It’s clear from what’s already posted here (and from my own knowledge) that hysterical strength is real.
It is also clear that to shift a car far enough off a kid to allow the kid to get out or be pulled out is not AT ALL the same as “lifting” the car. The nature of the topic precludes giving any exact figures for what the equivalent force needed to lift of a barbell would be, but it seems safe to assume that in SOME cases (some cars, pressing on kids in some ways), this would be like shifting no more than a 300 pound barbell. Not lifting it overhead, but just shifting it. Look closely at the post by Cheeop in this thread. What you are doing is moving the car’s weight off one wheel and onto the other three. You are pushing it more than you are lifting.
So-- Can some Moms do this, in some accidents-- sure!
Can all Moms always do this, no matter what the accident? Of course not!
Can any Moms actually pick up a whole car off the ground like the Incredible Hulk does? No way!
The fact that anybody actually doubts that this is possible is actually what interests me the most. Haven’t the doubters ever actually lifted anything? Or tried to push anything?
I don’t know that I buy those exact numbers, but it’s pretty well-documented that motor units are recruited selectively. See pp. 30-32 of “Strength and Power in Sport”, 2e.
eh, it was a long time ago, but I remember it happening pretty clearly… at least I clearly remember hearing him, running outside and seeing him trapped, then seeing my mother panic. He didn’t have to yell that loud because he was only just outside the door, which was open; the radio muted him while songs were playing. I also remember being in the hospital with him… the rest has been told and retold to me, so, it’s quite possible that some exaggeration has since occured, but so far as I can tell, every one of the outlined facts is true with the possible exception of length of hospital stay… It wasn’t very long at all, but I don’t recall if it was closer to 2 days or 5…
Anyway, those are just details. Point is, a couple guys lifted the car then, but couldn’t do it again later. Crazy stuff…
Hey, Howard, your e-mail address is unavailable - e-mail me at edzotti@aol.com, ideally with your phone number, although we can do this strictly by e-mail if you want. Cecil has asked me to get your story. Thanks.
Can’t vouch for this-comes from a woman bragging about her son’s-in-law physique.
But allegedly, when her daughter was ~9 months pregnant with her first child, her rest was being disturbed by some teenagers blaring loud music from a car in the apartment complex parking lot, right under her window. So her bodybuilder husband went out and politely asked them to turn it down, or to move the car a bit farther way. Snotty teenagers refused, of course. So, he calmly picked up one end of their car and dragged it across the lot.
Oddly, she says, they never had any problems with the neighboorhood teenagers again.
