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.
More Rest, Less Reps
Here are some gym hacks you should know about. They’re not really hacks-they’re sound training principles that go against peoples’ expectation of what workouts should be like.
The first: rest more. If something feels hard, and your goal is to improve strength-chill out.
Resting allows the processes that happens in your muscles run its program to gear up for the next bout. That extra minute or two can be the difference in a weight feeling really easy or too hard.
If something feels heavy, remember that isn’t a bad thing if you’re trying to build strength. You need stress to build strength and that struggle is good!
Too much of a struggle can be an issue though. We want proper technique and often times the way to ensure better form with a heavier weight or harder skill is to cut back on the reps-which is my second point today.
If your program says do 8, but you just increased a weight for the first time, you can do 5 or 6 reps to build confidence and get some practice. Keep the movement quality high instead of completing 8 sloppy reps.
Experienced gym-goers get this, and it’s a valuable framework to keep you playing the long game.
Justin Miner
Day 20 Check in
We’ve officially hit day 20 of our the Daily Walking Challenge! The cold, wet weather over the past week has made it especially tough to get those steps in—but if you’ve stuck with it, that’s something to be proud of.
By now, your walks should feel automatic, just a natural part of your day. But if you’ve wavered—maybe missed a day or two—I hope you jump back in. Sure, you no longer qualify for the shoe raffle, but that’s not the most important part. One of the most valuable skills we can develop is learning to start again.
If we only aim for perfection, and quit when we fall short, we’ll never build anything new. So if you slipped up, don’t beat yourself u and get back out there. That’s the real point of this challenge: building a habit that sticks.
If you’ve hit 20/20 so far, let me know today!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Addition for Subtraction
One reason gyms are so effective at helping people make life changes is because they represent something new to add in.
You have to commute to the gym, spend about an hour there, and then get back to home, work, or wherever you're headed. You can’t fake it—you have to carve out that time and physically show up.
In contrast, health and fitness advice often focuses on subtraction. Take dieting, for example. Most diets emphasize removing something “bad”: cut out sugar, stop eating carbs, no more snacks. That kind of restriction—and the constant focus on what you can’t do—makes compliance more difficult.
Here’s the perspective shift: if you’re struggling to get to the gym, remember that once you add this one positive habit, other good ones tend to follow. And in turn, the less desirable habits start to fall away—not because you're forcing them out, but because you're crowding them out with something better.
Sometimes, the best way to subtract is simply to add.
Justin Miner
MOnday Mindset
Consider the following as you go about your day and kick off another week:
You should always work out on Monday.
You should never work out on Monday.
One of those statements is definitely more popular than the other. But from my experience—as someone who exercises regularly and helps others do the same—both can be valuable mindsets.
Starting your week with a workout can set the tone and get you moving in the right direction. On the flip side, skipping the gym on Monday to focus on planning and getting organized can be just as beneficial.
Right now, I train on Mondays. But there have been long stretches when I intentionally skipped Monday workouts to prioritize work and set myself up for the week.
It’s tricky—there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. You have to experiment, tinker, and ultimately figure out what works best for you and your life. Maybe that means breaking with convention and skipping Monday workouts entirely.
There’s no perfect schedule or “right” way to do it. The key is building a system that works for you.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 74
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share random idea, half formed blog posts and some of my favorite clips from the internet. Enjoy!
Daily Walking Challenge Day 16!
We’ve crested the halfway point, can you believe it? Word around the gym is that there are a lot of people going to hit 30/30 this year to be entered into win a new pair of shoes. Keep that consistency going. If you haven’t been consistent, time to get back to it. Just because you messed up, doesn’t mean the challenge has to be completely over. Good habits are adaptable, sure you won’t get a chance to win a pair of shoes, but you can keep working on building this valuable, lifelong habit.
Ten Day Training Cycle
As I prepare for the Mount Washington Road Race, I’m testing something that I’ve been curious about for a while- ditching the 7 day in week and instead writing my program in 10 day cycles. There’s a lot of different time domains and intensities I’m trying to hit during the week, and using a 10 day week let’s me play around with what I do when. I’ve always been curious about this idea but stayed away because it’s confusing thinking in different time chunks than you have been for your whole life. All in all the first 10 days went well, I did about 90% of what I had planned and tweaked a couple days based off how I’m feeling- which is the whole point. I want to a plan I can follow, but want the flexibility to move and change things based off how I’m feeling the particular day.
Reading
The Miner household has been on a reading tear and we’re not slowing down. Months ago we ditched the nightly TV time for book time and we love it. On a podcast recently, someone asked how his friend reads so much, and his answer stuck with me, he said, “I read anywhere from 5 minutes to 90 minutes on any given day, sometimes less, sometimes more.” Like with most things, you’ve just got to get started and let the momentum take you. The biggest thing reading has done had made me less tolerant of Instagram. It’s funny, I almost feel like I’m having the opposite effect described below. Going from a book where you’re engaged and focused and swtiching over to doom scroll social media, it just doesn’t pack the same punch.
TEMPO
Tempo is a great skill to have in the weight room, and I think more importantly, it’s a really great way to progress someone and make them stronger without putting as much importance on how heavy their lifting, which with the aging population and for newbies is crucial to long term development. Remember, if adding 5 pounds to a lift every week worked like the text books say it does, we’d all have 1000 pound deadlifts by now and I’m still waiting on mine.
Good Training Is Boring
I know, we’re never going to win the internet or have the hottest, trendiest gym craze with a sentiment like that. We will, however, make real, sustainable changes and have the most impact. The real gyms, outlast all the trends. Remember the Lindy Effect. Keep doing boring workouts - you don’t need more entertainment, you need better training.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
How Are Those Resolutions Going?
Now that we’re a quarter of the way through the year, it’s a good time to check in on any resolutions you made back in January. As you probably know, it’s become a bit of a cliché to set New Year’s resolutions only to abandon them weeks later. Hopefully, your motivation is still burning strong and you’ve been staying true to your goals.
But if you’ve slipped up, or never even started, that’s okay. Not all hope is lost.
Here’s the thing: the issue I have with New Year’s resolutions is that there’s rarely any accountability. If things fall apart a few weeks in, the mindset is often, “Oh well, maybe next year.” But why wait? Don’t punt your goals to 2026. Reset, refocus, and get back to it.
You’ve still got three-quarters of the year left! Time to get to work.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
March By The Numbers
Welcome to this month’s edition of By The Numbers, where I look back at the data my watch collected over the previous month. I break down things like average sleep duration, steps, and total workouts. I’ve been doing this monthly reflection for at least 18 months now, and it’s proven to be a valuable tool for understanding my habits, spotting patterns, and finding areas to focus on. I highly recommend that everyone builds a practice like this.
Steps
245,344 total — Daily average: 7,911
Last week, Hannah hit her 300th day in a row of 10k steps, and I’m continually impressed with the dedication that takes. I’ve started training for the Mount Washington Road Race, so I’m sure this daily average will start creeping up as I start racking up more miles.
Sleep
6:55 nightly average — Average sleep score: 80
The slow decline of my sleep average continues. My score is higher than last month (for whatever that’s worth), and I’ve still been waking up feeling rested and energetic. I’m curious to see if that average ticks up over the next couple of months as training volume and intensity increase ahead of the race in June.
My resting heart rate has been at an all-time low and tends to respond this way whenever I crank up the cardio. On the flip side, my heart rate variability (HRV) was pretty low most of the month, finally dipping into the "below average/unbalanced" range the morning after the Ergathon. No surprise there—low HRV is an indicator of reduced recovery, and I was pushing it with more high-intensity intervals than usual.
What did surprise me was the heart rate drop that came alongside the HRV dip. I expected my heart rate to rise, and it did—but only by a few beats, and it still came in under my 2024 average.
Training
35 workouts — 3 rest days — 12 double-session days
Double sessions are easier than they seem—at least for me. Instead of doing a single 60–90 minute block, I’ll typically split it into two 30–40 minute sessions. That structure works well with my schedule (a little training before coaching, a little after), and it gives me two key advantages:
I get to train more frequently—which I genuinely enjoy. I don’t want to work out just three times a week; I want to do it every day.
It hedges against life happening. If a kid needs to be picked up early? No big deal—I’ve already banked a session.
On the surface, it might look like more rigidity, but in practice, it gives me more flexibility and helps me get more done in less time. It also gives me room to shift things around based on how I’m feeling. I do that a little too often, if I’m honest, and don’t always put enough trust in my former self who wrote the plan—but I’m working on that.
That’s all for today. As always, I hope reading this inspires you to take up a similar practice. Look back at March and ask yourself:
How did I do? What could I improve?
—
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Lifting weights No Longer ALIGNED With Core VAlues; GAINS are out
It’s come to my attention that lifting weights is inherently dangerous. In an effort to keep every gym member safe—from an abundance of caution—we are removing all weights, effective immediately.
Strength training, it turns out, is both barbaric and reckless. As you've likely guessed by now, building muscle is off the table. The risks of pushing oneself physically are simply too great, and I see no alternative but to melt down the barbells and repurpose them into something safer—perhaps decorative paper weights.
I’ve also rented a boat. Later this week, I will be personally escorting the kettlebells to the open sea, where they’ll be sunk to the ocean floor—forever silencing their call to be lifted, swung, and accidentally dropped on toes.
This news may come as a shock, and frankly, I was surprised when I heard it too. But it gets worse. Much worse. Squats? Devastating for your knees. Deadlifts? A one-way ticket to spinal collapse. Bench press? Goodbye shoulders.
In light of these undeniable truths, all forms of heavy lifting will be permanently terminated.
Stay safe out there.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
ONe Day, Five Breakfasts
I’m a procrastinator. I thrive on the thrill of cutting it close to a deadline—nothing motivates me quite like a little pressure.
I also tend to rush out the door in the morning, so having breakfast ready to go has been a game changer. In true procrastinator fashion, I save my breakfast meal prep for the very last minute: Monday morning. My go-to? A baked egg dish that takes about 30 minutes from start to finish—including clean-up.
After those 30 minutes, I’ve got five protein-packed breakfasts ready to grab each morning. No extra thinking required. Meal prepping helps me stay on track, save time, and eliminate decision fatigue—even if I do it at the last minute.
Do something today that sets your week off on the right foot.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 73
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share half-formed posts, work out idea and share some of my favorite things I saw on the internet over the past week. Enjoy!
garage door szn before garage door szn existed
March 2013. What can I say? I’ve always been a fan of gyms with garage doors, and knew I needed one when finding the perfect place for GAIN. This is from the first gym I worked at. Posted 12 years ago yesterday.
Cooking and Cleaning Progress Report
A couple months ago I posted this reel from Melissa Urban, founder of the Whole 30 saying that by the time dinner is ready, the kitchen is cleaned up. I’m a disaster and mess maker when I cook, so I took note and have been striving to clean up while cooking, and I’ve got to say it’s been a game changer.
It’s Working…
Below are two heart rate graphs from the same exact workout spaced apart 10 days from one another. A quick glance will tell you that the workout was executed the same, lots of little spikes and drops for recovery. When you look closely though, you’ll notice my heart rate didn’t get as high as the first effort. That would be irrelevant - there’s too many other factors to consider why that would happened alone - but I tracked my paces on the SkiErg, and on the second workout, I was faster each round (only by a second) and my heart rate didn’t get as high. This is why it’s important to track or know your paces on machines. It doesn’t feel like I accomplished anything, but the data confirms I’m getting more fit.
More Heart Rate Graphs
Here’s the my heart rate data from the Seacoast Ergathon. I did about 15 rounds of 90 seconds on 90 seconds rest, then we hammered the last 15 minutes transitioning every minute.
At Home Training
Coach T is looking to add some remote clients. Hit him up on Instagram if you know someone who would be perfect for this.
Thanks for reading, until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Daily Walking Challenge Check in
One Week Down!
By now, you should be feeling pretty good. Hopefully, you've settled into a routine—maybe it's a route that takes exactly 20 minutes, or a time of day that works best for you. You should also have a way to track your streak. This can be as simple as a piece of paper with dates, phone reminders, or—as I've seen some of you do—tracking your walks on Strava.
When it comes to hitting 30 for 30, it’s all on the honor system. You won’t need to turn anything in. That said, I still believe tracking your walks is a key part of building the habit. Whether you’re physically checking it off a list or just mentally logging it, that small act reinforces the commitment and helps the habit stick.
As we head into week two, expect some resistance. The novelty has worn off, and—even if it hasn’t hit you yet—you’ll probably want to quit at some point. What will keep you going is a mix of planning, preparation, and flexibility.
Plan when you’ll walk. Prepare for it—lay out your shoes, coat, umbrella, whatever you need. And be flexible. Life happens. Adapt as things come up.
I’ll leave you with a favorite quote from James Clear about being adaptable.
“In theory, consistency is about being disciplined, determined, and unwavering.
In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don’t have much time? Scale it down. Don’t have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day. Adaptability is the way of consistency.”
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
STick-to-itiveness
Spring is the perfect time to build a new routine. If you’ve just joined the gym, the most important habit to focus on is consistency.
Here are a few simple tips to help your new habit stick:
1. Start Small
Ambitious goals are great, but not if they stop you from getting started or leave you burned out after a few weeks. You don’t need to train four or five days a week. Instead, lower the bar and aim for just two workouts per week. If you stick with that, you’ll end up with over 100 workouts in a year — and that adds up.
2. Prioritize Consistency Over Intensity
Don’t go too hard, too fast. Start slow. If your workouts feel easy at first, that’s okay. You’re building momentum, and that momentum is what helps a habit stick. An easy workout is far better than no workout at all. I’ve seen too many people push themselves too hard early on and end up burned out or injured.
3. Be Kind to Yourself, Flexible and Adaptive
You will miss workouts — and that’s perfectly fine. The key is to get back to it on the next one. Don’t chase perfection; aim for progress and be adaptable.
4. Play the Long Game
The small choices you make each day add up over time. Focus on building sustainable habits rather than quick fixes. Consistency, patience, and moderation are what will get you to your goals.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
RIP Kendra
Dear GAIN Community,
It deeply saddens me to share the passing of Kendra Chevalier — a longtime GAIN member and one of the strongest, most inspiring people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. She passed away on Saturday, March 22, after a long battle with cancer.
Kendra was a force in the gym. She was strong, skilled, committed, and humble. She holds a state record in the deadlift, and as many of you know, she could crank out pull-ups well enough to make anyone feel both envious and inspired. She was a true master of skill and technique with the kettlebell, and on top of all that, she was a dedicated and accomplished runner. It seems like once a week, someone tells me they want to be strong like Kendra or run marathons like Kendra. The impact she had on others simply by being herself is incredible.
But it wasn’t just about her strength or skill — it was how generously she shared them. She encouraged everyone she encountered at the gym. I think of her and Chris, an seemingly unlikely pair, who would often run or do conditioning workouts together. What I’ll remember most is not just her strength, but her ability to use it to lift others up and inspire them to step out of their comfort zones.
To only speak of her accomplishments in the gym would be a huge disservice — Kendra was also a master baker. Her cupcakes were unmatched, always bursting with flavor and creativity. Her baking skills extended beyond human treats; she often brought homemade dog treats for Clementine and always shared the last bite of her pre-workout banana with her while giving her lots of cuddles.
I’ll miss you, Kendra. I am so grateful to have known you, and you will never stop inspiring me.
Here are the details for Kendra’s services, along with a link to her full obituary HERE.
Celebration of Life:
Thursday, March 27
4:00–8:00 p.m.
Brookside Chapel and Funeral Home
116 Main St., Plaistow, NH
Funeral:
Friday, March 28
11:00 a.m.
St. Joseph’s Church
200 Pleasant St., Epping, NH
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Daily walking Challenge Check In
Happy Monday. Did you make it through the weekend? The first weekend on these sorts of things is the first big test. Can you stick with your new habit when your daily schedule is a little different, or when you have more flexibility? Hopefully you made it through without issue.
The next challenging point is today. Maybe the weekend was a breeze for you, but you don’t have as much flexibility during the work week. To make sure you get your walk in, schedule it in your calendar or reminders app, check it off in a notebook somewhere, whatever it is - do something to track you daily walks. It sounds so simple, but this small habit can make or break your streak. Simple things like marking done on a reminder feel good a provide your brain with a reward - I did something I wanted to do and it feels good!
Day 5, get that walk in and stay consistent!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday THoughts 72
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts. Let’s get into it.
Daily Walking Challenge
Did you get your walk in yesterday? It was Day 1 of our annual Daily Walking Challenge. If you missed the sign up or were late to the party, just let me know today that you want in. The rules are simple - take a 20 minute walk every day until April 19. Get to stepping!
Seacoast Ergathon
Tomorrow’s the day! See yesterday’s blog post HERE to catch all the details and come cheer us on!
Space Squats
“The squat is probably the most common and famous compound exercise on Earth, as it is on orbit.”
Cleaning in the River
There’s a lot of stories about these old pictures of Soviets performing the olympic lifts in the water. The reason I heard they did it was for similar reasons a powerlifter might use bands in the current age - accommodating resistance. That’s a fancy way to say make certain portions of the lift more challenging or easier. In this case, the barbell starts underwater, it’s heavy pulling up, heavier than it normally would be. When the bar breaks above the water, the water is no longer creating drag on it, so it now feels lighter. This type of lifting can work on your speed and power, while helping some break through strength plateaus.
Breakfast Burritos
These look good.
Seacoast ergathon details
Join us this weekend for an exciting new event—the Seacoast Ergathon! Two GAIN teams will be competing, and we’d love your support.
Event Details
What: The Seacoast Ergathon is a six-person endurance race using the Concept2 Rower, SkiErg, and BikeErg. Three team members work while the others rest, with the goal of accumulating the most meters in one hour.
Who:
Team GAIN: Justin, Alex, Taylor, Robert, Chris, and Adam
GAIN Baddies: Robin, Wanda, Kayla, Rhianna, Rebecca, and Riley
Where: Seacoast Athletics, North Hampton, NH
When:
Team GAIN competes at 9:15 AM
GAIN Baddies compete at 10:30 AM
This is an awesome event concept, and I can’t wait to take on the challenge.
See you there,
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Spring Clean Your Brain
If you’re like me, you sometimes feel like there’s just too much in your brain to remember. When this happens, I turn to something I’ve relied on for over a decade—ever since opening the gym—a good old-fashioned brain dump.
What’s funny is that this overwhelming feeling seems to hit me twice a year: in the spring and fall. I’m not sure why, but it’s a pattern I’ve started to notice.
Over the years, my brain dump method has evolved. It started with a simple notebook, where I’d jot down daily to-do lists and random ideas. Eventually, I transitioned to using the Notes and Reminders apps on my phone. Just the other day, when my brain felt overloaded with tasks I was trying to remember, I listed everything in the Notes app and set up reminders.
This system helps me clear my mind of small but important tasks—like following up with a new gym member, scheduling an oil change, or recording a training idea I’ve been mentally working through. I treat my reminders with respect and complete them as they pop up.
What Does This Have to Do With Fitness?
Managing stress is crucial when it comes to prioritizing your health and fitness. Getting organized helps you stay on track with your habits, manage your time effectively, and ultimately, get things done.
Consider this your sign to give your brain a little spring cleaning.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Interval Intent with HR Graphs
I love seeing a nice heart rate graph after a workout. A well-executed interval session is art. I find them to be helpful tools in understanding the desired stimulus for a training session. Let’s take a look at some recent workouts and their intents.
Workout 1
Run 3 minutes @ fast but smooth pace
Run 1 minute @ easy, recovery pace
*repeat until 5000m
Intent:
The intent with this workout was to use intervals to run my normal neighborhood 5k, but at a slightly quicker, smoother pace than I have been. Not harder in the fact that my heart rate was higher or my breathing was out of whack, but just dipping my toes in uncomfortable. Maybe just a toe. I’m trying to build on the base I’ve been building since January. I’v run this exact route 6 times this year, 31:26, 29:44, 27:47, 29:31 and lastly on the interval day 25:55. Perfect. A little faster, not too hard, not too taxing, but just right.
For reference my running zone 2 is about 135-155 bpm.
Workout 2
SkiErg
15 sets
1:15 @ fast but sustainable pace
:45 @ rest
Intent:
The goal here was to get some lower heart rate training in with it feeling pretty hard. That means pushing the pace and limiting rest. This means I can’t push the pace too hard. I was targeting 1:55/500m for this session and came up a little short with an average of 1:57. Overall this was a nice piece that I’ll revisit again. It burned my muscles and made me breath hard, but wasn’t too taxing that I couldn’t bench press a couple hours later.
Not sure what’s going on with some of these sharp lines, but it’s been happening whenever connected to a rower or skier.
Workout 3
Concept 2 Bike
4 sets:
4000m @ stretch pace
2 min rest
Intent:
This was the day to go for it. Pick an ambitious pace for a long interval and try to hang on and repeat with a very tight turnaround. The two intervals above were time based, when doing workouts where I’m going to push it, I prefer to chase a distance since each time you speed up you’re getting closer to the finish. This was a good workout working on my threshold, and to really push the pace for a long time on the bike.
Workout 4
Concept 2 Bike
6 sets
8 min @ steady pace
1 min @ recovery pace
Intent:
It was interesting to do this workout a week after the hard bike workout above. The goal here was a long, easy ride with intervals to make it more manageable. I held a 2:00/1000m for all the intervals, and above I held a 1:43/1000m for just over 7 minutes. The intervals are about the same length, the rests are similar, but the paces are much different because of the different intents. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you can write the same workout and get a different stimulus each time based on the rest and intensity - and a that’s what intervals are, chances to curate a workout to get the right dosage of the right stuff.
Workout 5
6 sets:
90 sec @ hard pace
90 sec @ rest
-rest 4 minutes-
9 sets
1 min @ hard
1 min @ rest
*alt each round b/t row, ski, bike
Intent:
This was a fun workout in preparation for the ergathon. We cycled through the machines and really pushed the pace hard. I was happy with the quick heart rate recovery between bouts and felt like I could really push the pace on the machines.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Spring Daily Walking Challenge
Our daily walking challenge kicks on this Thursday!
That’s right, Thursday. We’re not starting at the beginning of the week, we’re starting on the first day of Spring. I like starting challenges on random days It requires more effort and planning to get started versus the classic I’ll just start fresh next week attitude.
The warm weather looks like it’s stick around and there’s no better excuse to get some more movement in throughout the day. Let’s work on being consistent and building a new habit this Spring!
Here’s a reminder of all the details…
20 minute walk each day for 30 days (March 20-April 19)
Track your walks and try to go 30 out of 30 days - people who do will be entered into a raffle to win a new pair of training shoes.
If you miss a day, who cares? Still keep going with the challenge (you just won’t qualify for a new pair of kicks)
Sign up on PushPress - under the EVENTS tab on the app or using the link HERE - PS that link is shareable so your family and friends can sign up a play along, even if they’re not members of the gym.
Here’s to walking!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 72
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts! Let’s get into it.
JOIN the Spring Daily Walking Challenge
Get ready to get your steps in the Spring with the next iteration our Daily Walking Challenge.
All the details:
Sign up HERE or under “EVENTS” on the Member’s App.
What: 20 minute walk each and every day for 30 days
When: March 20-April 19
Why: new habit building, reason to get outside with longer days and warmer weather.
Win: Just like last year, anyone who goes 30/30 (tracked by the honor system) will be entered into a raffle to win a new pair of training sneakers. Last year, we had nine people complete 30/30!
Desire to train/trusting your inner voice
The Starretts’ concept of desire to train has really helped me over the years. The idea is that once training becomes a part of your life, you’re good at sticking with it because it’s an important habit. When that happens, it pays to listen to your body and trust the voice in your head that tells you when to rest.
When you're building discipline, sometimes you need to ignore that voice. I often joke at the gym that the thing I do most often is make things easier for people. And that’s because I truly believe in the desire to train—the body knows what it needs, and you can learn to tune into it. It all comes back to playing the long game.
One line that stuck with me: We don’t have to be dogmatic and stick to the program; instead, we have to be highly consistent.
Sounds familiar, right? It aligns perfectly with one of our Core Values at GAIN: Consistency and Moderation Over Intensity.
Program Ramblings
Because of the ideas above I have a huge confession: I don’t follow a program. I haven’t for some time, and usually just guide my training based of what goals or events I have coming up combined with how I’m feeling that day. Last year, I took 9 months and hired a weightlifting coach to prepare to a weightlifting meet. I got so freaking strong. It taught me that specializing in something can really help you excel at it. It comes with a cost though, after some months away from that sport, my max lifts are probably 20-30 pounds lighter, never mind my technique rusty.
Heading into the summer I thought, well I lifted a lot and got really good at it, I’m just going to run a lot know and see how it plays out. All summer I only ran and it honestly did work. I was stoked on running, my body felt good and I tackled a couple of big efforts. With the Mount Washington Road Race coming up this summer, I’m planning to get very dialed in and tuned up to push it hard.
I’ve been working on a program for myself, and it’s a big scary to write a plan like this for yourself, and I’ll be walking the tight rope of trusting my past self, who wrote the workouts, versus my current self who’s accounting for desire to train and everything else that’s going on. It’ll be a fun expereiment, and once that training is in full swing I’ll share everything I’m doing, and how it’s all going.
Don’t You Dare Drink Water
This video encapsulates Instagram fitness information so well.