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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 83
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts! Let’s get into to it.
FAST MILE SUMMER
The marathon gets all the glory—but there’s something undeniably cool about a fast mile. It’s intense. And over before you can second-guess it. This 7-week plan is for intermediate runners who’ve built endurance through 5Ks, half marathons, even ultras—but have never focused solely on speed.
With three runs per week (and an optional fourth for bonus gains), you’ll blend structured intervals, hill sprints, and targeted drills to sharpen your turnover, pacing, and power. By the end, you’ll be ready to race a mile faster than you ever thought possible.
Program starts on Monday June 16th — open to members and non-members. More details next week.
Ovechkin Training
I tend to cover my eyes whenever I see clips professional athletes in the weight room. It tends to be poor movement quality and always seem to involve a stability ball being improperly used. I started out angry at this one with the high squats, but I stuck around the rest of the video is amazing. Good, basic training that works. In particular I loved the barbell walking lunges into a sprint down the track.
Rice is out (and has been for a while)
I first learned this is 2011, while in college. Icing injuries is still commonplace—despite the fact that it may be preventing your body from healing faster.
HEAT
I love training in the heat. It wasn’t always that way, but I really think the only way to get through it is to embrace it. I was pumped to get a hot and sweaty run in the hot weather yesterday, and am looking forward to more of it this summer. If you’re ‘bad in the heat’ embrace it this summer and get some exposure.
Thanks for reading, see you next time.
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
May by the numbers
Welcome to this month’s edition of By The Numbers, where I break down the data from my watch and training log to reflect on the past month. I track metrics like average sleep, daily steps, and total workouts. I’ve been doing this monthly for about 18 months now, and it’s proven to be a valuable tool for spotting trends, holding myself accountable, and fine-tuning habits. I highly recommend building a habit like this into your own routine.
Let’s dive in.
Steps
Total: 417,406 steps
Daily Average: 13,465
This was my first 400k+ step month since last summer. For reference, I hit that range in July, August, and September last year. It’s encouraging to see those mid-summer numbers showing up earlier in the season—likely because I started my training cycle earlier this year.
Sleep
Average Duration: 6 hours 44 minutes
Average Sleep Score: 77
My sleep trend has been heading in the wrong direction the past few months. I’ve been staying up later—especially after evening coaching sessions—and not always feeling tired at bedtime. Last summer, I made it a habit to get in bed earlier than I wanted to, which consistently led to better sleep. I revisited that strategy last night and logged my first solid 8+ hour night in a while. Time to recommit to the earlier bedtime.
Training
Sessions Logged: 31 total
SkiErg: 3
C2 Bike: 3
Running workouts: 18
Lifting sessions: 7
Most weeks followed a pattern of doubling up on Tuesdays and resting on Thursday and/or Sunday. I’ve been aiming for more consistency with lifting—though I missed my last two bench press sessions. Otherwise, training has felt solid.
Running Breakdown
Total Mileage: 118 miles
Elevation Gain: 11,266 ft
Time on Feet: 24 hours
Thanks for reading along. As always, I encourage you to build a monthly reflection practice like this. It’s one of the simplest ways to keep your health, fitness, and daily habits moving in the right direction.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Recap: Sunapee Scramble
This past weekend, I headed to Mount Sunapee for the Sunapee Scramble—a roughly 9-mile trail race packed with vertical gain, steep ski slopes, giant mud pits, and punishing downhills. It was my final hard effort before the Mount Washington Road Race on June 14th.
Taper Week: Nailed It
Leading into the race, I had a solid week of training. Monday was an easy 60-minute bike ride. On Tuesday, I hit 400m repeats in the morning to dial in speed, followed by an easy 10K trail run that afternoon. Thursday was a rest day. Friday I did a light lift. And on Saturday, I wrapped it up with an easy 2-mile neighborhood jog, ending with a few hill strides to prime the legs.
Historically, I’ve either overcooked my taper or taken it too easy—both leaving me feeling flat at the start line. Not this time. My volume and intensity were right where they needed to be, and I lined up with some bounce in my step.
The Warm-Up
I had plenty of time to warm up: 20 minutes walking around the lot and slopes, 15 minutes of easy running, some drills to fire up my legs, and a few strides uphill to raise the heart rate. Everything felt dialed.
The Start
I started toward the back of the pack—this race drew a crowd of elite runners trying to earn a spot on the U.S. Mountain Running Team. The opening stretch rolled slightly downhill before we hit our first climb up the ski slope.
It was steep. The tall grass and recent rains turned the course into a slip-and-slide. One wrong step and you were ankle-deep in mud or sliding backward. After grinding up the slope, we hit the gravel summit road—an unrelenting climb that reminded me exactly of what Mount Washington will feel like. I ran and hiked strategically, knowing we still had to summit again.
Downhill Mayhem
Once we crested the top, it was time to bomb the downhill. I separated from the group I was running with to give myself some space through the glades. The soft loam made for a fast, squishy descent—until it dropped onto a regular ski slope that was even steeper. I did my best to stay upright... until I didn’t. I wiped out trying to dodge another runner and slid on my butt for a solid 10 feet. Got up, laughed, and kept hammering to start loop two.
Mud
The second climb started the same but veered off onto a hiking trail—basically a mud pit. By then, I had mud caked on my shins, face, and hands. I ran where I could and focused on staying upright and holding position.
After reaching the summit again, it was time to descend. My quads were lit up and every step felt reckless in the best way. This is my favorite part of trail running—the focus it demands. You can’t think about anything else but the next step. I found some flow and flew down the final descent, kicking hard into the finish.
Final Thoughts
I crossed the line just over 2 hours. My “A” goal was sub-2, with a stretch goal of 90 minutes. That wasn’t in the cards this year given the course conditions—even the elites were slower compared to last year. But I’m proud of my effort and how my fitness is trending.
Most importantly, I’m still fired up for Mount Washington. Sometimes a race right before a big one can drain your competitive edge—not this time. Ten days to go!
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
The classic “my quads hurt every step” face.
Portsmouth Book Sale
Time to clean off your book shelf!
The Portsmouth Women’s City Club is hosting their yearly book sale.
Bring your gently-used books to the donation box at the gym (located near the entrance), or to the Portsmouth City Women’s Club on Middle Street with the dates and times provided below.
Be sure to mark your calendar for the sale dates if you want to stock up on some books for the summer.
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Monday check in
New month, new week!
What’s floating around in my head this Monday morning?
Training a little bit for a long time is far better, in every single way, than training a lot for a short period of time.
If your training is all or nothing, you’re going to quit. Instead, think about training at an effort/volume that you could train at indefinitely. It might even feel easy. Don’t bite off more than you can chew—this is the key to a long-term gym habit.
The other thing I’m thinking about is optimization. We have this fascination with doing the most optimized routine. But going on the same idea as above, is the optimized routine even that good if it’s unsustainable? Isn’t the actual optimized routine the one you can stick with for the long haul?
Have a great Monday!
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 82
Stalling Expansion
After discussion with the PM Crew last night, it’s come to my attention I missed a critical aspect of stalling: it’s part of a healthy gym habit. Not only having people to socialize with, but people to relate to, because they have the same goal as you— get better somehow.
Just a Little Guilt
The sweet spot, in regards to missing a weekly workout, is not being too hard on yourself, but feeling a little guilty too.
Stuff happens, unexpected things come up. You need to be able to cut yourself slack while feeling a little guilty at the same time. Too far one way or the other and you’re swerving into unsustainable territory.
Sunapee Scramble
I’m taking on the Sunapee Scramble race this weekend. About 9 miles with lots of climbing. I’m 15 days out from Mount Washington, and this will be my longest run/hardest effort in that build up. Training has been going well and I’m excited to let it rip.
James Clear Quote
I’m ruthless when it comes to unsubscribing to things I don’t want in my inbox, but this James Clear newsletter gets opened almost every week.
"To improve, compare little things.
marketing strategies
exercise technique
writing tactics
To be miserable, compare big things.
career path
marriage
net worth
Comparison is the thief of joy when applied broadly, but the teacher of skills when applied narrowly.”
FairLife
We can’t have anything!
Thanks for reading see you next time.
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Stalling
We all know the feeling. You’re about to start a workout, but you’re not quite ready—so you fill up your water bottle. Check your phone. Stretch again. Or the classic: strike up a conversation with someone nearby. That’s stalling—and we all do it.
The other day, before some brutal treadmill intervals, I caught myself doing it. I even said out loud to the class, “Ugh, I’m putting this off—I need to start!”
They laughed. “You stall before workouts too?”
Of course.
There’s this misconception that people who enjoy working out are always fired up for it. But even for the most consistent lifters, some days just suck. You're tired. You're unmotivated. You’d rather be doing anything else.
Stick with it long enough, though, and you get better at pushing through. You learn that even if the start feels rough, you’ll be glad you did it.
So the next time you catch yourself stalling, remember—it’s normal. Just don’t let it stop you.
—
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Mediocore Workouts
We often overestimate the impact of a single perfect workout and underestimate the power of consistency over time. The truth is, mediocre workouts—the days when you're tired, unmotivated, or just going through the motions—still count. In fact, over the long haul, they’re critical to your success.
Think of it this way:
A string of average efforts, stacked over months and years, builds real progress. Compare that to doing nothing—waiting for the perfect conditions, the perfect motivation, the optimum plan. That waiting game adds up to nothing.
So don’t sweat it if today’s session wasn’t your best. It’s still one more brick in the wall.
Keep showing up.
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
RIR and Rounds
You’re reading your program and you see something like this:
3-4 rounds:
10 ring rows
10 db floor press
Naturally, when many people read this, they assume it says, “you’re a lazy cheater if you only do 3 rounds.”
The range is there to help you determine how much work you do. And if you have a lot of RIR — doing fewer rounds at a heavier weight will be greatly beneficial to you.
RIR = reps in reserve. It’s representative of how many additional reps you could keep doing at the end of your set (with good form, of course). The sweet spot to getting stronger is having about 2 reps in reserve. I find that many people finish a set, and have 10 or more reps in reserve — they’re not working nearly hard enough to elicit strength gains. And when you’re working at a more appropriate level, doing 3 rounds sounds a lot better than 4.
If you find yourself automatically going to the bigger sets/rounds number — ask yourself, am I working hard enough now? How many reps in reserve do I have? Could I actually slow down and go heavier?
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 81
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts.
MDW
Schedule reminder: closed Friday PM/Monday for normal classes.
Join me on Monday at 8am for a holiday weekend workout. This will be open gym style — no sign up required, come do one of your workouts, or do a variation of Murph or the Kendra workout.
Crunch Time
I’m three weeks out from the Mount Washington Road Race. I’m feeling strong and fit and looking forward to another year of running up the Rock Pile. My workouts lately have consisted of running up a lot of steep hills — a lot more than I did last year. We’ll see if it pays off in a few weeks.
FAST Mile
Consider this your first teaser for our summer program: The Fast Mile. A fast mile is one of the coolest things your body can do, but it doesn’t get nearly the love something like the marathon gets. This started with a question; what if everyone was more interested in running a fast mile versus a slow marathon? How would that change peoples’ running injuries, technique, fitness, body composition and even relationship with running? It’s an interesting thought experiment, and one we’re going to play out in real life.
The program will start mid June and run for 8 weeks. Two to three days a week of running, focusing on technique, speed, and stamina — running faster than you typically do. If you do have longer race goals, this program will pair nicely with a longer run or two each week. It could also be great preparation to build up speed before starting a training plan for a fall race.
Gym Diaries
This is the most awesome strength and conditioning session I’ve seen from an athlete in a while. This track and field athlete even mixes in some of Frans Bosch’s cleans to the box. They look so smooth and super athletic.
How to NOT TRAIN for Skiing
NBC’s reels usually won’t repost here, so I’ll be surprised if this works.
This is a clip of skier Franny Smith captioned, “Training For Ski Season is CRAZY,” and it’s a video of her jumping from stability ball to stability ball in what is a circus act, NOT how to train for ski season. This is a silly trick, not real training.
Sprinters
More love for the track athletes training like this.
Floating
What an incredible jump!
This is the future
Thanks for reading.
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Memorial Day Workout
On Monday May 26th— Memorial Day— GAIN will be open from 8-10am.
This is the chance for anyone who wants to take on Murph, or the May Challenge Workout, Kendra. You can also use this as open gym time, if you want to come in to do a regular workout, roll and stretch, or just hang with your gym friends. No sign up required. I’ll be doing the Kendra workout, and hope others will join me.
“Kendra”
For Time:
1-mile run
2000m row
1-mile run
Other Schedule Notes:
No PM Class on Friday 5/25
No normal classes on Monday 5/26
—Justin Miner
@justinminergain
An opportunity
This week Taylor and I started our new coaching schedules at the gym. Coming back to coach some PM sessions for the first time in 5 years had me feeling all sorts of nervous about my new routine. What I’ve been thinking, and what I told Taylor, is that we have a chance to set the tone, and create new, lasting habits to help us, rather than hinder us.
I’m going to make sure I get outside for some fitness on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because if I did what I wanted to instead, I would head to Chipotle for a burrito bowl and a Diet Coke and eat it in my truck while listening to an audiobook before taking a nap. Not that I won’t occasionally do that — I just don’t want to make it the norm. So this week I’m trying to set the tone for my new normal on Tuesday and Thursdays and get into a fun and productive routine.
Anyway, I’m pumped for the chance to be back at the PM — it was great coaching you all last night. Here’s to new routines, schedules and habits.
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Running Drills
Running drills are a great way to refine your technique and improve efficiency—but they’re often overlooked. Whether it’s feeling awkward, not knowing how to do them, or missing the “why” behind them, most runners skip this part of training. Whenever I work with someone on their running form, we always include a few key drills and encourage regular practice to sharpen the skill over time.
High knees:
Focus on staying light on your foot and feel the mid foot land softly and the heel kiss the floor. Keep your shoulders over your hips and don’t lean back! This teaches you to open your hips and not over extend from your back.
Butt kicks:
Don’t bend at the waist, stay tall and lean from your belt buckle. Keep those elbows tight and hands back. This reinforces a good fall or lean forward and promotes pulling with the hamstrings. The single leg version of this is another favorite.
Skipping:
Find a nice rhythm and move those arms. Skipping is a great coordination and low level plyometric that will help with springiness—an important running quality — and timing and coordination.
Give these a shot on your next run. You can do them as a dedicated warm up, or sometimes, I’ll mix them into a my to keep running efficiently on my mind.
If you want to some help improving your running technique, reach out to set up a running technique session with me!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Monday Check In
Last night, like I do each week on Sunday, I wrote out my training for the week. I’ll look at kid’s schedules, weather, coaching responsibilities and the like, and then come up with a rough idea as to what I will do each day. This lets me cater my training around my schedule and have a good outline for the week.
If I need to move or trade a day around, it’s okay. The outline isn’t set in stone, it’s there to keep me on track and help prioritize certain training. Right now that means running up as many big hills as possible.
Whether your goal is to run faster, eat more protein, or be more diligent with your gym habit — laying it out and outlining your week is certain to help keep you organized and on track.
Justin Miner
@justinmienrgain
Friday Thoughts 80
Greetings! Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts.
Every Podcast Clip About Fitness
Old School Polish WEIGHTLIFTING
If podcast clips of people wearing sunglasses inside are my least favorite thing about Instagram, these old school videos are my favorite. I’ve said it 100 times, and will keep saying it, barbells have already stood the test of time. Which, the Lindy Effect tells us is the best predictor of its longevity. In other words, in 200 years people will still be squatting and snatching barbells, but your favorite sativa-goat-flow-hot-sweat pilates class will be taken over by the next trend.
Who’s Your Cobbler?
Def need a pair to mow the lawn.
trying to fly
This is wild. The timing. The bounciness. The floating.
Soviet Training Footage
More old school strength and conditioning!
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!
-
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Track these three things
If you want a clearer picture of your lifestyle, start by tracking three simple things:
daily protein intake, hours of sleep, and daily steps.
1. Protein
Knowing how many grams of protein you eat helps you set a realistic target. Once you start focusing on protein, better food choices tend to fall into place naturally.
2. Sleep
Sleep gives insight into how well you’re recovering. Until you track it, you really have no idea. Getting more productive rest can boost workout performance and help you feel recharged in the morning.
3. Steps
Steps show how much non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) you’re getting. There’s nothing magic about hitting 10,000—seriously. Just figure out your baseline and aim to consistently add a couple thousand more each day.
With just these three stats, you can start making meaningful changes that move the needle toward your goals.
-
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Shoe Clean Out
There’s a lot of shoes collecting cobwebs at the gym, so it’s time for our biennial shoe rack clean out.
We’ve placed the unused shoes into a box and next week, we’re donating the shoes so someone else can squeeze a little life out of them.
Double check the shoe rack at the gym and make sure you’re old pair (or two, or three) is out of the gym to make space for more shoes!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
May Challenge Workout: Kendra
I’ve been thinking about the perfect tribute workout for Kendra. Her birthday falls on May 29th, so this is the ideal time to throw down in her honor.
At first, I imagined something with pull-ups and 375-pound deadlifts—to match her state powerlifting record—but that felt a bit excessive for the masses.
Then I thought back to Memorial Day 2023.
We had done “Murph” for a couple of years in a row. If you’re unfamiliar, Murph is a well-known workout created in honor of Navy SEAL Michael Murphy. It includes a 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and another 1-mile run, often done with a weight vest. Gyms across the country take it on each year as a Memorial Day tribute.
But in 2023, Kendra was in the middle of treatment, and another round of Murph wasn’t happening. So she sent me a different workout—another one created for a fallen soldier—called Jerry. I had heard of it, appreciated its simplicity, but had never done it.
JERRY
For Time:
1-mile Run
2000m Row
1-mile RunSgt. Major Jerry Dwayne Patton, 40, died on October 15, 2008, during High Altitude High Opening (HAHO) training while assigned to Army USSOCOM in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Molly, and sons Chad, Cody, Chase, and Connor.
On Memorial Day 2023—Kendra’s birthday—I took on Jerry with a handful of others, including Kendra and Chris Poulin. It was hard. It was meaningful. It was the right challenge.
This year, I’ll be doing it again.
Moving forward, this will be our official May Monthly Challenge Workout in her honor. Join me in celebrating her strength, her spirit, and her enduring impact.
Get involved!
Justin Miner
@justinminergian
Monday Check In
Another Monday. Another week. Another fresh start. Today, I’m sharing a quote from running coach, author and, in my opinion, the best account to follow on Instagram.
Consistency compounds. Small steps repeated over time lead to big gains. Don’t aim to be consistently great. Aim to be great at being consistent. -Steve Magness
Aim to be consistent not heroic. It is cliche, but the small wins really do add up over time. Most people aren’t consistent enough to see the benefits of those small steps. Stick with it and keep going — even if it feels too easy at first.
Here’s to another great week!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain
Friday Thoughts 79
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share random ideas and some of my favorite posts I saw on the internet this week. Enjoy!
Pizza Party
On Wednesday, we’re going to have a party for Alex’s last few days at GAIN. We’ll have pizza and seltzer. More details next week.
Creatine’s Rebrand
I’ve been watching this closely and with interest. I’ve been talking, and I’m not exaggerating, creatine to almost 20 years and have been touting its benefits ever since. It’s interesting to see it get this big shift in marketing, partially based on the research for cognitive performance and the like. Either way, I think this is great. Creatine isn’t just for meatheads trying to be strong, but probably for everyone. It’s cheap and easy to find. I would look for creatine monohydrate — this is the simplest, most inexpensive and researched variation of creatine. Many of the pills, gummies and the like talked about in this video don’t use monohydrate. Get to scooping!
Plate Math
100% truth.
Most Impressive Bench Press
This was just wildly impressive, and I promise not to try it at home.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading and see you next time!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain