1970s, first “Chair Challenge”

The chair challenge or “Chair Challenge” is the new viral challenge flooding the internet with images of men and women trying to overcome it.

However, it seems that this challenge is only suitable for women. Although the first video of this challenge was posted on YouTube ten years ago, it has now been revived, testing women and, above all, men.

However, we have to go back to the 1970s when in the first season of All in the Family, a series aired from 1971 to 1979 in the United States, one of the actresses showed that she was able to lift the chair and the male characters could not.

Simple challenge?

This challenge consists of placing a chair between a wall and a person, who must try to lift it with both hands and with their head touching the wall. It is easy to find videos on the internet explaining how to do it:

It seems simple, but half the population could not pass it. Try it yourself!:

1. find a wall,
2. stand two steps away from it,
3. lean forward pressing your head against the wall creating a 90º angle with your body,
4. in that position take a chair and lift it until it rests against your chest,
5. only then, return to an upright position with the chair still pressed against you.

Are men and women the same?

For this challenge it seems not, but there also seems to be a scientific explanation for all this. Men have their center of gravity around the abdomen and chest, higher than women, who have it below the hips. Also, they have more body mass in that area. These differences are what prevent men, or at least make it harder for them, to stand up again with the chair resting on their chest.

Experts say there may be men with a particular body build that allows them to perform the test and women who are unable to do it. In fact, social networks also show examples of men who have succeeded.

How can men also succeed?

The solution for men to successfully complete the chair challenge may simply be having proper physical condition and enough strength and stability in the middle part of the body, known as CORE training.

The CORE is a “muscle box” bounded by the diaphragm above and the pelvic floor below, containing muscles of the abdomen, lower back, pelvis, and hips. The CORE is considered the strength center of the human body, the starting point of the force produced by both the upper and lower limbs. Therefore, it is understood that with a strong and stable CORE, the chair challenge will be less difficult for men.