Why I Keep My Training Boring (And Why It Works)

If you looked at my training log, you’d probably be underwhelmed.

There is no exotic exercise rotation.
No arm day. No leg day.
No peaking cycles (though I’ve used those in the past during my powerlifting years...perhaps another story for another time).

You won’t find twelve-movement supersets designed to annihilate a muscle from seventeen different angles.
I don’t separate muscle groups.
I don’t chase novelty.

It’s mostly the same lifts, or close variations of them.
Over and over and over again.
Sometimes heavy. Usually not.

And that’s the point.

Modern training culture is obsessed with novelty. There’s always a new method. A new split. A new way to “optimize” fatigue in pursuit of the perfect result. The algorithm rewards what’s new, not what’s repeatable. Not what’s obvious. Not what's boring. Not what’s quietly effective. 

I can't do it that way.

   f

                                        He Tried.

But strength doesn’t care about novelty.

It cares about exposure.
It cares about practice.
About specific skill.

The body adapts to what you do consistently, not what you try for six weeks before getting bored.

I deadlifted 272.5kg with a mixed grip. No straps. No dedicated grip cycles. No elaborate peaking block.

In fact, I’ve never trained grip directly in my life.

I just deadlifted.
Repeatedly.
For years.

Heavy sometimes. Submaximal most of the time.
Nothing flashy. Nothing complicated.

Just exposure.

And I got pretty good at it.

That lift wasn’t the result of a clever program. I didn’t follow a structured peaking plan for that push to a new PB. It was the result of accumulated, boring work.

The kind that doesn’t look impressive in a spreadsheet.
The kind that doesn’t trend online.
The kind that doesn’t get applause because most people only care about the new maximum. 

I experienced the same pattern with my squat, bench and overhead press at different periods, shifting focus when interest peaked, and I benefited across all of them. Skill improved, and my ability to express strength came along with it. You repeat something long enough, your body just adapts to it.

Adapt…or die?

Boring training works because it removes friction.
It removes decision fatigue.
It removes ego.

When the variables stay mostly the same, progress becomes measurable.

You’re not wondering whether it was the new variation, the new tempo, or the new rep scheme.

You’re simply asking:

Did I handle this better than last time?

That’s it.

Most people don’t need more variety.
They need more time under the bar.
More patience.
Fewer resets.

                                                            Me, when i was 27, probably.

Here is the uncomfortable question:

If your program changes every eight weeks, is that a system, or is it entertainment. 

There’s a strange irony in training: the methods that look impressive online are rarely the ones that build impressive strength. The work that builds real, durable progress often looks… boring.

Repeated lifts.
Submaximal work.
Slow accumulation.

No drama. No fireworks.

Just consistency.

You don’t get strong from a perfect six-week block.
You get strong from stacking months. Then years. Maybe a decade. 

The barbell doesn’t reward creativity.
It rewards commitment.

And commitment looks boring.

Why I train every day.

I lift weights in my garage more or less every single day.

I am not special.

I don’t do it for fame, clout, or Instagram angles.

I don’t even do it to be the biggest or the strongest version of myself.

I do it because I must. And if I don't, future me will kick my arse. Worst of all, my dogs will judge me.

Winter. Still befuddled by my existence.

Training is a constant in my life. It keeps me grounded. It keeps me stable. It keeps me… functional as a human being. This isn’t a means to an end for me. It *is* the end. The training itself is the point.

People love to remind me that training every day is “crazy.”

That it’s dangerous.

That it’s sub-optimal.

I don’t think most people understand what I’m actually doing.

What i am Not doing, probably.

They hear “train every day” and picture masochism, burnout, or CrossFit highlight reels. What I actually do is show up daily and expose myself to something physical. Some days are heavier. Some days are lighter. Some days are almost boring. But the ritual is the anchor. The exposure is the medicine.

I work a sedentary job. I sit at a laptop five days a week. I work from home. The most physical part of my professional life is occasionally walking around a job site once a fortnight. Without daily physical training, I turn into exactly what you’d expect: stiff, foggy, restless, and mentally flat.

So I lift.

Not to escape my life.

To *stay functional inside it*.

I’m a minimalist at heart when it comes to training. I lean heavily toward abbreviated approaches. You won’t find me running high-volume bodybuilding splits, “arm days,” or novelty workouts for novelty’s sake. That stuff doesn’t appeal to me. I prefer to lift heavy. I prefer compound movements. I prefer simple plans that can be repeated for a long time without frying my nervous system or my joints.

 

The Garage... And the (not yet so) trusty pooches.

The internet is obsessed with “optimal.”

Optimal volume.

Optimal frequency.

Optimal rep ranges.

Optimal periodisation models.

I’ve never found optimality particularly motivating. Consistency beats optimality every time. A plan you can repeat for years will outperform the perfect plan you quit in six weeks.

Actual optimal bro.

For context, these are the best lifts I’ve hit in the past (a few years ago now):

* Back Squat: 200kg

* Bench Press: 150kg

* Deadlift: 272.5kg

* Overhead Press: 90kg

Not elite. Not embarrassing. Just a reference point for the kind of training background I’m coming from. Something i would like hit again one day. 

This blog isn’t here to sell you a 12-week transformation, a shredded summer body, or a secret program. It’s here to document how I actually train: frequently, simply, and in a way that fits a normal adult life with work, stress, and responsibilities.

If you’re someone who:

* Likes lifting heavy

* Hates unnecessary complexity

* Trains for sanity as much as strength

* And doesn’t want fitness to become a second full-time job

…then you’ll probably feel at home here.

This is me thinking in public about training, discipline, recovery, and staying dangerous in a modern, sedentary world.

No hype. No politics. No influencer nonsense.

Just lifting, thinking, and iterating over time.

Future Posts here, will shed some light on how I train Now, how I have trained in the past, and how I don't die from it all. And sometimes pictures of my dogs. Because, dogs.

Fin.