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.
Thank You!
On Saturday we had an epic night of celebrating all things GAIN.
I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came by the gym and had fun. I’m sure everyone has heard the story now, but if you haven’t, we scrambled to pull this off after losing our party venue with short notice. I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out, and while it created a lot of extra work for me and the guys, it was worth it.
Send me your party pics!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 59
Welcome to Friday Thoughts, where I share some of my favorite things I saw on the internet recently.
This is crazy.
The dedication to do this is very impressive.
This video has some good visuals for good rowing mechanics.
Stick the landing!
That is a freakishly fast.
There are a lot of things I love about these jumps, the upright torso, the springiness, his lack of shoes and look how his knees go over his toes! The most impressive things is how quickly he gets off the ground. Another way to describe this is the amortization phase. This is the transition between the eccentric and concentric phases of an exercise, where the body transfers absorbed energy into new power. On these jumps, this happens very quickly and in really good positions. Very impressive movement!
That’s all for now, see you at the party!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Party!
I’m excited for the long-awaited and long-overdue GAIN party on Saturday night.
Here are some quick reference details and final reminders for you.
Where: GAIN
When: 5-9pm
What: Gym friends, good times, food and drinks
Who: Members, friends and family of the gym
PARKING:
Please park in the lot in the front of the building and use either side of the building to walk around, there are lights on both sides but the footing is better on the pavement. If that lot is full you can park along West Road.
If a long walk in the dark sounds daunting to you, our typical spots are reserved for you. Park out back like your normally would - pull in spots or on the gravel out of the way of the trucks and our neighbor’s loading docks.
Looking forward to it. See you there!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
November By The Numbers
Welcome to the 14th edition of By the Numbers, where I look back and analyze passive data I collect over the month to try and make changes for the next month. Let’s get into it.
Steps: 273,434 total steps or 9115 per day average
Honestly, higher than I imagined. I ran only once the entire month, and even took a full week off. As always, I’m trying to get my steps in. While I won’t hit peak steps like I did this past summer, I’ll strive to keep that average up over the winter months.
Sleep: Average Duration: 7 hours 12 minutes, average sleep score: 79
The sleep average has been declining. What’s more telling than anything here is the new watch. The new watch is more sensitive to tossing and turning in the night, and when I actually fall asleep. Nevertheless, it still wasn’t enough sleep. I’m trying to be aware of my caffeine intake, and going to bed before I want to, otherwise I tend to fall asleep on the couch.
Workouts: 18
November is always a transition month for me. Summer running is over and it’s a nice time to take a break from training and shift gears. After my 50-mile race attempt, I dropped out halfway through, I haven’t been on a run since, and that’s a good thing. I got very focused this summer on getting quality running in and it’s hard to keep that motivation high. This past month I took some days off after the race, and did a lot of pull ups, push ups, rowing and kettlebell swings. It’s been nice to shake it up and my body is feeling good.
As always, I hope this inspires you to look back at your previous month and see what trends or habits you can spot. Make a plan and some small tweaks headed into this month and see where it takes you.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Low Barrier to Entry Workouts
Whenever I’m in a workout slump I use low barrier to entry workouts to get back in the game.
The opposite of a low barrier to entry workout would be something like a heavy back squat, deadlift, or a tough conditioning workout that requires ample warm up and mental fortitude.
Here are my requirements for a low barrier to entry workout:
I don’t have to change. I only wear gym clothes but believe it or not I have training and coaching gym clothes. An easy workout in coaching clothes is acceptable, but a hard workout is a no go.
No warm up. A low barrier to entry workout allows me to get straight into it with fussing about how to get properly warmed up. No movements that are that complex, (too) heavy or require much coordination.
Don’t have to change afterwards. If I get too sweaty I’m going to have to have to change. In order for it to be a low barrier to entry workout, I’m not changing afterwards.
Feel better afterwards. A good low barrier to entry workout ends like this, “That was good, I feel good, why have I been skipping so many workouts?”
Here was a low barrier to entry workout that got me back on track last recently:
EMOM 15
1 chin up + 2 kb swings + 3 ring push ups
Only 3 push ups! I know! So low barrier to entry.
The point is this; sometimes the changing, driving, eating, working, socializing and parenting stuff gets in the way of you working out. It gets complicated when you remember that working out makes all of those things better.
Big heroic workouts are cool, but small, simple and effective workouts are just as cool, and still move your fitness needle in the right direction.
As we head into the holidays, remember this concept of a low barrier to entry workout, some kettlebell swings, bodyweight squats or even a walk could be just what your body needs.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
This is Hard
It’s hard to make yourself go to the gym few times a week. You have to do it when you have no energy, no motivation, when it's freezing cold or extremely hot. You have to wake up early or come in after a long day at work.
It’s easy to get down on yourself when you aren’t making it in as much as you’d like or your progress is crawling. Today, I want to remind you that this is a worthwhile cause.
Pat yourself on the back, and remember that this is a good use of your time and frustration. In fact, being frustrating is probably a good thing, it means you’re striving to do better.
This isn’t a hall pass to skip workouts, instead this is a reminder that hard things are worth doing. Keep it up!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Write Your Own Thanksgiving Workout
An EMOM, or Every Minute On the Minute workout is one of my favorite ways to get a training session in. They’re low-barrier to entry, you don’t need to change in workout specific gear, do a complicated warm up routine, or anything of the like. Instead, pick 3-4 movements and complete them in a circuit for 20 minutes.
Movement 1: squat - pick any number of repetitions for your squat. It can be a box squat, bodyweight squat, or goblet squat if you have some weights kicking around. 5-10 is plenty for most people.
Movement 2: plank variation - any plank you want, high or low or to the side. Use your breath to time this, and aim for 5-8 big, deep breaths while holding the plank.
Movement 3: Single leg variation, 10-16 total reps. Reverse lunge, forward lunge, lateral lunge, lateral squat, cross-behind reverse lunge, split squat. Stretch those hips and get some single leg work in.
Moment 4: Player’s choice - this could be a rest block, stretch, or additional movement. Something like a kettlebell swing, push ups, hip switches, or even breathing.
During this EMOM, each movement will get its own minute. Starting the clock at 0:00, complete movement 1, wait until 1:00 to complete movement 2, 2:00 for movement 3 and so on. If you complete 5 rounds or 20 minutes, your last movement 4 will be on 19:00.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Thanksgiving Health & Fitness Guide 2024
Consider this your Health and Fitness Thanksgiving guide. Use these concepts to introduce discussion around health and fitness with family and friends. Some of these make a good on the spot test for any hot shot relatives who think they’re fit (even though they don’t train).
Sit and Rise Test:
The Sit/Rise test challenges balance, coordination, mobility and strength. If you get down and up without using your hands, you get 10 points. Minus one point for each time you use a knee, hand, or forearm to lean on. No hands is the only way to get a perfect score.
Grip Strength:
Wow your relatives with this fact: grip strength, much like the Sit/Rise Test, is an excellent predictor of overall health. In fact, grip strength is inversely associated with all-cause mortality. This is because grip strength is a pretty good indicator of total body strength. While you might not have a hand dynamometer at the ready, opening a jar or the ability to hang from a bar is a good starting place.
Walk:
All the benefits from walking more show up around 7000 steps per day (even though we’re infatuated with getting 10k). Take your relatives on a 6000 step walk, or about 3 miles. Daily walkers seem to be super human, and it’s because of all their extra outside movement they’re getting. Cardio, mobility, stamina, good vibes from the outside - walking has it all.
Better yet, test and compare your VO2 Max with the Rockport Walk Test.
Breath Hold:
What we’ve been calling the Big Breath Drill is a great way to introduce someone to focused breathing. Improved breathing can lead to better posture, less stress and improved performance.
Take big inhales through your nose for about 90 seconds - 2 minutes
Exhale lightly through your mouth or nose
At the end of the time period, exhale all your air and hold
When your desire to breath comes, start again on a big inhale
Repeat 2-3 rounds
A minute breath hold is good here, and will be easy on the second round. Can anyone get 90 seconds?
The big breath drill will improve breathing mechanics, without even having to talk about the diaphragm, the Bohr Effect, CO2 or the like. It will leave them feeling energized and and not bored from talking about CO2 tolerance.
Box Squat:
The number one movement people need to learn to get into strength training is the box squat. It’s just sitting down on something and standing up. Teach your grandparents how to squat using a chair or coffee table and they’ll be grateful the next time they get out of a car or a low couch. Find some coaching points in the video below.
There you have it, your 2024 Thanksgiving Health and Fitness Guide, enjoy!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Thanksgiving Hours
Greetings, happy Monday!
As a reminder, here are our Thanksgiving hours:
CLOSED Thursday 11/28 + Friday 11/29
My biggest suggestion to you on the holiday is to get some movement in. Whether you’re turkey trotting, or just rounding up your crew for a post-meal walk, get outside and get some movement in!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 58
Greetings, welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts.
RIP Mark:
Long time GAIN member and well-known Portsmouth resident passed away earlier this week. Mark always worked hard, was a real trooper and a pleasure to know.
Thanksgiving:
The gym will be closed on Thursday and Friday next week for Thanksgiving. Enjoy some time away from the gym!
Stats:
On one hand, I love everything about this post. Go strength train, it provides incredible benefits for you. At the same time though, this post is the epitome of the issue with online fitness and using our beloved Instagram as an educational source - where did those numbers come from? What were the methods of the study or studies? I think we have a problem with using statistics without really know what the numbers backing up our statements are meaning. Anyway, love to see the benefits of lifting, and to be clear, I agree that it helps do those things. I’m just skeptical of anything showing off numbers like they’re stone cold facts, when we don’t really know anything about where they came from.
Hybrid:
I have a vendetta against hybrid athletes, even though I guess I am one. Truly I just have an issue with the phrase, you mean someone who can run and lift? It isn’t that revolutionary. Regardless, this was an impressive challenge.
James Clear with some things to ponder…
Going to have a busy weekend:
Until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How to get Started
Potential members at GAIN start with a 3-session trial. This serves as an opportunity to meet the coaches and see how we do things at GAIN. Our individualized, feels like a group, but isn’t actually a group, vibe is different, and unlike any other gym you’ve been to.
On the first session, you’ll work closely with a coach doing our Intro Workout. This gives us an opportunity to go over some finer details like bracing and breathing and seeing how much range of motion and stability your body has. We talk about injuries, training history and what you want to get out of your gym time.
Regardless of your fitness level and experience, we want you leaving the gym after that first session feeling as though you could have done more. Our saying is, we can write hard workouts, but don’t need to prove that one day 1. We want you to build a new habit you can stick with, easing in is key.
You’ll learn some new movements and lingo, and it can be a bit overwhelming. Just know that we’re aware of this, and try to take it slow and not overload you with gym jargon. On the first day we primarily focus on learning and breaking down the squat pattern, body weight upper body movements, the push up and ring row and some of our core training drills.
By the second workout, we’re ready to introduce some more movements and will do some conditioning (cardio) and get introduced to some of our favorite cool-down mobility drills. This workout focuses on pressing and pulling with the upper body, along with some single leg movements.
On the last workout of the trial, you’re learning and working on the hinge pattern. This can be a tricky one, but is important for everyone to learn. We revisit some movements from the previous two workouts here if needed. This will feel like a bigger workout for most, because we usually give you more to do on the third day as your body is starting to adapt to some new movements.
All in all, the 3-Session Trial is a crash course in all things GAIN. Learn our favorite exercises, get your movement broken down by an experienced coach and learn how to move better, feel more connected and get a plan that unique to what you need and want to accomplish. GET INVOLVED.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
20k per day
We take over 20,000 breaths every day.
Most of that runs on autopilot through our autonomic nervous system. You don’t even have to consider it, but you body adjusts for what you’re doing and what environment you’re in and makes sure you don’t all of a sudden stop breathing. It’s very impressive.
I’m not suggesting you get rid of all your personal belongings and go on a full-time meditation retreat, however spending a little bit of time thinking about your breath, and the way that you’re breathing can be a powerful tool.
Here are a few experiments for you to play with to pay attention to a handful of those 20k breaths each day.
When warming up for intervals, how many breaths (full in/out) do you get in a minute? I try keep it easy the first couple minutes and see how many breaths I can hold on to. This helps me avoid coming out too hot. Around 10-12 breaths per minute is super chill pace.
Squatting, benching, deadlifting, etc. any of those moves in the gym are a chance to breathe. Typically we want a full inhale/exhale per rep. Example, you breathe in at the top of a push up, lower your self, starting pushing up while exhaling. Connecting the breath to reps will leave you feeling stronger and more stable.
When I’m out of breath, how many breaths will it take me to get back under control (I’ll watch my HR monitor as I do this too to try and correlate specific HRs with how I breathe/feel). Often I make it to 10 and then lose count, but it helps it suck less!
Here’s your invitation to lay on the floor after a tough workout. By laying down you’re supporting your spine, and making it easier for your breathing mechanics to work smoothly. Try to take deep breaths with longer exhales for a few minutes, or 30-50 breaths, after your next workout.
Don’t forget to thank your autonomic nervous system for breathing while you read this!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
AirBike vs. c2 Bike
We love conditioning at the gym, and the machines are a fantastic way to log some time building your aerobic fitness. You may have noticed that we have two types of bikes in our cardio corner. While these machines are both in fact bikes, they’re much different.
The Concept 2 BikeErg, or the C2 bike as we call it, is one of the newer machines we have at the gym. We got the first two in 2021 and fell in love. This bike fit feels like you’re on a road bike. There are tons of small adjustments you can make to get the right fit. This bike operates by a flywheel, and you can control how much air gets in via the damper, which is like changing gears on a real bike. This bike is great for longer, steady rides and it’s easy to find a comfortable pace.
The AirBike is a more simple yet diabolical machine. There are less adjustments to make, the seat is a little cushier, but feels like you’re always sliding off it. There are no gears to choose, instead, this bike uses a big fan that creates wind resistance. The faster you pedal, the more resistance there is. This bike challenging because you need to use all 4 limbs, since your arms are involved too, it can be easy to overwhelm your body. The beauty of this bike is that it teaches intensity very quickly. They’re sturdy, rugged and ready for high intensity workouts, but it’s tough to steady cruise when compared to the c2 bike.
There are two subcategories of AirBikes. The Assault Fitness AirBike is chain-driven, and feels a bit more like a bike when pedaling. The Rogue Echo Bike, is the beefier of the machines and is belt-driven, it feels heavier but smoother. They operate the same way, but each feels and fits a little different, be sure to try them both to see which you prefer. I prefer the chain of the classic AirBike, but tend to change my mind throughout the year.
If I had to choose…. Luckily I don’t have to, and I’ll stick with both. They both have their place, and different people gravitate towards the different bikes because they feel more comfortable to ride - which is probably the most important consideration. The other thing to consider, is which one you already have a preference for? Always grab the c2 on interval day? Shake it up this week and take the AirBike for a spin!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
FoundATION OF EASY DAYS
I saw this quote recently on Instagram:
“PRs are built on the foundation of easy days.”
It resonated with me, and I hope you can relate to it too, because not every single session you come to the gym needs to be a heroic effort.
Most of the stuff we do in the gym will feel pretty easy. Progress can feel so slow.
Every session doesn’t have to end with you laying on the floor, or feeling sore muscles. It’s nonsense; that soreness and sweat levels are indicators of effectiveness.
Most of the time, you need to go in and check the box.
Move around, elevate your heart rate, expose your body to some ranges of motion and move on with your day.
Over a long enough time period, most of the sessions feel pretty easy.
That isn’t a bad thing, it’s training.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 58
Greetings, welcome to this week’s Friday Thoughts. Enjoy!
Get your protein:
I’ve seen a meme a few times this week too, it says, “I never knew how much of my adult life would be spent thinking about protein.”
I imagine this hurts quite a bit, and is a good deal challenging.
Get your walks in:
I love doing the math and seeing how habits can payout over time. It can be a helpful practice to quantify your smaller efforts.
Go fast:
Not everyone will be able to sprint like the first video, but the rowing and biking machines at the gym make it so everyone can let it rip.
10 Years Ago Today:
That’s a wrap for this week. Thanks for reading.
Justin Miner
Box BReathing
Here’s a simple breathing drill to add to your repertoire. It’s call box breathing.
There are four steps, as follows:
Inhale-Hold (on the inhale)-Exhale-Hold (on the exhale)
Each of the steps will be equal, hence the name. For example, 3 seconds is a good place to stat for most people.
That would translate to:
3 sec inhale - 3 sec hold - 3 sec exhale - 3 sec exhale hold
When I do this, I like to add a second every 5 rounds or so, and see how high I can get. Give this a try to wake up your lungs, practice sound breathing mechanics or just to take five minutes to yourself.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Rowing Workout with Graph
I love the rower as an off-season endurance builder for runners. There are many parallels between the two. They’re both full body, technique dependent, and over the years, I’ve found that getting into good rowing shape very much helps your running fitness.
Here was yesterday’s workout;
10 min warm up @ easy pace
9 sets:
500m @ steady, but faster each round
1 min rest
The little flat spots - my chest strap kept dropping the connection, probably time for a new battery.
These intervals were hard, but not impossible. I could talk thought the efforts, though, it was very labored. This training session felt productive. It was the right amount of hard work and I felt well-recovered at the end of each rest period. All in all, a great 36-minutes rowing to nowhere.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
HRV & Alcohol
As promised last week in October By The Numbers, I’m diving into heart rate variability, or HRV, which is a way to measure training readiness.
HRV is a statistical measurement of changes in time between heartbeats. If your resting heart rate is 60 beats per minute, that doesn’t necessarily mean 1 beat per second. There’s a lot more variability, down to the milliseconds, and that’s what we’re talking about with HRV.
The more rested and recovered we are, the higher degrees of heart rate variability we’ll see. If our heart’s rhythm is less-variable, or more consistent, that’s a sign that we’re not feeling recovered or maybe need a rest day.
This technology is somewhat new. Just 15 years ago, you needed a chest strap and to lay still on the floor for about 10 minutes to get a reading. Pretty challenging to fit into everyday life unless you’re a pro athlete. Even my older Garmin watch that came out in 2018, you would need a chest strap and to lay still. More recently, the wrist-based heart rate sensors made leaps in accuracy and my new watch measures my HRV every single night while I’m sleeping.
I set up the watch and it took about 25 days to get a baseline reading to start working. Since then, my HRV has been balanced (meaning more variable, a little confusing, I know). Just when I was starting to question its effectiveness, I had a beer. Just one beer, and stayed up a little later than normal. The next day for the first time my HRV was unbalanced.
I’ve seen many reports of others experiencing the same thing, and I have finally lived through it.
Did I need another metric to tell me I was feeling groggy after a beer and less sleep than normal, no probably not - I felt it. However, I’m a fan of measuring and collecting this data and seeing how it all plays out over time.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Slower to Get Better
A sneaky, long-term, and often overlooked way to get really strong is controlling the tempo when lifting.
Tempo is how fast you move. Sometimes when we want a fast tempo; speed work, explosive exercises for power development, sprinting and conditioning. When building strength and learning how to move though, nothing beats a slow tempo.
Slowing down makes things feel harder, forces you to breath better and gives your muscles a big dose of strength building stimuli.
There’s also the paradox of strength training to be aware of. The paradox of strength training is that you keep lifting heavier and heavier every week, except there’s one problem, this doesn’t actually work forever - or else we’d all have 1000 pound deadlifts.
Tempo affords us another variable to control. By slowing down, we’re increasing the difficulty of a weight, or a bodyweight movement like a push up, without moving up in weights.
If you’re starting to feel good at a weight, or a certain number of push ups or pull ups, add a tempo to your next bout and feel the difference!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 57
Greetings! Welcome to Friday Thoughts, where I share some of my favorite posts and things I saw on the internet this week. Enjoy!
Internet Fitness:
Be careful out there.
Old School Weightlifting:
I love seeing old school weightlifting footage. The contrast between how similar and different it is remarkable. My favorite lift here was the last one. Eccentric overload deadlifts, the lifter had two partners on either end of the bar to help him lift above 100% of their max and then lowered it without assistance.
Biking:
I haven’t used my road bike in 5 years because I’m sacred of cars, but for some reason, I feel like I could totally do this.
POV: you don’t go to the gym and need these.
No Waving Plan:
This video is fun. It reminded me of Casey’s video about last year’s NYC Marathon, and not meeting his goal, which was also excellent and below.
Have a good weekend!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain