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

Miscellaneous / Others Strength of a manual worker vs bodybuilders

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u/Roflkopt3r Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

Bodybuilders can get pretty damn big and still have great mobility. Jujimufu was all about proving that. Many of them just don't care to do enough mobility work.

But in this case, the difference is technique. It's similar to Strongman as a sport - of course you have to be strong, but someone with no experience at a particular lift has a massive handicap and can lose to a much smaller competitor.

It's all about a few centimeters of finger placement and having a good sense for how to balance awkward objects. Once you have figured that out, you can move them into the right hold become way better at the lift. Give these bodybuilders a day to figure it out and they'll lift 4+ bags easily. They don't lack the strength, they just need some time to figure out the right grip and movements.

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u/LTUTDjoocyduexy Feb 25 '25

Shhh, you're going to ruin the umpteenth reddit circlejerk about show muscles/farmer strength/old man strength/whatever their insecurity is driving them to invent bullshit narratives about today.

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u/Devlnchat Feb 25 '25

"bodybuilders train to build muscle not strength" meanwhile the juiced bodybuilder is squatting 12 reps of 500 pounds.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Add some instability to the weight, or make them carry the weight upstairs and you'll see the difference.

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u/Devlnchat Feb 25 '25

And yet they'll still be stronger than 99% of the population.

This idea that bodybuilders aren't strong is pure cope, you become better at lifting the weights you're used to lifting, if you're a laborer than of course you're going to be better at lifting that specific weight, but overall a bodybuilder who's squatting 500 pounds daily is still absurdly strong.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Cool, but they do that for what, for an hour or two a day? No one is saying they aren't stronger than 99% of people. But bodybuilders are not exactly built efficiently. Do you know how rare it is to see a body builder on a work site? They'd either burnout within a week , or they'd lose 50 lbs of muscle mass in a month.

No body builder will not be able to compete with a labourer unless they stop being a body builder. The two are basically antithesis to each other. Body builders focus on heavy, isolated movements to create controlled muscle "damage" to increase the size of the muscle. Labourers depend on muscle density, and isometric strength. None of which are a focus of bodybuilding

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u/CJon0428 Feb 25 '25

It’s rare to see a body builder in general, regardless of job, because it requires a lot of discipline.

Also, I’m not even sure what you mean by they’re not built efficiently. Are you referring to their muscle size?

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

I'm saying my brother is a bodybuilder and I do manual labour. Just shoveling the snow from the driveway, you can tell the difference in working strength.

Body builders are great at converting boiled chicken into muscle.

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u/Devlnchat Feb 25 '25

Oh so this is just a way for you to cope about how you're totally stronger than your brother, I get what's happening here now.

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u/CJon0428 Feb 25 '25

His brother must live rent free in his head lol

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u/CJon0428 Feb 25 '25

I see. You just have no idea what you’re talking about.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Ok bud, why don't you take your "high discipline" and give yourself a pat on the back.

Oh wait.. you cant

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u/iWolfeeelol Feb 25 '25

brother what? do you know how rare it is to see a body builder anywhere other than the gym? hint it’s not because they don’t exist outside of the gym. it’s because you’re talking about less than 1% of people who can dedicate themselves to the gym. much much less dedicate themselves to a strict diet and take steroids lmao. i’d say what you picture a body builder to look like is probably less than .1% of the population. i know body builders because i go to the gym religiously and used to work at a gym. several of which do physical labor jobs like construction, hvac, electricians, and guess what? they have it easier than anyone else jumping into the profession. sure, someone who’s moved heavy concrete bags for 10 years is better than a bodybuilder who’s never done it. i can assure you that the bodybuilder after a few months will be doing it easier than the man with 10 years experience. shit, even i worked at a furniture warehouse during college and was stronger than most of the other employees due to body building. i sucked ass at carrying king mattresses by myself at first. then, i did it for a few months and on a truck day i’d probably move the most out of anyone. it’s about technique and refinement of the technique through repetition. which bodybuilders are pretty fucking good at. i’m willing to bet that i could carry king mattresses better than most body builders that are stronger than me in the gym. i wouldn’t take that bet if you gave that same body builder a month of practice though.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Wow body building hvac and electricians? No way.. literally the least physically intensive trades I can think of.

In the trades where strength is important. 0 bodybuilders that last more than a year, unless they give up the pointless pursuit of size.

Body builders are focused on aesthetics. Antithesis to physical work.

Wowow king size mattresses 😂

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u/iWolfeeelol Feb 25 '25

have you ever carried king size mattresses by yourself for hundreds of feet for an hour straight unloading a full trailer? clearly not lmao they weigh 150-200 pounds and are 6.5ft by 7ft.

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u/CJon0428 Feb 25 '25

You know he hasn’t.

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u/captaincooll Feb 25 '25

Labourers depemd on cigarettes and a cash advance half the time I don't know where all you redditors think these super strong apex labourers are. Nearly every labourer I know isn't strong at all and are normally thick as shit otherwise they wouldn't be a labourer

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

I do labour is what I mean. I own my own business, just keeping it unknown.

Nearly every body builder I know is a meat head. So what? We're talking strength here, not IQ.

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u/Myintc Feb 25 '25

You have a point, if the definition of strength is to isometrically hold small and light objects for the duration of work day

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

You have no idea what I do.

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u/Myintc Feb 25 '25

No, but I do know that you think strength is defined by stamina and endurance, which is a funny way of thinking about things

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

And you think it's solely defined by being able to lift 400 pounds up and down. Equally funny

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u/Timbodo Feb 25 '25

If you train for max strength you need even more weight and less reps compared to hypertrophy like something you can only do 1-5 reps. Labourers don't have to lift that heavy otherwise they couldn't work for multiple hours a day so it's quite the opposite of strength training. They might be stronger for specific tasks they do at work but not stronger in general. It's just that they learned better techniques and all their muscle growth contributes to that specific movements alone.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Strength training and bodybuilding are different. I train for strength. My priority is muscle density, endurance and joint strength. Function over physique. Just because I mock bodybuilders doesn't mean I don't exercise.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

[deleted]

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u/AlpacadachInvictus Feb 25 '25

LMAO incredible, a man with a BMI of 20 is seething all over the thread over "muh functionality", as if strength training and hypertrophy are radically different

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

That's the issue you seem to not understand. I don't want to be big. What's the point? I am very strong, enough that my work is effortless. And I don't need an enormous caloric intake to maintain my mass. I actually eat very little, to maintain my low weight. I am very skinny thank you

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u/Timbodo Feb 26 '25

I literally mentioned the differences myself and training for max strength is quite the opposite of endurance. Also they are not that different you always have both training effects at the same time just to different degrees. The workouts of powerlifters vs bodybuilders show that pretty well. So how do you train for dense muscle fibres exactly?

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u/Available_Finance857 Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

I was very muscular at a time and needed to work at a contruction side and you are right. When it comes to strength mixed with endurance I was worthless haha. Painting the ceilling for example was impossible after some minutes because I got a massive pump in my shoulders and couldn't hold my arms over my head anymore. Walking up and downstairs repeatedly pushed my blood into my legs and the Pump forced me to rest. Carrying really heavy things around for a short time or hammer down a small wall was easy but if I had to do something for many hours and every day without restdays between I failed miserably.

At some size it just don't work anymore. Lol

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u/LTUTDjoocyduexy Feb 25 '25

Or, you were soft and poorly conditioned. Strength endurance should be one of your strongest points as a bodybuilder. Good bodybuilders have stupid high work capacity.

I've trained for over a decade with my main sports being powerlifting and strongman, but I always included a significant amount of bodybuilding work. That includes extended bodybuilding blocks. I've worked many manual labor jobs in that time -- throwing cases for a distributor, production brewing, commissary porter. They're all hard grunt work where I was regularly working 12 hour shifts. I kept training through all those jobs, and I was consistently the fittest person at the work.

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u/toastedstapler Feb 25 '25

If their training had those movement patterns in them then I'm sure they'd beat manual labourers at them too

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Not for 8 hours a day they won't.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

Do you work manual labor or something? Why are you trying so hard to make this argument that a common laborer is better than a top level bbers in any strength related terms?
And why would anyone hold a bodybuilder to some random standard of carrying stuff upstairs for 8 hours a day?

Laborers can't run an ultra marathon so they are obviously inefficient. /s, because I can tell you desperately need it

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Because body builders are useless? They convert protein into muscle mass. Usually stemmed from an insecurity.

Body builders and cardio? Lol. I've seen big boys gas themselves out shoveling a driveway lol

An ultra marathoner would do better on a worksite than a meat head.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

Ahh okay so you have personal issues with muscular dudes then.

Did some big dude steal your girl/guy?

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

Nah, my brother. He eats three times as much as me, but I'm the one doing the shoveling.

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u/butthole_surfer_1817 Feb 25 '25

It's always someone who's never been in a gym trying to convince themselves that they're probably not even that far off from those big, bloated bodybuilders

You guys need to stop. Sure, there's not a direct correlation between strength and size especially when you compare them to powerlifters, but I assure you, those really big guys are strong as shit. You dont get that big with light weight

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u/Single-Builder-632 Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

You say this but what do you mean by strength what is your rating system, is it having big muscles is it how much you can lift for this specific machine or is it practical adaptable strength and technique you can actually apply to a real situation. and you can use for a long time.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

You’re the exact person he is calling out.
Pro bodybuilders are incredibly strong (in all senses) and to think otherwise is ignorant.

What you are trying to argue is for specificity. A skinny pro rock climber will be better at rock climbing than a bodybuilder. A weathered farmer will probably have more endurance doing farm labor than a bodybuilder. Because those other folks practiced and became extremely proficient in those skills. The bodybuilder would still be stronger at everything.

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u/Single-Builder-632 Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

"The bodybuilder would still be stronger at everything."

Clearly not otherwise this video and every other similar video wouldn't exist lol. no matter how much you guys downvote, it doesn't change that fact you're judging strength by a very specific metric that encapsulates quite a small part of the application.

it's the same with bodybuilders vs marines and the marines appear to be stronger or whatever it is. the strength they are measuring by lifting dumbbells relates's to something not that practical.

Sure, they have some practical strength. But they get tired quickly and can't use it for long enough.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

This video is the same as my examples mate. The first dude is knows how to carry these cement bags because he has done it before and is proficient at it. Those bbers are trying it for the first time.

I'm sure if you'd never ridden a bike, a random 5 years old would be faster at cycling than you. But with the tiniest bit of practice you'd beat them very easily.

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u/Single-Builder-632 Feb 25 '25

But they arn't riding a bike, they are lifting something, or pulling something. They are skills built by doing labour all day for years. Just as muscles on these bodybuilders are built by a strict diet and lifting weights, how is it any different in that respect.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

Lifting to get big and strong, and laboring to dig a hole or carry a few cement bags are different things. Do you understand that?
Have you ever noticed that the more you practice something the better you get at it?

I don't know if I can dumb down my examples anymore.

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u/Faust1134 Feb 25 '25

Use crayons and draw some stick figures

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u/Single-Builder-632 Feb 25 '25

your body adapts to the work you do, you don't seem to understand that doing different things has different purposes, bodybuilders aren't all about strength or stamina they are about building big muscles, because they are body builders and their strength doesn't translate to other tasks. If all fitness was the same, then there would be no distinction between athletic practices.

Think for one second.

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

You found my point, and then went past it you haha

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u/Little_Whippie Feb 25 '25

If you don’t understand the complexities of different lifts you really shouldn’t be in this conversation. A squat and bicep curl are both lifting weights, the muscles and technique for either movement are completely different

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u/Shadow_Phoenix951 Feb 25 '25

As a powerlifter who is prepping for a strongman comp, let me put it this way.

I can deadlift and squat 500 lbs. So in terms of my muscle mass, I should be able to pretty easily shoulder a 160 lb sandbag, right? Not so, since it's a movement I'm not familiar with, so 160 took a few attempts. With a bit of work, I'm sure 225 or maybe even 250 is very doable for me, but due to the unfamiliarity I had to keep it light to start.

And the same is true in this video. The bodybuilder lifts a lot, but this is a movement he's unfamiliar with, so he's not particularly skilled at it.

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u/Single-Builder-632 Feb 25 '25

That not my point though, it's not just about what he can lift, It's also about the period of time he can lift it. Manual labour is a full-time job. it's different from people building strength to lift one big weight, not to say technique don't play a part but i don't think its a reasonable argument to be like nah farmers aren't that strong I can just practice and be at their level, that's the same with everything. But the fact is they can't do what farmers do without traning.

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u/throwaway8159946 21d ago

Strength, Cardio, Mobility are measures of POTENTIAL. Strength is a measure of how much potential force your muscles can generate. Cardio is a measure of how much potential oxygen delivery and utilization your heart and lungs can sustain. Mobility is a measure of how much potential range of motion your joints can achieve.

If you think of these three attributes as stats of a character, the bodybuilders have higher strength than the worker by virtue of having bigger muscles. So it's not wrong to say these bodybuilders are stronger than the worker. The reason why the worker lifted the bags and the BBs couldn't is because of other factors OUTSIDE of strength (such as technique, neuromuscular adaptation, etc).

To perform specific activities efficiently and skillfully, we need prior experience with them to develop coordination and efficiency in the movement. If you want examples outside of strength, consider cardio. People who are long distance runners have no doubt great cardio, but they will still gas out when boxing. People who are good at swimming again have great cardio, but will gas out when doing long distance running. So on and so forth.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '25

The bodybuilder would still be stronger at everything? What does that mean? Bodybuilder are best at lifting weights with isolated muscle groups. Powerlifters I would agree are stronger at everything because they do more large compound lifts

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u/cilantno Feb 25 '25

Don't read more than I wrote please :)

In the comparisons that I was making, the bodybuilders would be stronger everywhere over the two examples of specificity I used.

As a competitive powerlifter, I would not agree with you. I wouldn't necessarily argue the opposite, but it'd be foolish to blanket assign who is "strongest". Pro bbers are insanely strong, even at the big three. If anything elite powerlifters get into specificity more than bbers.

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u/HansChrst1 Feb 25 '25

You can notice how important technique is in bouldering. My little brother and I are pretty equal strength wise. He might even be a bit stronger. He struggles when climbing. Stuff that is really easy for me is hard for him. I'm also heavier than him. If he just gets better technique he will do so much better and I notice the same is true for me. Boulder problems gets easier as I unlock new technique.

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u/Alldawaytoswiffty Feb 25 '25

yeah watch CBum stretch... that dudes more mobile than the average person by a long shot.

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u/talks_about_league_ Feb 26 '25

Slightly tipping back so the weight sits on your hips instead of curling your back trying to hold it to your chest

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u/delfino_plaza1 Feb 26 '25

It’s also the fact they are so big the bags are much further from their center of mass than when the worker lifts it. The bags probably feel twice as heavy to them because of this

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u/insecure_about_penis Feb 25 '25

I'd guess it's also about grip strength/finger strength, as well as finger roughness, in this case. Bodybuilders tend to train mainly with lifting straps, as grip, which is mostly tendon-strength, gives out before muscles on many exercises. Both of them were bending their arms to get further under it, and lifting it with bent arms shows extreme strength - probably more of a display of raw force than how the manual worker was doing it. They're simply not able to exert the level of grip the worker was able to.

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u/Roflkopt3r Feb 25 '25 edited Feb 25 '25

You don't get that big while having such huge weaknesses. Even with straps, you would have to actively design a training routine to get their size of forearms and hands without having good grip strength.

It's true that manual labourers tend to have specific strengths in which they're much closer to bodybuilders, and grip is a typical one of those. But in most cases it's more like "the bodybuilders have +100% strength in isolated biceps lifts, but only +10% in grip strength" than having an actually weaker grip.

The bodybuilders lack experience with how these bags flex and how much friction they will have against their fingers, so it slipped and they ended up with bad grip positions. While the worker knows exactly how to jam his fingers in there and how to deal with the flex to get a very strong and efficient grip.