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Community Spotlight: Chris Gaines (PerformanceGaines)

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  • October 1, 2020April 22, 2021

PerformanceGaines Founder: Chris Gaines

Hey everyone, I’ll be putting out a weekly series to highlight some of the trainers, boxers, runners, and other members of our community. This week’s feature is on PerformanceGaines’ Chris Gaines!

PerformanceGaines Founder Chris Gaines
Chris Gaines (PerformanceGaines)

Community Spotlight – Chris Gaines (PerformanceGaines):

Chris Gaines is the founder/owner of PerformanceGaines. PerformanceGaines is a functional fitness and wellness gym in Palo Alto, CA. You can learn more at www.performancegaines.com.

In this interview, we talk about Chris’ background in Football, Rugby, and Bodybuilding, his training philosophies, him being part of the crew for John Tarlton a cyclist who biked in RAAM (Race Across America) to raise funds for the Stanford Cancer Center (as featured in the Netflix documentary), his thoughts in minimalist shoes, and various podcasts and books (Muscles and Meridians, Atomic Habits, Art of Possibility, Consilience, etc.) that he’s reading today. 

00 – Chris Gaines Intro
01 – Chris Gaines Background – Football, Rugby, and Bodybuilding
02 – Rugby and Bodybuilding Experience
03 – Chris’ Bodybuilding Photo
04 – What Chris has Learned Since Body Building (Consistency, Structure, Nutrition, etc.)
05 – Chris Gaines on Only Eating while Holding a Squat
06 – Chris Gaines on his nickname “Try”
07 – Chris on Being Part of the Crew for an Athlete Biking Across America (Featured on Netflix)
08 – Chris Gaines on his Vibrams phase and current thoughts on Minimalist Shoes
09 – When You Change How You Move, You Change How You Live
10 – Chris Gaines on his Influences (Podcasts, Books, etc.)
Books: Muscles and Meridians, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward Wilson
Movement Influences: Bill Hartman, Pat Davidson, Michelle Boland, Zac Cupples, Lucy Hendricks
11 – How Performance Gaines Is Adapting to the Pandemic

Reference: This infamous photo Chris mentioned –

Upcoming: I have a list of boxers, coaches, and runners coming up! (Don’t want to spoil anything yet) If you’re interested in being interviewed, please contact me at ian@iancruz.blog.

See our prior Community Spotlight Features here:
7/31/2020: Veronica Cruz (Downtown Yoga Shala)
8/5/2020: Sara Koshfam (Dreamland Boxing)
8/12/2020: Alex Rodriguez (Dreamland Boxing)
8/19/2020: Ali Ahmed (Dreamland Boxing)
8/25/2020: Vicky Zhao (Dreamland Boxing)
9/2/2020: Marlon Fernando (Triniti Fit)
9/9/2020: Tony Gonzalez (UCLA Boxing)
9/16/2020: Bertrand Newson (Too Legit Fitness)