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How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

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Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#61

Post by duskdozer »

Johanx64 wrote: post #47
rmunn wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wealth per se has nothing to do with longevity, as a minute's thought will make plain. What wealth does do is enable certain things that help with longevity, such as better medical care. If you're using wealth as a measure, you need to realize that it's only a proxy, and you'll get better data by looking at the actual behaviors that it's a proxy for.

Such a strange comment. Wealth has nothing to do with longevity and yet here's all the ways how wealth CAUSES longevity.

>Wealth per se

For example, if you have $10m but never go to the doctor, you won't benefit from the medical care discrepancy between wealthy and poor

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#62

Post by vladvasiliu »

dijit wrote: post #12
chistev wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies are in worse condition than the average population (who's not in great shape already), and far worse than people with sedentary jobs who do fitness training. Really? That's not my observation.

I have the same observation, and I’ve often been curious about it. I think truthfully, if we do anything for too long our bodies overoptimise for the task and we lose the benefits to fitness and other health issues also creep in. Young construction workers are often extremely strong and fit, but nearly all the 40+ ones I know have a huge gut and sound like wheezing ICE engines. There are a handful of exceptions of co…

> It could also be that factors surrounding the culture of construction workers (lots of alcohol to wind down) are huge contributing factors in of themselves.

Terrible food, too. I'm not in construction but I do have to tour worksites for my job somewhat regularly, and pretty much everybody is eating some combination of greasy kebabs and mcdonald's.

I like me a juicy kebab as much as the next guy, but eating just that for days on end can't be good for you.

Now they're certainly more active than a keyboard warrior like yours truly, but there seems to be a consensus around not being able to outrun / out-train a bad diet.

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#63

Post by lstolcman »

soanvig wrote: post #16

Reminds me of slovakian mountain carriers https://regiontatry.sk/en/mountain-load-bearers/

The slovak version of an article contains different photos, and a video [0].

Also, check out the interview with nosič from poland [1] - he mentioned working there 18 years. Surely, surviving this long means that certain techniques are needed ;) When asked about back pain: "My back hurts when I sit at the computer"

[0]: https://regiontatry.sk/moje-tatry/tatranski-nosici-svetovy-u...

[1]: https://magazynnaszczycie.pl/artykul/chleb-uratowal-mi-zycie...

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#64

Post by saberience »

mnw21cam wrote: post #38
somenameforme wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I definitely don't think this is the case. For somebody who hasn't trained - they're not holding 180kg on their shoulders. I think two big reasons would be that they're not going to have core strength/training to support it, and they wouldn't even have the traps to support the bar on their upper back, it'd dig into them and cause immense pain and probably just roll as well.

For me, it actually seems fairly plausible. I was a fairly untrained 70kg forty-something when I went to the gym and very quickly found that as I did a bit of hiking, I could max out the standing calf raise machine at 155kg. This involves having a very padded 155kg on your shoulders while in a standing position. It felt to me like that was the most my shoulders and back could cope with, and it's more than double body…

It’s a huge difference having a loaded barbell which can move in every dimension on your shoulders versus a calf raise machine which is fixed in place and cannot move around!

I’ve squatted barbells since roughly 2006 and the feeling of having more than 100kg on your shoulders is very intense, even if you’ve trained up to it. It feels like it’s crushing your whole body and even breathing is hard.

The idea that an untrained person could put a 180kg barbell on their shoulders and be comfortable AND move around is laughable, they would collapse very quickly.

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#65

Post by joncrocks »

somenameforme wrote: post #35
bob1029 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not your head. Your shoulders. As if you were going to do a barbell squat.

I definitely don't think this is the case. For somebody who hasn't trained - they're not holding 180kg on their shoulders. I think two big reasons would be that they're not going to have core strength/training to support it, and they wouldn't even have the traps to support the bar on their upper back, it'd dig into them and cause immense pain and probably just roll as well.

I think people might be able to support more than they think, but I'd also be sceptical that they could unrack 2x bodyweight without _some_ training.

Could they use a machine to load up to that point? Cushioned and loaded in a way that doesn't use traps/a barbell? Maybe.

I say this as someone who deals regularly with weights around that level, at a similar weight.

Having said all that, I do 100% agree that loading your back and getting the weight there are two different things!

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#66

Post by [deleted] »

pengaru wrote: post #13
c7b wrote: post #6

One thing I always found a bit of a puzzle: it's widely understood, and scientifically backed up afaik, that strength training is healthy and good for longevity. Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies (age 50+) are in worse condition than the average population (who's not in great shape already),…

My father worked concrete construction and stayed relatively fit from all the activity, but his skin was trashed from all the UV and he smoked into his 50s. I've never met a person with more wrecked hands since. It was like shaking hands with 40grit paper. Construction workers are not known for taking care of themselves, and it's a notoriously machismo culture. Sun screen? ok dandy.

[deleted]

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#67

Post by lazide »

c7b wrote: post #6

One thing I always found a bit of a puzzle: it's widely understood, and scientifically backed up afaik, that strength training is healthy and good for longevity. Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies (age 50+) are in worse condition than the average population (who's not in great shape already),…

Construction workers don’t get rest days.

Every one I know described the first two weeks as complete hell, until their bodies just stopped complaining.

But it still takes it’s toll long term.

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#68

Post by dragonelite »

acchow wrote: post #49
c7b wrote: post #6

One thing I always found a bit of a puzzle: it's widely understood, and scientifically backed up afaik, that strength training is healthy and good for longevity. Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies (age 50+) are in worse condition than the average population (who's not in great shape already),…

> I get that there can be too much of a good thing etc Similarly, people that run 45 minutes a day are in great shape. But if you run a half marathon every day, you will age quickly You’re exactly right, too much of a good thing. And for hard strength training, you can hit that tipping point very quickly. Probably within an hour a day if you’re going hard

For strength you can do a workout within like 25~35min that is taking it slow like browsing socials during pauses.

Talking about programs like rippetoe, 5x5, 531 etc. Unless you have elite genetics or are on juice you don't really need to go beyond those programs.

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#69

Post by Scarblac »

duskdozer wrote: post #61
Johanx64 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Such a strange comment. Wealth has nothing to do with longevity and yet here's all the ways how wealth CAUSES longevity.

>Wealth per se For example, if you have $10m but never go to the doctor, you won't benefit from the medical care discrepancy between wealthy and poor

But you won't have poverty related stress.

Re: How to carry more than your own bodyweight (2025)

#70

Post by Qem »

c7b wrote: post #6

One thing I always found a bit of a puzzle: it's widely understood, and scientifically backed up afaik, that strength training is healthy and good for longevity. Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies (age 50+) are in worse condition than the average population (who's not in great shape already),…

> it's widely understood, and scientifically backed up afaik, that strength training is healthy and good for longevity. Yet, if you look at people whose everyday jobs look a lot like functional strength training, eg construction workers, my general impression is that their bodies (age 50+) are in worse condition than the average population...

When it's a work, you're expected to show up and do it consistently every day. So you can't afford alternate days to get adequate rest and recovery time. Your body is gradually wasted away by the job. When it's more of a leisure activity, you can afford just not to do it and rest, when you don't feel well, so the combination of workouts and recovery time can be net-positive, health-wise.

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