r/BeAmazed • u/Super_Steve117 • Feb 25 '25

Miscellaneous / Others Strength of a manual worker vs bodybuilders

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u/CR4ZY_PR0PH3T Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

It's more about technique. The worker knows the proper way to lift the bags. A bag of cement weighs roughly 94 lbs. A stack of 4 equals 376 lbs. The bodybuilders would definitely be able to pick up a barbell with 300+ lbs worth of plates on it.

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u/supern00b64 Feb 25 '25

Yeah the technique the bodybuilders used was horrible. The worker kept his back straight and seemed to be relying on leg muscles. the bodybuilders had arched backs and were trying to use their torsos

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u/IcedOutKO Feb 25 '25

It's less about technique and more about body composition.

Look how short their arms are compared to the labourer. The bags are hitting their pecs before their hands even reach the bottom bag.

I'm not the strongest guy, I have a bunch of friends that are way stronger than I am. But I am 6'8 with long arms and big hands so I can carry things that they simply can't, like a fridge, up several flights of stairs.

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u/Cadoc Feb 25 '25

There's always that guy at the gym who's kind of mid in all their lifts, but has *just* the right body composition for deadlifts, so absolutely mogs everyone in that one department

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u/PhilosopherMain2264 Feb 25 '25

Yea that's what I'm peculiar about cuz whenever I do workout, most techniques were thought to straighten ur back for good form or else I get lower back pain.

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u/ducksa Feb 25 '25

This is more akin to strongman, where a curved back is typical (think Atlas stone loading).

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u/Sandbox_Hero Feb 25 '25

Ah yes, the straight back fitness myth. Of course lower back is going to be weak if you never train spinal flexion. And if it’s weak and you’re put in a position where you have to bend your back (like any heavy lift off the ground), it’s gonna hurt.

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u/Stephen111110 Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

Just so you know... You should really avoid ever lifting with your back folks, bend the knees and lower yourself then lift, you should not be using your back for lifting.

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u/Little_Whippie Feb 25 '25

Except that lower back rounding actually isn’t the devil, and in some cases is the proper way to lift. Such as with the atlas stones in strongman.

If you never train lower back flexion, it’s gonna be painful when you have to round your back

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u/esothellele Feb 25 '25

I also think, apart from just lack of training, there's an aspect of specifically trying to keep one's back straight that causes the pain itself. You exert a lot of force to try to keep it straight, then at heavy enough weight, you're unable to do so and your back jerks quickly into a rounded position, resulting in a tweak. I don't know if that's really the explanation, but it fits my observations.

But it's futile trying to dispel the 'round back' myth when even OSHA is perpetuating it. People will continue to believe it regardless of its correctness, because it vaguely fits with their anecdotal experience (even if there are better explanations for those experiences, eg the one I proposed).

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u/esothellele Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

That's just factually incorrect. You should avoid suddenly jerking or loading your back without preparation, which is often what people do when they have no lifting experience and lift with their back (eg try to lift with a straight back, it's too heavy and they're incapable of doing it, so they suddenly jerk into a rounded position, or don't even try to brace in the first place), but it's literally impossible to do certain lifts at sufficiently high weight (relative to personal strength) with a straight back, and there's nothing bad about that in the slightest.

As an anecdote, I stopped getting back pain from deadlifting when I stopped trying to keep my back straight, instead allowing some lower back rounding, and more than 'some' upper back rounding. Up until that point, I'd tweak my back slightly about once a month or two. Made the change 4+ years ago, haven't tweaked my back once since, either while deadlifting or while lifting anything else.

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u/Sandbox_Hero Feb 25 '25

Strongmen, wrestlers, bjj martial artists, olympic weightlifters, couriers, builders, warehouse workers, emergency medical technicians, lumberjacks, regular people picking up stuff off the ground all the time: “are we a joke to you?”

No, you can’t avoid lifting with your back, and you shouldn’t. By avoiding that you’re setting yourself up for a very bad time when you do eventually need to bend.

Read more on this: https://www.imta.ch/blog/post/how-should-i-lift-this-pen-from-the-floor-straight-or-flexed-back-what-do-you-think/

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u/esothellele Feb 25 '25

It's amazing that people actually believe that one of the biggest muscle groups in your body shouldn't be used to lift heavy things. No wonder people are so out of shape -- I'd be sedentary too if I was terrified I would become paralyzed by leaning over to tie my shoes.

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u/Sandbox_Hero Feb 25 '25

100% on point. This myth has gone so far that I see veteran gymgoers with massive lat wings, traps, but where erector spinae muscles should pop there’s but a crater.

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u/Stephen111110 Feb 25 '25

You should only be slightly bending your back, you shouldn't be using your back to lift, as I stated. Years of Health & Safety and manual handling training could be wrong but I don't know...

https://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/manual-handling/good-handling-technique.htm

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u/Sandbox_Hero Feb 25 '25

Again, false. In some instances like the deadlift you only need to bend your back slightly so you‘re mechanically in the strongest position. But for wrestling or say lifting atlas stones, or any non-standard object you do lift with your back.

And those manuals are from like the 80s. There’s been plenty more studies done that prove them wrong or incomplete.

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u/RepentantCactus Feb 25 '25

Yep, get those bags resting against your pelvis and your legs will take a LOT of the weight. You'll have to shuffle to walk but it's much easier than trying to lift against your thighs or going pure arm strength.

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u/chimpfunkz Feb 25 '25

the bodybuilders had arched backs and were trying to use their torsos

At least the second guy, was trying to lift the backs as if they were atlas stones. And then with the arm raised, was unable to find the center of balance on the bag.

It's like, definitely 90% a technique thing. And 10% mechanics/geometry.

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u/philogeneisnotmylova Feb 25 '25

The technique was bad because they couldn't lift it. The same way your form goes to shit when you're lifting weights you can't handle.

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u/disabledandwilling Feb 26 '25

Worker: kept the weight balanced over his center of gravity the whole time and kept his joints locked out. Bodybuilder: had a hard time finding a balance point for the weight and his elbow remained bent for most of the overhead press. 100% technique.

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u/findingbezu Feb 25 '25

It’s not a question of where he grips it! It’s a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.