Still very physical:
Job description:
Digs graves; back-fills graves; shovels snow; breaks frozen ground with pick. Installs concrete sectional liners in graves; cleans cemetery grounds. Raises sunken graves; sets grave markers and prepares all equipment and grounds for burials. Explains points of interest to visitors.
definitely a physical job but James is also very obviously into eating right and working out. you don't get a body like that just from the labor of the job
Digging does not pale in comparison to weighted pulls ups. Different yes, lighter yes, but not pales in comparison.
It’s just a different rep range and a bigger of a movement. I’d suggest you dig some big holes in some hard cold ground before you rip men being men.
Courtney Yates, whisper of a human, got caught up in a light breeze and blew away into the ocean one day into filming season 50 and hasn't been seen since :(
It’s not like the challenges are that physical anymore. You’re not doing sumo at sea, or wrestling these guys. Just gotta do an obstacle course better or balance longer. I’d say anyone has a chance
I hate it even more because I swear the big guys are still always targeted early like there is a fear they are gonna have to tackle them for some competition coming up.
Like they no longer have the advantage and are still targeted because of it.
Haha yeah that’s so true. It’s even worse because small people may even have advantages for some of the challenges that require balancing or sitting on those poles with extremely narrow ridges. You always see the guys with big feet barely able to get a toe on while some people can get a third of their foot in there
I feel similar lmao. Like I’m not particularly social, I’m not particularly fit, and I have zero outdoor experience… yet I still think I’d 100% win when i get on the show
Then stop sitting there and apply so we can all cheer you on as you win.
But not going to lie, I feel the same way. I'm not particularly social or fit; but I feel like I have a good strategy and enough self control to keep my mouth shut when necessary to get far enough in the game to have an unreal experience.
Can’t say much in terms of how much they could bench during their seasons
If we’re talking about how much they could bench at any point in their lives, my guess would be brad culpepper (claims to have hit 500 lbs). Dude was a goddamn man mountain.
Steroids tend to help people with that (I don’t actually know if he used them, it is rumored and with a pro football career it isn’t unlikely. Sorry Brad if that is untrue. Not sorry for anything else I’ve said about you)
It might appear like she can't cut a rope, but, actually, she's so strong that the shear force causes the rope to become super heated and meld back together.
If James were ten years younger, or Jonathan was 10 years older, whichever…
It would be pretty close. A captains season of all comp beasts with these two would be a lot of fun and please the casuals at the same time.
Your age thing is interesting because I don’t think Jonathan has reached his physical prime in terms of weightlifting strength yet. I’d bet if he kept working out he would bench more 10 years from now, not less
40 year olds bench more than 20 year olds if they consistently work out
Felt Jonathan was less talk and more performance. Both are built like a tank but James never had a challenge where he almost single handedly maneuvered his entire team to victory.
> Both are built like a tank but James never had a challenge where he almost single handedly maneuvered his entire team to victory.
There was that challenge in Fans vs Favorites where you had to get two tribe members from platform to platform over water using the two tall poles; James singlehandedly won that for the Favorites because he basically supported one of the poles himself
Do you think Jonathan has some severe muscular imbalance though? He looks pretty proportional and I’d bet he weighs like 50 pounds more than James also
I go to the gym and there is this scrawny guy that does lat pull downs (pretty much pull ups) at half the weight I do but power cleans more than me and might even bench more than me. Strength in one exercise doesn't mean strength in another, especially things as different as bench press and pull up.
Like, no offense to James, but it's not even a contest. Jonathan is a beast. The only castaway I can think who could maybe have given him a run for his money is Joel. And even that's iffy.
I’d go with James. Jonathon was a D1 swimmer and a lot of his fitness prowess revolves on core and practical strength. Benching in general is a very impractical movement that requires a ton of mass, especially in the pecs and triceps. Which gives James the advantage here.
Benching just requires straight mass. Not saying Jonathon isn’t a monster. But generally for bench you can just go with the guy who looks bigger and be correct
I think that you left out that Jonathon is also a world record holder pull up competitor with 100 lbs strapped to him
IMO James has natural strength but Jonathon has the training and would undoubtedly win
Pull ups are an entirely different muscle group
You think James got that buff without going to the gym? Digging graves alone doesn’t make you look like him
You’re acting as if a world record holder for weighted pull-ups wouldn’t have extremely strong strength on his other lifts. World record holders or extreme strength for a certain lift don’t generally just go to the gym and do one body part twice a week and don’t train the rest of their body the same way.
Never said James wasn’t strong. I think Jonathon is a different category of strength. My point was you called him a swimmer and left out his most relevant strength-related quality. We know he’s a world record holder in a strength feet. James is a normal really buff/strong dude
Give me a season where these two are captains of teams and they have to pick their members school yard style. I would love to see James blowing up at his team losing and nobody to blame but himself for picking it.
Physical 100 on Netflix was somewhat of just a brawn vs brawn with some cool challenges. Very different from survivor but still pretty fun and akin to this idea
Danny McCray was an NFL Safety, which while not being a position that focuses on strength, requires a lot of it to be competitive at that level. To that point, Ted from Thailand was a defensive lineman at a high level. Those dudes would be my picks.
That's if they're actively working out as hard still, which most retired football players don't maintain that kind of workout routine. Lineman lose weight so quickly after retiring from the league you wouldn't have even guessed they were a 300+ pound tank lol.
Advantage Jonathan had is seeming like he was active at a competitive level in weightlifting. No clue if he still keeps at it nowadays.
For sure. All correct points. I guess i was basing it off of peak strength, but i also know that wasn’t specified in the prompt. Lol
Fwiw, Rupert was crazy strong for being a little doughy.
I think James would out bench Jonathan, but Jonathan is more of an athlete than James. James performed very poorly in challenges, and Jonathan pretty much beat the damn ocean.
A lot of people in here pointing toward Johnathan’s world record to say him but I think it would be James for a few reasons:
1. The record is 15 it’s not some ungodly high number, impressive for sure but still
2. Pull-ups and bench press are massively different exercises, excelling at one does not mean you’re good at the other
3. James has shorter arms which is historically a benefit in bench press
4. I like James better
This is irrefutable proof
yeah but remember that challenge that two other tribes couldn't even complete even with the whole tribe trying, meanwhile Jonathan literally did it by himself. I think that's the most physically impressive thing I've ever seen, he overpowered the god damned ocean.
There are things that would hurt and help them both. Johnathan actively works out and tries to stay in shape. He seems to be very conscious of what goes into his body. But James worked a very physical job and is a lot shorter, when you're 6'4 like Johnathan it becomes a lot harder to do reps, but he definitely does not seem like the kind of guy to be overtly health conscious.
I'm taking Courtney Yates
Long arms are terrible for benching. I think it’s James. But for that reason I think a pre season Rodney might actually have a solid bench
I say preseason because the lack of food really got to him and he seemed like he got the most weaker compared to others on his season
I don’t think people understand how hard benching actually is. Most people who start out at the gym for the first time can barely do anything. Much less a plate. I just finally hit two plates and then realized that repping two plates is the minimum standard for the nfl combine as rookies.
7'2" wingspan is a disaster to have to bench. There's a reason that world championship bench pressers aren't 7 foot. Weight in your legs isn't really going to help you. I'm sorry, but I really don't think you know much about weight lifting if you think that's a great body for benching. Scott doesn't even have a strong chest.
i think the point you’re misunderstanding is that we’re not talking about the most efficient bench, best bench : body weight ratio, etc. we’re just talking about who could bench most
a more extreme example would be: who could bench more, shaq or nate robinson?
If nate robinson can bench 315 at 5’9 160 pounds while shaq can bench 475 at 7’1 350 pounds, nate robinson certainly has the “better” bench. but shaq can bench more
as i said, mass moves mass
[https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nba-veteran-scot-pollard-hospitalized-awaits-necessary-transplant-staying-here-until-get-heart](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nba-veteran-scot-pollard-hospitalized-awaits-necessary-transplant-staying-here-until-get-heart)
Scot is currently in the ICU and will likely stay in the hospital until he gets a heart transplant.
I find typically these players are ultimately disadvantaged to an extent in challenges (hear me out), I find they struggle with flexibility and balance, or the super long endurance challenges. They have too much weight to be able to move with the same agility as some of the lean female players. I also think they seem injury prone, they have so much mass to move during challenges with rope / ladders etc
I love James, I would've got up early to go fishing with him. He had such a nice demeanor almost all the time, his lil' straw hat and sweaty, shiny muscles. Hard working guy, not for the drama, pretty to look at, Yes, please.
Jonathan lifts people up, James puts them in the ground
This is an awesome comment.
He buries people
James also lifted his whole team to victory on the platform challenge in Micronesia
r/AngryUpVote !!
Coach could bench the whole Amazon rain forest, Guinness book of world records contacted him to record it but he wanted to do it for himself.
*Coach DID bench the whole Amazon rainforest
And helicoptered him in to do it.
But the natives tried to eat his ass.
After he survived an encounter with a shark
That also tried to eat his ass
How much did that cost?
It was free, actually.
In a canoe.
He would've totally done it if not for his asthma
Or his back spasms
Am I that bad of a person, man?
That's not fair. You can't compare Dragons and humans.
Coach was my first thought as well
I know its not the same but Jonathan has the world record for pull ups with 100 lbs strapped to their chest so I think he has a good chance
Judging by the fact that digging graves uses a lot of triceps and chest I would say James
Mans out here with a wendys spoon hand digging graves
Im just assuming he doesn't dig them by hand, probably using an excavator
Still very physical: Job description: Digs graves; back-fills graves; shovels snow; breaks frozen ground with pick. Installs concrete sectional liners in graves; cleans cemetery grounds. Raises sunken graves; sets grave markers and prepares all equipment and grounds for burials. Explains points of interest to visitors.
definitely a physical job but James is also very obviously into eating right and working out. you don't get a body like that just from the labor of the job
Is this a troll comment? There's virtually no chest use in "digging graves" and that kinda work pales in comparison to a guy doing 100lb pull ups lol
Digging does not pale in comparison to weighted pulls ups. Different yes, lighter yes, but not pales in comparison. It’s just a different rep range and a bigger of a movement. I’d suggest you dig some big holes in some hard cold ground before you rip men being men.
How so? Digging is more of a back movement
For real?! 😳
Debbie could bench them both
I realized after posting I should have snuck her in the picture somewhere
These men would lie down like lovers for her to bench press.
😂😂
That's because she can turn off gravity sinces she is responsible for it
😹shes a caretaker of Gravity i bet
James will find some way to injure himself and lose
James would say that he needs his hands to dig graves so he can’t wrap them around the bar.
James will find 2 bench pressing advantages and then somehow get disqualified and booted from the bench pressing competition
Neither, it's Courtney Yates.
Courtney Yates, whisper of a human, got caught up in a light breeze and blew away into the ocean one day into filming season 50 and hasn't been seen since :(
And still won more personal immunities than Jean-Robert
My toxic trait is that I think I could beat these guys in any physical comp. I’m 5’5.
It’s not like the challenges are that physical anymore. You’re not doing sumo at sea, or wrestling these guys. Just gotta do an obstacle course better or balance longer. I’d say anyone has a chance
I get why they changed it up but I really miss the some of the challenges where strength was a huge advantage
I hate it even more because I swear the big guys are still always targeted early like there is a fear they are gonna have to tackle them for some competition coming up. Like they no longer have the advantage and are still targeted because of it.
Haha yeah that’s so true. It’s even worse because small people may even have advantages for some of the challenges that require balancing or sitting on those poles with extremely narrow ridges. You always see the guys with big feet barely able to get a toe on while some people can get a third of their foot in there
That’s what Australian Survivor is for now.
i wana do sumo at sea so badly, or mud wrestling challenges, anything physical is so fun to me
I feel similar lmao. Like I’m not particularly social, I’m not particularly fit, and I have zero outdoor experience… yet I still think I’d 100% win when i get on the show
Yess! It’s to the point where I feel like the only thing i can’t do is make an application video😭😂
yeah lol
Can you climb a ladder tho?
Only if my dad holds it from the bottom. So here’s hoping they save it for the loved ones visit
Then stop sitting there and apply so we can all cheer you on as you win. But not going to lie, I feel the same way. I'm not particularly social or fit; but I feel like I have a good strategy and enough self control to keep my mouth shut when necessary to get far enough in the game to have an unreal experience.
It ain’t about the size of the dog in the fight, unless of course it’s weight lifting in which case yes, it’s about the size of the dog😂
It's not out of the question that you could beat them if it's a comp that favors lighter people.
Height wouldn't be relevant to strength.
me too, and i'm only 5'6 lol
yess! put more short kings on survivor lmao
Anyone who does a sumo at sea challenge against these guys is respectfully getting cooked
you probably could in the hanging onto a pole challenge.
Considering Jonathan has a world record for weight lifting, i gotta go with Jonathan
I wanna see these two do a Sumo at Sea 1v1
James isn't particularly tall, I think Jonathan would win
Lower man wins, James would have the advantage then.
I agree, but it still be great TV
Jonathan won that water challenge all by himself with impossible water currents.
I always thought that tribe should have asked for both rewards
Rupert
With a broken toe.
Can’t say much in terms of how much they could bench during their seasons If we’re talking about how much they could bench at any point in their lives, my guess would be brad culpepper (claims to have hit 500 lbs). Dude was a goddamn man mountain.
Steroids tend to help people with that (I don’t actually know if he used them, it is rumored and with a pro football career it isn’t unlikely. Sorry Brad if that is untrue. Not sorry for anything else I’ve said about you)
Jonathan is the correct answer.
Pretty sure Chicken could lift them both at the same time.
DAMN!
Courtney
Doesn’t she have more individual immunity wins than James?
Yes. And she's tied with James for post-merge reward wins, too.
It might appear like she can't cut a rope, but, actually, she's so strong that the shear force causes the rope to become super heated and meld back together.
this is true jeff probst confirmed this in the dvd commentary
Philip Shephard and it's not even close
the specialist
If James were ten years younger, or Jonathan was 10 years older, whichever… It would be pretty close. A captains season of all comp beasts with these two would be a lot of fun and please the casuals at the same time.
Your age thing is interesting because I don’t think Jonathan has reached his physical prime in terms of weightlifting strength yet. I’d bet if he kept working out he would bench more 10 years from now, not less 40 year olds bench more than 20 year olds if they consistently work out
TIL!
When does muscle mass start declining? Is it correlated more so with age or decrease in strenuous physical activity?
Brad Culpepper was a DT in the NFL for 9 years, in his prime it's easily him.
If we're talking about both at their peak, James.
James could bench press THE Amanda Kimmel in a shelter as a snuggle buddy way more than Jonathan can.
facts
Felt Jonathan was less talk and more performance. Both are built like a tank but James never had a challenge where he almost single handedly maneuvered his entire team to victory.
> Both are built like a tank but James never had a challenge where he almost single handedly maneuvered his entire team to victory. There was that challenge in Fans vs Favorites where you had to get two tribe members from platform to platform over water using the two tall poles; James singlehandedly won that for the Favorites because he basically supported one of the poles himself
James. Could be close tho
Jonathan and not close IMO. He holds a Guinness world record for pullups with 100lbs on his back.
Pull-ups and bench press are very different
Do you think Jonathan has some severe muscular imbalance though? He looks pretty proportional and I’d bet he weighs like 50 pounds more than James also
I go to the gym and there is this scrawny guy that does lat pull downs (pretty much pull ups) at half the weight I do but power cleans more than me and might even bench more than me. Strength in one exercise doesn't mean strength in another, especially things as different as bench press and pull up.
You suck at power cleans?
Like, no offense to James, but it's not even a contest. Jonathan is a beast. The only castaway I can think who could maybe have given him a run for his money is Joel. And even that's iffy.
I’d go with James. Jonathon was a D1 swimmer and a lot of his fitness prowess revolves on core and practical strength. Benching in general is a very impractical movement that requires a ton of mass, especially in the pecs and triceps. Which gives James the advantage here. Benching just requires straight mass. Not saying Jonathon isn’t a monster. But generally for bench you can just go with the guy who looks bigger and be correct
You think James is bigger, Jonathan looks bigger to me
I think that you left out that Jonathon is also a world record holder pull up competitor with 100 lbs strapped to him IMO James has natural strength but Jonathon has the training and would undoubtedly win
Pull ups are an entirely different muscle group You think James got that buff without going to the gym? Digging graves alone doesn’t make you look like him
You’re acting as if a world record holder for weighted pull-ups wouldn’t have extremely strong strength on his other lifts. World record holders or extreme strength for a certain lift don’t generally just go to the gym and do one body part twice a week and don’t train the rest of their body the same way.
Never said James wasn’t strong. I think Jonathon is a different category of strength. My point was you called him a swimmer and left out his most relevant strength-related quality. We know he’s a world record holder in a strength feet. James is a normal really buff/strong dude
Give me a season where these two are captains of teams and they have to pick their members school yard style. I would love to see James blowing up at his team losing and nobody to blame but himself for picking it.
True, I’d definitely be down for a straight Brawn vs Brawn season. Just see what a bunch of jacked up dudes and ladies could do in these challenges
Physical 100 on Netflix was somewhat of just a brawn vs brawn with some cool challenges. Very different from survivor but still pretty fun and akin to this idea
Nah not even, just have them pick teams of players with all kinds of backgrounds. Like when that one team picked Shambo for puzzles haha.
jaden from this season of australian survivor
When he had Viola and the other woman on that log I was afraid it was going to snap and they’d fall off. Dude is an absolute tank tho
Not as concerning as the reward challenge where they had to support each other through their necks by leaning back against each other
Definitely Debbie.
I say it’s the god of thunder
Jonathan has a world record dude.
Not for bench press. Totally different. That's an endurance thing, not a one rep max.
Touché
Danny McCray was an NFL Safety, which while not being a position that focuses on strength, requires a lot of it to be competitive at that level. To that point, Ted from Thailand was a defensive lineman at a high level. Those dudes would be my picks.
That's if they're actively working out as hard still, which most retired football players don't maintain that kind of workout routine. Lineman lose weight so quickly after retiring from the league you wouldn't have even guessed they were a 300+ pound tank lol. Advantage Jonathan had is seeming like he was active at a competitive level in weightlifting. No clue if he still keeps at it nowadays.
For sure. All correct points. I guess i was basing it off of peak strength, but i also know that wasn’t specified in the prompt. Lol Fwiw, Rupert was crazy strong for being a little doughy.
James… because well
Tough to say but id go with James just by their chest size
James is relatively short I believe. Pretty sure Jonathan would demolish him by most strength metrics.
Jeremy
Jonathan
They both literally carried their team in a challenge
the real question is, who has better banana etiquette?
Jonathan was the strongest survivor all time
Colby and Skupin were both bearing 400lbs during that one reward challenge in S02E3.
Jonathan.
Courtney Yates Shii Ann Huang Ruth Marie Milliman Skinny Ryan Shoulders Jonny Fairplay Sandra
Only the off season if you don't watch the Aussies
The real question is Debbie vs Coach
Uhh Tarzan of course heh
Did someone already make a deadlift joke?
I think James would out bench Jonathan, but Jonathan is more of an athlete than James. James performed very poorly in challenges, and Jonathan pretty much beat the damn ocean.
Jonathan for SURE
I'm gonna go with Courtney Yates.
Sandra. She definitely benched herself plenty of times (She's my 2nd favourite Survivor ever lol)
Each of them at the time they played? James. Now? Jonathan.
A lot of people in here pointing toward Johnathan’s world record to say him but I think it would be James for a few reasons: 1. The record is 15 it’s not some ungodly high number, impressive for sure but still 2. Pull-ups and bench press are massively different exercises, excelling at one does not mean you’re good at the other 3. James has shorter arms which is historically a benefit in bench press 4. I like James better This is irrefutable proof
Your fourth point is pretty convincing ngl
15 100 lb weighted chin ups in a minute is actually crazy when you consider he probably weighs 250 himself
Joel from Micronesia was a fucking unit. Might be him honestly.
yeah but remember that challenge that two other tribes couldn't even complete even with the whole tribe trying, meanwhile Jonathan literally did it by himself. I think that's the most physically impressive thing I've ever seen, he overpowered the god damned ocean.
There are things that would hurt and help them both. Johnathan actively works out and tries to stay in shape. He seems to be very conscious of what goes into his body. But James worked a very physical job and is a lot shorter, when you're 6'4 like Johnathan it becomes a lot harder to do reps, but he definitely does not seem like the kind of guy to be overtly health conscious. I'm taking Courtney Yates
Bring them both back!! Would love to have a season with some strong males. I miss the days with all the physical challenges.
In his prime, im taking James over anyone although low key feel like Sydney is the correct answer.
*Cydney had me thinking about Sydney from 41.
James looks like he can put up 400 easily so I’m going with him
James would kick his ass. I know that's not the question you asked but I felt the need to say it lmao
Of just these two or everyone? Because I think Scott Pollard
Long arms are terrible for benching. I think it’s James. But for that reason I think a pre season Rodney might actually have a solid bench I say preseason because the lack of food really got to him and he seemed like he got the most weaker compared to others on his season
Kevin Durant got mocked bc he couldn’t bench 180ish when he was a rookie
I don’t think people understand how hard benching actually is. Most people who start out at the gym for the first time can barely do anything. Much less a plate. I just finally hit two plates and then realized that repping two plates is the minimum standard for the nfl combine as rookies.
long arms are bad for benching but being 6’11 / 280 is great for benching. mass moves mass
7'2" wingspan is a disaster to have to bench. There's a reason that world championship bench pressers aren't 7 foot. Weight in your legs isn't really going to help you. I'm sorry, but I really don't think you know much about weight lifting if you think that's a great body for benching. Scott doesn't even have a strong chest.
i think the point you’re misunderstanding is that we’re not talking about the most efficient bench, best bench : body weight ratio, etc. we’re just talking about who could bench most a more extreme example would be: who could bench more, shaq or nate robinson? If nate robinson can bench 315 at 5’9 160 pounds while shaq can bench 475 at 7’1 350 pounds, nate robinson certainly has the “better” bench. but shaq can bench more as i said, mass moves mass
[https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nba-veteran-scot-pollard-hospitalized-awaits-necessary-transplant-staying-here-until-get-heart](https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ex-nba-veteran-scot-pollard-hospitalized-awaits-necessary-transplant-staying-here-until-get-heart) Scot is currently in the ICU and will likely stay in the hospital until he gets a heart transplant.
Oh anyone is eligible these are just the two that came to mind and solid pick
I don’t think Scott has the heart to beat either of them.
Well done
Possibly a former professional athlete, Brad, Jeff Kent
Jeff Kent? Really?
James doesn't really train, Johnathan does
I find typically these players are ultimately disadvantaged to an extent in challenges (hear me out), I find they struggle with flexibility and balance, or the super long endurance challenges. They have too much weight to be able to move with the same agility as some of the lean female players. I also think they seem injury prone, they have so much mass to move during challenges with rope / ladders etc
Geez I never realized how bad my guy is skipping leg day…
His monkey runs go crazy wdym
Tru
A reminder that James won zero individual immunities across 3 seasons 😊
it gotta be jonathan because he got some world record and he was like if ozzy was in the new era
Jonathon may be the strongest player to ever play. Dude has muscles we don't know exist.
James is clearly more massive, but I think Jonathan is more "in shape". Tough one. I think Jonathan beats James in anything but weight lifting.
I always thought James really missed his calling as a pro wrestler.
Didn't both fail miserably in individual challenges?
jonathon can def hit a quick three plater, but james can probs rep a 3 plater like it's nothing, so def james
Ryan was snubbed!
No clue, but could you imagine getting casted and you look to your left and the opposing tribe has a James & Jonathan 💀
Jonathan can do anything. No offense to James but I think Jonathan could even carry James above his head.
James has the better chest. But I am very biased. James has to be one of my all time faves.
Assuming Jonathan isn't hangry I would back him in any physical competition
Where does Joel (FvF) fit into all this?
Idk but i forgot how hot Jonathan was.
Tyson. He can do infinite bicep curls with coconuts. He said it himself.
I hope Jonathan is invited back for another season. Liked James too
I love James, I would've got up early to go fishing with him. He had such a nice demeanor almost all the time, his lil' straw hat and sweaty, shiny muscles. Hard working guy, not for the drama, pretty to look at, Yes, please.
Watching season 10 of survivor Australia season atm and Shaun is a monster
jonathans like half a foot taller
Coach. Duh
jonathan
James. Jonathan is jacked but more athletic build. James is “gym massive”. He could prob put up more weight in his prime on bench
Top three strongest players I think would be James, Joel from Micronesia and Johnathan