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
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
Friday Thoughts 125
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts where I share what’s been on my mind. Enjoy!
Mobility Class - Two Weeks Left - Saturday’s @ 9am
Two weeks remain at Ariel’s Mobility Series at GAIN. Join in on the fun this weekend. You’ll do some mix of yoga, pilates and mobility work with the goal of walking out of the gym feeling amazing.
Saturday April 11 & April 18 @ 9am
Training Ramblings (Big a 50k - May 2)
The past five weeks of training has gone better than expected.
I’ve been trying to keep it simple:
1 lift, 1 running workout, 2 easy runs
The lift is deadlifts, pull ups, split squats and strict press. Moderately heavy, low reps. Typically on Monday.
Tuesday is running workout day. This means some kind of hard interval—typically on the Air Runner. I’ve done 400s, miles, 800s, and 5 minute intervals.
Last week I did 4 runs within a week for the first time, and this week I’m bumping it up to 5. Next week, I’ll probably go back to 4-I don’t want to overdue it.
3 weeks till race day!
Speaking of Race Day
The Big A 50k is in need of volunteers! Get involved.
Serious Hang Time
Nearly 3 minutes is legit!
World Famous Open Beer Can Get Up
Enjoy this video from 6 years ago today-when we hosted a virtual Turkish get up workshop, and I showed off by doing it balancing an open beer can on my head.
Thanks for reading, see you in the gym!
—Justin Miner
SAturday mobility class-two weeks remaining
Two weeks remaining in Ariel’s Mobility Series at GAIN!
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 @ 9am (4/11 & 4/18)
Get involved!
—Justin Miner
How to Start at GAIN
At GAIN, new members don’t just jump into random workouts. We start everyone with a 3-Session Trial. It’s your chance to meet our coaches, experience the GAIN vibe, and see how our individualized approach works. We’re not a group class, but we’re not one-on-one personal training either—we’re something different, and unlike any gym you’ve been to.
SESSION 1: THE INTRO WORKOUT
Work closely with a coach on our basic movements: squat, push up, ring row, and our foundational core exercises
Talk through your injury history, training background, and goals.
Leave feeling like you could do more—we ease you in so you can build a habit that lasts.
SESSION 2: BUILDING ON IT
Add more movements and get your first taste of conditioning (cardio).
Learn our favorite cool-down mobility drills.
Focus on pressing, like the bench press, plus intro to single-leg training.
SESSION 3: THE HINGE & MORE
Learn the hinge pattern—a cornerstone movement for strength and longevity.
Revisit and reinforce previous skills.
Expect a slightly bigger workout as your body adapts.
WHY IT MATTERS
Over three sessions, you’ll get a crash course in all things GAIN:
Learn our favorite exercises.
Get real coaching and movement breakdowns.
Leave with a plan that’s unique to your needs and goals.
It’s more than just a trial—it’s the start of moving better, feeling stronger, and getting connected to your training.
Ready to get started? Come see what GAIN is all about HERE.
—Justin MIner