[Ian Gallimore]

ESPN drops the bomb!

Yup, you read that right. Distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...I don't think anyone can even begin to comprehend the shame I now feel. Running, slowly, is harder than weightlifting.

Great experts though: one coach, one athlete, and a bunch of journos...

[JBeck]

What do you expect, it only requires a 2 and 3 out of 10 for speed and flexibility.

[Mike Wittmer]

ESPN drops the bomb!

Yup, you read that right. Distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...I don't think anyone can even begin to comprehend the shame I now feel. Running, slowly, is harder than weightlifting.

Great experts though: one coach, one athlete, and a bunch of journos...

I wonder if they are evaluating weightlifting, or weight training?

[knobbers]

This list is stupid!

Bobsleigh kicked weightlifting's ass by the way! hahaha but still well behind team handball, figure skating and field hockey.

at least they got the power right for weightlifting for bobsleigh it is behind softball, tennis and water polo???

For some reason they combined Bobsleigh and luge which are not alike at all in athletic requirments? I guess just because they are both down the same tracks?

[Ian Gallimore]

I wonder if they are evaluating weightlifting, or weight training?

I'd hope it's the latter, although that's not even a sport. Given how they've ranked other sports I don't have much confidence in it not being actual weightlfting though.

[toothpick]

What a joke! Basketball is higher than martial arts. What about MMA or is MMA included in the martial arts category?

[JBeck]

What is "Track and Field: Weights" then? Throwing?

Surfing requires more speed, golf more flexibility. Who would have thought it?

This post has been edited by JBeck: 03 March 2009 - 01:10 PM

[krazylarry]

What a joke! Basketball is higher than martial arts. What about MMA or is MMA included in the martial arts category?

Yeah that is bull. MMA involves boxing and wrestling, and a bunch of other stuff, so there is no way that is not the most difficult.

[Cutler]

ESPN drops the bomb!

Yup, you read that right. Distance running requires more speed, agility, flexibility and nerve than weightlifting...I don't think anyone can even begin to comprehend the shame I now feel. Running, slowly, is harder than weightlifting.

Great experts though: one coach, one athlete, and a bunch of journos...

Why? Who gives a crap. 99% of people will disagree with this list, everything thinks their sport is the hardest or the 'best'...

[toothpick]

Yeah that is bull. MMA involves boxing and wrestling, and a bunch of other stuff, so there is no way that is not the most difficult.

I agree. MMA is one of the most difficult or at least 1, 2, or 3 ahead of boxing. I'd put Muay Thai ahead of boxing.

MMA fighters get punched, kicked, kneed, choked, thrown, joint locked. Put a boxer or almost any other athlete on the mat with a grappler for 5 minutes and they'll gas out.

Boxers do experience alot of head trama though.

[JBeck]

Why? Who gives a crap. 99% of people will disagree with this list, everything thinks their sport is the hardest or the 'best'...

True, we'd better watch we don't get a load of calf ropers kicking off over here.

[Mike Wittmer]

Most would say that hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing in sports.

I think the pole vault and the full snatch are two of the most difficult. If you took a few hundred people with reasonable athletic ability I have to believe that most could hit a baseball but few could learn to snatch.

[GoJu]

Why? Who gives a crap. 99% of people will disagree with this list, everything thinks their sport is the hardest or the 'best'...

best in terms of what though, I saw a vid of an OL comp that said WL was the 'ultimate' sport and I said 'um no'; weightlifting is probably the best test of strength, speed, and flexibility combined into one but when you're competitive event is only 6 single lifts its not really testing your endurance or pain tolerance the way a sport like MMA would for instance.

[toothpick]

I guy I used to train in Muay Thai with decided he wanted to compete in MMA. He started training at an MMA club and was training 30 hours a week.

[Ian Gallimore]

Why? Who gives a crap. 99% of people will disagree with this list, everything thinks their sport is the hardest or the 'best'...

Sarcasm filter cranked up to full this morning?

[Judas]

Most would say that hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing in sports.

I think the pole vault and the full snatch are two of the most difficult. If you took a few hundred people with reasonable athletic ability I have to believe that most could hit a baseball but few could learn to snatch.

Yeah, as difficult as it must be, there are lots ov guys and girls out there in beer leagues who could nail at least a couple MLB pitcher's fastballs, hell, luck would connect a couple... But how many could nail a good squat snatch? It pretty amazing... no matter how thin or skinny or un-muscular clients come, almost zero have the starting flexibility to snatch. I'm not a small guy, but i can do it. Nailing it required a LOT ov patience...

The general consensus i've always heard put the snatch a likely second after only the iron cross in gymnastics in general difficulty. Unless you're the myostatin baby, that ones gonna take some work...

[Cutler]

Sarcasm filter cranked up to full this morning?

Yea why not...its just a pointless list. People who read it and believe it are ghey. And I'm cool for spelling gay like ghey.

[Ed Chapman]

OF OF OF.

[crackyflipside]

OF OF OF.

Resistance is useless.

[mishima]

This has got to be weight training not weight lifting. White blouses dont know anything. Knowledge comes through practice. I cant believe it's been so poorly rated especially in speed and agility. To me the marathon has always been the hardest sport, from my point of view and because i'm such a stranger to it.

[Cutler]

This has got to be weight training not weight lifting. White blouses dont know anything. Knowledge comes through practice. I cant believe it's been so poorly rated especially in speed and agility. To me the marathon has always been the hardest sport, from my point of view and because i'm such a stranger to it.

Yeah I can agree with that, anything that involves me moving gets me gassed pretty much so running 26.2 miles is pretty fucking amazing in my opinion. I have a friend who ran in the 1;20's for the half marathon and his concentration to task on anything is immense..those guys can just keep going.

[Judas]

Yeah, that sounds right, but who the hell would consider 'weight training' an actual sport?

I bet its just some goons who used to be high school athletes sitting around making another list to fill space somewhere. How many guys have actually even tried weightlifting...??? You can watch it as a layman, and think its got to be hard, but can you have any idea just HOW hard until you try to get good at it...??? "Yeah, i remember doing powercleans for football back in senior year... they weren't THAT hard..."

[Judas]

OF OF OF.

Me no obla, senoir...

[Judas]

Resistance is useless.

I am Dyslexia, ov Borg. Your ass will be laminated.

[BigChrisF]

Yeah, as difficult as it must be, there are lots ov guys and girls out there in beer leagues who could nail at least a couple MLB pitcher's fastballs, hell, luck would connect a couple... But how many could nail a good squat snatch? It pretty amazing... no matter how thin or skinny or un-muscular clients come, almost zero have the starting flexibility to snatch. I'm not a small guy, but i can do it. Nailing it required a LOT ov patience...

What kind of flexibility do you need for the snatch?