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.
ICe Cubes and Progress
The following analogy is from Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Imagine an ice cube sitting out on a table. This room where the ice cube is located is temperature controlled. Starting at 20 degrees, we’re going to raise the temperature of the room 1 degree at a time.
After a while, we’re up to 25 degrees. No change on the ice cube, it’s still just sitting there, frozen. Fast forward a little longer, we’re at 29 degrees. Still no change to the ice cube. Once we hit 31 degrees, our ice cube is there, still unchanged and apparently unfazed by the increasing temperature.
Finally, we hit 32 degrees. The ice cube starts to change, it’s melting.
What made the ice cube melt? The 1 degree change from 31 degrees to 32 degrees? Or was the compounding of the temperature change to get there? We saw no progress from 20 degrees all the way to 31 degrees. Just because we couldn’t see the progress, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
You might be going through something similar now. It feels like you’re turning your wheels, not getting any traction. You could be making progress and adapting, it just isn’t visible yet. Remember the ice cube, you could be making change without even noticing it, small actions add up to big changes.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Trying Viral RECIPES So You Don’t Have to
I saw this recipe on Instagram and was intrigued. It’s bacon cheeseburger mac and cheese that’s high in protein, with an easy Crock Pot recipe and tons of leftovers. What’s not to like?
You start with the beef into the pot, with some crushed tomatoes, garlic, and a few spices, and salt and pepper. I used two pounds of beef, although I noticed today the recipe says 3 pounds.
To make the cheese, you blend up cottage cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and American cheese. This recipe calls for 150g of each type of cheese, but we only had shredded, so I used 300g of that. That didn’t look like nearly enough cheese for the tub of cottage cheese, so I added another handful. I used a stick blender and am wondering if the blender or food processor would have had more fire power for better consistency.
After the beef cooks, you add the pasta, caramelized onions, and the cheese sauce. We added two diced red peppers too to up the veggie content.
We’ll be eating this stuff for days to come, but it didn’t come out very good. Hannah said it was trying to be too many things, the bacon was unnecessary, everything barely made it into the Crock Pot, thankfully I didn’t add that third pound of beef. The texture was off, more soup like that mac and cheese like. It has potential, but trying to wing it with the cheese mixture was probably not the best idea. Also, the amounts of the ingredients were annoying. For example, my full tub of cottage cheese has 680g in it, the recipe calls for 900g, which I can’t fathom fitting into the pot with a whole extra pound of ground beef too. Also, with 300g of cheese and 8 slices of bacon, I’m just a touch skeptical on the macros listed in the video.
Not the easiest Crock Pot recipe, either, because the beef cooks first, before adding the half-cooked pasta, you have to have two separate sessions of cooking to get this all ready, no set it and forget it.
Grade: 5/10
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
THat One Thing
I recently listened to author Steve Magness on a podcast and he said something that really stuck with me.
Along with being a writer, he’s a high-level running coach, an exercise physiologist and no slouch of a runner himself.
He mentioned that elite athletes will consult with him. These are the highest level, access to all the best coaches and information, been training years and years, dedicated athletes.
He said that all he often does is find the outlier - the one thing that got overlooked.
Maybe the athlete is only sleeping for 6 hours a night and trying to train at a really high level, or they’re undereating and not taking in enough calories to perform. Sometimes they’re just stressed out and need a better way to manage the stress or get their life organized.
It got me thinking, if I had an high level performance coach drop in a follow me for a day, what would they say I’m missing, or need more of? Of course I’m not preparing for the next world championship or Olympics, and I think there’s a little more nuance to it, but it’s a fun thought experiment nonetheless.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Reasonable vs. Tough Matrix
I was recently reminded of Dan John’s Reasonable vs. Tough Matrix. It’s a simple idea taken from one of my favorite strength coaches. You can use it to audit your own efforts to make sure they’r appropriate. Specifically, we’re going to use this to look through the lens of diet and exercise.
Dan John’s point is that a tough diet paired with a tough program is a lot of stress on the body, and if you are going to do it, you shouldn’t be stuck in a permanent cycle of starving and trying to exercise a lot, but rather, locking down for a few weeks out of the year, because tough+tough = unsustainable and maybe even unreasonable or unrealistic.
You can use the matrix to come up with the 4 options below, each of which could make up a portion of the year. For example, Dan John says most athletes live in the tough training + reasonable nutrition category. They’re working hard trying to improve, and that means properly fueling for these efforts, which means they can’t be on too strict of a diet.
Reasonable Training + Reasonable Nutrition
Reasonable Training + Tough Nutrition
Tough Training + Reasonable Nutrition
Tough Training + Tough Nutrition
Right now, as I typically do in February and March, I’m locking in my own nutrition. I’m eating in a bit of a caloric deficit, and because of that, the intensity of my workouts has changed. Most of them are “check the box,” workouts where I get in and get finished what I’m doing. It was unsustainable to keep going with hard workouts with the limited fuel. I’m on a tough nutrition + reasonable workouts. Sometime in the Spring that will change.
Sometimes your goals compete with each other, i.e., working out hard and dieting hard. There’s a time and place for both, but it shouldn’t be your baseline or norm. Perhaps you’re trying to put too many eggs in too many baskets rather than doing it right with one thing.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 67
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts. Each Friday I pull some of my favorite posts from the internet over the week and share them here. Enjoy!
This was a thought provoking read. The synopsis is the most effective training methods are boring, and repetitive. New fitness initiatives keep showing up and their concept isn’t to provide great fitness adaptations, but instead, to entertain.
Grip Strength
Speaking of entertaining, this was fun to watch and an impressive showcase of grip strength (I think these guys are arm wrestlers).
My attempts. Why I even thought to try lefty…
Team Diet Coke.
Don’t forget to make good decisions out there this weekend.
See you next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Major Workout Moments over the Past 20 Years
Location: Stratham, NH
Age: 14
Workout: First time ever training. My uncle, who was my hockey coach at the time, took me through a variety of movements in my parent’s driveway,
I jumped rope, threw a medicine ball against the chimney , benched pressed with those cement filled plastic weights everyone seems to have in their basement and ran down the street with a parachute tied to my waist.
Location: The Rinks at Exeter, Exeter, NH
Age: 17
Workout: Ladders and Stairs
After hockey practice, it was common for us to run the stadium stairs for 40 minutes. Run up, across the top, down, then right back up. We dreaded it. But looking back, probably some of the most effective training I did. We always started off doing ladder drills too and would occasionally squat and bench press in the rink as well.
Location: Exeter High School Weight Room, Exeter, NH
Age: 17
Workout: Back squats and Bench Press 10-8-6-4-2
My junior year of high school we got to take elective gym classes. I signed right up for Weight Room. The class was full of kids who wanted to lift heavy and get bigger. I can’t believe I get to do this at school I thought. Each workout was based around back squatting or bench pressing. We would start at 10 reps, and lower the reps as we increased the weight. No misses were allowed and we tried to go a little heavier each week. The assistant football coaching running the show didn’t do much coaching, but instead did crunches on a stability ball the whole time.
I learned about consistency and progressive overload here. We all got stronger and I really felt it outside of the gym.
Location: Ironman Fitness, Exeter, NH
Age: 18
Workout: I thought I was strong and fit until I met Matt. He was my first real strength and conditioning coach who taught me what performance training really was. My first week there we did what they called Strongman Friday. We went to the back parking lot and did all sorts of crazy stuff I had never seen before. We flipped tires, swung sledge hammers, carried really heavy yokes and did push ups with chains on our backs. I was hooked.
Location: UNE Campus Center, Biddeford, ME
Age 21
Workout: Learning how to kettlebell snatch. Kettlebells were coming in vogue at the time, and I really wanted to get my hands on some but they were impossible to find. One morning I stumbled into the gym, maybe a little hung over. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I brand new rack full of kettlebells of all sizes. In learning how to snatch one, I sent it flying across the room, luckily no one was there to see (or get hit by it).
Location: Hard Nock’s Gym, Amesbury, MA
Age: 24
Workout: After a long slump of not training, I needed a better place to workout. A friend took me to Hard Nock’s, a hardcore bodybuilding gym in downtown Amesbury. We did back squats, pull ups and I used a rowing machine for the first time. After about a year off I was so sore I remember I couldn’t sleep that night.
Location: Portsmouth, NH
Age: 25
Workout: Thanksgiving 2014. Although we had no rubber flooring and all of the equipment was still in boxes, we wanted to do our annual Thanksgiving lift at what would eventually become GAIN. We took out 3 barbells, a handful of weights and a rowing machine. Me, Hannah and our friend Cam did sumo deadlifts, power cleans and some rowing. I couldn’t believe I was working out in my own gym.
Location: Salisbury, MA
Age: 27
Workout: My first 10k run.
We lived near a paved rail trail that went straight to the Newburyport Commuter Rail. It was exactly 3.1 miles away. I ran there, took a 2 minute break and ran back. My furthest run ever. Little did I know what that run would eventually propel me into.
Location: Baxter State Park
Age: 29
Workout: Climbing the remote Northwest Basin trail up and over Hamlin Ridge with a heavy pack. I was coming off my first ultra marathon, which I did to see if I could do it. This first backpacking trip made me realize what I want to use all this fitness I’ve been building for, getting into cool places and covering lots of ground.
Location: Barrington, NH
Age: 30
My first garage gym workout with Hannah in our new house. She front squatted and I overhead squatted. My biggest concern when looking for a house was a two car garage so I could create my own garage gym to lift, tinker and play. Having this set up has been priceless.
Age: 32
Location: Portsmouth, NH
Workout: I had been dabbling with the CrossFit Open for some time, but this was the first year I actually signed up. The Open is a worldwide competition with 3 tough and challenging workouts. I had been following along for sometime, or occasionally cherry-picking a workout I would be good at. This was the first year I went for it, and this upcoming year will be my fifth in a row.
Age 35:
Location: Long Beach, CA
Workout: Deadlifts and Pull ups
I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in five years. We hit the gym immediately and fell into our old routine of heavy deadlifts on Friday. It was awesome to lift with an old training partner, who I realized I would be able to do that with for the rest of our lives. It reminded me of the importance of not just the gym, but of your gym friends who are training along side you.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
HOT-HIIT and the LINDEY EFFECT
I first heard of the Lindy Effect in the book Antifragile by Nassim Taleb.
The Lindy Effect is a theory that states: More Past Exposure = More Future Exposure
In other words, the longer something has been around, the more likely it'll stick around. A book that's been in publication for 50 years, stands a better shot at sticking around for another 50 compared to a book that's just been printed. The longer it has stuck around, the longer its life expectancy. It works for books, restaurants and other businesses and even scientific data.
It’s true for fitness equipment and routines too. Strength training with good old fashioned kettlebells, barbells and dumbbells has been around forever and has been proven to work. Same with yoga. They've stood the test of time, which according to this theory, means they're unlikely to go anywhere. Step aerobics, P90X, 6-minute abs, Peloton, or hot-HIIT, or any new entertainment-focused fitness modalities haven't even scratched the life expectancy surface of good old fashioned weight training.
We can keep trying to make fitness novel and fun, but it would be more effective to look back and see what's stood the test of time, and what has years and years of results to show for itself. I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it; strength and conditioning is a key to a long and healthy life. It works, and it isn’t going anywhere. It not the newest or most flashy, but you cannot argue that it’s the most effective.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
January By The Numbers
Welcome to By the Numbers! Each month I look back at the passive data my watch collects and try to make adjustments going forward. I look at things like average sleep duration, average sleep score from Garmin, total steps/daily average and workouts completed. As always, I hope this inspires you to do the same - look back and make some adjustments for the upcoming month.
Steps: 286,004 total for a daily average of 9226.
About what I expected. I was trying to get 10k steps earlier in January, inspired by Hannah, whose streak is still climbing. I found it to be more challenging than expected. If I learned anything, the colder months are tricky to get enough activity in. Not only is it cold, but it’s cold and dark. In January of 2024 however, I only averaged 7011 steps for the month, and that’s the importance of checking your data!
Sleep: average 7 hours 2 minutes, average sleep score 78.
Annoyed at this. I’ve been working the sleep game hard and in January I was getting to bed early and even trying to sleep in more than normal, although, we did have a bit of an unusual month. Hannah had two work trips and Taylor went on vacation - so I was out of my routine for 3 out of 4 weeks. Still! I thought I logged more sleeping time than this. Not to complain, but my new watch is so sensitive that each night I wake up with 10-15 minutes of “awake” time, when I don’t feel as though I was really awake.
This is the importance of doing these reviews - it lets me check if the data correlates with how I actually feel. And this sleep score seems lower than I deserve!
Workouts: 31
I had a good month of training after the 10k swings in December. I did do kb swings once in the month, but other than that, I ran 9 times, and did a lot of conditioning for used workouts. I primarily rode the AirBike, but also did a few SkiErg and Rower workouts as well. I took 3 total rest days too. Looking through these workouts, many of them were 20-30 minutes in length, just check the box and get them done. Parts of the year training is a priority, while other times I just like to check the box and move on.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope it inspires you to look back and reflect as well. See if you can make small adjustments as we head into the next month.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
New Week, Fresh Start
It’s already the 33 day of the new year. Can you believe it? I can, January always seems to drag on forever.
Have you seen that meme about the next week being a normal week? It’s something like; being an adult is just saying things will settle down after this week…forever and ever and ever.
Us humans are busy, and we have a lot of things we cram into our schedules.
Time in the gym doesn’t happen by accident. You’ve got to prioritize it and be abatable with your goals and routines. Things will always be busy, the perfect time never arrives. Be flexible and do your best, forever and ever and ever.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 66
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share some of my favorite posts I’ve come across on the internet recently, and any other things that have been on my mind. Enjoy!
My feed was full of “how much stuff weighs,” posts this week. These two about the landmine, because everyone asks me, and I didn’t really know, and the push up graphic, which more than anything shows why we love to elevate the hands to scale back a push up rather than go to the knees. Changing the hand position allows us to manipulate the load, or how much of your own bodyweight you’re lifting, whereas knee push ups are, and always will be, the same percentage, eventually halting progress.
I loved this post. And like Jordan, I am sick of, Internet personalities talking about toxins in grocery stores.
Team subtitle.
This would be quite the workout.
The paradox
This chart is great to understand the squat vs hinge pattern. These two similar movements can be tricky to nail down when first starting to strength train.
Clem’s in it for the squirrel blood.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How to start
Potential members start with our 3-session trial. This serves as an opportunity to meet the coaches and see how we do things at GAIN. Our individualized, feels sort-of-like a group, but isn’t really a group, vibe is different, and unlike any other gym you’ve been to.
On your first visit you work closely with a coach doing our Intro Workout. This gives us an opportunity to go over some finer details like getting organized 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 need to prove that one day 1. We want you to build a new habit you can stick with, easing in is key. With our consistency over intensity mindset, many self identifying “not a gym person” has turned into a dedicated member who have been with us for nearly a decade.
You’ll learn a whole bunch of new movements and lingo, if you’re a newbie to the gym 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, 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’s tailored to what you need and want to accomplish.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Winter Run cHat 2
Anything is better than nothing.
That’s what I keep reminding myself this winter. Last week I mentioned this is my first winter since 2020 even trying to run. I took my winter running gear out of the back of the closet and have been trying to get out at least twice a week.
Lowering the bar, or my expectations, has helped me get out there when I don’t feel like it on these cold days.
Even 20 minutes is more than I was doing a year ago, I think. And I get out the door.
I’m not training for anything in particular, rather just being ready to turn up the dial when better weather and more running opportunities arrive. Summer 2024 was my running revitalization and I want to carry the stoke into 2025 too, and that means taking my time building the base.
On a recent 30 minute neighborhood run, I could imagine the routine easily turning into a 60 minute run.
I’m keeping the urge to do more in check and getting out there when I can, knowing that anything now will help turn up the dial when the time is right.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Interval BReakdown
If you regularly do intervals at GAIN, the following interval may be in your program soon. I use something like this while building my running base, and I’ve found it to be a sweet spot to get a nice training effort to improve your endurance. The intervals break up the session nicely and make it more tolerable and more effective than your standard 20-minute ride.
I want to break down this interval, go over its intent and provide context to you so you can get the most from your workout.
5 sets:
3 min @ moderate pace
1 min @ recovery pace
First, let’s add up the total working time; 20-minutes.
That tells us that it’s an endurance-focus workout.
The work interval is 3 minutes long. The rest, or specifically in this case, active recovery, is 1 minute. Active recovery means you’re going to keep moving, as slow as needed during the “off” interval.
Work duration is 3 times a long as the recovery period. Now we can contextualize our pace.
We want to see you use a sustainable pace. Something you can repeat round after round, after round.
The trick here is avoiding coming out too fast in the earlier intervals, then getting slower and slower. That’s something we see often with endurance training and specifically what we’re trying to avoid - getting slower. The active recovery plays into that, if you’re starting to slow down, maybe you’re not going slow enough during the recovery interval.
The goal with a sustainable pace workout is to improve your endurance by staying at the right intensity. This will elevate your heart rate, but not spike it really high. You should be able to talk, though it should be slightly labored. You’ll be able to answer a question I ask, but if you took a phone call your friend on the line would know you’re exercising.
So how fast do you go?
You should complete the same amount of work (meters or calories) in each set. Knowing a specific pace, like per 500m splits on the rower would require having other knowledge, like from a test or other recent workout. Some of you recently did a 5 minutes for max distance finisher. If we start there, we know that was a maximum effort, not a sustainable one. So to start, it’ll be slower than that.
We can also assume your pace will be faster than if you did 16-20 minutes straight. The recovery interval, while you’re still working, makes it easier to hold a slightly faster pace compared to a straight effort. Going a bit faster lets us increase the intensity to get a better training effect by staying in that sweet spot zone of ‘easy,’ but not too easy.
TL;DR
It’s takes some practice to get into the sweet spot of an endurance interval. Each time you’re on a machine however, is an opportunity to take a look at your paces/rpms/watts to build more context and gather information. Keep in mind the goal is sustainable paces, and matching the total work (meters or calories) done in each on interval. Spending time here will build endurance and stamina, will feel good on your muscles and joints and promotes longevity and heart health. Get to work!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How to Get Strong: Reps in reserve
If you want to get stronger you’ve got to pay attention to reps in reserve or RIR.
RIR is a way to identify how many more reps could you do AFTER completing your prescribed reps.
When chasing strength, your reps in reserve should be low.
Here’s a scenario:
You’re goblet squatting 4 sets of 10 reps.
You pick the blue kettlebell because that’s what you always use. You do your 10 reps concentrating on excellent form, breathing and everything else. Suddenly, I run up to you and offer you $300 for 10 more reps. You grind them out and eventually complete the 10 additional reps for a total of 20.
The last 3 reps took everything you had. You have no reps in reserve. However, if you finished that set at the prescribed 10 reps, you left a lot on the table. You had 10 reps in reserve!
The sweet spot of getting strong, and not trashing your body, is leaving 2-3 quality reps in the tank. In this scenario, the kettlebell weight was too light for the rep scheme of 10. You should never be able to double the reps with the selected weight. That’s a clear indication you won’t create the stress stimulus required to make strength adaptations.
If you do push ups with your hands elevated on a box or a bar, this is another way to check and see if you’re being properly challenged. If you normally use a certain height for a set of 10, but could easily crank out 15 or more reps, it’s time to lower the bar.
The general goal with strength training is to create stress that our bodies will adapt to. Make sure you’re hitting the right stimulus by checking in and seeing how many reps you have in reserve.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 65
Welcome to this week’s Friday Thoughts, where I share my favorite things I saw on the internet this week, plus the occasional random thought that didn’t make it into a full post. Enjoy!
Shoe Police:
I hate playing shoe police, but this time of year, it’s important that you bring a clean, dry pair of shoes to train in. The salt eats away at our rubber flooring and stains it. Help us keep the gym clean this winter and bring an extra pair of shoes. Don’t forget the shoe rack if you want to leave a pair in the gym. Thank you!
James Clear Quote:
I saw this on James Clear’s newsletter this week, and thought it’s such simple explanation of what it really takes to stick with something. Adaptability is key. In all these years of training people I’ve noticed that many people are unwilling to do the easy version, and that stops them from doing anything.
Biking Steps?
I can’t seem to stop mentioning 10,000 steps. Over the past week I’ve noticed that when I select “Indoor Bike” for my AirBike workout, it will not count towards my step total. However, if I select “Cardio,” which I use for most general in-gym workouts, my step count increases from the bike. Remember, with the AirBike, you pump your arms and your legs to move.
I’m on team, yeah it’s close enough to a step to count as a step. I’m moving, exerting myself physically, breathing, the only missing piece when compared to actual walking is that I’m not supporting my own bodyweight, and I’ve got to say that is a good point, too.
So, what do you think? Do AirBike steps count?
This was a good, thought provoking post from author Ryan Holiday.
This is a deep cut but hopefully one of you will appreciate the Eastbound and Down clip.
That’s a wrap for this week!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Winter Run Chat
I’ve been back in the winter running game, and I’ve got to say, it feels good. For years I was a dedicated winter trail runner, running 3, 4 or 5 days a week regardless of weather. I experienced all the conditions possible, deep snow, thick ice, wet slush, strong winds and freezing temperatures. For the past few years though, I’d run all summer, get burnt out and focus on something else for a few months. This year, my desire to run is still there so I’ve been getting out for 2-3 runs each week. In no particular order, here are some winter running thoughts.
Be bold start cold. This old adage rings true when you’re heading out for a longer run or a hike. When I’m doing my neighborhood 5k lap, I’m going to layer up as much as needed to get myself out the door. If I’m too warm I swing into my house and drop it off.
I wear leggings or tights when I run in the winter. I have two pairs, a light pair for when the temps are above freezing and a fleece lined pair for anything less than that.
Wool socks.
Move some dirt. In 2024 my first run of the year was in May. I feel like I’m cheating by getting such an early start this year. Anything is more than I was doing last January, so I’m trying to remember that. If you’ve seen the shovel and spoon flag in the gym, it’s inspired by a quote that goes: “training is like moving a pile of dirt. Sometimes you take a shovel full and sometimes you get spoonful. Either way you’ve got to move the dirt.”
Hoods > Beanies.
Speaking of hoods, the tighter the fit the better. If it looks like I’m gearing up to go scuba diving - perfect.
If you’re scared of slipping on the ice - run on the treadmill. If you run too cautiously, you’re more likely to fall than if you just go for it. If you keep your center of mass over your mid-foot, and don’t reach too far on your stride, you shouldn’t slip on the ice. In fact, check out the video of Dr. Romanov, creator of the Pose Method of running, and who taught me how to understand running mechanics, running on ice below.
Grid fleece, with a big zipper to dump heat = GOAT layer.
Two pairs of gloves: 1. Super light weight, used for 30 degrees and above. 2. heavier, wind-proof, water-resistant and used for colder days under 30.
Audiobooks. You know I’m a fan of running without headphones, but lately for a little extra motivation on those cold days, I’ve been listening to an audiobook while hitting the pavement.
Speaking of pavement, all my runs lately have been on the road. It’s much easier and more predictable than the trails. I love some snow running in the woods, but getting to the trails, even though they’re just a mile down the road, is another barrier to entry, plus any required gear like snowshoes or micro spikes.
These are some of the thoughts I’ve been having while winter running lately. I hope you picked out a thing or two that will help you get some cold weather exercise in this year!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
December by the Numbers
Welcome to this month’s by the numbers, where I look back at the data that my watch collects over the month. I look back to spot trends and make adjustments for the next month. It’s been a useful exercise for me, and I encourage you to do the same. Let’s get into it.
Steps: 281,202 total steps for a daily average of 9,071.
I feel like I say this every month: higher than I expected. Something I learned last month, while doing a lot of kettlebell swings, is that my watch would count the swings as steps. At first I was annoyed at this revelation - only steps should count as steps! Then I realized if I do a 600 kettlebell swing workout, and get 600 steps from it, that’s nothing if trying to get into the tens of thousands. This discussions has evolved into what activities should count towards your step goal? Only steps? Or should movements like kb swings be okay, because you’re moving anyway?
Sleep: Average sleep 7 hours 2 minutes, average sleep score 79
December was a tough sleep month. Lowest average of the year, and not too surprising too. I was off my routine a lot, stayed up late more that usual, spent a few days sick. Instead of getting caught up I wasn’t getting 8 hours, I’m reminding myself that a couple years ago, a month like that probably would have been a 6 hour average.
Workouts: 25
24 of those sessions were kettlebell swings. I wrote my recap of the 10k swing challenge here, if you want to check that out. All in all, it was a fun challenge but all I did was swing a kettlebell. I mixed some push ups and pull ups in when I could and I got one trail run in as well. Lately I’ve been enjoying more variety and spending time working on my conditioning on the various gym machines.
Thanks for reading, as always, I hope this inspires you to look back at your previous month and spot any trends and set some realistic marks for the next month.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How to Improve Your Push ups
Push ups are frustrating. On one hand, they’re a simple exercise, no equipment required and something that most everyone in the world familiar with. Many people think they should be able to do them based on that alone. However, push ups require a lot of strength and technique, and practice.
Eventually, poor technique will halt your progress. Whether your shoulders starts to feel achy or you’ve plateaued and can’t tack on any more reps, it’s likely that both strength and technique are your issue.
Here’s a checklist to ensure you’re doing everything to build the strength and technique required for big set of perfect push ups.
They should be hard but not too hard.
Reaching failure is a sure fire way to halt progress. We want you to use variation that is challenging to get the reps done, but not impossible, leading to frequent misses or sloppy technique. When you train your body to fail, it doesn’t adapt as well. Whatever the goal reps are, always try to leave one or two more reps “in the tank.” This is a discussion for another day, but this is called reps in reserve and knowing your RIR is a high-level gym skill.
Frequency
If push ups are really on your mind, talk to your coach and add in an additional day to get the reps in. One day should be hard, grinder reps focused on progressing in difficulty and building strength. The other day should be an easy volume building day where you do 40-50 reps at a variation that’s easy for you.
Place a premium on accessory movements.
A push up is just a plank where you bend your arms. Seriously, think about that. Lock in your plank technique, grip the ground, engage your glutes, use your upper back, breathe purposefully and realize that the more robust you are here, the better your push ups will be.
Mobilize those wrists.
If your wrists are really stiff, it can place more pressure on your shoulders while doing push ups. Stretching them out prior to your set can make a significant difference. Sometimes this is all it takes to unlock better technique.
Even if you were to never get a push up on the floor, chasing one is a worthwhile training pursuit to build total body strength, awareness and control.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
All Week
Taylor and Caroline are headed off for their honeymoon this week. That means I’ll be at the gym covering Coach T’s normal sessions and I am looking forward to spending more time on the floor coaching and catching up with those of you who I don’t see regularly. Clementine is excited to catch up with you, too.
See you soon!
PS
6am session cancelled today due to the snow, opening at 7:30am!
Justin Miner
Friday tHoughts 64
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share half formed blog ideas and some of my favorite videos I saw on Instagram recently. Enjoy!
I’ve always liked listening to podcasts and books. The first audiobook I ever listened to was the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson while I was commuting to finish out my college credits. Back then you had to download a book on a computer and transfer it over to an iPod. That book had a big impact on me, and is the reason we have a pirate flag in the gym. This past year, I have been listening to and reading the same book.
I forget exactly how it came about, but in early 2024 I was reading the Expanse series by James S.A. Corey and had a road trip coming up that I would be solo on, so I got the book I was currently reading on Audible, and listened to it on the road trip. This let me listen to a chapter or two while driving, and then pick back up when reading later. It isn’t always feasible, to get both the book and audiobook, but I will when I can. It helps me stay engaged in a book and I love it.
This clip talks about some of the interesting benefits of listening to books be read aloud.
This clip makes me sad, and unfortunately, it’s a reminder that no matter how perfectly you do something, shit happens. Lauren knows all the right ACL prevention; does all the warming up, cooling down, strength work, plyometrics, recovery, etc. You can still take a funny step and tear right through the ACL and become another non-contact ACL statistic though. Best of luck on your rehab Lauren.
Some January James Clear Inspiration.
This was an interesting take on stability from the internet’s favorite Olympian.
Pie January…
Thanks for reading, until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain