Surprisingly Easy, But At My Limit

Yesterday's main session was very simple on paper:
OHS 5x3 with 3+min rest

That's all I had written down in the plan. Of course this was preceded by a warm up of about 20 minutes of various mobility, technique and specific preparation exercises. After ramping up the weight for the Overhead Squat (OHS), I was at 38kg which is what I thought I could just handle for the five sets.

The difficulty was in remaining tight and stable enough to hold the weight above my head. The actual weight being lifted did not feel like it was taxing my legs at all. While I had two failed lifts in the second the set, I managed to hold it for all other reps. At the end I knew I probably wouldn't be able to do another repetition, but still felt like I had hardly completed any work. There was no burn, no pain, nothing. If anything I felt like I had finished warming up. Strength training is very different to the endurance work I am used to doing.

Getting out of bed this morning was a different story. Every part of my body reminded me about those overhead squats. Especially my hip girdle, upper and lower back, and my shoulders. It is a different soreness from the DOMS I often experience from a hard run. There is no tightness, just a strong, yet dull and deep ache highlighting a form of fatigue I'm not used to. While it may sound strange I welcome the pain. It highlights I was at (or at least close to) my performance limits yesterday. The pain lets me know I really was working hard.

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