# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/61 "2016-06-25T11:49:57Z")
This whole thread appears to be some kind of stealth brag about what a studly man the OP is. I’ll bet money he’s got a Facebook page littered with photos of him with his shirt off. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/62 "2016-06-25T12:13:11Z")
So if each end of a couch weighs 200 pounds and you can lift over 400, why do you need help? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/63 "2016-06-25T13:23:11Z")
Oh, just wait. He’ll be back with stories about doing curls with his couch while he watches TV (“America’s Got Muscles”). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/64 "2016-06-25T13:32:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > After a who in a where, now? I think it’s those purple and yellow buildings that set off an alarm if you make too much noise. Or does it have something to do with all the people on facebook posting about crossfit? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/65 "2016-06-25T14:39:17Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > 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. Age Body Weight (Pounds) Average Bench Press 24 170 180 33 180 167 46 183 161 53 187 140 From here: [How to Calculate Average Bench Press (Both for Men and Women) - EnkiVeryWell](http://www.enkivillage.com/average-bench-press.html) I don’t see any 200+ lbs bench there. Guess there are far fewer “men” in the world than you thought. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/66 "2016-06-25T15:06:32Z")
I really expected this to be about a terrible incident involving a funeral and a pallbearer. Thank Og I was wrong. ---
**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 25, 2016, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/67 "2016-06-25T15:15:46Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > This whole thread appears to be some kind of stealth brag about what a studly man the OP is. The OP is Congressman Paul Ryan. Give the poor fucker a break; he’s had a rough few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/68 "2016-06-25T15:19:31Z")
“I take no exercise but resting and sleeping. I see no advantage in being tired.” - Mark Twain ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/69 "2016-06-25T16:04:13Z")
My first ‘car’ was a pick-up. I became an expert at moving real fast. Still have all my friends. I moved one girl four times. Um… with my truck. ---
**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 25, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/70 "2016-06-25T16:18:32Z")
Forget these supposedly manly “men” who exist everywhere, I’m trying to figure out where to find these 400 lb couches and why the OP seems to run into them everywhere. That furniture store must have one hell of a sales team. ---
**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 25, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/71 "2016-06-25T16:32:17Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Forget these supposedly manly “men” who exist everywhere, I’m trying to figure out where to find these 400 lb couches and why the OP seems to run into them everywhere. **That furniture store must have one hell of a sales team.** All real men. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/72 "2016-06-25T16:55:38Z")
> [@elliott](#): > > Not to be rude, but if you can’t bench even 200 lbs I wouldn’t call you a man. > > Jokes aside If that’s your idea of a good joke, then maybe the only reason you have any friends at all is because they are hoping you’ll help them move. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/73 "2016-06-25T17:17:27Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > in the moving business, he’s not funny at all. > > **OP** I sure as shit wouldn’t work with you. so you can lift 200 pounds, so what, can you carry it up a flight of stairs around a corner through a door and down a hallway with out beating the shit out of it against the walls, hand rails, door frames and without hurting yourself? > > To me, a professional mover, you sound like an idiot. Complete agreeement. Ive been a general laborer since 1978… I’ve had to wrestle ALL SORTS of things all kinds of weird places. Lifting 200 lbs dead weight, is not something to be taken lightly…haha Let alone stairs, or corners…or haha…putting it up on top of a shelf!! Wheels, levers, and fulcrums are your friends.😃 ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/74 "2016-06-25T17:27:15Z")
Over the past three weeks I have torn out my “finished” basement to bare concrete and (with help, natch) rebuilt all the plumbing, electrical, and walls. I have hauled furniture, mostly solo, upstairs and into storage. I’ve hauled studs and tools and 80# bags of concrete and various bits and bobs up and down my goddamn stairs. I’ve cut out substantial chunks of existing concrete and hauled them upstairs. I’ve carried–again with help, because I’m not entirely fucking stupid–5/8" drywall downstairs. I’ve unloaded and carried a vanity, toilet, and sink, and just for fun my new standing toolchest. All of this is not to brag–well, not _merely_ to brag, because my basement is _awesome_–but to establish that I am a substantial individual with something resembling muscles. I’m 6’1", and weigh 2mumblemumble pounds. I don’t “lift,” because jesus fuck, who even says that besides idiot children and douchebags, but I am not a tiny person, and I am not a complete weakling. Established? Good. The OP is a fucking moron. Dude, stop being a fucking moron. Please. . ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/75 "2016-06-25T18:16:18Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Forget these supposedly manly “men” who exist everywhere, I’m trying to figure out where to find these 400 lb couches and why the OP seems to run into them everywhere. That furniture store must have one hell of a sales team. "Feathers don’t last, cloth always needs upholstering after a decade or so and leather always cracks. Our new ‘Forever Line’ solves all that by using a surface made completely out of fine-woven titanium-mesh and filled with The-Stuffing-That-Never-Wears-Out©… hundreds of thousands of independent filament threads of food grade Stainless Steel…! You’ll wear out your house before you wear out our furniture…" ---
**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 25, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/76 "2016-06-25T19:12:56Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > food grade Stainless Steel…! The only food for **Real Men**. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/77 "2016-06-25T19:15:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I doubt my 21-year-old-nice–4’11" and 90 pounds --[snip] Have you tried Miracle Gro? ---
**Author:** ![elliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@elliott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elliott)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/78 "2016-06-25T19:32:19Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > After a who in a where, now? You should be able to put 20+lbs on your deadlift a week when you’re new to the gym. Starting at 135 you should hit 200 very quickly. > [@guestchaz](#): > > in the moving business, he’s not funny at all. > > **OP** I sure as shit wouldn’t work with you. so you can lift 200 pounds, so what, can you carry it up a flight of stairs around a corner through a door and down a hallway with out beating the shit out of it against the walls, hand rails, door frames and without hurting yourself? > > To me, a professional mover, you sound like an idiot. Its a lot easier to not swing shit around if you can actually hold onto it. I’m not asking you to be able to carry a couch upstairs by yourself, but I shouldn’t be able to sit the edge of my couch down on the top of the stairs and see you struggling to support half a couch. Don’t really see the point in being elitist about your moving skill either. It’d be like me shittalking my undergrad students for not having read all the stuff I have. > [@andros](#): > > I don’t “lift,” because jesus fuck, who even says that besides idiot children and douchebags, but I am not a tiny person, and I am not a complete weakling. > > . I don’t understand how going to the gym makes me a douche or an idiot? I just don’t see how a single person should struggle to support at least as much as they weigh for a few seconds. If you can’t do that, your quality of life is going to be terrible if only because you’re going to hurt yourself trying to do anything physical ---
**Author:** ![elliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@elliott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elliott)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/79 "2016-06-25T19:40:08Z")
To explain where the 200 lb thing is coming from. Me and a neighbor were getting him moved in, and he has a fairly heavy leather couch with two built in recliners. The gears and the like add a lot of heft to it. Anyway, we’re two manning this couch and we get stuck at the top of the stairs. I tell him I’m gonna set it down and move some junk that was blocking our efforts to back the couch into the hall. He says alright, I set it down, and as I’m working, he gives out and the couch starts falling on him. He got out of the way but shit dude you nearly died because you couldn’t lock out for a few seconds. Its fine if you can’t, he could’ve let me known and we’dve figured it out, but shit it was frustrating to watch someone nearly die because they couldn’t do a very simple lift or communicate that they couldn’t do it. ---
**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 25, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261/80 "2016-06-25T19:43:33Z")
There’s an old principle at play here. When you’re already stuck DEEP in a hole, for the love of Og, STOP DIGGING! :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-cant-hold-200-lbs-for-30-seconds/758261.md?page=5)