When I first wrote this, I wasn’t chasing promotions or algorithms. I was just trying to keep showing up to train, to learn, to get a little better each day. Back then, “rep after rep” was more than a training mantra. It was a way to stay grounded when progress felt invisible.
The hardest part wasn’t physical. It was the repetition, the daily grind that felt endless. Whether I was refining form under the barbell or troubleshooting code that refused to run, the challenge was the same: staying patient when nothing seemed to move forward.
Some days you make the lift. Some days the lift makes you. But the point is always to come back tomorrow.
At some point, I stopped expecting each session, physical or mental, to feel like a breakthrough. The breakthrough was the habit itself. The more I showed up, the more the process began to reveal patterns: what worked, what didn’t, and how small adjustments compound over time.
In strength and in cybersecurity, consistency is the quiet multiplier. Each drill, each review, each run-through, one more rep toward mastery.
That same mindset carries through everything I do now — training teams, hardening systems, or writing content. I don’t chase perfect outcomes anymore. I look for steady iterations. A little tighter form. A cleaner line of code. A stronger policy.
That’s how resilience is built, not simply through intensity, but through consistency.
Progress doesn’t shout. It stacks. And one day, you realize the work that used to test you has become the warm-up.
Training for the day:
7 mins of:
7 Banded Sumos
7 Banded bodyweight squats w/moderate band
7 Calf raises
+
A. Back Squat 10, 10,10,10; rest 2/2:30 – 10 RM-ish
B1. Heels elevated air squats x 10 x 3; rest :10
B2. RDL w/an empty bar, sweep away — lumbar focus x 15 x 3; rest 1
C. SL RDL stability, unloaded x 10 x 3; — 5 per leg; rest 1
+
10min alt EMOM:
20 Step-ups – 10 per
15 push-ups
Martial skill work — 5 x 5 min rounds of Z2-Z4 striking, upper push/pull bodyweight movements in trapping/grappling range, and take down defense/sprawling/working underhook escapes et cetera.
Today in my world of Linux and pentesting I worked on building out an Active Directory Lab and worked on the initial attack vectors when attacking an AD based system. Things like LLMNR Poisoning, Capturing NTLMv2 Hashes with Responder, Password Cracking with Hashcat, LLMNR Poisoning Defense, SMB Relay Attacks, Discovering Hosts with SMB Signing Disabled, Start SMB Relay Attack Defenses, & Gaining Shell Access.
Current affairs:
We Got Him (Again, and Again, and Again): On the Latest ISIS Takedown In a Long Line of American Military Actions by Andrew Bacevich
Virginia Supreme Court throws out challenge to Youngkin mask order
Bombshell Proof The ATTACK On Joe Rogan Is Politically Funded! This Is Deeper Than Spotify!
Boom: Rumble offers Joe Rogan $100M to leave Spotify…
And of course, the twat waffle who is Jonah Goldberg, is returning to his roots.
Matt Shannon, Security Pro 