How much can the average man lift?

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 05:52 PM

Hey guys i am kinda new to this forum, i made a thread asking help on how to get strength ,but i didnt get much.

So i want to know whats the maximum that i can lift without training at all, im 6ft and 180 lbs(81 kg),Please dont tell me that a man can lift his own weight,Because i can barely lift half of my weight, i tried to lift a cement bag (which is 50kg) and i failed, i barely budged it(okay i budged it but i couldnt lift it) D:, Am i seriosly that below the average

, im 18 and i dont train.

**vslice44** · 10-02-2010, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

Hey guys i am kinda new to this forum, i made a thread asking help on how to get strength ,but i didnt get much.

So i want to know whats the maximum that i can lift without training at all, im 6ft and 180 lbs(81 kg),Please dont tell me that a man can lift his own weight,Because i can barely lift half of my weight, i tried to lift a cement bag (which is 50kg) and i failed, i barely budged it(okay i budged it but i couldnt lift it) D:, Am i seriosly that below the average

, im 18 and i dont train.

everyone is different. if you were a couch potato (no offense if you are), your inability to lift a nearly 110lb bag shouldnt really come as a surprise.

how do you get strength? follow starting strength or a similar basic beginners routine utilizing mainly compound lifts. you strength will sky rocket.

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by vslice44

everyone is different. if you were a couch potato (no offense if you are), your inability to lift a nearly 110lb bag shouldnt really come as a surprise.

how do you get strength? follow starting strength or a similar basic beginners routine utilizing mainly compound lifts. you strength will sky rocket.

How can i train in home environment, Cause i cant go the gym its pretty far away from where i live, Also i am a student and that means that i am a little shortstack so buying dumbbells is out of the options for me, can you suggest me some alternative,And what do you think if i started training today how much would i be able to lift in a month i was able to lift 40kg as of now.
Thnx for the reply

**Germinator2000** · 10-02-2010, 06:02 PM

evryone is different, thats why hes asking for average untrained lift. in that aspect, hes quesiton is well defined, the bigger problem is he doesn't clarify what he means by "lift". OP: u could have fail becuz u couldnt grip that bag, or it slipped out of ur hands, or u didnt know the proper way to lift it. if u had a 50 kg barbell, perhaps u could still deadlift it. partiuculyar if u study the form and know how to lift (even though u have no physical training). or if ur ever in a gym, pick up two 25 kg dumbbells and try to lift them, one in each hand. i'm sure u can do it.

to give u an idea, first time i ever did squat and deadlift i could quite easily do 135 lbs on both. my bodyweigth then was ~125 lbs. first time bench press i could do ~95 lbs.

**chazzy1864** · 10-02-2010, 06:02 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

How can i train in home environment, Cause i cant go the gym its pretty far away from where i live, Also i am a student and that means that i am a little shortstack so buying dumbbells is out of the options for me, can you suggest me some alternative,And what do you think if i started training today how much would i be able to lift in a month i was able to lift 40kg as of now.
Thnx for the reply

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=702737

**Germinator2000** · 10-02-2010, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

How can i train in home environment, Cause i cant go the gym its pretty far away from where i live

go to gym anyway, or buy a barbell + weights.

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by Germinator2000

evryone is different, thats why hes asking for average untrained lift. in that aspect, hes quesiton is well defined, the bigger problem is he doesn't clarify what he means by "lift". OP: u could have fail becuz u couldnt grip that bag, or it slipped out of ur hands, or u didnt know the proper way to lift it. if u had a 50 kg barbell, perhaps u could still deadlift it. partiuculyar if u study the form and know how to lift (even though u have no physical training). or if ur ever in a gym, pick up two 25 kg dumbbells and try to lift them, one in each hand. i'm sure u can do it.

to give u an idea, first time i ever did squat and deadlift i could quite easily do 135 lbs on both. my bodyweigth then was ~125 lbs. first time bench press i could do ~95 lbs.

You know you are right, i could carry my mom fairly easily and she is 45 kg(she is short and skinny lol :P) and i could barely budge the bag, Also a friend of my dad told me not to move those cause they're to heavy for me, So if i could lift lets say a 180 lbs dumbbell which is the same as my body weight, Is it really that hard to lift a 115 lbs bag, yeah i mean the grip factor is here, but is it really that hard to lift a bag D:

**ManBearLion** · 10-02-2010, 06:18 PM

Originally Posted by Germinator2000

go to gym anyway, or buy a barbell + weights.

Just go to the gym. My gym is almost 10 miles from my house, and with my truck it costs me $7 there and back. If you are uncomfortable going to the gym right now, start doing push-ups like a spartan on crack. In my time in Iraq, I brought workout gear everytime we went on a desert goose chase. Buy some resistance cables, pull-up bar for your door, etc. Or just go to the gym

**ManBearLion** · 10-02-2010, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

You know you are right, i could carry my mom fairly easily and she is 45 kg(she is short and skinny lol :P) and i could barely budge the bag, Also a friend of my dad told me not to move those cause they're to heavy for me, So if i could lift lets say a 180 lbs dumbbell which is the same as my body weight, Is it really that hard to lift a 115 lbs bag, yeah i mean the grip factor is here, but is it really that hard to lift a bag D:

I'm going to say YES. I curl 55lb Dumbbells, and picking up a 55lb bag is different be cause of the grip, and the center of gravity.

**Halrawk** · 10-02-2010, 06:26 PM

I'm also going to assume it's cement mix, and not just a bag of hardened cement (cause that would just be odd). Keep in mind a 50 kg barbell is evenly weighted, a 50 kg bag of mix is not, it takes more core strength and more activation of stabilizer muscles. Grip strength for a lot of people is the difference between their current deadlift max, and a deadlift max of 40 lb more.

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:28 PM

Originally Posted by ManBearLion

Just go to the gym. My gym is almost 10 miles from my house, and with my truck it costs me $7 there and back. If you are uncomfortable going to the gym right now, start doing push-ups like a spartan on crack. In my time in Iraq, I brought workout gear everytime we went on a desert goose chase. Buy some resistance cables, pull-up bar for your door, etc. Or just go to the gym

LOL I think ill listen to your advice and start doing push ups, although i can only do 2-3 push ups for starters :P,Ill try to improve

, My gym is 70 miles away lol xD.

About the 50kg cement bags, Now i remember there was this show called Strongman, there was a part were the contestants had to lift 50kg cement bags and move them about 20 meters, than they had to lift some weights and all other stuff(part of the game :-/), They didnt look like they were struggling with the 50 kg bags, but that must mean that they are heavy since they were put in a strongman contest

**chazzy1864** · 10-02-2010, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

LOL I think ill listen to your advice and start doing push ups, although i can only do 2-3 push ups for starters :P,Ill try to improve

, My gym is 70 miles away lol xD.

About the 50kg cement bags, Now i remember there was this show called Strongman, there was a part were the contestants had to lift 50kg cement bags and move them about 20 meters, than they had to lift some weights and all other stuff(part of the game :-/), They didnt look like they were struggling with the 50 kg bags, but that must mean that they are heavy since they were put in a strongman contest

Read the link I posted earlier.

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:32 PM

So this means that not only should i start lifting weights but i should concentrate on strengthening my grip

**Germinator2000** · 10-02-2010, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by crashhacker

My gym is 70 miles away lol xD.

there might be a closer one? if not, i would start doing bodyweight only excercise for now, and in a few month if you decide u want to continue lifting, pick up barbell+bench+weights. i just bought full kit ~320 lbs weights, dumbbells, bench, 5 barbells, lets me do bench, incline, decline, leg ext, leg curl, bicep curl, squat, deadlift and more, all this for ~$180 used. will last me for yearsa and when i dont need it i can sell if for same price.

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by chazzy1864

Read the link I posted earlier.

Thanks man, that will help alot

**crashhacker** · 10-02-2010, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Germinator2000

there might be a closer one? if not, i would start doing bodyweight only excercise for now, and in a few month if you decide u want to continue lifting, pick up barbell+bench+weights. i just bought full kit ~320 lbs weights, dumbbells, bench, 5 barbells, lets me do bench, incline, decline, leg ext, leg curl, bicep curl, squat, deadlift and more, all this for ~$180 used. will last me for yearsa and when i dont need it i can sell if for same price.

Im going to check on ebay, i might find them some cheaper there

, One quick question, does splitting wood with an axe help in gaining strength?

**Farley1324** · 10-02-2010, 07:38 PM

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLi...Standards.html

Look under "untrained" to get a ballpark idea

Realize that lifting real world items, like a bag of cement, is quite a bit more difficult than, say, deadlifting the same amount of weigh using a barbell. However, improving your barbell deadlifts will make lifting that bag of cement more doable.

**gymcandykid** · 10-03-2010, 12:26 AM

Everyone starts somewhere different, I know some kids that are just naturally strong.. and me i started with a bench of 90lbs.

**Ironlife** · 10-03-2010, 01:51 AM

Originally Posted by Germinator2000

there might be a closer one? if not, i would start doing bodyweight only excercise for now, and in a few month if you decide u want to continue lifting, pick up barbell+bench+weights. i just bought full kit ~320 lbs weights, dumbbells, bench, 5 barbells, lets me do bench, incline, decline, leg ext, leg curl, bicep curl, squat, deadlift and more, all this for ~$180 used. will last me for yearsa and when i dont need it i can sell if for same price.

This young man is right, look on ebay for good deals, got a nice power cage for $200