I have a friend who is quite big and strong and who started a Crossfit class. His first impression of the other gym membership was that of amusement. He laughed a little at them because he could lift twice as much.
But Crossfit workouts are a test of endurance. So even though he could bench 300 pounds, the 55-year-old could do more and then still run circles around him.
It led my friend to a bit of a crisis/realization:
You’re One Rep Max isn’t a complete measure of your strength.
There’s a whole conversation to be had here about the differences between muscular strength and muscular endurance. For me that’s a distinction to ponder, but not to dwell on.
You need strength to lift the fridge, but endurance to carry it down the street.
A very good article (https://www.t-nation.com/training/a-fatal-mistake-in-size-training/) on T-Nation discusses the trap of training for weight vs. volume.
Go read it.
For calisthenics, I’ve adapted this sort of thinking to going straight to the full skill rather than working all around it.
L-Sits and Handstands. After trying the full skills, I was dejected and not seeing the progress I thought I should. So I worked on other skills. Only coming back and testing the full skill every couple of weeks. It was great.
Don’t get sore