Major Workout Moments from the Past 16 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. So boring. But looking back, probably some of the most effective training I did. We always started off doing ladder drills too and would occasionally squat with a smith machine.

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 the center of 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. (see picture below)

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, natural places.

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. 

Justin MIner

Gain, Thanksgiving 2014