# 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:** 12
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/221 "2016-06-27T21:24:44Z")
I feel you, bruh. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/222 "2016-06-27T21:27:56Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > The vast majority of 20 year old guys could total 1400 and hit a 15 minute 5k with proper training and diet. That’s 20 hours a week and obviously not worth it overall, but Elite is far removed from world class. The point was more that if everyone is in peak health, the world would be better. **We’re back to arguing overly specific numbers** > (snip, bolding mine) …because you keep talking about “overly specific” numbers: > [@elliott](#): > > You don’t _need_ to carry 200 lbs, but having the musculature to do so is beneficial in everyday life and makes you much less likely to hurt yourself when doing normal day-to-day activities. The world would be a better place if everyone was 12% BF, had a 1400 lb total, and could do a 5k in 15 minutes. Go back and read your previous posts, then think about what you want to say. Edit your words, decide what you are trying to convey. I mean, do you even _sift_, bro? ---
**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, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/223 "2016-06-27T21:55:51Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > 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. Your assumptions about my friends’ careers are dead fucking wrong, not that you making comically wrong assumptions surprises me. Rock on with your bad self, troll. ---
**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, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/224 "2016-06-27T22:30:15Z")
BTW, could someone explain to me what a a 1400 lb total is? I know the running stat he cited was ridiculous (barring hyperbole), but what exactly is being totaled in the weight stat? ---
**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, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/225 "2016-06-27T22:40:11Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > BTW, could someone explain to me what a a 1400 lb total is? I know the running stat he cited was ridiculous (barring hyperbole), but what exactly is being totaled in the weight stat? Bench Press-Squat-Deadlift combined weight. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/226 "2016-06-27T23:19:50Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > 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. So the candidates are higher quality (somehow) than the ones who have actually made it through their training and embarked on careers? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/227 "2016-06-27T23:31:27Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Only brainwashed robots of patriarchy refer to “manning” anything! Hmm… Must not have played much World of Warcraft. Dungeons and raids are constantly referred to as being x-manned. By men, womyn, and other. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/228 "2016-06-28T00:03:36Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > So the candidates are higher quality (somehow) than the ones who have actually made it through their training and embarked on careers? Sh’ya, of course bruh. If they lift, they’re just better _people_. Doesn’t matter if they’re better at their jobs. . ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/229 "2016-06-28T00:21:33Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Hmm… Must not have played much World of Warcraft. Dungeons and raids are constantly referred to as being x-manned. By men, womyn, and other. That’s the one where you win by getting along with other people and working together for a common goal? Nah. _Dark Souls_. 'Nuf sed. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/230 "2016-06-28T00:36:33Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > 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. Some of those heavy-duty floor polishers can weigh around 200lbs so I can see why you would need to be able to shift that weight around. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/231 "2016-06-28T04:09:09Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > What, you can’t hold 200lbs for a couple of minutes? Do you even have arms? So much depends on how the weight is to be held. I’m sure I could easily do it holding a 100# dumbbell in each hand, with my hands hanging down naturally by my hips. But I’m not sure I could hold two 100# bags of cement in my arms. At 142 pounds bodyweight I might have the muscle to do it, but I doubt that I have the technique. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/232 "2016-06-28T05:29:42Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Then gym teachers would rule the world. I’m against that. For the win. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/233 "2016-06-28T09:42:30Z")
[QUOTE=elliott] Please don’t ask me to help you move. If you’re so out of shape at 20 that performing a lift that 90% of the population can do is a challenge, I don’t want to be the first person you call when you’re trying to move something. I doubly don’t want to do it for free. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Not to be rude, but if you can’t bench even 200 lbs I wouldn’t call you a man. Jokes aside, the majority of mildly physical men, when you discount completely sedentary nerds or whoever, would easily be able to bench at least 200 lbs. I’d say the inability of the average man to do so is a failing on his part instead of mine. Regardless, this doesn’t really relate to the main point of: you should at least be able to hold half of a couch for me. If you can’t take apart and put a carburetor back together in 30 seconds, please don’t ask me to pick you up if your car breaks down. If you’re so ignorant of automotive mechanics that you can’t diagnose and fix your own car’s problems, something that 90% of the population can do, I don’t want to be the first person you call when you’re stranded by the side of the road. I doubly don’t want to do it for free. Not to be rude, but if you can’t perform an inspection of your vehicle’s electrical system I wouldn’t call you a man. Jokes aside, the majority of mildly mechanically-inclined men, when you discount completely helpless amateurs or whoever, would easily be able to replace a head gasket. I’d say the inability of the average man to do so is a failing on his part instead of mine. Regardless, this doesn’t really relate to the main point of: you should at least be able to read the error codes for me. If you can’t solve differential equations in your head in 30 seconds, please don’t ask me for help with a physics problem. If you’re so ignorant of basic calculus that you can’t solve dx/dt = 5x-3, something that 90% of the population can do, I don’t want to be the first person you call when you’re trying to solve something. I doubly don’t want to do it for free. Not to be rude, but if you can’t calculate the motion of a body as described by its position and velocity as the time value varies, I wouldn’t call you a man. Jokes aside, the majority of mildly mathematically-inclined men, when you discount completely brainless jocks or whoever, would easily be able to handle unknown multivariable functions and their partial derivatives. I’d say the inability of the average man to do so is a failing on his part instead of mine. Regardless, this doesn’t really relate to the main point of: you should at least be able to use the Poisson–Boltzmann equation to describe how electrons interact inside a semi-conductor. If you can’t beat the first level of Donkey Kong while blindfolded in 30 seconds, please don’t ask me to help you get through that one level. If you’re so much of a noob that you can’t even glitch through the wall in level 1-2 of Super Mario Bros, something that 90% of the population can do, I don’t want to be the first person you call when you’re trying to do a swordless run of Legend of Zelda. I doubly don’t want to do it for free. Not to be rude, but if you can’t play 3 different Mega Man games using the same exact button inputs simultaneously I wouldn’t call you a man. Jokes aside, the majority of mildly video-game-inclined men, when you discount completely helpless noobs or whoever, would easily be able to do 360 no scopes. I’d say the inability of the average man to do so is a failing on his part instead of mine. Regardless, this doesn’t really relate to the main point of: you should at least be able to conquer all the old world provinces in Medieval 2 Total war in under 21 turns. If you can’t graduate from the top of your class in the Navy Seals in 30 seconds, please don’t ask me to help you with numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda. If you’re so much of a little bitch that you can’t even get over 300 confirmed kills, something that 90% of the population can do, I don’t want to be the first person you call when training in gorilla warfare. I doubly don’t want to do it for free. Not to be rude, but if you can’t wipe things the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this earth, I wouldn’t call you a man. Jokes aside, the majority of mildly militarily-inclined men, when you discount completely helpless Coast Guard or whoever, would easily be able to contact my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. I’d say the inability of the average man to do so is a failing on his part instead of mine. Regardless, this doesn’t really relate to the main point of: you should at least be able to kill people in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/234 "2016-06-28T15:28:24Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > Not to be rude, but if you can’t bench even 200 lbs I wouldn’t call you a man. You’re absolutely right. I can’t and I’m not a man. I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body:) And as for “objective fact”, according to what or whom? …poor, unmanly Stephen Hawking… and I wonder if Isaac Newton could bench 200 lbs. ---
**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 28, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/235 "2016-06-28T15:35:09Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > You’re absolutely right. I can’t and I’m not a man. I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body:) > And as for “objective fact”, according to what or whom? > > …poor, unmanly Stephen Hawking… > > and I wonder if Isaac Newton could bench 200 lbs. If he had ever tried benching, he would have figured out gravity a whole lot faster. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/236 "2016-06-28T15:44:47Z")
Maybe he only benched apples ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/237 "2016-06-28T19:25:50Z")
> [@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. But how many of them can lift 1400 pounds too? Last I checked, running and huge amounts of muscle mass don’t exactly go together. I’m can’t be 100% sure though, I’m still trying to run off this belly mass. ---
**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 28, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/238 "2016-06-28T19:30:35Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > But how many of them can lift 1400 pounds too? Last I checked, running and huge amounts of muscle mass don’t exactly go together. I’m can’t be 100% sure though, I’m still trying to run off this belly mass. My (community) college team had one sub-15 guy. He probably couldn’t have done 400 total. Typically skinny as a rail(as we all were) distance runners. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/239 "2016-06-28T19:39:25Z")
Out in the wild, do people look like “body builders”? People who live by hunting and gathering, enhanced with primitive agriculture, do they have massive biceps and such like? No? Seems to me that the Schwarzenegger build is artificial, unnatural, pointless. Sure, if body carving is your hobby, well, no harm done, freak freely. Even if my goal were drenched in violent\* machismo\*, I would still prefer a Bruce Lee form to a Arnold. Because its not the big beat the small, or the strong beat the weak, its the quick beat the slow. And if plodding down the sidewalk for miles is so damned good for you, how come you ain’t smiling? ---
**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 28, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/240 "2016-06-28T19:55:33Z")
The people smiling while exercising are the ones riding recumbent bicycles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=13)