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.
Fifty Percent Less Scrubbing
The other night I was scrubbing a pan with a new bottle of dish soap. I noticed on the label it claimed, “50% less scrubbing.”
I was suspicious.
The pan I was scrubbing seemed to be taking the exact amount of scrubbing it typically does. Have I scrubbed 50% less? Would I be done now if I only needed to scrub 50% less? I ponder as I continue to scrub and eventually rinse off the pan.
Fifty percent less scrubbing than what?
On the fine print, “compared to non concentrated dish soap.”
How was this measured?
Who did the scrubbing?
What was their technique like?
Do they use a brush like us or did they use a sponge? Does that affect the outcome?
What type of food was on the plate?
Did they wash the dishes immediately after eating or let them sit for a while?
We see claims with statistics in them all the time. The fitness industry is especially susceptible to them.
Studies show to do this, but not that, or people that do X are more likely to do Y than Z.
But we should always be asking questions like the ones above about the dish soap.
You are your own experiment and will have to try things to see what works best for you.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 27
Slightly delayed Friday Thoughts. People often say they can’t believe I make a post every day, but it’s been so long now it’s only stressful on days like this, when our internet is down and there’s nothing I can do about it. Except for not post the blog till I get to the gym later this morning. So how do I do it everyday? Honestly, I just put a ton of pressure on myself to get in done. Since it’s been so long, that’s easy, but like I said, this morning didn’t have its normal rhythm and I didn’t like that.
Trail runners, try this workout;
Much of trail running, especially on big, mountainous courses that I prefer, is about being able to keep moving while you’re recovering. Climb up a big, steep hill, and then be fresh enough when you get to the top to be able to start running the flat or down. The trick is doing that without blowing up your heart rate and legs on the climb. Here’s a workout Hannah has been doing while training for a 20 mile trail run. She really hates it, which makes me think we’re going to keep doing it. She says she hates it because it’s boring, which is a lame excuse (especially when training for an endurance event), but I think she hates it because it exposes something we need to work on. Here it is.
Every 5 minutes for 5 sets:
Run 200m @ hard pace
Alternating step ups all remaining time
This workout spikes your heart rate, demands a lot from your muscles in the first 50 or 60 seconds, then you do steps ups for the rest of the interval. There’s no rest. The idea is to simulate the scenario above and get her used to trying to recover her heart rate while working. If you don’t step up slow enough, the 200m run times suffer. If you don’t run hard enough, we don’t get the heart rate spike we’re after.
We started with 4 sets, took a week off from it and have been back at it for 2 sessions. Next week I may increase the run distance to 300m. On a workout like this, I don’t necessarily want to keep adding volume. I think 6 sets of this would get sloppy and the intensity would degrade over the rounds.
My jaw dropped when I saw this video show up on my Instagram feed.
My hot tip for this: save your previous protein tub scoop before starting your next tub. Then you use the old scoop until you can dig out the new scoop. (Obviously only works if the scoops are the same size).
Peanut butter is very calorically dense. If you’ve never measured out a 2 tablespoon serving, I suggest you do. Especially, if like me, peanut butter is your fav food.
Playing with some of these rotation variations.
Can confirm this data checks out.
Stick-To-Itiveness
Spring is a great time to build a new routine. If you just joined the gym, the key habit you should be focusing on is consistency.
Use these tips to make your new habit stick.
Ambitious goals are great, but not if they prevent you from getting started or burn you out after a few weeks- you don’t need to train 4 or 5 days a week.
Lower the bar and get in twice a week. You’ll accumulate over 100 workouts per year if you can stick with it.
Consistency and moderation over intensity - don’t go too hard too soon. Start slow and if your workouts are easy, who cares, you need to build momentum to help this habit stick - an easy workout is 10x better than no workout at all, and I’ve seen far too many people go too hard, too soon and burnout from the gym.
Forgive yourself. Don’t chase perfection. Missed a workout? Not a big deal if you get back to it on the next one. Every day is an opportunity to start again.
Think about the long game, these small habits and choices add up over time.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
New Goals? Remember This
Spring is here. Warmer weather is coming and new habits and new goals are on peoples’ mind.
If you’re trying to accomplish something new this Spring or Summer, remember the following.
The minimum effective dose is the smallest dose of something that will produce the desired outcome.
Small habits add up when you’re consistent. Explore the minimum effective dose for any new habit you’re building. This teaches you to be more consistent and stick with something in the long run.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Strong Enough?
There is an unanswerable question I continually ponder.
How strong is strong enough?
I think about it for myself, and consider it for clients, too. What's the risk vs reward for more strength?
How much strength is necessary to run an ultramarathon, or play soccer or carry a baby all day?
It can't easily be quantified, and obviously, everyone is different. At the end of the day, we want to chase more strength, but there's always going to be a point where your strength levels become strong enough.
What do you do when that point is reached?
Keep honing your strength through better quality reps. We can shift the focus from getting stronger to getting better. It’s the key to strength training success.
Maybe you don't need to lift more weight, but that doesn't mean you can't still build strength.
Keep chasing strength through quality movement and consistency.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Monday Options
Consider the following as you go about your day and get your week started.
You should always workout on Monday.
You should never workout on Monday.
While one of those statements is more popular than the other, from my experience, as a person who exercises and who helps other people exercise, they’re both true.
Get your week started off on the right foot with a trip to the gym and a workout. Or skip the gym on Monday and get organized to get there later in the week. The key being not to keep skipping the rest of the week.
Right now, I train on Mondays. When I was training for ultras, I would usually rest on Monday after a big weekend. It gave me a chance to prioritize other things and get caught up and organized.
There’s no perfect schedule or right way to do it, figure out a training system that works for you.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 26
Happy Friday, here’s a gathering of post I deem worthy of sharing here. Enjoy!
I love this idea of just walking around instead of sitting when in an airport. Juliette expands on mandatory vs optional sitting here, something I first learned from the Starrett’s book, Deskbound. Michael Easter, who wrote Comfort Crisis, also talks about taking your bags and rucking through the airport to get some healthy, loaded movement in.
As soon as I saw this post I was like, it’s probably because her kid is inside napping. I have one of those treadmills, and I sometimes hate that I run on it instead of outside, especially when it’s nice outside, but then I remember I can run on that and not have to go anywhere. Or yesterday, I walked on it while Nolan was napping, even though an outside walk would have been more enjoyable.
Shoutout to GAIN member Robert who taught me this kb swing cue a few months ago.
I think these longest plank holds ever are literally the reason so many people are bad a planks. This is not a plank. Sure, toes and forearms, but that is not a productive shape of the body. Don’t mimic your planks off these silly world record attempts. Shorter, more intense planks with hips and ribs facing each other, shoulder blades engaged and big steady breaths is what you should be training for.
Thanks for reading!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
A Little Faster and a Little Better
We tend to get obsessed with bedtime books in our house. We’ll read the same one over and over for a few weeks before moving on.
Lately we’ve been reading a classic kid’s book that a client gifted to me. It’s a great story called Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel.
In the story, Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel work a little better and a little faster when someone is watching.
The same thing happens in the gym.
When you work out with other people, or the coach walks by a glances at the rower monitor over your shoulder, you work a little better and a little faster.
It’s a big advantage of going to a gym, you’ll work a little faster and a little better than you would otherwise.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
All That Depth
At the beginning of each month, when I pull out the data I look at from my watch, like sleep, steps and completed workouts, I also like to look back at photos from that month over the years.
I went through March recently. I see how my technique used to look, look at old workouts written on random whiteboards, show pictures of Clem and the kids to Hannah and delete too many screen shots that I thought were important to save (but I never looked at).
I came across a picture of this quote within a book, and thought this was a good place to share it. So I took a screenshot of that picture, and here it is.
“A single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” - Henry David Thoreau
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
When Should You Train Barefoot?
If you want strong and resilient feet, one of the best ways to strengthen them is to spend time barefoot.
Without shoes on, your balance will be different, you’ll feel more connected to the ground. The muscles and tendons and ligaments in your feet will get a chance to strengthen.
When should you ditch the shoes? Whenever you can in warm ups, or while cooling down. Any exercise that your feet are planted on the floor. Barefoot jump rope, bad idea, barefoot deadlifts, good idea. Squats and single leg work are a good opportunity too.
If you want strong and health feet this summer you better get to work now!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Write a List
I’ve written about brain dumping in the past. Taking everything in my brain and writing it down on paper. I’ve graduated from notebook and pen to using a list on my phone, but the relief it provides is the same.
Hannah is away on a work trip this week, which means I have even more things floating around in my brain.
Yesterday afternoon I was flooded with thoughts about training, cooking, pick ups, work, cleaning, dentist appointments and everything else.
I pulled out my phone and organized the week. It took 5 minutes. I listed out all the things that needed to get done and when. I set reminders, blocked time and was able to step back and look at the week all laid out and organized.
I try to do this once a week, but usually it’s every couple of weeks. It’s a simple practice that helps me stay disciplined and on task for the upcoming week. It organizes my brain and helps me feel less overwhelmed when there’s a lot of my plate. Give it a shot.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 25
Welcome to Friday Thoughts. Where I share relevant posts I saw and half formed blog ideas.
I’ll never forget reading in Matthew Walker’s book, Why We Sleep, that there are more car accidents the day after we all lose an hour of sleep by springing ahead. Recently I’ve heard some criticism of the research in this book, so keep that in mind when repeating that fun fact. Nonetheless, reading it made me understand the importance of a quality night’s sleep.
This is not an airport hack for me, but an everyday move. I mix a shot of espresso with half of a vanilla Jocko Protein. I’ll occasionally go chocolate like in the video, but I prefer vanilla.
Precision nutrition has lots of informative posts and blogs like this and tons of helpful infographics regarding nutrition.
I’ve been tinkering with some of this loaded t-spine rotation and it’s been great.
That’s all for this week.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Gym Lingo: Sustainable Pace
Complete the intervals at a pace that you can repeat each set. In other words, don’t come out too fast and conditioning yourself to get slower and slower.
This is endurance training in a nutshell. And a mistake even experienced athletes frequently make.
I see it in races all the time. On the first couple miles it’s easy to get thrown off your plan when everyone else comes out sprinting. If you get caught up in that, you’ll fizzle out too. If you run your race, you’ll pass all those people in a couple more miles.
Ease in, feel it out, and on your first interval, consider how you’re going to feel on the 8th round.
Avoid the trap and find that sustainable, repeatable pace. Just by doing that, your endurance will improve.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How to Recover Between Sets (According to Elliot)
We have a gymnastics bar in our house so the boys can hang and swing and learn movement skills while playing.
Elliot has been working on his toes to bar. Hanging from the bar he curls his little legs up, compressing to eventually tap them on the bar between his hands.
It’s max effort. If he almost makes it and tries again immediately, he doesn’t get it. It’s been frustrating for him. To help him stick more reps, Hannah taught him a in-between set routine to calm down and space out attempts.
He shakes out him arms. Shakes out his legs. Stretches up, then down. Takes a few big deep breathes, and right when you think he’s going to walk over to the bar and grab it, he lays down on the mat. Because that’s how you rest according to a 3 year old. He sleeps for a minute, including fake snoring.
Once his routine is done, he hops back up on the bar. Since he’s more recovered and he can once again get a rep.
Resting enough in the gym is important. You don’t need to lay down on the floor and take fake nap like Elliot, but take deep breaths, relax, shake out your muscles and give yourself time to recover between sets. You’ll feel stronger and get more out of your workouts.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
What Makes a Good Training Shoe?
Remember the daily walking challenge we started in January?
Nancy, an almost nine-year member of GAIN, won the shoes for getting in a 20 minute walk every day.
Nancy has been a long time runner, and typically used running shoes in the gym. It’s what has worked or her in the past, and this was a great chance for her to get something more gym-specific.
If you haven’t seen my video, “Stop Wear Your Running Shoes to the Gym,” be sure to check it out.
Because Nancy is a runner, she is more tuned in with her footwear than the average shoe wearer. She knew she didn’t want anything that was zero drop, and that she prefers something around a 6-8mm heel drop. While that’s little high for me personally, something in that heel drop range is effective in the gym for keep your foot balanced.
The other characteristic Nancy was looking for was a wider toe box to let her feet spread out a bit. Another trait she was looking for based off her running shoe choices. Often times you’ll see shoe companies refer to this a foot shaped toe box. (Seriously, shouldn’t shoes always be foot shaped?)
My final piece of input for her was to find something that has a stiff sole. Cushioning and support are championed in our society as beneficial shoe characteristics, but when lifting weights, too much squishiness will throw you off balance and disrupt efficiency.
After checking out the list I came up with based off those distinctions Nancy selected the Reebok Nano X3. The Nano is a great shoe. Reebok has been making this strength and conditioning shoe for over 10 years. Nancy felt strong and stable when deadlifting this week in her new shoes.
Congrats to Nancy, and thanks to everyone who played along, especially the 11 that went 30/30 days!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
February by the Numbers
March (and Spring?) is here. It was nice to have some warmer weather this past weekend to get the kids outside.
As I like to do each month, here’s my February by the Numbers. I look back at any data I collected. Things like total workouts, steps and sleep. Instead of paying attention to those things day to day (I do sometimes), more often than not, I reflect back on them to see if I can spot any trends or make some adjustments for the next month. It’s nice a way to put all that data to use and a good practice to put in place.
Workouts: 20. I’m following my program for the weightlifting meet and not doing much else these days. In February, there were a couple times I had to split my workout into two days, or did some easy conditioning or body building work (mostly to hang out with Hannah while she was working out during nap time). I’m learning I prefer to do a little something everyday rather than 4 big training days. I’m after a different stimulus now though, and that means training a little different. This week I’m reminding myself to spend more time stretching post workout.
Steps: February daily average was 6,372. Probably my lowest average in a few years due to the reasons above. About 1000 lower than January. Definitely not trending the way I would prefer, but as I mentioned above, training right now is much different than normal. I’m specializing for a sport for a specific event on a specific day. I expect this to improve in March just because the weather will be more favorable. Highest step day was 12,345. I went on a hike with Elliot that day and stacked firewood.
Sleep: 7 hours 22 minute average. Down almost 20 minutes from January! I’ve been getting more inconsistent with my bedtime again and it’s showing. While average is down though, I hit 8 hours 8 times last month, compared to only 5 times in January.
Have a good start to the week!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 24
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts. Usually this list is just clips I came across during the week, but after seeing this first clip a few weeks ago, I’ve been stewing on it a lot. Pun intended… All the other posts today are also related to back pain.
Stuart McGill is well known in the fitness industry. If you’ve done a bird dog or heard someone tell you sit ups are bad, their information probably came from Stu (guilty). I saw him speak in 2010. I left terrified to snap my spine. I thought too many repetitions of something and it would break like a credit card, his famous line. That led to never rounding, arching or twisting my back for a long time, along with giving up all squats and deadlifts. I got weaker and my back didn’t get better till years later, when I started squatting and deadlifting and exposing my spine to normal human movements.
For me, gradual exposure to different ranges of motion, learning to breathe and brace better along with improving my technique and range of motion helped me get rid of my back pain. Avoiding anything risky didn’t make me better. It made me fragile and scared to break.
When I first saw this post I felt like it was written about me. Seriously. In college, after seeing McGill speak I was hip hinging at the water fountains and always tweaking my back when I did deadlift heavy. The quote at the end is what we should all strive for, “thoughtless, fearless movement.” I remember the first time I had thoughtless, fearless movement. For a brief time we had a ping pong table in the gym, probably 2015 or 16. I was playing with a friend and went dashing across the gym after a ball. There was a barbell in the rack about shoulder height and a ducked underneath while reaching for the ball. This quick, sudden drop would have injured me a couple years before, something would have spasmed, but nothing happened, and I remember thinking, I’ve made it.
While all this was happening in college and immediately post-college it was hard for me to sleep. Ten or twelve years ago Kelly came out with a video that explained what he does here - how firm mattresses became the recommendation for back pain and a couple strategies to help get comfortable. For me, pillow under the knees was a complete game changer, and one of the first ways I started to intentionally getting a little spinal flexion in my life - despite being so conflicted about what I was hearing McGill say.
Seemed fitting.
Funny thing is, if you’ve bought a toilet recently, and I’ve bought 3 within the past 4 years, you’ll find that standard height toilets are rare, and most these days are “chair height,” 19in. Instead of fixing the squatting problem, we’re raising the height.
Until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Train Hard/Recover Hard
I’ve been training hard for my first weightlifting meet.
While I’ve been training for a long time, I’ve never trained like a weightlifter. This is a new stress on my body.
At first, I was really good about recovering. When you do something new, you need to recover harder, too. And I was good about it, but then I got used to the new stimulus. I was getting less sore and feeling less stiff.
Warm ups went from very thorough to bare minimum over the course of 16 weeks. My cool downs disappeared. Then I stopped rolling at night after we put the kids down.
This weekend I felt beat up.
The training was catching up to me.
I need to get back to basics.
Spending more time warming up. Cooling down before leaving the gym, and fitting in more recovery and restorative work later in the day. Things like breathing and walking and rolling.
You have to warm up and recover just as hard as you’re training.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Better Intervals Today
On Wednesdays many of you have 20-30 minutes of intervals in your program.
Broadly speaking, these intervals are to improve your aerobic capacity, or well your body can utilize oxygen. Training to improve endurance.
Many people don’t like doing the 8-10 minute warm up we prescribe before a long bout of intervals, but this is the most important part!
When doing intervals to improve aerobic capacity we typically want to accumulate time with your heart rate around 70% of your maximum. If you’ve been hanging out, working or driving all day, your body isn’t prepared to exercise. Warming up circulates your blood, increases body temperature and gradually prepares your body. Without first warming up, intervals feel harder and you’re probably going slower - both only hurting your progress.
They feel harder because your heart rate is likely to spike above this range. Your body doesn’t have a chance to prepare for exercise by doing things like moving your blood from your core to your working extremities. It feels really hard to go from resting to 80% of your heart rate max. You give less effort on the next set, and your heart rate spikes just as hard because it went from 0 to 60 too fast and this is how it can buffer it.
That’s an unproductive workout. Your heart rate got high, but not high enough to work on high intensity training, and it wasn’t low enough to improve your base. Basically it just felt hard, but lands in a gray zone of effectiveness. Many runners face this problem and their runs are easy but not actually easy enough once they throw on a heart rate monitor.
I digress, this isn’t a blog to convince you to get a chest strap. Instead, it’s a reminder that warming up for a bout of intervals is only going to improve the quality and the training effect you get from it. Some days you have to cram it in and get it over with - not a big deal to skip a warm up now and again. But if you always skip it and go straight for intervals, you’re leaving fitness on the table.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
On the Schedule
Running taught me that having events on your calendar holds you accountable. It’s a powerful tool and gets you moving when you don’t feel like it. Yesterday I registered for 3 upcoming events. This helps me prioritize the things I need. Here’s what I’m training for, and what’s on my schedule.
For the past 4 months I’ve been training for the Seacoast Open, an Olympic weightlifting meet on April 20. I’ve been very focused on my technique and gaining a better understanding of the lifts (the snatch and the clean and jerk). I’ve hired a coach. He analyzes my technique and writes the program. It’s been an awesome experience and I’ve really enjoyed training these days, it’s much different than it has been for 6 or 7 years. Shoutout to York County Barbell, and to all my coach friends who’ve told me to hire a coach.
This week the CrossFit Open kicks off. Each year they release 3 weekly workouts testing to find the fittest person on earth at the CrossFit Games. I was a longtime hater after seeing the first CrossFit fail videos come out around 2009. Fast forward to 2015, we thought my friend was fit so we entered him into the Open thinking he could make it to the Games. Minutes into the first workout we realized we were drastically underestimating the skill and fitness level of those athletes and the sport has only evolved forward since then. While I haven’t been preparing specifically for it like I have in the past, I’ll keep my Open streak going another year. It’s an opportunity to push it hard and see how I stack up.
The rest of my plans rely on the Mount Washington Auto Road Race lottery. I’ve entered the random drawing for the 7th time, hoping this will be my year. If I get in, it will provide a fun training opportunity. I’ll have 7 weeks from the weightlifting meet to shift gears and get into running up big hills shape. The race is 7.6 miles with 4650 feet of gain. I look forward to the experiment. If I don’t get in, I’ll be on the search for another race to train for in June or July.
That’s what on my schedule and what I’m training for. What are you training for these days? What do you have on your schedule in the coming months?
Justin Miner
@justinminergain