{"id":454078,"date":"2026-02-04T21:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T21:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/454078\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T21:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T21:10:19","slug":"as-i-near-40-this-300-reps-a-day-challenge-has-reignited-my-training-heres-why-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/454078\/","title":{"rendered":"As I Near 40, This 300 Reps-a-Day Challenge Has Reignited My Training \u2013 Here’s Why it Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been ‘in fitness’ for nearly two decades. Lots has changed over that time, but I\u2019ve pretty much always been in and around weights<\/a> and endurance training.<\/p>\n

For the last few years, though, the one thing I\u2019ve really struggled with is long stretches of consistency. It\u2019s not that I\u2019m not motivated, or that I don\u2019t have things I want to do. In fact, sometimes it\u2019s the opposite. The things I\u2019m conditioned to aim for in training are often quite big goals. I\u2019ve taken on some massive challenges<\/a> in the past and competed in some cool events, but viewing fitness through this lens may have ended up becoming a bit of a rod for my own back.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve got older and life has got busier, my professional and personal commitments have dialled up a notch, but I\u2019ve still been leaning towards those big goals. The problem is that I don\u2019t always have the space in my life for them anymore. That\u2019s meant my training has been quite spotty \u2013 really hammering it during quieter periods, then letting it fall to the back burner when work or life ramps up.<\/p>\n

That, in itself, is fairly normal. These seasons come and go, and as long as movement is always there in some capacity, you\u2019re golden. The bigger issue for me was how I was training when I did show up. I found myself leaning into a style of training that prioritised lifting very heavy<\/a>, with vague ideas of competing in strongman-style events, while spending the rest of my time sat at a desk, commuting, or on long-haul flights.<\/p>\n

That combination \u2013 lifting heavy, then sitting down for ridiculously long periods \u2013 left me feeling pretty awful. Old disc injuries flared up more often. My body composition wasn\u2019t really where I\u2019d like it to be. And realistically my strength didn\u2019t feel like it was meaningfully improving either. I was prioritising intensity<\/a> over consistency, and at this point in my life, it just wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

On Boxing Day this year, I decided to do something different. After training for long enough, you eventually try everything \u2013 a bit like the infinite number of monkeys and typewriters theory. I took out a small notebook and set myself a simple goal: to mark off 300 reps<\/a> every single day, one way or another.<\/p>\n

This still factored in my usual training goals. I wanted to keep lifting heavy, I had some endurance benchmarks on the cards, and I had a few work-related challenges coming up. All of the thoughtful programming for those goals was still there. The difference was that I committed to hitting it all within the container of achieving 300 reps a day.<\/p>\n

That single decision completely revolutionised my training. I\u2019ve seen the best gains I\u2019ve had in years, but more importantly, I feel better than ever \u2013 both physically and in how I feel about training in general.<\/p>\n

Why 300 reps? Honestly, I\u2019ve just always thought that was a pretty good set\/rep volume for a workout, once you\u2019re factoring in a good warm-up, big lifts, accessory work and some conditioning. One-hundred a day errs on the side of \u2018Facebook squat challenge\u2019, and much more can easily veer into overtraining \u2013 or deliberately undercooking the intensity of your workouts just to get through them. <\/p>\n

Trying to maintain a 300-rep-per-day streak has challenged me to think about how I both economise and maximise my training. On days when I lift heavy, I might only really be aiming for 25-30 genuinely hard \u2018hero\u2019 reps in a session. Previously, that might have been the whole workout. Now, with another 270 reps to fill, I\u2019m spending much more time warming up with bodyweight movements<\/a>, adding auxiliary work afterwards, and moving in ways that complement my greater goals… while also helping me clock up reps.<\/p>\n

\"notepad<\/p>\n

Andrew Tracey<\/p>\n

This is also where accessory movements have come back into my training properly. Because I know I\u2019ve got reps to fill, I\u2019m doing work I might otherwise have skipped in favour of just getting the bang-for-buck lifts done and calling it a day. I\u2019m spending more time on high-rep bodyweight movements, training my trunk more, and generally filling in gaps I\u2019ve created over the years such as building more rotational strength. I\u2019m performing more unilateral reps<\/a> \u2013 yes, excellent for addressing imbalances and building a more rounded physique, but also double-bubble when it comes to ticking off reps. You also have carte blanche to do more direct arm training. This has all contributed to a return to a much more holistic way of working out for me.<\/p>\n

It might sound like junk volume<\/a>, but if you\u2019re smart about it, it doesn\u2019t have to be. Those extra reps can be movements you\u2019d otherwise avoid entirely, or even work that feels restorative. On days when I\u2019m not lifting heavy, I\u2019ll still take time to blast out high-rep sets of moves like push-ups<\/a>, lunges, squats, pull-ups<\/a> and swings<\/a>. They don\u2019t take a huge toll on my body, but I still get the mood-boosting effect of exercise. I\u2019m pumping blood into the muscles, which may actually help with recovery, and although it might not seem like much, over weeks and months the volume adds up.<\/p>\n

On really busy days, when I just want to get it done, I can box off 100 push-ups and 200 lunges in under 10 minutes. I’ll tackle them before a shower in the morning. It takes almost no time, but it has a noticeable impact on my mood, while also keeping me from spending the whole day stationary.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still lifting heavy, but with this extra movement threaded through my week, my body feels much better. A lot of my aches and pains have eased simply because I\u2019m spending less time sitting down, more time moving and giving my body something to actually adapt to, as opposed to heroic, one-off sessions that don’t really do much in the long run.<\/p>\n

I also count distance-based work towards my rep count. One-hundred metres of running or heavy rucking<\/a> counts as one rep; 10m of heavy carries<\/a> do, too. And a 10k<\/a> run gives me 100 reps. Some days I\u2019ll do that and then make up the remaining 200 with push-ups, pull-ups, squats or kettlebell swings. Most Sundays I\u2019ve knocked out 100 reps of bench press GVT<\/a> and chased it with a 20k run. Other times I\u2019ve gone long and covered 30 kilometres, ticking off all 300 reps in one go.<\/p>\n

Everything goes into a notebook. I tick the reps off and cross the days out. Have I done it every single day without fail? No. When I say daily \u2013 to borrow a term from broadcaster and podcaster Dan Harris \u2013 I mean \u2018daily-ish\u2019 AKA \u2018more often than not\u2019. I\u2019m not falling back into the trap of setting myself rigid, unrealistic goals. Flexibility is the key to consistency.<\/p>\n

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\u2019m now moving five, six, sometimes seven days a week. Over the last month, I\u2019ve trained around 26 out of 30 days.<\/p>\n

This whole challenge has made it easier to start, easier to do hard work, and easier to keep coming back.
<\/p>\n

As I near 40, I\u2019m always on the lookout for things that are going to work for me in the long run, and this shift has been genuinely transformative. And it\u2019s all thanks to a notebook, a pen, and a simple daily rep target.<\/p>\n

Example SessionsBodyweight and Kettlebell Full Body\"exercise6 rounds:A) Pull-Up x 5B) Dip x 10C) Push-Up x 15D) Goblet Squat x 20Bodybuilding and Endurance\"barbellA) Bench Press x 10 EMOM x 10 minutesB) Run x 20kBodyweight Quickie\"arm,3 rounds:A) Push-Up x 40B) Reverse Lunge x 60 (30 left\/ 30 right)Strongman and Bodyweight\"leg,Build to a Heavy Farmer’s Carry (100m total)<\/p>\n

Then…<\/p>\n

4 rounds:A) Heavy Tyre Flip x 5 B) Chin-Up x 10 C) Push-Up x 15 D) Box Jump x 20 (onto tyre) <\/p>\n

Build strength, add muscle and strip body fat in 2026 with this simple four-week training plan from Men\u2019s Health fitness director Andrew Tracey. You\u2019ll also get a fully comprehensive nutrition guide, giving you the tools to create a smart, sustainable calorie deficit \u2013 without compromising your training. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to the Men\u2019s Health app and start training today.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a>
<\/p>\n

\"magazine<\/a>Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men\u2019s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that\u2019s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for \u2018free pizza\u2019 and wait for him to appear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve been ‘in fitness’ for nearly two decades. Lots has changed over that time, but I\u2019ve pretty much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,4671,186548,784,407,84,783,186547],"class_list":["post-454078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-eb125939-7396-46e6-8e02-8cf6e7c72b75","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-how-doing-300-reps-a-day-reignited-my-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}