Which is harder to achieve: a 300 lb bench press, or a 5:00 mile?

From my experience the 300 lb bench was much, much harder

I think 15 - 30 year old fit and healthy males who have some talent for running could run a 5:00 mile. For most in this group a few sessions of running and learning to pace should be sufficient

For most a 300 lb bench is only achievable after a long time of training

I achieved an equivalent of a 5:00 mile at 15 at a school sports day (4:30 1500m) with no running training apart from playing cricket, bball,rugby and soccer

I achieved the bench press of 300 lb after attending the gym and weight training for 2 - 3 years.

And yes there are athletes who can achieve both,as I was able to do this in my early 20's, and I was not an exceptional athlete in the sports I competed in.

I'm a large guy. I achieved a 300 lb bench press within 4 months of starting to train. I will never run a 5 minute mile.

elephino wrote:

I'm a large guy. I achieved a 300 lb bench press within 4 months of starting to train. I will never run a 5 minute mile.

Yep, totally depends on the starting point.

elephino wrote:

I'm a large guy. I achieved a 300 lb bench press within 4 months of starting to train. I will never run a 5 minute mile.

Totally agree, but I'm the opposite. I just can't pack on the muscle mass. Achieving a 5 minute mile was easy. I took a couple of years off running and focused on lifting after HS. I never even sniffed a 300 lb bench press after 4 years of lifting (although I was crazy cut after that training). I took back up running a few years ago and blew through the 5 minute mile barrier after only a few months.

Everybody is different.

Strong and Long wrote:

Which is the more impressive feat for an average, healthy male between the ages of 15 and 30?

Also, do you think there are any athletes capable of both feats within the same training block?

I can say with near certainty that there are more 15-30-year-old guys who can run a 5:00 mile (with training) than guys who can bench press 300 lbs (with training). After 30, I wouldn't be shocked if those numbers flipped completely.

And yes, we live in a fitness era where specializing in something is considered anti-productive and being well-rounded is celebrated. So there are probably a lot of guys out there who can do both things in the same session. Hunter McIntyre is a good example of a big, strong athlete (something like 6'2, 195) who also has good speed.

Strong and Long wrote:

Which is the more impressive feat for an average, healthy male between the ages of 15 and 30?

Also, do you think there are any athletes capable of both feats within the same training block?

Most world class decathletes could do both. I know one All-American DI 800 runner who did both in same season. His mile was obviously much, much faster than 5 minutes.

That said, it's difficult for most "average" guys to bench 300 if they weigh less than 185 and conversely just as difficult to run a 5 flat mile if they weigh more than 185. So if you can do both at same time, kudos to you.

It comes down to how strong your chest muscles are naturally. Having strong pecs for benching doesn't really mean anything though.

hinglemcringleberry_1 wrote:

It comes down to how strong your chest muscles are naturally. Having strong pecs for benching doesn't really mean anything though.

It means you can bench a lot. How is that meaningless?

sportinnz wrote:

From my experience the 300 lb bench was much, much harder

I think 15 - 30 year old fit and healthy males who have some talent for running could run a 5:00 mile. For most in this group a few sessions of running and learning to pace should be sufficient

That, of course, is absolute nonsense. You read this BS all the time on LR.

There's a 35 year old, 230 lb powerlifter who benches 475 lbs and runs a 4:15 mile in Hokas with a detached hamstring.

I think almost any healthy male, under the guidance of a seasoned professional, can eventually achieve a 300-pound bench press. There are exceptions of course but given sufficient time (up to 5 years perhaps in some cases) they can eventually achieve that standard. I think there is a significant portion of males in that age range who would never be able to run a 5-minute mile even with professional coaching.

elephino wrote:

There's a 35 year old, 230 lb powerlifter who benches 475 lbs and runs a 4:15 mile in Hokas with a detached hamstring.

You forgot the Garmin for our boy, Alex.

sportinnz wrote:

From my experience the 300 lb bench was much, much harder

I think 15 - 30 year old fit and healthy males who have some talent for running could run a 5:00 mile. For most in this group a few sessions of running and learning to pace should be sufficient

For most a 300 lb bench is only achievable after a long time of training

I achieved an equivalent of a 5:00 mile at 15 at a school sports day (4:30 1500m) with no running training apart from playing cricket, bball,rugby and soccer

I achieved the bench press of 300 lb after attending the gym and weight training for 2 - 3 years.

And yes there are athletes who can achieve both,as I was able to do this in my early 20's, and I was not an exceptional athlete in the sports I competed in.

See, that doesn't mean that the bench press is harder, it just means that you were really talented at running when you were 15. 4:30 1500 is more like a 4:49 mile, not 5:00 and if you can do that at 15 off of other sports and no running that just makes you a naturally good runner. And anybody on here who says that any man between 15-30 can run a 5:00 off of a couple weeks training is stupid. Most people would have great difficulty training for 5:30 or 6:00. This is a mindset that needs to leave letsrun.

Deadlifts 600 lb too wrote:

elephino wrote:

There's a 35 year old, 230 lb powerlifter who benches 475 lbs and runs a 4:15 mile in Hokas with a detached hamstring.

You forgot the Garmin for our boy, XXXX.

Sally V wrote:

I think almost any healthy male, under the guidance of a seasoned professional, can eventually achieve a 300-pound bench press. There are exceptions of course but given sufficient time (up to 5 years perhaps in some cases) they can eventually achieve that standard. I think there is a significant portion of males in that age range who would never be able to run a 5-minute mile even with professional coaching.

Pretty sure you are mistaken. I know lots of healthy 21 - 26 year-old males who have been seriously training for strength for several years who can't come close to 300. Conversely, I don't know many healthy males in that age range who have been seriously training for speed endurance who cannot go under 5:00.

I think your observations and mine are simply a matter of non-random sample bias.

Hard to say.

I was a runner first, broke 5 in 8th grade. This was with summer track training (all intervals, no distance runs).

I toyed around with weights post-running for a bit but never really lifted. I got on a serious program, taking protein shakes and all that, and was able to bench 300 at 175 pounds after 6-8 months.

With that said, I think if you start young, you have flexibility, agility, and a low weight to aid you. So I think it's easier to run a 5 minute mile.

If you are old, with some weight, and not used to doing any real endurance training, I think the 300 pound bench press will be a lot easier and more pleasant to train for.

I probably will never break 5 again in my life but I probably will bench 300 again (I can't come close to either now, I just play other sports).

0/10

U R Wrong wrote:

Sally V wrote:

I think almost any healthy male, under the guidance of a seasoned professional, can eventually achieve a 300-pound bench press. There are exceptions of course but given sufficient time (up to 5 years perhaps in some cases) they can eventually achieve that standard. I think there is a significant portion of males in that age range who would never be able to run a 5-minute mile even with professional coaching.

Pretty sure you are mistaken. I know lots of healthy 21 - 26 year-old males who have been seriously training for strength for several years who can't come close to 300. Conversely, I don't know many healthy males in that age range who have been seriously training for speed endurance who cannot go under 5:00.

I think your observations and mine are simply a matter of non-random sample bias.

I will stick to my guns. 225 is nothing special. You give me someone who can do 225 and I pretty much guarantee I can get that guy lifting 300 given a year. Shoot 6 months.

U R Wrong wrote:

Pretty sure you are mistaken. I know lots of healthy 21 - 26 year-old males who have been seriously training for strength for several years who can't come close to 300. Conversely, I don't know many healthy males in that age range who have been seriously training for speed endurance who cannot go under 5:00.

I think your observations and mine are simply a matter of non-random sample bias.

Most young men (under 40) are far more interested in strength training than speed endurance training. It's not even close. So you are looking at two groups that are vastly different in size.