# Any female Straight Dopers strong enough to pick up & carry a 200 lb man 50 meters? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350 "2016-04-06T16:06:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/1 "2016-04-06T16:06:19Z")
Are any of you strong enough to pull this off? Let’s assume a [fireman type carry.](http://medical.tpub.com/14295/css/14295_136.htm) ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/2 "2016-04-06T16:17:48Z")
Yup. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/3 "2016-04-06T16:25:20Z")
I might manage the carry part, but I don’t know about the pick-up part. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/4 "2016-04-06T16:45:30Z")
I recall that **Nava** was trained to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/5 "2016-04-06T16:47:37Z")
How many women can do it a few times in a row without sustaining serious injury? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/6 "2016-04-06T16:57:06Z")
Definitely not me. I mean, barring some sort of “grandma lifts car” adrenaline emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/7 "2016-04-06T17:05:50Z")
Yes. But it sucks. The test is now to drag 250 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/8 "2016-04-06T17:27:07Z")
Why is one of the criteria in metric and the other in US measurement units? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/9 "2016-04-06T17:39:11Z")
My husband is around 200. I know I can pick him up, but he’s never let me try to carry him. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/10 "2016-04-06T18:31:46Z")
Yes. My brother is about 200#. I could do this with him. I’m a rather large woman who is also very muscular. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/11 "2016-04-06T18:46:22Z")
I know for a fact that I could do this in my 20s, because I did it in the Army. I could pick up and fireman carry women who were between 120-160lbs. about 50 yards, which is almost 50 meters, and I could do it repeatedly-- I think I did six in a row once. I also could do 3 sets of 10 squats with two 100lbs dumbbells in the military press position (even with my head, not down at my thighs). I also know that I could pick up a man who was probably close to 200lbs, if not over, in the fireman position and carry him about 10 feet. That was all that was required. I am 49 now, and I don’t think I could do any of this now, but when I was at my most fit, yes I could, most definitely. I scored 280 out of 300 on my military PT test at AIT, and I could bench press 180lbs, even though I weighed around 130. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/12 "2016-04-06T18:52:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Why is one of the criteria in metric and the other in US measurement units? WAG: Because if you ask random people in the US “What do you weigh?” they will answer in pounds. Personal measurements are the last to go, for some reason, too. The Amy uses metrics for everything, except soldiers’ height and weight. That is still feet and pounds. In the UK, they’ve successfully gone metric, I understand, except for still weighing people in stones. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/13 "2016-04-06T20:44:58Z")
Yes. In high school I used to carry my brother up the stairs for training. At almost 40, I’d be seriously hurting, but I could do it. Wouldn’t be winning any speed awards either. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/14 "2016-04-06T21:45:50Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > Yes. > > But it sucks. The test is now to drag 250 lbs. What test? I think I probably could. I’m pretty small, but I’m strong. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/15 "2016-04-06T23:33:46Z")
Yes, I can still do that. HAD done that in my 20’s to win a bet, now I’m a bit older. I’d risk getting hurt doing it because my joints aren’t what they used to be, but I still have the muscle for it, particularly in something like a fireman carry. In other words, I’d do it to save a life, but I’d no longer do it on a bet. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/16 "2016-04-06T23:33:55Z")
I am a 50 year old man and pretty strong, but I don’t know if I could do it. I mean the pull up the dead weight part. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/17 "2016-04-06T23:42:11Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > I am a 50 year old man and pretty strong, but I don’t know if I could do it. > > I mean the pull up the dead weight part. Yes, I think many are underestimating the difficulty of this feat. Deadlifting a 200lb, presumably limp man and then carrying it that far is something most men couldn’t do, imo. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/18 "2016-04-06T23:51:31Z")
You don’t deadlift the weight. Assuming the gent is unconcious he’s going to be limp. You don’t pull up with your arms. You get down low, fling his arms over one shoulder and sort of inch/crawl under the guy until his center of gravity is roughly over your shoulder THEN you stand up, lifting with your legs which (in able-bodied women) are your strongest muscles. Use your arm muscles for balancing the weight. If the person is able to cooperate at all maybe he can help get himself over your shoulder, then, again, you stand up. This risks back injury, and possibly other injury if you+other person topple over. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/19 "2016-04-07T00:39:29Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > What test? > > I think I probably could. I’m pretty small, but I’m strong. Sorry - current fitness test in the Canadian military. Used to be the fireman’s carry, but now it’s a drag. ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350/20 "2016-04-07T02:36:32Z")
I’m not sure. I routinely carry 50 pound bags of livestock feed up a very steep hill, approximately 1/2 mile. Since I also own a) a tractor, b) a dog that can pull a car out of a ditch, and c) a cell phone, I can’t see any reason why I would even try to manually move a 200 pound man. You do realize that most first aid courses strongly suggest not moving injured, unconscious people? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-female-straight-dopers-strong-enough-to-pick-up-carry-a-200-lb-man-50-meters/751350.md?page=2)