How much weight could you realistically carry?

[Ooldoong]

If I'm doing manual labor all day, probably 50lbs or less at best. Years back, when I managed a pizza place, you weren't allowed to carry more than 50lbs without assistance. I think it was OCIA that kept sending us all that stuff.

So, if you're carrying 100kg+ (220+ lbs), your company is most likely not following standard labor law procedures.

[Deleted]

Sadly I still am, and my back and knees are now eternally fucked.

Infantry here, I am just as fucked.

[Cottonmouth]

I'm 150 and fire man carried a 190lb individual 150 yards

I thought I was going to die.

[Seegtease]

If I'm doing manual labor all day, probably 50lbs or less at best. Years back, when I managed a pizza place, you weren't allowed to carry more than 50lbs without assistance. I think it was OCIA that kept sending us all that stuff.

So, if you're carrying 100kg+ (220+ lbs), your company is most likely not following standard labor law procedures.

Or you work a rescue team, like a fireman. You need to be able to carry a person for a short time. And it's a lot more reasonable in that case due to adrenaline.

[holyforce]

I carried my friend who is a chick about 2 miles she is about 130lbs, because she thought a walk was a good idea with pneumonia . It was comfortable as long as I kept her weight on the center of my back and really worked with my legs, which are quite strong because I'm over weight and there used to lugging around a lot of weight.

So I'd say depending on climate, and elevation, and amount of hills 100lbs-130lbs comfortably.

[N-7]

I can carry anything up to 2 kg. Yeah I am strong I know.

[Skelington]

50-75ish pounds. That comes with some muscle strain and dead-arms afterwards, of course.

[holyforce]

I can carry anything up to 2 kg. Yeah I am strong I know.

I'd say this is more of an endurance thing then strength, everyone can carry a decent amount of weight, its pretty much how far and long you can go with that weight. For example my OP. I live in a hilly area, so I was about ready to die when I carried my friend back to my house. But I still did it because shes hot and I wanted to seem like a badass :P. But my strength was irreverent I knew I could carry her weight, But I didn't know how far. Apparently its 2 miles up hill.....

[Deleted]

i always carry about 70kg, some 1 should rly invent a way to leave you body behind when you go to school or something : /

[Deleted]

15-20 kg I think maybe up to 30 kg.. would be tiresome though.

[Deleted]

On the farm I used help my dad a lot, from when I was about 10. Around the age of 14-16 I began helping him carry the fertilizer sacks and sacks with different stuff, some up to 100kg. Up and down of stairs for a long time.
As long as the item you carry has the right properties, and you lift correctly it's not a problem. But if you can't carry it properly, and you're forced to lift it wrong (you have to lift with a straight spine) you need tools to help you carry it. Otherwise it'll result in back pain later on. My dad was very careful to teach me how to lift, I see some of my old friends having backpain now, I do not.

[Deleted]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ScQ4AjmFgo

So a pro strongman can lift 300kgs for a few meters means that the average soldier can carry the same weight across difficult terrain? Not really helping your previous statement there.

[Deleted]

I know I can carry my own weight, but this really depends on what we're talking about.

I do a lot of landscaping for my girlfriends parents in their garden, and moving train sleepers or telegraph poles is a common occurance. I couldn't do it all day every day, but adrenaline and knowing the situation makes a difference.

As an Army Cadet I used to carry a burgan (Large Army Backpack), Webbing & a Rifle. Together it weighed a lot (Not sure how much) so despite my fairly small size, I feel I can carry a lot more then I look.

[Kalyyn]

haha, yeah. Takes years of training just to pick that much weight a few inches off the floor .

Humans can carry a shitload more on their backs than they can lift with their arms. If you have 2 extra men to lift it and put it on the back of the third man in a shoulder-harnessed backpack or something, I could see it. Granted, I don't know what 300kg translates to in Imperial units, but back when I played football, I'd regularly squat close to 300 pounds. If I remember correctly, I think our class record for max-outs was over 500. Probably over 600, because I remember that our highest squatter was getting really damn close to my combined max (bench, box squats, and... what was that called... it's like a deadlift, but once you get the bar up to your waist, you drop your elbows under it, pull it up to your chin, then stand straight up), and that was somewhat embarrassing.

Anyway, my point is that if you have somebody to help you pick it up, you can carry absurd amounts of weight.

[Deleted]

Humans can carry a shitload more on their backs than they can lift with their arms. If you have 2 extra men to lift it and put it on the back of the third man in a shoulder-harnessed backpack or something, I could see it. Granted, I don't know what 300kg translates to in Imperial units, but back when I played football, I'd regularly squat close to 300 pounds. If I remember correctly, I think our class record for max-outs was over 500. Probably over 600, because I remember that our highest squatter was getting really damn close to my combined max (bench, box squats, and... what was that called... it's like a deadlift, but once you get the bar up to your waist, you drop your elbows under it, pull it up to your chin, then stand straight up), and that was somewhat embarrassing.

Anyway, my point is that if you have somebody to help you pick it up, you can carry absurd amounts of weight.

You cannot carry that move for long distance or over rough terrain though. Squatting 300lbs is not impressive, find me a man that can carry it for 20 miles then I will be impressed.

[Kalyyn]

You cannot carry that move for long distance or over rough terrain though. Squatting 300lbs is not impressive, find me a man that can carry it for 20 miles then I will be impressed.

Fair enough, but when I heard "carrying artillery shells" I was imagining moving them like 100 feet from a truck to a cannon. Not taking it hiking...

Also, do you know the name of those deadlifts I was mentioning? That's killing me now.

[Sackman]

I work in a shop where we often have to pick up and carry (unaided) Generators, drop-saws, radiators, etc to customers.
A lot of those things are heavy as hell.
My shop record was a Van Vault (a safe for the back of a pickup) 45Kg. It's not the heaviest item I've lifted, that goes to our Industrial generator. But it was the hardest due to it's shape. Leverage is hard when you can barely fit your arms around the thing!

I'm just around 5'11", maybe 170lbs, really no idea, I've lost a shitload of fat and gained a shitload of muscle mass over the past 15 months in my new job and learned not to weigh myself.
We regularly (I regularly get told to) carry weights exceeding well over 100Kg's (50 either side) during delivery. 2 56Kg pales of paint for example.

Is that average? Maybe I'm just getting used as the workhorse. Or is that a pretty normal weight for the average guy to be assumed to carry?

It's not really that heavy tbh, I would expect an average healthy person to do that, I certainly can and I am not healthy lol.

[Deleted]

Fair enough, but when I heard "carrying artillery shells" I was imagining moving them like 100 feet from a truck to a cannon. Not taking it hiking...

Also, do you know the name of those deadlifts I was mentioning? That's killing me now.

I think you mean the clean and jerk.

[Kalyyn]

I think you mean the clean and jerk.

Cleans! That's what they were called! Thank you sir, I can now move on with my life

[Deleted]

depends how i lift said item to be honest, my arms are fucked from a car crash a few years ago so i can only sustain about 40kg if i am just lifing with my arms, i do however have a really strong back and set of legs, if it can be strapped to my back / shoulders or dragged i can easily manage 210kgs (once had steel I beams loaded onto each shoulder, that was fun trying to keep my balance while not taking anyone elses head off >.>)