My Little Experiment with Strength
So, I was flipping through channels the other night, landed on some old wrestling stuff. And there he was, Brock Lesnar. You just can’t ignore the guy, right? Built like a brick house doesn’t even cover it. Got me thinking, not about being like him, ’cause let’s be real, but about that kind of raw, functional strength he seems to have.
I’m no spring chicken, and definitely not a pro athlete, but I thought, why not try and understand that feeling a bit? Not his crazy workouts you read about online – pretty sure those would just break me. Nah, just a small taste of focusing purely on strength, not reps or cardio for a change.
So, here’s what I did. I decided for a couple of weeks, I’d ditch my usual routine at the gym – the bit of treadmill, the machines I know. Instead, I focused on just a few basic, heavy-ish lifts. Stuff I usually avoid ’cause it looks intimidating or I figure I’ll hurt myself.
Here’s the simple plan I cooked up:
- Focus on compound movements: Squats, deadlifts (light ones!), bench press, overhead press.
- Lower reps, heavier weight (heavy for me, okay?).
- Really concentrate on form, watched a bunch of videos first.
- Give myself plenty of rest between sets.
First day I tried squats. Loaded up a bit more weight than usual. Man, it felt different. Like my whole body had to work together just to stand back up. Wasn’t smooth, felt a bit shaky. The next day, my legs were seriously talking back to me.
Then I tried deadlifts. Used way less weight than I thought I should, just focused on the movement. Picking something heavy off the floor – sounds simple, but doing it right felt complex. Felt it all over my back and legs the next day. Not pain, just… awareness of muscles I didn’t know I had.
Bench press was humbling. Always thought I had decent upper body strength. Nope. Pushing that bar up felt way harder than using those chest press machines.
What I Found Out
After about two weeks of this, maybe three sessions a week, I noticed a few things. First, respect for guys like Lesnar went way up. The sheer power and dedication needed is insane. It’s not just lifting; it’s a whole lifestyle I can’t even imagine. The eating, the constant physical toll.
Second, this kind of training is draining in a totally different way than cardio or higher reps. I felt wiped out afterwards, but also kind of solid, if that makes sense. It’s a primal feeling, moving heavy stuff.
Third, I realized I’m definitely not built for that, haha. It was interesting, but my body prefers a bit more variety. My joints started feeling a bit creaky by the end of week two. Decided it was a fun experiment, but time to go back to something more balanced.
It was a weird little project. Didn’t turn me into a beast, didn’t really change my physique much in that short time. But it was a good reminder of what pushing your limits feels like, even if your limits are way, way lower than someone like Brock Lesnar’s. Made me appreciate the effort involved in serious strength. Kind of like when I finally decided to tackle clearing out the garage last year – seemed impossible at first, just had to break it down and lift the heavy stuff piece by piece. Different kind of strength, same principle I guess. Just keep chipping away.
