# If you can't hold 200 lbs for 30 seconds... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 24, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261 "2016-06-24T20:03:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/201 "2016-06-27T00:31:19Z")
I remember in my peak years I could arm curl 125lbs three times and bench my body weight 25 times. Though how that matters or why anyone would care is what I don’t understand about the point of OP. However maxing out your lifts is one of the most stupidest and purely ego driven things ever invented in someone’s idea. It’s not even a good measure of anything because I can pick up and put a 150lb jumping jack compactor in the back of a truck and the guy at the rental store who benches 450 lbs won’t even attempt it. He might be able to bench it on a bar with the weight spread out but little good it does for the technique to actually put strength to use in real world activities. Some of the bigger guys that work out I’ve come across are kind of weenies when it comes to physical work and real world use. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/202 "2016-06-27T00:33:38Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > This is a response about muscle physiology which wasn’t really the point of the thread but: > > Obviously a static hold or deadlift aren’t the same as their real world counter-parts, but someone who has a 400lb deadlift is going to have a much stronger core and posterior chain than someone who doesn’t exercise. … Okay. Yes. Someone who can deadlift 400 (a fairly small number even of those who lift and are of average size) will have a stronger core and posterior chain than someone who does not exercise. That person also likely has a strong grip. And that, very much not average, let alone 90% of the population, person might have some difficulty holding the bottom end of a heavy and bulky leather recliner sofa up in one position on the stairs from below for thirty seconds or so. At some point he’d try to change grip and risk losing control of the sofa. And that person may or may not be too stupid to move a sofa safely up a set of stairs. FWIW I do work in healthcare. Exclude middles much? The amount of exercise needed to achieve sizable health benefits is not huge and certainly does require being an accomplished powerlifter. Even very modest amounts of exercise, and that is very broadly defined, leads to substantial health benefits, and there is progressively diminishing returns for significantly larger investments. Hit a level equivalent to an hour a day of moderate exercise (that’s just brisk walk level) and it plateaus from there. Mixing in some intensity adds benefit with less time required to get there as well. Short version much more than 150 minutes or so of exercise per week with 30 minutes of it being vigorous adds little. Again, if lifting heavy is what floats your boat for exercise, wonderful. Probably some aerobic in your mix too is a good idea. If endurance events, or 5Ks, are your thing, also fine. You want to keep setting higher goals? Great! But neither hitting elite levels nor extreme time investments are required for health benefits or good function with activities of daily living. You can be healthy without lifting heavy. Really you can. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/203 "2016-06-27T01:57:07Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Compare my race.](http://www.comparemyrace.com/) > You can see the distribution of times of runners, not just the general population. > [Athletic.net](http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Division/Event.aspx?DivID=70513&Event=79&page=9) 2016 season > Out of 4,481 reported times, 951 went under 15. 21% of trained college runners in the country. Hey! Hey! No need to bring race into this. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/204 "2016-06-27T01:59:57Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yeah, that is the way I vacuum. The only problem with that technique is it takes both arms (one to hold the couch over your head and the other to finesse the vacuum cleaner) so you have to put your beer down first unless you can learn, like I did, to just hold the can with your teeth and drink it that way. This bears repeating. I have become so much more efficient since I figured out how to hold my beer in my teeth. Really frees up the hands and feet. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/205 "2016-06-27T03:29:53Z")
> [@HeXen](#): > > snip > He might be able to bench it on a bar with the weight spread out but little good it does for the technique to actually put strength to use in real world activities. Some of the bigger guys that work out I’ve come across are kind of weenies when it comes to physical work and real world use. See, this is me in reverse, I can’t bench press 200 Lbs but I can carry my half of a 400 Lb refrigerator up a flight of 19 steps (said so right on the box) > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > This bears repeating. I have become so much more efficient since I figured out how to hold my beer in my teeth. Really frees up the hands and feet. Ukulele Ike, your jaw strength is commendable, but dude! [beer helmet](https://www.google.com/search?q=beer+helmet&biw=1518&bih=722&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifmZe9ocfNAhVW-2MKHV4ZBuMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9)! Safety First Man! ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/206 "2016-06-27T03:43:50Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > Ukulele Ike, your jaw strength is commendable, but dude! [beer helmet](https://www.google.com/search?q=beer+helmet&biw=1518&bih=722&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifmZe9ocfNAhVW-2MKHV4ZBuMQ_AUIBygC&dpr=0.9)! Safety First Man! Nah, you’re all getting it wrong. Refrigerated Camelbak. I’m just old enough that if anybody asks me to help them move, a cold Camelbak of beer is part of the payment. In a few years, it’ll be “hell no, my back says no, but here’s $50 to help pay some college students, since you apparently don’t have a stable enough job in your 40s to afford some”. Also, if you’re moving a fridge or other appliances, those furniture straps where you hold stuff up with your forearms instead of your hands are an absolute lifesaver. Awkward grip really does suck, and you can definitely handle more weight if you’re not trying to figure out the right way to hold stuff. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/207 "2016-06-27T05:19:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Its not that hard, the average couch is almost 200 pounds. Just pick it up under your arm and hold it for the length of an average TV commercial. What the hell kind of couch do you have? Mine is just over 6 ft. I picked up one end of the couch just now, no problem (holy cow, I need to vacuum under the couch). And so I’m comfortable saying that it’s nowhere NEAR 200 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/208 "2016-06-27T07:43:11Z")
I’ve noticed a huge difference in weight between old fashion wood based couches and the more modern Ikea numbers, which I assume have planks of lightweight though sturdy plastic. Modern is way better IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/209 "2016-06-27T14:01:58Z")
My apologies to the board. I had first voted “clueless Asshole” but now I’d like to change my vote to “Troll”. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/210 "2016-06-27T14:19:22Z")
He must be strong, to so effortlessly hold up a string of Dopers by their gills. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/211 "2016-06-27T14:27:27Z")
Maybe we should decide the election in a gym! Weight lifting, 100 yard dash, 10 K marathon. Color commentary on Michele Obama, over in the corner, bench-pressing a Ford… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/212 "2016-06-27T14:33:10Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > He must be strong, to so effortlessly hold up a string of Dopers by their gills. More of a Poe’s Law situation. I think anyone who has spent time in a gym has run into real life idiots like this. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/213 "2016-06-27T15:14:11Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > What’s your take on Dominico Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas? You got a fave? Why have a fave? Any _ **real** _ man can play all 555 of them from memory. With his cock. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/214 "2016-06-27T15:29:40Z")
Sure I can, but where do I get a stainless steel piano? Otherwise, the keys will get all smashed up! Can’t play a xylophone with sledge hammers! Well, maybe you _can_, but just once… ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/215 "2016-06-27T16:23:47Z")
Sledgehammer Xylophone? Did they tour once with Deep Purple? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/216 "2016-06-27T16:43:46Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > … Anyway, we’re two manning this couch and we get stuck at the top of the stairs. … That’s a very lucrative niche porn market! But you could make even more 4 manning a couch. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/217 "2016-06-27T17:45:18Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > anecdotally everyone I work with (MD and PhD students) is quite fit and goes to the gym a lot. People who work hard and know their shit tend to value not letting their body waste away Hahahaha! Anecdotally every doctor / nurse friend of mine smokes like they’re on fire and drinks like they’re Civil War soldiers about to get their leg amputated. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/218 "2016-06-27T18:45:34Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > That’s a very lucrative niche porn market! But you could make even more 4 manning a couch. How many Mannings fit on a couch? I think the one that just retired will probably want to stretch out on it all by his lonesome and take a nap. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/219 "2016-06-27T20:21:19Z")
Only brainwashed robots of patriarchy refer to “manning” anything! ---
**Author:** ![elliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@elliott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elliott)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/220 "2016-06-27T21:08:50Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Hahahaha! Anecdotally every doctor / nurse friend of mine smokes like they’re on fire and drinks like they’re Civil War soldiers about to get their leg amputated. I work with MD/PhD candidates, not broMDs who barely passed admissions. Of course the bottom rungs of medicine are going to contain losers. The actual adults take care of themselves though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=12)