<p>Rocks under cyclic loading undergo fatigue damage represented by reduction in the strength (uniaxial and triaxial). Application of an all-around confining pressure in a cyclic manner results into following two phenomena, namely, fatigue induced weakening of rock specimens, and enhancement of strength through consolidation. Both these phenomena have opposite influence on strength characteristics of rock specimen and the net effect depends on confining level and the number of loading cycles. This study investigates the impact of cyclic consolidation on the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of a low-strength synthetic rock. Rock specimens are subjected to cyclic confining pressures up to 40%, 60%, and 85% of the UCS before being tested under uniaxial loading. Results show that at low confining pressures, fatigue effects dominate and hence, reducing the UCS. At higher confining levels, consolidation effects prevail, leading to a gradual increase in UCS. Despite this trend, the final strength of cyclically consolidated rocks remains lower than that of the virgin rock. These findings highlight the significant influence of cyclic confining pressure on the mechanical behavior of low-strength rocks, offering valuable insights for geotechnical applications.</p>