Over the past few years I’ve had a hard time staying consistent for long periods. It’s not about lacking motivation or not having goals I want to reach. Sometimes the problem is actually the opposite. I tend to set really big training goals for myself. I’ve tackled some huge challenges before and competed in some great events but looking at fitness this way might have actually made things harder for me in the long run.
As I’ve gotten older and life has become busier my professional and personal commitments have increased but I’ve still been focused on those big goals. The problem is that I don’t always have room in my life for them anymore. That’s meant my training has been inconsistent – working really hard during quieter periods and then letting it slide when work or life gets hectic.
The seasonal nature of this pattern is quite typical. These phases naturally cycle through and as long as you maintain some level of physical activity you will be fine. My real concern was the approach I took during my actual training sessions. I gravitated toward a workout style focused on extremely heavy lifting with loose plans about entering strongman competitions. Meanwhile the remainder of my day involved sitting at my desk or spending hours commuting & traveling on international flights.
That mix of heavy lifting followed by sitting for extremely long stretches made me feel terrible. Previous disc injuries started acting up more frequently. My body composition remained far from my goals. My strength levels seemed stuck without real progress. I was choosing intensity instead of consistency and it simply was not working at this stage of my life.
On Boxing Day this year I decided to do something different. After training for long enough you eventually try everything. It is a bit like the infinite number of monkeys and typewriters theory. I took out a small notebook and set myself a simple goal. I wanted to mark off 300 reps every single day one way or another.
My regular training goals remained part of the plan. I wanted to continue lifting heavy weights and I had endurance targets to reach. There were also some work challenges ahead that I needed to prepare for. The careful planning for these goals stayed intact. The only change was that I decided to complete everything while also doing 300 reps each day.
This challenge has simplified the process of beginning tasks & completing difficult work while making it simpler to maintain consistency over time. The structured approach removes many barriers that typically prevent people from taking action. When you know exactly what needs to be done each day the mental resistance decreases significantly. You spend less energy deciding whether to start and more energy actually working on what matters
Why 300 reps? I have always believed this is an ideal total volume for a complete workout when you include proper warm-up exercises along with major compound movements and supplementary exercises plus some cardio work. Doing only 100 reps daily feels more like those basic social media fitness challenges while going significantly higher often leads to overtraining or forces you to reduce the intensity too much just to finish the session.
Trying to keep up a 300-rep daily streak has made me rethink how I use my training time efficiently. On heavy lifting days I might only do 25-30 really tough reps during my main workout. Before this challenge that would have been my entire session. Now I need to complete another 270 reps so I spend much more time doing bodyweight warmups and adding extra exercises afterward. I move in ways that support my main fitness goals while also helping me reach my rep target. Andrew Tracey
This approach has helped me bring accessory movements back into my training routine. Since I need to complete a certain number of reps I’m doing exercises that I would normally skip because I just wanted to finish the main lifts & be done. I’m now spending more time on high-rep bodyweight exercises and training my core more often. I’m also working on areas I’ve neglected over the years like rotational strength. I’m doing more single-leg & single-arm exercises which help fix muscle imbalances and create a more balanced physique. These movements also let me count double the reps since I work each side separately. I can also include more direct arm work without feeling guilty about it. All of this has brought me back to a more complete & well-rounded training style.
It may seem like unnecessary volume but it can work well if you approach it correctly. The additional repetitions can include exercises you might normally skip or even movements that help your body recover. When I am not doing heavy lifting sessions I still make time for high repetition sets of exercises such as push-ups and lunges and squats and pull-ups and swings. These movements do not strain my body significantly but they still provide the mental benefits that come from physical activity. The increased blood flow to my muscles potentially aids in recovery and while the individual sessions might appear minor the accumulated volume becomes substantial over several weeks and months.
On busy days when I just want to finish quickly I can complete 100 push-ups and 200 lunges in less than 10 minutes. I do them before my morning shower. It takes hardly any time but it clearly improves my mood and stops me from sitting still all day.
I continue to lift heavy weights but I have added this extra movement throughout my week and my body feels much better now. Many of my aches & pains have decreased simply because I spend less time sitting & more time moving around. My body has something to adapt to on a regular basis instead of relying on intense single workout sessions that do not provide much benefit over time.
I count distance-based exercises as part of my total reps. Running or rucking 100 meters equals one rep. Heavy carries over 10 meters also count as one rep. A 10k run gives me 100 reps. On some days I complete that run and then finish the remaining 200 reps with push-ups or pull-ups or squats or kettlebell swings. Most Sundays I complete 100 reps of bench press using German Volume Training and follow it with a 20k run. Sometimes I go for longer distances and cover 30 kilometers which completes all 300 reps in a single session.
I write everything down in a notebook and mark off each set of exercises while crossing out the days as they pass. Have I managed to do this every single day without missing once? The answer is no. When I use the word daily I am borrowing an idea from broadcaster and podcaster Dan Harris who calls it daily-ish which means more often than not. I refuse to fall back into the old pattern of creating strict & unrealistic goals for myself. Being flexible is what allows me to stay consistent over time.
There are gaps here and there in the notebook but when I compare this to the two or three sporadic hard sessions I was doing before the difference is obvious. I am now moving five or six or sometimes seven days a week. Over the last month I have trained around 26 out of 30 days.
This challenge has made it easier to start tasks and finish difficult work while helping you stay consistent over time. The structured approach removes many obstacles that usually stop people from taking action. When you know exactly what needs to be done each day the mental resistance drops significantly
As I approach 40 years old I constantly search for things that will benefit me over time. This change has truly transformed my life. The transformation came from just a notebook and a pen along with a basic daily repetition goal. I started tracking my progress in a simple notebook where I write down my daily targets.
