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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.
Friday Thoughts 56
Greetings. Happy November. Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, enjoy!
How it feels to lift in running shoes. This video explains what I’ve been trying to explain for years in a much better, more concise way.
Dear Instagram algorithm,
Please send me more Red Bull content like this and no more people talking inside of grocery stores about how everything is toxic. Thanks!
Every single NYC Marathon since 1976. Talk about long game, this is seriously impressive.
Love this take from fellow Iron Maiden fan and author, Ryan Holiday.
However, I like to have some races on the calendar. It provides accountability to get out there and maybe my favorite part, sometime specific to tinker with a plan and train for. I’ve struggled with running for the past couple years, to the point I’ve been pondering if I should give it up entirely. I’ve made a come back this year, and that’s partially due to how many races I’ve done and how that sparked my training, provided structure, and given me something to strive for.
Neverthelesss, I like this message, and like with many things, both sides of this coin can be true. Do the thing just because you do the thing, but sometimes, an external motivator can be a powerful force.
David Roche is a running coach and athlete. He made a big splash this summer by breaking a long-standing record at the Leadville 100, which also happened to be his first 100-miler. Last week at the Javelina Jundred, which is the most clever race name there is, he won again in a blazing fast time. There are many people in the ultra running world who just go out and crush big volume, which I’m sure David is doing too, but I’ve enjoyed seeing how precise he is with his interval training, and how he used a hot room and a puffy jacket to get some more heat exposure (Javelina is in the desert).
Port’s Mouth
See you next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Daily Habit Challenge; Final Day
Today is that last day of our Daily Habit Challenge.
At some point today, take a moment to reflect. How did you do? Did you develop a new habit? Were you consistent? Did you pick a good habit or a bad one? Did you get into a good routine? What prevented you from being more successful, or why were you successful?
Ask yourself those questions and give yourself a grade, how well did you perform for the habit challenge?
Thanks for playing along everyone, hope you got something out of it.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Countdown to 2025
As we wrap up the month of October, and our Daily Habit Challenge, this is as good a time as any to reminder you the year is almost over.
Today marks the 303rd day of 2024, with 63 days left.
Thanksgiving, the holiday season and the new year will be here before we know it.
If you have big plans for 2025, or want to get a head start on a new goal, now’s the time to get started, not January.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Gradual
This quote sometimes pops up when I log into TrueCoach:
Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. - Pat Riley
The quick fix crowd doesn’t understand that getting stronger, creating a healthier lifestyle, getting lean or more conditioned takes time. Often, a lot of time.
Playing the long game is about staying committed to the process and getting a little bit better here and there. This slow progress can be frustrating, but it’s the way to build long-term commitment and therefore, long-term progress.
Play the long game!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Home Stretch
We’re on the final stretch of the October Habit Challenge. Hopefully you have been diligent about your new habit, and building it into your life has been a breeze since we crested the halfway point of the month.
If you habit challenge hasn’t been what you thought it would be, consider the following:
You picked a bad habit - it was either too hard, or too uninteresting for you to follow through on.
Through this lens, you still failed the habit challenge, but hopefully you learned something about yourself and how you form and build habits.
If you have been getting your habit in everyday, congrats! After the month is over is the real test for you. Can you continue your habit, or maybe part of it, after the month has past? Can you use the principles that allowed you to succeed to build another new habit?
However the habit challenge panned out for you, this week is an opportunity for reflection; how did you do? What could you have done better? What went well? Were you disciplined? What helped you feel motivated? What was the biggest barrier to getting your habit in?
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 55
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, enjoy!
Why Sleep Tracking Isn’t Useful - Yet by Alex Hutchinson
This is a nice quick read about the sleep data many of us are tracking and analyzing. How useful is it? How good is it? Recently, I upgraded my watch. With the new tech that’s been developed since 2018 (when I last got a new watch), it’s nuts how much more information there is to decode, and it does seem to be more accurate that its older counterpart.
Hutchinson questions what we will do with all this data, i.e., if you got less REM than normal last night, how are you going to get more tonight? Are you going to train differently? Take a rest day? Get an extra hour of sleep? For me, I don’t worry too much about the small things like that, but rather, look back at overall trends and mostly look at the hours I’m logging Zzzz’s.
Read the article HERE
Mount Washington:
Big brand does a doc about our local mountains; I’m in. This Arc’teryx doc about a rescue that happened 30 or so year ago, and about the SAR (search and rescue) community of the Whites. It was enjoyable and had a twist that I was not expecting. If you like learning about SAR stuff like I do, make sure to check out the book Critical Hours: Search and Rescue in the White Mountains by Sandy Scott.
Top of Europe:
Killian winds his way through the crowds at the top of Europe, Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. This was reminiscent of the summit of Mount Washington in the middle of in the summer. There’s something about one of the best runners in the world suffering through big crowds like the rest of us.
If You’re Not Rowing to Wash Your Clothes:
You might be lazy, get to work! In all seriousness, I always thought it would be cool to have a gym set up so that AirBikes needed to be pedaled to generate power for the lights.
Roate!
Get your t-spine mobility in. I’ve been digging the last one, the banded reach, for a few months and it’s good one!
How many can you tear?
License plates that is. Most torn in 30 seconds, if you didn’t know, now you know there’s record for that too.
Thanks for reading, until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Running Workouts with Graphs Pt. 5
Today I’m going to look back on some running workouts I’ve done lately to see if I accomplished the right training stimulus.
Oct. 13
Run 60 mins
warm up: 16 mins, 1.65 miles
7 sets:
2:30 @ hard pace (targeting 7:30)
1:00 @ recovery (targeting 9:00-10:00)
cool down: 20 mins, 1.8 miles
workout notes: Wanted to spend some time running at a faster pace, primarily for the muscular benefits. Running fast is tougher on your muscles, tendons and joints and can be a really good training stimulus when you’re ready for it. I needed to get some higher-heart rate time too, which I did not accomplish with this workout. I felt sluggish and heavy during my warm up and couldn’t seem to get much faster on these short efforts. All in all, an okay workout with about 6.5 miles, but would have liked to see the heart rate spike into the 165 plus range on the intervals.
Oct 14
Run 5k at hard effort.
warm up: 13 minutes, 1.25 miles
run 5k @ 6:52/mile pace
cool down: 5 minute walk
This was high heart rate redemption from the day before. I realized I was avoid a tempo-like effort, where I sustained hard pace for 20 or so minutes. I accomplished that here and this was tough, but, surprisingly I felt pretty good afterwards. This 5k had a couple hundred feet of vertical feet and it was raining, so I’d like to think I could shave off some more time with better conditionings. I’ve snuck under 20 minutes on a 5k once, 6 years ago and 15 pounds lighter, I think this is my 3 or 4th fastest ever and I’m pleased with that. Accomplished the heart rate goal here and logged a couple minutes in zone 4.
Getting properly warmed up for an effort like this is tricky. You can easily go overboard, and this type of run sucks a lot when you aren’t ready for high output. Today, I felt good warming up and knew it right away whereas on the previous day, I couldn't get the turnover I wanted from my legs while warming up and this chart shows a more gradual warm up.
Oct 17
Run 60 mins
warm up: 15 minutes, 1.5 miles
7 sets:
40 sec @ sprint pace, uphill
1:20-1:45 recovery jog back to start position
cool down: 25 minutes, 2 miles
In an effort to continuing to getting higher intensities I did this workout on a gradual hill on the trails near my house. I ran for 40 seconds up the hill as hard as I could, and jogged down easy to recover. Each interval got harder to recover from, per the plan. I had 10 efforts planned on my watch, but I slowed down so significantly on number 7 I called it there, since I still had a two mile run back to my truck. I should have done longest rests on all of these, even when I didn’t need it in the early intervals. I think that would have allowed me to push it for more volume and with greater intensity. Overall, mission accomplished but could have executed better.
Oct 21
Run 7 miles with 20 minute hard effort.
warm up: 25 minutes, 2.25 miles
run 20 minutes @ hard effort, 2.03 miles (9:51 per mile)
cool down: 33 minutes, 2.6 miles
7 miles with 892 feet
This was a good run. I wanted to get some more volume that my typical runs had been, but also keep the speed focus. I decided to run 25 minutes to a hill, where I would climb for about a mile and the descend for a mile, trying to accomplish it in less that 20 minutes. The hard uphill would challenge my strength and push my heart rate, and on the downhill I would get fast technical running practice, and challenge my muscular endurance with the eccentric overload. It isn’t so clear on the chart where the 20 minute effort was, so perhaps it could have been a little harder, but in order for that, I would have needed to be on less technical trails. It did however, result in a higher average heart rate than if I just cruised for 7 miles.
Movement Exposure
A not-talked-about-enough benefit of hitting the gym is exposure to different movements and full ranges of motion that your life may be lacking without the gym.
You can accomplish this even with light weights, not near enough to your max to elicit strength gains. The benefits are there nonetheless. One could even argue that the neurological adaptations from said training would eventually lead to positive strength returns.
Remember this the next time you don’t feel up for an epic sweat fest, hit the gym, even if it’s just for the full body movement benefits.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Iso Holds
Here’s one that trips up lots people on their program, iso hold. It’s short for isometric. Which is short for isometric contraction.
This is a muscle contraction in which the length of the muscle does not change. The muscles fire but joints don’t move, rather the muscles keep everything in place.
Holding a plank is an isometric contraction (especially if you do it right).
An iso metric contraction is present on any sort of pause squat or bench press as well.
Isometrics can fall into two categories, yielding or overcoming.
For a yielding isometric, you hold a position with resistance trying to get you out of it, all these below are yielding iso metrics.
Split squat iso holds, anti-rotation press iso holds, bottom of push up holds, wall sits, and if you were around for some Zoom workouts, bat wings.
An overcoming iso hold, you put force into an immovable object. Like trying to push a wall over or pull something so heavy that it won’t budge. We typically use yielding isometrics at GAIN.
Iso holds get you stronger in specific ranges of motion, they’re helpful for building strength and rigidity, exposing range of motion and one of those things we could all use a little more of.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Don’t Let off the Gas
Day 21! Can you believe it? Not time to let off the gas though, there’s still 10 days left to build and maintain your new habit.
If you’ve messed up and skipped a day or two here and there, it’s okay! You won’t get a worse grade on the test, in fact, no one is grading you except yourself.
We’re at the point where people tend to give up. The perseverance required this late in the game is difficult to summon. The October 1st motivation has dried up and been forgotten about, now you must rely on the systems you’ve set up and the discipline you’ve built.
Don’t let off the gas now, keep it up for another 10 days.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday THoughts 54
Welcome to Friday Thoughts, where I share some of my favorite things I saw on the internet this week. Enjoy!
More than Halfway
October Habit Challenge is going strong, we’ve crested the halfway point. Hopefully your habit feeling manageable, and becoming easier and easier. If you have screwed up, and haven’t got all your days in the, the most important step is to start back up again. Far too often we quit things when we don;t stick it perfectly the first try. Use this month as an opportunity to get back to it and keep going!
You are what you repeatably do…
D1 Cheerleader’s Training
This guy moves well and is super strong. Great training. Enjoy the video narrated by two Irish weightlifting coaches, Daire and Eion.
Soviet Wrestlers Strength and Conditioning
I love seeing old school training footage. Lots of similarities between the this and the previous video.
Insane display of athleticism.
Running Skill:
Check out this solid breakdown of what makes a good butt kick drill for runners.
This workout makes my skin crawl. Crazy volume and a high output. David Roche set the Leadville 100 course record earlier this year and is gearing up for another 100 miler.
DL 5x5, lol
Until next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Training Ramblings
Over the summer I had a great ram up of running fitness, cumulating with pacing 45 miles at the Wasatch Front 100-miles Endurance Run in early September. I felt solid during the run, and at altitude, no less. Stoked on my summer fitness and after spending a weekend at a classic 100 mile race I have my eyes set on 2025, and maybe my first 100.
In an effort to use this fitness and fulfill some 100 mile race prerequisites, I’m running the Stone Cat 50-Miler on November 2nd. Here’s my reflection of what my training has been like since the Wasatch Front.
Sept 9-15:
Four days after Wasatch I was in California. I got tons of steps and a few lifting sessions in, but no running. I had hoped to get one or two in while out there.
Sept 16-22:
The following week my body was feeling two weeks of travel and I listened and took it easy, despite already wanting to be ramping up for Stone Cat. I got two runs in of 2-3 miles and plenty of time mobilizing, swinging kettlebells and doing pull ups. I also did Alex’s challenge of the month workout, and it left me sore for days! I hadn’t done a workout with such high intensity in a while and a paid the price.
Sept 23-29:
The next week the pull ups continued, this time mixed in with power cleans and power snatches. It felt good to move fast and athletically and move some weight. Hanging out with Kelly Starrett and getting a couple lifts in with my college roommate had me craving the gym and moving some weight around - despite my running motivation from a couple weeks earlier. I often find these two training desires at odds with one another, not because they can’t be done together, but because I can’t hold the level of fitness with each that I want at the same time. I settle for excelling in one while the other fades, and eventually it swings the other way.
Regardless, I got four solid runs in this week and managed it while Hannah was away on a work trip.
Sept 30-Oct 6:
More of the same this week. There was a lot going on and I crammed it in when I could, getting about 20 miles/3.5 hours of running and 4 good lifting sessions in.
Oct 7-13:
Feeling solid and motivated for running and get 5 runs in 7 days. Felt strong on all of them, and I’m starting to think despite feeling good after Wasatch, my body needed a while to get back to baseline.
Thanks for reading. Writing this out helps me organize my training and figure out what’s working, what isn’t and how to keep preparing for this upcoming race.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Hot Salt
You all know I’m a fan of getting electrolytes in my water, and have been cracking sea salt in my water bottle long before all these salty electrolyte packets came to market.
A trend I’ve noticed over the years is that I desire way less water in the cooler months. Makes sense, right? Less sweaty just walking around and producing less sweat during workouts since the temps aren’t as high.
One of my favorite ways to make sure I’m still getting hydrated is hot, salty water.
It’s warm, refreshing and helps keep me warm as the temperature drops. I’ll make on of these in the morning if I’ve drank too much coffee or sometimes as an afternoon treat.
Making it is simple, heat up some water and add an LMNT packet in your favorite mug. In the Miner household, our go-to is the citrus flavor - it’s better than you think! Raspberry and orange are also good flavors to try, not to mention the obviously ones they make, like the chocolate varieties.
Give it a try and stay hydrated this winter!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Training Session Breakdown
Here’s a general breakdown of a training session at GAIN by categorizing the movements by intent. Strength training is the main event, with some accessory work, direct core training and usually conditioning. Of course, this is a generalization. Each individual member has a training plan designed for them and their abilities.
These categories provide the framework to build out a training session and eventually a long-term program.
Warm Up.
The goal here is to prepare your body to train. There’s a balancing act to play with warming up. We want you to get your body temperature up, restore some positions, and work on timing, balance and coordination. The key here is to do just enough. If you’ve been around for a while you remember the days of us foam rolling to start the warm up. One of the reasons we got rid of that is because it requires laying on the floor, which is the opposite of getting your body moving and warmed up!
A. The main event.
The exercises at the start of the workout are typically when we’re focused on building strength. Movements stay consistent, i.e., goblet squats and deadlifts, but rep ranges, volume and intensity undulate to allow for maximum long term adaptation. Keeping your body healthy and ready for action outside of the gym, rather than just beating you up. Over the course of a month, several months or years, we want to see steady progress in loading on these “A” movements.
B. Accessory work.
These moves pay to do regardless of weight and intensity. While we track progress on the main strength piece, accessory work is more about consistently exposing your body good movement and getting some reps in.
It’s helpful to think of loading here in 3 levels.
Bodyweight. Not feeling intense exercise? Push ups, ring rows, lunges and split squats are all beneficial even without the extra load. This keeps your training going even when the circumstances aren’t perfect.
Standard load. Your usual weight for split squats, one arm rows and db floor presses. This is a comfortable load you can do any day of the week for 8-12 reps.
Push it. When the movement is crisp or if you’re feeling confident, go heavier-than-normal. Touch this weight every 4-8 weeks.
C. Core.
Less is more. The more you can slow down and concentrate on trunk specific work, the better pay off. Your stability will thank you, and you won’t continue reinforcing bad bracing mechanics.
D. Conditioning.
Get sweaty. Create distance or calorie targets for the time duration. Occasional tests, i.e., 5 minutes for max distance or 20 minutes for average watts, measure progress and build pacing context for future training sessions.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
You Can Never Start Too Light
When building up in weight for a strength movement, like a squat, bench press or deadlift, you can never start too light.
Even if the weight is no where near your working sets, a couple extra rounds spent a lighter weights affords you time to practice, groove your technique and get a feel for how the day is going to play out.
I always start with a set or two with just the bar, and use that as a gauge for what’s to come. Bar feels light and snappy? It’s going to be a good session. Feels slow and sluggish? Might need a little extra time warming up these creaky knees.
Experienced gym-goers understand that the more sets you do, the more warmed up you get. It’s counterintuitive, but your last sets should be the best, despite the fact that you’ve build up some fatigue in your muscles. You’ve also gotten more blood flow, awaken your nervous system and increased your range of motion by lifting. An extra minute rest can make a huge difference too.
In summary, give your body the opportunity to warm up better and sneak in a couple extra practice rounds.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 53
Greetings! Happy Friday. Day 11 of the Daily Habit Challenge, keep going this weekend!
Fall Running:
Fall weather is upon us, and with that, fall running. I love wearing long sleeve shirts and shorts, the colorful, leaf colored trails and how it seems so much easier to breathe this time of year. My only complaint is that since I’m not in a constant state of sweatiness, my heart rate monitor has been giving me a hard time connecting.
EMOM:
I’ve long been a champion of the EMOM, and after hanging with Kelly a few weeks ago, my program is filled with EMOMs right now. What I love about this is that every single workout doesn’t need to be precious or special, and that the real key here is to move more and get a dosage of training.
Ten minutes of kettlebell swings may seem lame, but it’s a something not a lot of people have in their abilities -get a quick 10-15 minute movement session in. My favorite EMOM moves lately have been power clean, kettlebell swings, pull ups, chin ups and a kb circuit of 1 clean, 1 press, 1 snatch. Kelly calls these short and simple sessions the “Never Do Nothing Plan.”
Plates in:
Finally! Someone gets me.
Seriously though, on metal plates like that the numbers are supposed to face in so your fingers grip the plate better.
Running Training Misconception:
Many runners have the idea that they need higher reps in the gym to build their muscular endurance. However, they get a ton of endurance from doing their actual sport. More and more reps in the gym isn’t productive, and instead, adds more stress and volume to the system. Here, Michelle explains why training in the 3-8 rep range is most beneficial to endurance athletes.
3:56 mile
What stood out the most here was that he started warming up 50 minutes before the run, and his warm up included 3 miles of easy running for a 1-mile race!
Sip some air:
I loved this cue and thought of it often when training for my weightlifting meet earlier this year.
Have a good one!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Day 10 Check in
Today is day 10 of the October Habit Challenge!
Hopefully you’ve experienced it all so far. Easy days, challenging days, days where you almost forgot and maybe you even missed a day or two. Whatever the case may be, I hope you’re planning to stay strong for the rest of the month.
Remember, our goal isn’t perfection, and nailing the habit all 31/31 days. Our goal is to build consistency and develop awareness, and through that, we’ll build a new habit too.
If you don’t have a way to track your habit, like a habit tracker app, the Reminders app, or old fashioned notebook, get that done today! This will enhance your chances of sticking with it. Another thing to consider, what time of day are you completing your habit? Are you consistent or all over the place? The more routine it starts to feel now, the better your chances are for sticking with it after the month.
Hope this gives you some things to ponder today. Stay strong!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Self Evaluation
There’s a new self evaluation feature on my watch, and I was hesitant to turn it on. Initially, I thought it was another thing to worry about and a bit over the top.
I gave it a go anyway, and after my first run with it on, I liked how it made me take 5 seconds to stop and think.
When completing an activity the watch prompts me to rate how it felt, based on 5 different faces, from sad, to neutral, and to happy, and then rank the effort on a scale of 1-10.
It’s so simple! It’s keeps me engaged, makes me reflect and doesn’t take long.
You can do this with your in gym workouts, too. Workout journal, comment in TrueCoach, or in your notes app.
I tend to think simple is best when working out, and while this is another step in a busy day, it’s short, easy and forces me to take pause and reflect.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Don’t Get Caught on Your Heels
When I'm coaching someone through any movement, the first thing I draw my eyes to is what their feet are doing.
Are they balanced between the ball of foot and heel? We call that the mid-foot.
Are they shifting their weight back and letting the toes lift up in the air?
Are they too forward, so I can see a little daylight underneath the heel?
It's a small but significant change to find better balance.
It's universally applicable to all things athletic.
The shortstop doesn't shift their weight back as they get ready to field a ball. A basketball player is on their mid foot before jumping up to grab a rebound. Even when I'm trying a kick flip my skateboard, I'm balanced on the mid foot.
The gym is where we practice movement, and if done correctly, the movements and skills we practice will transfer seamlessly to other parts of our life.
Don't get caught on your heels.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
First Weekend check In
How did you do on your habit challenge this weekend?
The first weekend is a big test, as the more structured work week is behind you.
Stop and reflect today.
How did you do? Was it easy? Hard? Did you screw up? Why? What can you do to prevent that next weekend?
If you skated through no problem, congrats.
If you screwed up, get back to it today. If your habit seems too hard to get done, it may be time to adjust it to make it more aligned with the challenge.
Happy Monday, keep getting those habits in!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain