Hidden Benefit

We believe that strength and conditioning, consistently going to the gym and moving more are pathways to a better life. At the gym, you’re confronted with difficult situations and problems that you wouldn’t encounter outside. You face them in this controlled environment, which in turn, prepares you for situations when you need to test your limits, push your physicality or have a strong mental game.

Not convinced that AirBike sprints will help you in your next meeting, or the next time you need to do something that’s scary, like speak in front of people or share an idea of yours? What’s your self talk like before you perform that 500 meter sprint? You can apply the same mental game to tasks outside that you don’t really want to do. Making that difficult phone call, having a tough meeting with a coworker, whatever it is.

The biggest hidden benefit of all, confidence. Learning how to move, maybe initially being humbled by how poorly you move, and sharpening that skill over time, builds confidence like no other. What I’m trying to relay today is that it’s not just physical confidence, but mental confidence as well. Time in the gym can help you learn about yourself and teach you how to push limits and get better. Take on new challenges, try new things and learn how to really go for it. Don’t be mistaken that this is all physical.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Start Small

We’re less than a week away from the start of September, and therefore, the start of our habit challenge. Start preparing now, because it does start on a Sunday. Traditionally, people hate starting challenges on Sunday, why not just push it back to Monday? Well, the Sunday start is nice because it forces you to complete your habit on a day that you would typically prioritize rest and recovery, not new habit starting. It’s a nice kickstart.

If you’re having a hard time coming up with your habit, I urge you to start small. Ambitious challenges are impressive, but usually skew our perspective to think that all worth while challenges must be big. Fortunately for us, that doesn’t need to be the case, you can start with a small, reachable challenge that will have a big impact as well. For a sports analogy, try hitting a few singles instead of always going for the home run.

The prove this point, I’m taking on a simple challenge for the month. I’ll be doing 30 push ups per day. Should be easy enough, but it’s an exercise I don’t like doing, which is why I’m bad at them and doing them consistently will certainly help change my mind about push ups. Something, like 2 minutes of a deep lunge stretch or 10 push ups or 30 bodyweight squats per day are all really good challenges for you to take on.

You habit doesn’t need to be grandiose. Instead of choosing something big and impressive and wishing that it happens, choose something simple and be impressive with your consistency.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Never Miss Twice

High level achievers make mistakes just like everyone else. They're better at getting back on track though. When we miss a new habit we’re trying to develop, missing one day is no big deal. As James Clear says, “Rather than trying to be perfect, abandon your all-or-nothing mentality.”

As you start thinking about your September Habit Challenge, start planning for failure. Now, this isn’t expecting yourself to fail, but instead, being ready for all circumstances. You know what life things will get in the way you hitting your habit each day, start preparing for it now!

How are you going to handle a friend asking you out for breakfast when you need to get a 30 minute walk in first? What are you going to say to that friend who always gives you a hard time when watching what you eat? We can expect speed bumps like this to show up. To keep the streak and habit alive, we can start planning as to how we will bounce back.

It’s about being consistent, not perfect. You will miss a day. If the habit challenge is over for you after you miss a day, you’re missing the point. You need to get back on track the next day and back on the wagon. As Clear says, “Never miss a habit twice. Focus on building the identity of someone who never misses twice."

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Addition vs Subtraction

When learning new habits, focusing on adding new things, instead of avoidance, is much more effective. By focusing on addition, and being consistent, eventually some of the old habits you’d like to kick will take a backseat. You’ll be focused on your new habit that will snowball into other new habits that are good and eventually, push that old bad habit out.

Let’s say you want to start eating healthier. You proclaiming you’re no longer going to eat chips, drink wine, buy cheese or snack after dinner. The first couple days are tough, and you fight through. Then, on Thursday night, your friend offers you a glass of wine and you take it. It then becomes easier, since in your mind you’ve failed, to eat chips and snack on pop tarts and have donuts for breakfast. Since the streak is over, it’s all over, you’ve cracked the seal.

If we take the same scenario, but instead focus on addition, we can see a much different outcome. Let’s say you want to eat healthier. First, you decide that means more vegetables. You’re going to have a serving at every meal. First few days are difficult. But you get through it and accumulate small victories along the way. Fast forward to Friday night, a friend offers you a beer, you accept, with pleasure. You ate all 15 servings of your vegetables this week! The best part of this, even if you miss a serving of veggies, you have another meal, another opportunity to accomplish you task. So what if you missed, you get a lots of chances every day to hit it.

By adding new habits, we create smalls wins every time we check the box. It feels better than getting victory through deprivation. Then, when you want to back off and enjoy yourself, you feel good about what you’ve accomplish, so you’ve earned that beer. Opposed to feeling guilty for having a glass of wine because it was your habit to stay away from that stuff.

Subtraction can work to develop habits, but it’s challenging and not nearly as positive as adding something in. Remember, when we add something in, it has the potential to snowball and lead to other good habits and maybe, just maybe pushing some of those old bad habits out of the way.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

September Consistency Challenge

Last year in July, we held a consistency challenge. Everyone wrote their goal on the board, something they would do everyday for the month. It was a successful challenge and a lot of people got something out of it. To develop new habits we have be consistent. A challenge like this forces you to prioritize your tasks to keep up with consistency.

How it will work:

We’re going to have 4 categories to choose from. Each one will have a couple of options of selections and we’re open to suggestions from you. We want to see measurable tasks that can be completed each day. The categories are

Mobility, sleep hygiene, nutrition and mindfulness.

Mobility will consist of doing a certain stretch for a set period of time, everyday.

Sleep hygiene involves looking at your bed time and the hour or two leading into it.

Nutrition will be about consistently making good food choices or adding something into your diet, i.e. a serving of veggies at breakfast everyday.

Mindfulness is about being deliberate. You can use an app to meditate, go for a phone free walk, or read pages of a book.

These are rough ideas to get the juices flowing for you. Keep an eye out on our Instagram page for more details and we’ll have a sign up in the gym later this week. Believe it or not, September is almost here! Let’s get back on track heading into the Fall.

Justin Miner

@porstmouthcoach

Self Talk

The way we talk and think to ourselves can impact on our mood, perspective and what we’ll get out of things. Negative self talk can sabotage an effort to go to the gym or a healthy meal choice.

Marcus Aurelius’ quotes always seem to find me at the right time. When I’m overstretched, stressed out and trying to jam too many things all at once. I came across this quote the other day:

“Don’t be overheard complaining… Even to yourself.”

Self talk is important. In the gym, it can be the difference between a good set or a sloppy one. It can be the difference between a good workout and a bad one. It can shift our perspective and our attitude. Be careful of how you're talking to yourself, it may sabotage you more than you think.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Fresh Start

Monday allows us all to hit the reset button. Regardless of what you did over the weekend, on Monday, you get a new chance to start the week strong, come up with a plan, work on new habits and do it all with a clean slate.

Today, and this week, I want you to plan out your week with one consistency habit in mind. For example, my sleep has been a little all over the place. This week, I’m going to prioritize bed time and a routine around bed. You may want to schedule your 3 gym workouts, eat more vegetables or maybe even spend a few minutes throughout the day stretching. Whatever it is, you need a plan of action in order for it to work, otherwise, you’re just hoping that things will be different.

So what it it? What are you going to improve this week? What’s your one habit that you’ll be consistent with? If you find yourself able to dial in on one thing, I bet other, positive habits will follow as well. Let’s have a good week!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Another Question

Another Friday and I’m stealing the question from James Clear’s email again. Here it is:

“What are the most likely sources of pain in my life over the next year? How can I prepare or prevent them?"

Have a great weekend!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

What is Conditioning?

The first time someone ever asked me that was yesterday. I’m often frustrated when people don’t understand there’s a lot of heart rate intensive work at Gain, after all, the name is strength AND conditioning. So while doing an intro session the other day, I said to the woman, we’re going to do some conditioning work to finish up.

I explained it as upgraded cardio. What I mean is that when doing conditioning work, which to be clear, is technically cardio, the main difference for us is that conditioning requires positional awareness - it’s more skilled. When we think of cardio, we often imagine someone at Planet Fitness cruising on a elliptical for 45 minutes. There isn’t much skill involved in that.

When doing a sled march, bodyweight squat, medicine ball slam combination though, you need to be aware of your positions, technique, breathing amongst other things. We’re moving the body through more ranges of motion, controlling movements under fatigue all while managing your bracing and breathing.

So what’s conditioning? It’s cardio, but more skilled. Meaning we’re working at spending time with elevated heart rates, but we’re also making you be aware of positions, motor control and technique.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Hydration

Not being properly hydrated can really mess with our bodily functions. Even the slightest bit of dehydration can hinder performance. Before you you go chug a water bottle, keep reading. According to a recent Time Magazine article, “clear urine is a sign of over hydration…guzzling lots of water is not the best way to stay hydrated.”

If we drink a lot of water, and are peeing frequently, we may not be absorbing the water, but instead just running it through our system. Adding some minerals to your water, like sea salt, can aid in absorption.

The researchers from the article recommend a slow and steady approach. Instead of pounding multiple bottles throughout the day, be aware of your timing. Drink water before and during meals. Consuming it with fats, minerals and amino acids that are found in food can help us absorb it. They also recommend a slow and steady approach. If you’re going to drink water all day, a sip here and there should be plenty between meals.

The final quote from the article, “Water if good for you, but you can drown in it too.”

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Commit to Failure

We let fear of failing get in the way of even starting. Maybe it’s perfectionism, not wanting to be humiliated or not letting anyone down. Whatever the reason, we all hate failure. It’s uncomfortable. About 6 months ago, I travelled across the country to attend a seminar about leadership and development. The seminar really was about what’s getting in your way and how to get around it.

On the final day, we had to write a letter to ourselves. Yesterday, I got this letter in the mail, 6 months later.

From the letter:

“I will commit to failure. I will realize that I need to put the reps in to improve. I cannot quit when it sucks or it gets hard. I want to get better at writing and sharing stories and ideas. Don’t let being a beginner stop me in my tracks. Commit to doing the work. Don’t be afraid to really go for it!”

That letter is the reason this blog started. It terrified me every single day when I clicked the publish button. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the consistency and feared no one would read it. Committing to failing, and realizing if I failed, it didn’t have to be the end, is what’s allowed me to publish over 100 of these posts.

What are you scared of? What commitments do you shy away from? What’s stopping you from reaching your goal? Maybe it’s time you commit to failing as well.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Wait Just a Minute

You know when you finish your workout and you’re sweaty and out of breath? That’s the worst time to get in your car and drive off. Everything gets stiff, your body gets cold and you mold yourself into the position of the car seat without giving your body a few minutes to reset before heading off for the day.

I’m all about efficient workouts. I don’t think that you should live in the gym. We want to get people in and get them on their way. Taking 5 minutes to cool down after a workout can be a game changer for your physiology. It gives your body a chance to downshift into baseline mode, instead of going from one thing to the next and riding the stimulus high.

What can you do to cool down? Foam roll, stretch, mobility work, easy walk or chat with fellow Gainers for a few minutes are all acceptable answers. It doesn’t need to be anything too formal, just let yourself stop sweating before jumping in your car!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Capable vs Comfortable

Today, I have a question for you to ponder. I stole this from where I steal most of my ideas, James Clear’s email newsletter. It’s fantastic stuff and as someone who tries his best to never give away an email for promotions, this one is worth it.

“How long will you put off what are you capable of doing just to continue what you are comfortable doing?”

Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Balance Dominant

You know how you have a hand your prefer to write with? Brush your teeth with, scrabble eggs with amongst many other things? You’ve spent a lifetime choosing that hand for most tasks over your other side. The same thing has happened with your legs. Your whole life, you’ve preferred to stand on one leg more than the other, taken first steps with it, tested the waters on uncertain ground, caught yourself when you tripped and used it to plant into the ground to jump or kick.

This, unfortunately, results in having one leg that you feel rock solid stable on, and leaves us with a slightly less controlled, wobbly side. For me, my left leg is as stable as a tree trunk, my right side, not so much. In fact, I always make sure to demonstrate one leg SLDL’s on my left leg because my balance is so poor on my right!

Now, this is a simplified explanation of this. There are a lot of other things happening. One side probably has more range of motion than the other and doesn’t get as tight or as sore. Other factors can contribute to this, but a great way to make some real world change is awareness - try to stand on the less preferred side more!

I’m not sure your SLDL’s will ever even out, I’m sorry there isn’t a magical balance drill that will solve that. Through your awareness though, you can start to let that other side get some reps in and stand on it and try to use it just as much. When you get frustrated, remember how difficult it would be to write, brush your teeth and throw a ball with your non-dominant hand.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Specific to General

We can have, or own, general skills that aid in learning more specific tasks. A simple example, learning how to read is a general skill that will allow you to learn something much more specific. A specific skill, like being discipline and committed to something, can be learned to be used generally as well. For the most part, it’s more beneficial to have general skills, like grit, discipline, patience, communication skills and movement abilities. It’s much more difficult to take it the other way.

Here’s an example. Let’s pretend I’m a world-class cyclist. In order to get that good at a specific thing, riding a bike really far over consecutive days, I need to spend a lot of time on a bike. I need to get really good at specific skills, pedaling stoke, power output, hill climbs, pacing, I need to get comfortable on my bike, learn how to ride in a peloton and become aerodynamic.

I would need to have all those very cycling specific skills to get good. The good news, and here’s the tie in to the gym, is that learning those ultra specific skills and tasks can be applied to other parts of my life, if I’m able to realize what the general skills are. I don’t need to know how to become aerodynamic to shift my focus from cycling to chess, but I can take the hours of practice, commitment and determination being on the bike taught me to help my chess game.

A gym example for you. If I learn how to deadlift a barbell, a specific skill since, barbells don’t come up in life much other than when in a gym. But that barbell can teach me how to lift a couch, pick up a child and give me the strength to go on a hike, run down the street, give me an understand of what is a safe or sketchy position for my spine.

The end game here is to realize that the way you move the gym can help you outside of the gym, but also, realized you’ve built the commitment, discipline and habit muscles by going to the gym as well. You’ve got a blueprint to get better at anything you want.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Step Ups

Step ups don’t get a lot of love in the strength training world. They’re not that complex and they are overshadowed by cooler things people do on boxes like jump on them. It’s too bad, step ups can teach us a lot about how we move, how to create tension and where our movement faults may come from.

Once you have your foot planted on the box, we want to never let it cave inwards, towards your big toe. A good cue to think about here is knee towards your pinky toe. It’s almost overcorrecting it so it in falls in a bit, you’re still in a good position.

That knee may also want to push too far forward, lifting your heel off the box. Don’t let that happen either! Imagine your foot as a tripod, big toe, pinky toe and heel. They should all be firmly planted when doing a step up. The thing that clears these faults up for most people is allowing their torso to drop forward. A slight lean, when starting the rep, will aid in keeping your lower body organized.

These tips will help you whether you’re doing step ups for conditioning, with some load for strength work or if you find yourself outside the gym stepping up on things.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Basics

After an amazing weekend of partying, staying up late, catching up with friends and family, today is our reset day. A day that we can get back to basics to get back to our regularly scheduled programming of eating healthy, keeping hydrated and getting the proper amount of sleep. Here’s what I’m going to do today to get back to baseline.

Exercise before I have my first meal. So controversial, I know. The true is, some people like eating before training and feel good doing it, I do not. I prefer to train on an empty stomach and time my first meal within an hour of finishing that.

Prioritize veggies. I’ll be sure to have veggies at all meals today to make sure I’m getting enough but mostly to start of momentum of making them a priority.

Caffeine. I’ll limit myself today to 2-3 cups this morning and won’t have any the rest of the day (uncommon) to make sure I get to bed early, but also to ensure restful sleep. Which brings me to my last category. I’ll take a good nap in this afternoon and then tonight, to get to 8 or 9 hours tonight.

Maybe these work for you, maybe yours are different. It’s good to have a few key habits to lock into when you want to get back to baseline after a wedding, vacation or just feeling off for a bit. Use these or come up with you own.

See you all in the gym tomorrow!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Thank You!

As most of you know, Hannah and I are getting married on Saturday. The Gain community came out big last night with a surprise party at Beer Night.

Thank you all for the support and love. It means a lot to me and was a great display of the community we’ve built and are all a part of.

I’ll be out of rest of the week, but look forward to getting back in the gym next week!

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Thanks for the photos Laurie H.

Gain Featured on Oceanside TV

Check out this short interview I did with Cristin Zaimes, a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor health at Oceanside Physical Therapy in Stratham. Check it out!

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Also, as a reminder, don’t forget tonight is Burger and Beer Night, our monthly get together for our members on the last Wednesday of each month. Hope you can make it.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach

Endure

After watching the 50-50-50 Ironman documentary, I was pulled back into Alex Hutchinson’s book, Endure. The book explores physical and mental endurance and how we are able to push through, go faster and dig deeper when we shouldn’t be able to. Like at the end of a race, no matter what, people usually have a little left to push it through the finish line.

If you’ve ever done a race on gone on a hike, you may have experienced your Central Governor. This mechanism in our brains limits how much physical activity we can do to prevent over working our heart muscle. It reduces recruitment of muscle fibers, giving us a sensation of fatigue in our muscles and most likely, slows us down or forces us to take a break. This may play into why we’re able to push a little harder towards the end - we know the finish is near so we can throw out our built in pacing.

For the longest time, we thought that the only limiting factor on endurance was what we could physically take. This view forgets about the mental aspect of endurance though. As it turns out, a mentally fatigued brain can effect how much we can physically endure. The fresher we are mentally, the more able we are to push physically.

Endurance is about much more than just what your heart or muscles can handle. There are a lot of physiological moving pieces that make this whole thing work. Understanding this, will help you find the edge, where you can push it hard but not too hard. When you’re gassed and you want to quit, remember, you still have a little bit more to push.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach