About Gains & Brains

Gains and Brains is a newsletter from us—Megan Whelan and Carl Hammington.

Megan’s a journalist who’s spent far too much time on the internet—and the past four years lifting heavy. She’s written a lot about her complicated relationship with her body, and often wishes she’d discovered lifting decades earlier.

Carl has an academic background in exercise science and more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry—as a trainer, business owner, and podcaster. He’s now the co-owner and Academic Director of HealthFit Collective, where he digs into research to separate science from fitness fads, helping our team and community stay informed on their wellness journeys.

Carl is also a walking self-experiment—constantly testing new ideas on himself in the name of growth (usually involving a fair amount of discomfort). As a father of two girls—his most humbling and enlightening training ground—he’s become deeply aware of the messages we send about exercise, food, and our bodies.

Carl also happens to be Megan’s trainer. But more importantly, we’re both nerds who like to understand why things work. Carl’s great at making sense of the science; Megan’s good at asking the questions that matter.

Over the past few years, we’ve talked a lot about what works, what doesn’t, and why—and figured some of that kōrero might be worth sharing.

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