Strength Training When Life Gets Messy

In this episode of Beast Over Burden, Niki Sims and Andrew Jackson explore what it looks like to keep strength training when life gets messy. From travel hiccups to surprise illnesses and shifting schedules, they break down how to stay on track without rigid expectations. Using real-life coaching examples and personal stories, they offer actionable strategies that help lifters adapt without losing momentum—because long-term strength is about flexibility as much as it is about intensity.

Ditch the All-or-Nothing Trap

Too many lifters fall into the binary mindset of being either “on” or “off” their training. Niki and Andrew challenge that thinking by introducing a more realistic and sustainable concept: you’re always training, even if your current level isn’t at its peak.

Whether you’ve just returned from vacation, are dealing with an injury, or life simply got chaotic, the progress you’ve made isn’t lost. They emphasize consistency over perfection and how a “training for life” mindset allows for progress through life’s ebbs and flows.

Strength Training When Life Gets Messy

Life’s curveballs—whether it’s a sick kid, travel delays, Montezuma’s revenge, or your kid tripping you off a ski lift—don’t have to knock you completely off track. Andrew shares how he’s trained through disrupted routines, limited equipment, and altered recovery windows by embracing flexibility in programming and expectations.

This section reinforces that strength training when life gets messy is about adjusting your goalposts, not giving up the game. You’ll hear how to use a full-body session when time is short, prioritize reps over load, and still get meaningful work done, even if it’s not your “perfect” plan.

Programming Around Real Life

Your program isn’t written in stone. Niki and Andrew discuss how programming can flex around stress levels, travel, and energy availability. They break down Andrew’s four-day split and show how it morphs into a full-body or compressed format when needed.

You’ll learn how to structure intensity across the week and month in a way that supports long-term recovery, even if your life is full of interruptions. Their frameworks include how to rate movements by priority, how to structure backup plans, and how to identify when to lower intensity (and how much) to keep making progress.

Adaptable Travel Training Tactics

When you’re on the road, you may not have a barbell, but you still have options. Andrew shares his machine-based strategy for hitting hard sets that still stimulate muscle and drive progress. The key: go hard enough to matter, but smart enough to recover.

They explore how training on vacation often requires a shift in mindset and movement selection. Niki shares tips on alternating upper and lower body days or combining movement patterns to reduce soreness. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s execution. Strength training when life gets messy doesn’t require you to do everything, just enough of the right things.St

Recovery Over Heroics

Grind culture isn’t sustainable. Instead of chasing RPE 10s while under-recovered, the hosts advocate for realistic training goals: staying active, avoiding soreness traps, and spreading stress over time. You’ll hear why soreness isn’t a badge of honor and how machine work or scaled-back intensity can be just as productive.

They close with advice on prioritizing lifts, adjusting weights by 10–20% after time off, and keeping the essentials in focus. Because the goal isn’t to train perfectly—it’s to train continuously, no matter how messy life gets.