the expectation that everything has to line up before you can execute.
So instead of chasing normal, we expect the disruption.
—Justin Miner
MOre REst, Less REps
Here are some strength training rules you should know about. People who train for a long time understand these rules and it helps them play the long game.
The first: rest more. If something feels hard, and your goal is to improve strength-chill out.
Resting allows the processes that happens in your muscles run its program to gear up for the next bout. That extra minute or two can be the difference in a weight feeling really easy or too hard.
If something feels heavy, remember that isn’t a bad thing if you’re trying to build strength. You need stress to build strength and that struggle is good!
Too much of a struggle can be an issue though. We want proper technique and often times the way to ensure better form with a heavier weight or harder skill is to cut back on the reps-which is my second point today.
If your program says do 8, but you just increased a weight for the first time, you can do 5 or 6 reps to build confidence and get some practice. Keep the movement quality high instead of completing 8 sloppy reps.
Experienced gym-goers get this, and it’s a valuable framework to keep you playing the long game.
—Justin Miner
Monday Check In
Greetings, happy Monday.
Our new LED lights got installed yesterday. They look good, and the gym floor is much brighter.
Plus there’s no florescent hum anymore. It’s awesome.
Hope you had a good weekend and are getting back in the gym today!
—Justin Miner