Springy poles and forehead straps: How to carry more than your own bodyweight.
The rural farm workers of Vietnam could be seen as almost superhuman. Every day, they shoulder impressive loads strung to a pole, before carrying them up to several miles at a time by foot. The awkward, bulky packages of produce, tools or other materials can often weigh more than their own bodyweight, yet they seem to take the burden in their stride. It is a feat most of us would struggle to achieve. Lifting something equivalent to our own bodyweight is hard enough, but then walking long distances with it would defeat all but the hardiest of strongmen or women. The Vietnamese farm workers, however, have a secret weapon – their long springy bamboo poles.
The workers adjust their gait so that the load on either end of the poles oscillates in time with their strides. This reduces the amount of effort required to lift the weight with each step by around 18%, according to one study by researchers who studied the farm workers’ carrying abilities. But even with this springy assistance, there can be little doubt that these farm workers are also just supremely strong after years of carrying heavy loads. Many of us with jobs that don’t involve so much fetching and carrying could also benefit from getting stronger, however. So, what does it take to build this kind of strength?
There can be little doubt that humans have a preoccupation with strength. The sport of weightlifting has captivated audiences for more than 4,000 years and can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Greece and China. Writings, statues and artefacts such as halteres (large throwing stones) from ancient Greece show that competitions involving resistance lifting and strength were popular as early as 557BC. Of course, the sport has come a long way, becoming a permanent fixture in the Olympics at the 1920 Antwerp games.
Increasing your strength by lifting weights can bring benefits. Strength training among older adults, for example, has been shown to improve their health and mobility. It can help to build athletic performance and has been linked to lower levels of mortality from conditions such as cancer and heart disease. Some studies have also suggested strength training could be beneficial for mental health too.
Progressive weight training, or progressive overload, is the gradual increase of stress (weight) placed on the body. A higher physiological demand means that you need to exert a greater force to meet it. For example, if you are easily lifting four sets of eight repetitions at a comfortable weight, you need to increase the weight, the number of repetitions or time under tension, to keep improving muscular fitness.
There are other ways, however, of increasing how much you can carry without having to spend hours at the gym. And, much like the farmers in Vietnam, some communities have developed techniques to help them shoulder impressive loads often over long distances.
At the turn of the 20th Century in England, market porters in London’s Covent Garden carried baskets of fruit and vegetables on their heads. Such traditional handling methods are still commonplace today, particularly in developing countries. In north-eastern India, manual load carrying is widely used for transporting goods and materials over long distances, and across difficult terrain. In East Africa, women of the Luo people often carry loads equivalent to 70% of their body mass balanced on top of their heads, for hours or sometimes days. Research suggests that they have developed an energy-saving strategy in the way they walk, to limit the muscular work needed to carry such loads. Famously, sherpas in the Himalayas routinely take on both shoulder and head-supported loads, where a load is slung on the back and supported with a strap across the forehead. The loads carried often exceed their body mass. Professional porters in the region can manage these loads on journeys taking several days, covering around 60 miles (100km) and ascending up to a total of 26,000ft (8,000m) on uneven mountain paths.
Interestingly, hybrid training, the combination of cardio and strength training, has recently seen a burst of popularity on social media as runners look to incorporate weightlifting into their routine to reap the benefits of both types of exercise. Indeed, incorporating strength training into your exercise regime is now widely encouraged by national organisations and health bodies. For example, the American Heart Association advocates for the cardiovascular benefits of doing 30 to 60 minutes of resistance training every week. As a general health guideline, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommend having two days a week where you incorporate some strength training into your routine, as does the National Health Service in the UK.
This guidance is particularly important in the context of our aging population – by 2030, 20% of Americans will be aged 65 or older. As people age, a natural loss of muscle mass and strength occurs, but if done multiple times a week, strength training can help to preserve bone density, reduce the risk of osteoporosis and improve flexibility, sleep and self-confidence.
While you may never have to carry a load across mountains like a sherpa or carry the loads of Vietnamese farm workers in the picture above, perhaps the exceptional power of these people will inspire you to pick up a dumbbell and see how much you can lift. Go on, you might surprise yourself.
