Carrying Weight: A Person-to-Person Analysis

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The amount of weight a person can carry is primarily determined by their physical strength, which is influenced by muscle and skeletal mass. Factors such as body size and fitness level play a significant role; for example, a trained athlete can typically carry more weight than an unfit individual of the same size. The method of carrying also affects the ability to transport weight, with different techniques impacting the perceived difficulty. Generally, a well-trained athlete might manage to carry twice their body weight over a distance, while most people find carrying their own weight strenuous. Overall, individual capabilities vary widely based on these physical and situational factors.
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carry weight??

what does the amount of weight a person can carry depend upon ?
i think that it depends upon person to person ?? is there any physical constraint like the weight of the man himself or any other factor ?
 
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phymatter,

Well obviously the amount of weight one can carry depends on physical strength, and to some extent physical strength is based on muscle and skeletal mass. That is to say, it is unlikely a 5ft person weighing 100lbs is likely to have the strength to "carry" a 500lb weight 50 yards; however, a 6ft trained athlete weighing 250lbs may be up to the task, but another 6ft, 250lb person who who is simply over-weight and out of shape will likely not even be able to lift the weight.

A lot also depends on what you mean by "carry". If you mean moving some amount of weight 10 miles in two hours then the constraints are quite different than if you mean moving a weight one step.

I think what you are looking for is some maximum strength to weight relationship, and I am not aware of any quantitative study on this. As a general rule-of-thumb, I would think a well-trained athlete might be able to carry twice his body weight for some distance. I can't imagine anyone carrying four times their body weight much distance at all. In general, most people would consider carrying their own body weight strenuous.

By comparison, ants routinely carry 10 times their body weight. While elephants and horses can carry considerable weight, the amount of weight they can carry is only a fraction of their body weight.

Fish
 


thanks Fish4Fun !
 


It depends on things like your muscle strength and efficiency (as well as ligaments and bones and joints etc.). Don't go rushing to the gym to lift 100Kg weights tho
 


It also depends on how you are carrying something. Carrying a big heavy box is harder than the same weight in a backpack or some similar, as the weight is at a much greater distance from the center of your body with the box.
 

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