Naturally as a runner I'd say the second but there are so many obese people in america that can do the former off the couch (maybe with a little form coaching) that would never achieve the latter in a million years. After all, mass moves mass.
For those unsure what 1/2/3/4 is:
1pl8 (135lb) overhead press
2pl8 (225lb) bench press
3pl8 (315lb) squat
4pl8 (405lb) deadlift
Discus!
The running is much easier. 225lb bench? 405lb deadlift? Those are hard lifts. Sub-20 5k is not nothing, but your average fit high school or college guy can do that. The lifting requires quite a bit of training unless you're naturally super strong. Maybe if it was sub-17 it would be close
I lifted a few days per week for years and 215lbs was the most I could ever bench in college, although at my heaviest I was only 160lbs at 6’1”.
I broke 20 minutes in my first 5K at age 22 with a few months of training.
Most Americans can’t do either, but I’d say the 5K is definitely easier.
Interesting question but I'd be more interested in hearing about anyone who can do BOTH. I could do both at different points in my life but I don't think I could have done both during the same timeframe. At one point I could have easily done 1/2/3/4 but more like 21 minutes on the 5K. At another point I was a 17 minute 5K but not close on the lifts.
Both wrote:
Interesting question but I'd be more interested in hearing about anyone who can do BOTH. I could do both at different points in my life but I don't think I could have done both during the same timeframe. At one point I could have easily done 1/2/3/4 but more like 21 minutes on the 5K. At another point I was a 17 minute 5K but not close on the lifts.
Similar here. I never did 1-rep max for deadlift and squat when I could lift more, but those are in line with what I would do reps at and I’d routinely do those press numbers well below max. I barely ran then (0-10 mpw) but ran a few 5ks in that time between 21 and 23. Probably could have eked out a sub-20 on a steady 15 mpw with a workout each week. Might not have affected my strength too much if I’d been more careful about sleep and alcohol consumption than I often was then. It’s all speculative, though.
But I wasn’t terribly strong or all that good of a runner, and I’ve seen some pretty muscular guys run respectable times at some races, so I’d bet a decent number of guys could do it.
IMO the order of easiest to hardest was: Bench press, OHP, 20 min 5k, deadlift, squat.
A few years back I was lifting around 350/275/405 S/B/D while in 18 flat 5k shape. Now just mostly run and my lifts suck.
Runners underestimate how much just weighing more helps your lifts.
Lifting 1/2/3/4 easily, the average American is really heavy which is much more helpful to lifting rather than running. Not to mention the injuries they would rack up running.