Published April 17, 2026
Someone online told you that you HAVE to squat. That barbell back squats are the king of all exercises and if you're not squatting you're wasting your time. So you squatted. You hated every second. You dreaded leg day so much you started skipping it. Now you don't train legs at all.
Great job. You went from doing something suboptimal to doing literally nothing. That's worse.
I don't care if barbell squats are theoretically 3% more effective than leg press for quad growth. If you hate squats so much that you skip leg day, leg press is infinitely better. Because you'll actually do it. Zero sets of squats will always lose to three sets of something you don't hate.
This applies to everything. Hate running? Don't run. Ride a bike. Swim. Walk uphill. Use the elliptical. They all work your cardiovascular system. The one you'll actually do for 30 minutes three times a week is the best one.
If you absolutely dread a specific exercise, that's useful information. It doesn't mean you're lazy. It might mean the movement doesn't suit your body. It might mean you haven't found the right variation. Or it might just mean you hate it, and that's okay too.
I've been lifting for 25 years. I don't do barbell rows anymore. I did them for years because everyone said I should. I hated them. My lower back always felt sketchy. One day I switched to chest-supported rows and cable rows, and I've never looked back. My back still grew. I just stopped dreading pull day.
Go through your program exercise by exercise. Is there one you're always looking for an excuse to skip? Replace it. Not with nothing. With something that works the same muscles but doesn't make you want to leave the gym.
Hate lunges? Try split squats or step-ups. Hate overhead press? Try landmine press or dumbbell press. Hate conventional deadlifts? Try trap bar or Romanian deadlifts. There's always an alternative. Always. The exercise library is enormous. Use it.
Somewhere along the way, fitness culture decided that if you're enjoying yourself, you're not working hard enough. That's garbage. The people who've been training for decades are the ones who found a way to enjoy it. Not every session, obviously. But on average, they look forward to training more than they dread it.
If your entire program feels like a chore, something's wrong. Not with you. With the program. Change it until it doesn't feel like punishment. You're allowed to enjoy this.
The optimal program done for three weeks is worthless. A "suboptimal" program done for two years will change your life. Stop reading about the perfect split and start doing the one that gets you to the gym consistently.
Pick exercises you don't mind doing. Pick a schedule that fits your life. Pick a gym you don't hate driving to. Stack the deck in favor of showing up. That's the real optimization. Everything else is noise.