How much can sub-4 minute milers bench?

Joe Falcon did 275

my buddy was a sub four miler. He weighed about 140 and probably couldn't bench more than 120. Fast as hell though.

toro wrote:

Between 100 and 300 pounds.

Why not ask how many screens of Pac Man a sub 4 miler can get past?

It's just as relavent.

Exactly. There's not a strong correlation. I'd have to say sub-4 milers are lighter than sub-5 milers, and typically lighter people don't bench as much. HOWEVER, I wouldn't bet money either way.

What's up with the absurd number of bench press threads on letsrun? Must be just an American thing. Crazy muricans.

I think a more interesting rephrasing of the question would be, is there any correlation between max bench press and mile time from, say, 4:45 downward.

lol lol lol lol wrote:

bfchfc wrote:

Above average maybe but not extraordinary

About 2x bodyweight is remarkable for a 1500 runner.

Is remarkable for anyone. I'd bet 2x bodyweight benching is rarer than a sub 15 5k.

D.c. runner wrote:

Is remarkable for anyone. I'd bet 2x bodyweight benching is rarer than a sub 15 5k.

Benching twice your weight is as remarkable as a 4:30 mile.

jdjd wrote:

Benching twice your weight is as remarkable as a 4:30 mile.

Because you said so?

Coe couldn't even climb a rope without assisting with his legs so no, he didn't bench 243.

a while ago, a friend of mine who was

6'1, 135

3:34-1500

did

200lb bench press.

ha lol wrote:

jdjd wrote:

Benching twice your weight is as remarkable as a 4:30 mile.

Because you said so?

No, because the best in the world do 3x their body weight. So 2x bodyweight might actually be worse than a 4:30 mile

According to the book Sub 4:00, Webb did a lifting session where he did 135lbs at 15 reps for 3 sets. This was most likely his base phase though

last season i ran 3.42, this season i'd hope to run significantly quicker, and since starting bench press a month or 2 ago i do 5 sets of 6 reps at 50kg. i'm 5'9 and weigh about 61/2kg, no idea what i could 1 rep max. i think free weights give you a better chest workout anyway, people seem to bench more for their ego than the benefits.

rafa the brit wrote:

last season i ran 3.42, this season i'd hope to run significantly quicker, and since starting bench press a month or 2 ago i do 5 sets of 6 reps at 50kg. i'm 5'9 and weigh about 61/2kg, no idea what i could 1 rep max. i think free weights give you a better chest workout anyway, people seem to bench more for their ego than the benefits.

Free weights are not better than the bench press. They are two different exercises accomplishing different things.

jb320pilot wrote:

I remember a story about Joe Falcon. He walked into a weightroom being used by the Razorback football team. Initially they gave him some s**t, but he won a bet by benching 250. He weighed a buck 20 at the time. While it isn't a predictor of mile greatness by any means, it does give a hint about power to weight ratio, muscular strength and explosiveness. Anyone who saw Joe kick knows what I'm talking about.

I remember reading that story, but not the specifics on the weight. I was in high school at the time- Falcon seemed like a beast to me back then!

From Sports Illustrated, October 26, 1987.

Another factor is upper-body strength. At 5'6" and 116 pounds, Falcon, who gives away at least 30 pounds to Pee-wee Herman, is brutishly strong. During a weight workout his freshman year, Falcon was getting ready to bench-press 250 pounds. A dozen incredulous football players were watching. One, who had seen Falcon work out before, bet the others Falcon could lift the weight. The skeptics paid.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066619/2/index.htm

Body weight +/- 20 lb

How much a 4 minute miler can bench is equivalent to asking how fast can an NFL lineman run a marathon.

It does not matter. Bench pressing is a non-specific strength component and has no effect on running.

HaileUnlikely wrote:

Anybody know what Alan Webb can bench? I'd take a wild guess and say the average sub 4 guy could probably bench slightly more than half as much as Webb. I have definitely seen a few other unusually beefy sub-4 guys who could probably do even more, but Webb is definitely a lot stronger than most in terms of weight lifting type strength.

and slower in term of running