A Hard Year Not a Bad Year

One night in early March I was having a conversation with Alex. No way we will have to close the gym I confidently told him, unsure exactly what coronavirus even was. Tension built over the next week as friendly members gave skeptical looks if anyone coughed or sneezed. We implemented new cleaning procedures but couldn't even find proper supplies.

Throughout the day on 3/16 it became obvious we needed to close. Sending that email was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. After we shutdown for the night I laid on the floor unsure what was going to happen next.

What ensued was a heroic effort. We committed to getting everyone training at home, producing content to keep them engaged and spirits high. We posted a workout video each and every day for all 76 days. We uploaded hours of demo videos to YouTube and posted 3 follow along workouts every week for people who couldn't make our Zoom classes or live follow along mobility sessions.

By the time May rolled around we had already reorganized and repainted gym. We spent the previous months planning how to restructure, adapt and continue doing what we do. How would we program? How could we make sure no one shared equipment? How could we make sure our warm up was physically distant? Will people even want to come?

The solutions to all those questions happened to be more work. More cleaning, more writing, shuffling weights and bikes and rowers around. All of it was hard and unexpected, but it was all worth it.

Bashing 2020 is fashionable, but I'm here to tell you we're headed into 2021 stronger, more ready and more motivated to help people. Why? Because the pandemic shoved us into making positive changes. The gym is cleaner, more organized and people are getting more coaching in a more efficient session. I'm happy with the changes, and wouldn't have made them had this not happened.

Two parts of our Core Values is to have a growth mindset and to point positive. The adversity of the year forced us to examine those values and to put our money with our mouth is. Sure, it was a hard year, I faced more uncertainty than I thought possible, but I refuse to believe it was a bad year.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain

A New Challenge

I started the Gain Blog in March 2018. I was scared of writing and did it as a way to push myself to improve my communication skills. I wanted to get better at transcribing my thoughts and experiences in the fitness industry and demystify strength and conditioning.

I believe that strength and conditioning and the lessons it provides is a key to a long and healthy life. For nearly two years, I've consistently published the blog but haven't shared it nearly enough. As a way to continue the evolution of the blog, to push myself further and continue to spread the message, this account (@justinminergain on Instagram) will now be (mostly) dedicated to the Gain Blog as a way to share it to more people and a new audience.

Personal evolution wasn't the only momentum that sparked this. Everything changed in 2020 and more people than ever realized they needed take care of themselves. For the past decade the view of fitness has been shifting. It's being recognized as preventative medicine, and a necessity for a fun, adventurous lifestyle.

This year taught me that I hold valuable information. I know to to make people move better, gain confidence and feel ready to take on the world. As a father, a husband, business owner and home owner I know how hard it can be to get everything done. But I've found a way. A way through strength and conditioning and through maintaining a certain lifestyle that grants me freedom.

Look for strength training tips, how to videos, post on habits and discipline, endurance training, and perspectives from 10 years as a coach. If you're interested in what's going on in my training, be sure to follow along @gain_endurance.

If you’re a regular blog reader from Facebook, nothing is changing, you’ll still get the daily links via Facebook. You’ll now be able to find the posts on Instagram as well. If you’re not following along on Instagram, get involved here.

Justin Miner

@justinminergain

32 Thoughts for 32

1. The older I get, the more training becomes about feeling good - mentally and physically, and about being able to do what I can now, for a long time.

2. If you train right, your fitness sticks around. After a long running and training hiatus at the start of the pandemic in March and April, I still felt fit enough to take on the Hut Traverse in late June. My longest training run was just 15 miles, half on the road, not even close to the 10 hour mountainous 50k I would I preferred. I charged up a couple mountains in a final scouting mission the week before and decided if the weather was good I would go for it. Although I didn’t make it to the final hut, just 1.5 miles short, it remains one of my most fond and intense experiences, despite the fact that I wasn't as trained up, or as fit I would have preferred. What I had built up mostly stuck around. Key takeaway: Always being ready is more important than being trained specifically for something.

3. Ability to have a really long, slow controlled movement, tempo in gym vernacular, might be the key to really understanding strength training.

4. Foam rolling is important, but not that important. I’ve shown countless people how to foam roll. Each time, the experience is hit or miss. “I know it hurts really bad when you do that, and yeah, it kind of makes you want to scream too, but it’s good. I promise!” Doesn’t always create immediate converts. What made it worth it, was when that some people got up, and immediately noticed some physical change. Boom. They’re in. Though the years, I’ve just decided to accept that some people love it, myself included, and some people don’t like it, or don’t need it as bad, or just don’t feel like laying down right before training, myself included, too. I’ve lost many workout attempts to naps on foam rollers “trying to get warmed up.” Bottomline, you need to do some soft tissue work on yourself, but it doesn’t have to be at the gym.

5. Strength training is totally possible (and necessary?) through an entire pregnancy. Hannah took more rest days than a normal year, but was able to keep up her training consistency by good planning. We keep her movements consistent for longer stretches of time. Changing movements every 6-8 weeks instead of 3-4. This kept the movements familiar, easy to determine load and established a baseline for feel. We did mess around with reps, tempo and volume. Keeping the volume at a manageable level let her keep up the frequency - we never pushed too hard and always did less than possible.

6. The first time I back squatted was 2004. This year, I finally feel like I’ve figured it out can do it without any discomfort. Without a doubt, one of the most effective exercises around, however, it’s not the only option, or the best option for most due to the high learning curve. Similarly, I feel like I have gotten better at push ups the year. Strength and Conditioning is impossible to master, there’s always more to get better at and refine. Which is the same reason why Peloton and Mirror won’t get you very fit. There’s only more calories to burn, not a way to get “better.” In the gym, we get better through refinement of movement and increasing understanding.

7. Running has helped me understand hip extension. When I first started, my hip flexors were always so tight they were a limiting factor on my stride. It took a lot of mobility work and patience to get them calm, however, regular exposure to running, aka time with my hips in extension, seems to make the range of motion stick around equally as well as regular mobility work.

8. Build mobility into your day. Since I don’t formally mobilize as much any more, I do make sure to spend a lot of time sitting on the ground, and finding ways to get in a stretch throughout the day instead of having a dedicated time.

9. Really long walks are great workouts. Don’t discount them and do them frequently.

10. Training boiled down to one sentence: pick up things from the floor, push stuff, pull stuff, move fast, go slow.

11. I love deadlifts. I learned a while back that I don’t need to push the weight on them, the risk became greater than the training effect I would get from heavy loads. This fall I was feeling strong, and recovered from a massive decrease in training volume after Elliot was born. I went for it and set an easy PR. A couple weeks later I set another and a month after that another. It’s been YEARS since I’ve broken a deadlift PR and it feels good. Strength sticks around with proper training. The longer you’ve been lifting, the harder it is to progress.

12. I always hated the idea of training first thing in the morning. With the baby around though, it made so much sense to just go get it done. After a month of trying to wrap my head around the idea, I finally did it two weeks ago and haven’t looked back since. I’m a convert. For now.

13. Dinner principles make it easy to make healthy dinner while raising a newborn. We always have some type of protein with at least two veggies. If it was a training day, we’ll add some rice or potatoes. If we’re feeling crazy, we might have a pizza night or make some GF pasta, with added veggies, for a fun shake up. Otherwise, keep it simple to be consistent. Recipes are overrated. Cook with principles.

14. Balance is trainable, but more often than not it, it seems to relate back to stability, and being able to get organized and display strength.

15. Home gyms are essential. You need at least a set of dumbbells or a couple kettlebells. Forget the bands, they’re nice, for sure, but not nearly as useful as some good old fashioned iron.

16. Eat more eggs. You just can’t go wrong. Filling, multiple ways to prepare them, loaded with good protein and micros.

17. One exercise workouts let you focus on the skill of strength. Complete the movement with focus and intent. Give yourself plenty of time to practice as a warm up and you’ll see strength soar. It’s boring, but effective, like many things in strength and conditioning.

18. People in back pain should LEARN how to deadlift without pain. It usually takes some time, lots of reps, and maybe a bit of aggravation. Learning to get stiff and rigid, using discomfort as feedback for change, is imperative to dealing with daily life. Deadlifts are one of those movements that do all the good stuff, its importance surpasses much of the other things we do in the gym.

19. You need discipline. Not motivation. No one ever motivated themselves to a healthier lifestyle. You need discipline to build new habits and stick with stuff long after you no longer feel like doing it. After you grind enough, it becomes automatic and you can’t believe the way you were living before

20. The best way, beside walking, to get more cardio is to bring some intensity to the gym. It shouldn’t be all the time, but when appropriate, pushing the pace on an AMRAP circuit or RFT combo, gives you a lot of bang for your buck. Muscular endurance, strength endurance, cardiorespiratory demand, and the plain, old fashioned suck factor.

21. As I’ve written before, I’ve been on the barefoot thing for a minute. To my surprise, my feet are still getting better. Build in more time with no shoes (or slippers!) on your feet. Especially now while we’re all cramming our feet into boots.

22. I had a blood test and determined I needed some more omega 3’s. Right away I started taking some krill oil. That lasted for two months, and instead we went the real food route and now eat fish once a week.

23. Trunk rolling; taking a big ball and massaging the area between your hip bone and rib cage is life changing, and my go to protocol whenever I’m stiff and twisted.

24. What’s the bare minimum? I like training. I like taking my time with it, but with a baby that isn’t always the case. Before training I ask myself, “what’ll be the most efficient way to get a training effect?"

25. Going heavy, or using a challenging load only once every month or two isn’t a bad way to get and stay strong for a long time.

26. Habits can be slippery. I started having a beer every night during the initial lockdown, and before I even realized it, it was October and I was still going.

27. The dumbbell snatch might be the best thing to make people look and feel athletic. Historically an exercise I reserved for athletic population only, this movement has now become a staple in our programming to get people violently extending their hips and getting some weight overhead.

28. Coffee is a drug, and I’m an addict. I did some genetic testing this year and to no one’s surprise, I’m a fast caffeine metabolizer. That means my body can handle a lot of it without too many ill effects like jitters or staying up all night.

29. Also to no one’s surprise, my DNA report told me I respond well to endurance training. I have a gene variant the loves to be pushed aerobically, so it responds by adapting quickly. When I stopped playing hockey, I basically only lifted and started to feel slow and sluggish. When I upped the cardiovascular training, my strength went up, I got leaner, I recovered faster between training sessions - everything got better with it. It was then I started to suspect I was an aerobic responder (genetically) and my test confirmed that this year.

30. On my 30th birthday, I ran 30 miles. Last year, I had a party with my closest friends. This year, I wrote my first listicle. When I was coming up in the strength world, all the coaches I looked up to did this on their birthday, and I remember thinking, will I ever have enough cohesive thoughts to put together a list like that or will gross anatomy just kill me?

31. A theme that always comes up from successful people in many realms; voluntary suffering makes everything else easy. Change you attitude about those bike sprints. Not only will they make you fit, but you’ll be a better person more ready to take on life.

32. Write a personal retrospective. When I started writing this blog several days ago, that’s what I was going to do but it turned into this post. It’s a drill I do every year. I write what worked, what didn’t work and how can I fix what didn’t work. It’s hard to start, but usually ends up creating a few goals and action steps for the new year.

Justin Miner

PS: This is the last post of the year, I’m shutting it down until January to recharge. Thanks for reading along with me, I appreciate it!

Rest Up

We’re always being pressured to do more and more. Especially this time of year when goals and a fresh start are constantly on our minds.

Remember: it’s okay to shut it down for a week or two. You won’t lose your gains, and you may even come out the other side stronger, more fit and better recovered. Time off is necessary to adapt, and an often overlooked integral part to a fitness lifestyle.

If you’re feeling good, riding momentum and feeling disciplined, keep it going. If you’re burnt out, stressed and hate the idea of working out. Shut. It. Down.

Give your body time to rest, recover, do some reflecting and know that in a week or two you’ll be ready to roll again.

Justin Miner

Closed Thursday Morning

Due to the snow storm, Thursday AM classes (6:30, 8:00, and 10:00) are cancelled.

We’ll be in at noon and for all night sessions.

Justin Miner

Stable Spine

Elliot is figuring out how to roll. He isn’t quite there yet, but he can get on his side and with the slightest push complete a back to belly roll. It’s been amazing watching him learn how to move, seeing him day by day develop more motor control and better stability.

This morning while we were playing on the floor practicing rolling, I couldn’t help but notice how rolling imitates many of the core stability drills we practice in the gym. Specifically, the hollow position, the arch body position and home base of the dead bug.

In order to get back to belly, Elliot has to find a stable spine in a hollow body shape to get on his side, his missing piece is going from hollow to arch that will give him the momentum to complete the roll to his belly.

It’s amazing to see these shapes and positions us grown ups are practicing emulated in a 12 week old baby. It makes you reconsider the fact that we all had to go through the same developmental patterns to figure out how to move our bodies through space and navigate the world. What surprises me more than that is that so many of us lost these basic skills somewhere along the way.

My goal with Elliot is to keep him moving and keep those basics in check - so when he’s 15 I don’t have to teach him a hollow rock, he should already know it.

Justin Miner

Vague Goals

When creating goals, it’s important to be specific… most of the time.

Having S.M.A.R.T. goals is great. If you’re unsure what I’m referencing the acronym stands for:

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Time-bound.

When determining goals, those factors are incredibility important, except when they’re not. What I mean is the not all of your goals have to be ultra specific. You can have vague goals, and in fact, they may be more helpful in helping you build discipline, which is necessary for when motivation is diminished.

Here’s an example, I want to live to 100 years old. While that goals doesn’t provide me with any actionable processes I can use each day, it serves as a reminder to get to work, be consistent and keep the 30 thousand foot view of my health. My more specific goals can contribute to this ambiguous goal of living for a long time. I use that goal as a lens though which to view other goals and actions.

Start dreaming, what do you want to be able to do in 10 or 20 years? Want to still be able to ride a bike? Or put your kayak in the water by yourself? Those are worthy goals worth striving for, but they might not require any specific training, you might just need to stick with something and stay the course long enough.

Justin Miner

Irresistible

Over the past few months I’ve been really trying to crackdown on my technology habits.

I thought I was good, too. I leave my phone downstairs, never in the bedroom. I may be the only millennial who uses an old school alarm clock. I use screen time limits, downtime and do not disturb mode. I still feel like I’m losing the battle of attention versus phone though.

For added inspiration (or maybe fear), I’ve started Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping us Hooked by Adam Alter.

The book opens with references to tech giants like Steve Jobs, who wouldn’t even let his own kids use a iPad. A device he said every person on the planet needs in their hands because it’s the best way to type, browse the web and watch shows or videos.

From there, the author breaks down his own screen time usage, and how many phone pick ups happen each day.

While I’ve always looked at actual screen time, I haven’t paid much attention to the pick up metric until now.

Not only will your iPhone tell you how many times you’ve picked up your phone to look at it each day or week, it’ll tell you what the first app you used was too. After noticing my always number 1 app after pick ups was Instagram, I started making some changes, like deleting one of my Instagram accounts.

My daily pick ups have dropped to about 50-60 per day. Perhaps more important than that, I try to keep Instagram far way from the first app used. I’d much prefer to see myself going to Messages or Safari or Spotify rather than mindlessly opening Instagram, just because I picked up my phone.

Habits form our lives. Subtle tweaks can make a big difference in how you feel and how ready you are to take on each day. Make sure you’re paying attention.

Justin Miner

Holiday Hours

Hey all, the holidays are right around the corner, believe it or not.

We will be closed 12/24 and 12/25, open Mon-Wed the following week and closed again for 12/31 and 1/1.

We’re looking forward to some time off to relax and reflect on the past year, be sure to do the same yourself.

Plan accordingly for the last couple weeks of the year. See you soon!

Justin Miner

Workout Log

One of the things that kept my gym habit going when I first started out in high school was my training log. The first time I got coaching in a gym was the first time I filled in a training log. This notebook was to be kept at the gym, and each time I trained I was to fill in the workout and the weights I used. It was explained to me that this way I could make sure I was challenging myself and progressing.

From that point on, and for many years later I kept a training log of some sort. It was always so motivating to see what I was doing in the gym and helpful to check in on numbers to see if I was maintaining or losing strength during the hockey season.

A feature of Truecoach you may not be taking advantage of is seeing your workout log.

Checking progress on certain movements and tallying up all your past workouts is a sure fire way to find inspiration and/or motivation.

When we’re chasing progress, it’s difficult to stop and reflect on all you’ve done to get to the point where you’re currently at. Take the time to do that every now and then. It’s the advantage of keeping a workout journal or tracking through something like Truecoach.

Justin Miner

Habits: Just Get Started

One of the reasons I write about habits so much is that they, along with discipline, are the secret sauce to making positive change.

Build new habits is hard, I know. For months I’ve been trying to get myself to train first thing in the morning. I’m a morning person, it’s my favorite time of day. I’ve never been a fan of training so early though, I prefer sitting on the couch drinking coffee and reading.

It’s been bugging me in the back of my mind though. I should train with all this free time I have so early in the day! Well, today, I finally cracked the seal and got our into the 17 degree garage for some bike intervals, front squats and pull ups. It went better than expected, and even the feeling of accomplishment is better than expected. Since habits are tough to stick with, I’m telling you all here in order to keep my momentum going.

If you’re starting something new, let this be your reminder to just get started, and to make sure to tell people along the way to build in some accountability.

Justin Miner

Not the Time for World Class Fitness

This morning on my way to the gym I was listening to the World Class Dad Podcast. The host interviews rockstars in various sectors who are all fathers.

I tuned into a strength coach I look up to who has two daughters. What he said about raising kids when they’re young resonated with me. He said it’s not a time to build world class fitness. It’s time to have a kettlebell in your kitchen, get some movement in when you can, try to sleep, skip the glass of a wine and prioritize time with your family.

It’s easy to forget that as I’ve watched my fitness slip over the past 12 weeks, but I know it’s okay. It isn’t the time to focus on it.

While you might not be a new parent, maybe you have some other stuff going on in your life. If so, it’s okay to check the boxes. Your deadlift will always be there to chase , but in times of chaos, let’s give our attention to what needs it, and keep the other stuff on maintenance mode. The reason playing the long game is so important is so you can dedicate time to maintenance mode. If you can’t stick with anything, that won’t exist.

Turn it on, sometimes, and know when to leave the dial alone.

Justin Miner

Four Mondays

It’s Monday. The day that most of us kick off our work week, plan our workout schedules and maybe even plan out meals for the week.

Whatever it is, Monday is the day that starts off the week and gets us moving. Instead of letting your weekly routine start to slip as we near year’s end, keep it up.

It’s easy to forget that and live weekend to weekend. Remember, there’s only 4 Monday’s left in 2020. How you use them is up to you. Me, I’ll be planning to finish the year strong, opposed to coasting into the New Year. I urge you to do the same.

Finish strong!

Justin Miner

Don't Wait

I’m going to be your constant reminder this holiday season not to wait until the New Year.

Start now. Make small goals and start building momentum and discipline.

Nothing good happens by waiting until the New Year.

If you have stuff you want to do, get moving and don’t wait.

Justin Miner

Basics

Wow. What a hectic week it’s been. Whenever things go haywire, I try to take a look and see where I can simplify to create routines and habits that will keep me grounded. Since Elliot's arrival, my training and especially my running has been on the back burner. That’s okay, it’s what I expected to happen. However, I’m ready to get back into the groove, and I have a couple strategies I use to make sure that happens.

Basic workouts. Get in, get out. Honestly, most of my workouts over the past few years have been like that, but for the next month or two, I’ll pick two movements that I know I get a lot of bang for my buck and primarily just do those. Probably power cleans and deadlifts. They’re both full body exercises that will help me keep up my strength and explosiveness. Somedays, I’ll feel like doing more, and I will, but most of the time I’ll do one of those movements and move on. Setting my expectation that I’m not going to have a big crazy workout is really helpful for avoiding workout guilt.

For running, I set the bar low. I want to run twice a week. One day of intervals, which can be done on the treadmill even, and then I’ll get outside for a trail run once a week, at least. Setting the bar lower, and not expecting myself to run 3 or 4 times a week, or with a milage goal takes off all the pressure.

The holidays are always a hectic time of year, and I expect this year with the added stress of cancelled parties and no family gatherings only to be even more crazy. Make sure you have basics to fall back on to keep yourself training and moving, even when you don’t feel it like.

Justin Miner

Basic Squat Checklist

It always worth repeating squatting fundamentals. Check out this run down of common teaching points we like to use at Gain.

Get Organized!

Screw your feet “into” the ground by turning you heels towards one another. You can also imagine spinning your knee caps away from each other. When you do this, we’re trying to rotate the hips into the best position for range of motion and for force production.

Foot Pressure

After you get your hips organized, you might feel the weight on the outside of your feet. That means you’ve gone too far. Try to maintain a balanced foot - weight right in the middle of your heel and ball of your foot. At the gym, we say find your “mid foot.” This is initially difficult to do, but after a few reps it usually evens out.

Back THEN down

When learning to squat, it’s helpful to imagine the lowering portion as two pieces. Start by pushing your butt to a wall behind you. Once you start moving, let your sternum fall towards the floor. Once that happens, start bending your knees. This way, you’ve got the right trajectory to squat using your hips and putting less pressure on your lower back and knees. It’ll feel clunky at first, but as you learn the pattern, the two step movement will become more fluid.

On the Bottom

Maintain that foot pressure! No knees caving in, instead push them away from each other, like they’re magnets. To get up, start pushing that middle of the foot into the floor like you’re trying to break through it. Careful not to let your heels lift from the floor, if they do, lean forward more. If the opposite thing happens and all your weight is in your heels, you may feel like you’re going to fall over backwards. Keep your toes on the ground too.

Back on the Top

Maintain that knees out pressure as you come up. Once you get to the top, be sure you squeeze your butt to finish the movement, get full range of motion and set the next rep up for success.

Breathing

For squats we want to breath in going down, exhale as we’re coming up. We’ve talked before about a slight breath hold for added pressure and stability, but this is a basics primer. For the purpose of bodyweight squats, we want to inhale down, sharp exhale coming up. That’ll keep you in a good, smooth rhythm.

I hope one out of the many cues I just gave makes something click for you. We can always improve our fundamentals!

Justin Miner

Home Gym Gear Up

When we started looking to buy a house last fall, I had one request, a two car garage.

Not for cars, but so I had plenty of space to build out my home gym.

As a self-identified gym rat, this was an important and necessary part of a complete home. I wanted a space to train, think and tinker. Little did I know only after a few months of having my home gym, would I be restricted to only use that since the Gain was closed. It turned out to be nice that we had the full set up accessible to use during the lockdown.

I have everything in my home gym. Squat rack, spin bike, multiple barbells, heavy dumbbells, really heavy dumbbells, all the bands and a variety of kettlebells.

As we head into the winter, many of you are thinking about creating a gym or a space to get your fitness on. If the lockdown taught us anything, it’s that we should have some space and equipment to train at home when we need to. Here’s what you should think about adding to your home gym set up.

You don’t need as many weights as you think. Kettlebell, or dumbbell, doesn’t matter. They both have their own advantages.

You should think about getting one heavy one, and one lighter one.

The heavy one should be a task to move. You shouldn’t want to carry it up and down stairs, but you could if you need to. You’ll use that heavier weight for deadlifts, swings, carries and maybe even squats. The lighter weight should be one you can easily carry around can be used for higher rep squats, single leg movements like lunges, split squats and SLDLs and upper body pushing and pulling movements like floor presses, overhead presses and rowing.

If you had two weights like that, I think you could do everything you need to do to have a sound strength and conditioning program. Would more weights allow you more variety? Sure, but it could still be effective with just that.

If I were to add one more thing, I would get a piece of conditioning equipment.

At home, I have a Concept II Bike Erg. It’s fancy, but doesn’t have the unnecessary bells and whistles like a big screen and I can’t tune into a live classes with it.

A spin bike like that, or an Air Bike or even a rower is perfect for your home gym. They’re all simple machines that can pack a punch of effectiveness so long as you can get yourself on it.

Don’t get lured into thinking you need a bike or rower that has live stream classes. It’s great in theory, but I’ve yet to meet a person who’s Peloton changed their life. Training at home is hard, a technology isn’t your magic fix. Stick with simple and get used to motivating yourself to use it.

Justin Miner

Shoe Clean Out

We’ve noticed a lot of shoes collecting cobwebs. Literally. Don’t worry, I will not donate your shoes if you have been using them recently. The ones that go unused are quite obvious.

if you think you may have and old pair of shoes here, please grab them by Wednesday at 1pm. After that, the box will be headed to a donation bin.

Thanks!

Justin

PS - I’m really good at knowing who’s shoes are who’s.

Bask in Discomfort

The gym has the ability for you to experience discomfort, and lean into it.

Learning to be comfortable when you’re uncomfortable, is a life skill worth developing.

The next time you’re doing rowing intervals or a high rep medicine ball finisher, instead of hoping for it to be over, lean into the discomfort. Bask in it and know that at the end of the workout, not only will you be okay, but you’ll be better off because of it.

Justin Miner

Force Absorbers

As Elliot gains a better understand how of to move his limbs through space, I can’t stop marveling at the fact that he can absorb force so well.

What I mean is that if I push on his leg, it doesn’t just fold into his body. He knows how to push back on it. How to absorb the force input.

It’s impressive that they can do this already. Absorbing (and creating) force is a lot of what we do in the gym.

Can you squat with control on the way down, or do you flop into the bottom? Remember the first time you box squatted? Did you crash into the box with an inelegant landing? Push ups are about controlling on the way down, then producing force in an opposite direction to get up.

If we’re born with this ability, to create and absorb force, how can we possibly lose it when we become adults? From not using it, of course!

We’re born to move, create and absorb force. Training in the gym gives us a practical way to make sure we keep these simple human functions that we were all born with, and that we knew how to do before we were even aware of it.

Justin MIner