Short = Strong????

[Estreet]

Ok, quick gripe. I am 5'6...66 inches at the peak of my head. I know this, I own a mirror and I constantly look up at people.
I was pushing 315 for about three good reps with no help from my spotter the other day and felt really good about it. Some chooch that is just constantly doing curls says something to the effect of "If my arms were that short, I could do that too." I smiled at him and asked him "What was your wife's name again?" He just got pissed and walked away.

Anyways, About 8 months ago, I was barely getting 255 up for one rep. I have spent countless hours lifting, eating and resting to get to where I am now. I put up the weight that I put up because I worked hard for it, not because I was born a certain way.

Normally a comment on my height would never bother me. I am more than used to it. But i don't think its right for someone to take away something I've worked hard for because they lack the work effort needed to achieve what I have.


Anyways...main point.....

I would love to compete in a strongman comp some day. I know that most competitors are between 6'0 and 6'6. Would they adjust the height of any events for shorter / taller competitors. ie: the safe lift. I think the Bar where they would normally have it at the down position would have my arms over my head. Do any organizations adjust equiptment or do I adjust?

[ChaseT]

Implements like the safe lift and yoke are adjusted to your height. You will be at a disadvantage on stones because the platform/bar height is fixed for each weight class. That being said, Grant Higa (link) is only 5'8" and is a pro heavyweight strongman competitor. Just keep improving yourself. That guy was just jealous.

[Shanecutler51]

"If my arms were that short I could do that too".... What immature bastard says things like that while walking by people in the gym lol

[bodybuilda]

Not to sound negative or anything and to say that you are lifting that amount of weight because of your heights, but in general isn't it true that shorter people with shorter arms do have an advantage verse taller people with longer arms in the bench and squats because of the rom movement?

Because honestly I have noticed that people that are shorter than 5'9 tend to increase their bench much quicker than taller people 5'10 and up.

I'm just wondering if this is true or if I am just trying to make my self feel better?

[Farley1324]

Not to sound negative or anything and to say that you are lifting that amount of weight because of your heights, but in general isn't it true that shorter people with shorter arms do have an advantage verse taller people with longer arms in the bench and squats because of the rom movement?

Because honestly I have noticed that people that are shorter than 5'9 tend to increase their bench much quicker than taller people 5'10 and up.

I'm just wondering if this is true or if I am just trying to make my self feel better?

Yes, being short (well, having short limbs) makes some lifts easier.

Short does not equal strong, exactly, but it kinda does equal more weight lifted. The two are not always the same thing.


I do like to think that out in the 'real world' if two people move the same amount of weight in the gym the one who moves it further, thus doing more work (due to longer limbs, etc) is usually going to have an advantage. "All else being equal", the taller guy with longer arms/legs is doing more work to move the same amount of weight...

[StrongInChrist]

Longer muscles are stronger muscles. Having a tall frame allows you to add more mass to the frame thus making you stronger. I dont say this because Im a short little chump. I say this because every major powerlifting record has been set by someone over 6' tall. Why? Because its a heck of a lot easier to weigh 300+ if you are over 6'.

Leverage is very important but bigger muscles outweigh better leverage BY FAR. And besides, the thickness of the chest of a taller man compensates for the longer arms. Unless of course you are a skinny chump which in that case tall or short a skinny chump will be weak

[UhhWhatever]

I'm short and I'm not strong.

[Farley1324]

I'm short and I'm not strong.

I'm tallish and I'm not strong.

[LessThanLuke]

I'm tallish and I'm not strong.

I'm average height and I'm not strong.

[bodybuilda]

im tallish and strong LOL

[Farley1324]

im tallish and strong LOL

Not if your sig is accurate. Sorry.

[LessThanLuke]

Not if your sig is accurate. Sorry.

x 2

[Kaler]

I think its all about proportions. If person "A" has 3 foot long arms, and is 6 feet tall he has to put in "x" effort to bench the weight. If person "B" has 1.5 feet long arms and is only 3 feet tall I'd say he also puts in "x" effort to lift the weight a proportional distance.

When proportions are out of whack, then there is a difference. Like if person A was 6 feet tall with 5 foot long arms and person B was 3 feet tall with 1 foot long arms. Person B would have the advantage in this lift.

Shorter guys are not stronger btw, but are stronger for their size. A smaller person has a smaller surface area to volume ratio and a higher muscle cross sectional area than a person who is taller and has longer limbs. But the shorter person's strength will hit a limit sooner than the taller man. Proportionally the shorter person is stronger, but in absolute terms the taller person has the ability to be stronger than the shorter person.

Sorry for the long post, I suck at summarizing I guess.

[skinnycalves]

lol i have a friend who is 5'6" 220, benches around 320, squats 570, deadlifts 605 (100% russian)

its probably a safe assumption to say his leverages help him, but id also venture to take a guess that even if he were 6 feet he would still be the strongest person at my gym, these big ass 280ish bodybuilders who take lot of that juicey juice struggle to use the weights he does on partial squats that he does on parallel squats................................

OP f uck that moron, not to be a tough guy ****head but i bet you can kick his ass, weaklings make excuses, champions make commitments

[UHCougar05]

I'm short and I consider myself to be somewhere between good and suck on the "Dave Tate: ****, suck, good, great" scale.

[mochi]

...

that's my vid! and if anyone is curious, those platforms were really unstable and tipping quite a bit. even odd haugen had a little trouble on the tallest one.

[TMckinlay]

Longer muscles are stronger muscles. Having a tall frame allows you to add more mass to the frame thus making you stronger. I dont say this because Im a short little chump. I say this because every major powerlifting record has been set by someone over 6' tall. Why? Because its a heck of a lot easier to weigh 300+ if you are over 6'.

Leverage is very important but bigger muscles outweigh better leverage BY FAR. And besides, the thickness of the chest of a taller man compensates for the longer arms. Unless of course you are a skinny chump which in that case tall or short a skinny chump will be weak

sigh.. your a ****ing idiot, stop giving out advice you know nothing about. Bigger muscles dont equal stronger muscles if that were true bodybuilders would be the strongest people in the world... Strength comes from recruiting a larger amount of muscle fibers from a muscle contraction, and how fast the nervous system recruits them. Do powerlifters have the largest muscles in the world?? Shorter people can lift more weight in certain exercises because of the range of motion, taller people tend to do better at strong man because of LEVERAGE, a short person moving the same size rock as a tall person is lifting something that is BIGGER is proportion to his body, so its harder for him to lift it, however if he were to add that weight to a bench press for example, he would be able to lift it better than the tall person.

[Estreet]

Im glad this has sparked such a good discussion.

To those of you that have good things to say, thank you for the advice.

To those of you without good things to say, thanks for the entertainment.

[LiftingAddict]

Im glad this has sparked such a good discussion.

To those of you that have good things to say, thank you for the advice.

To those of you without good things to say, thanks for the entertainment.

x2.

[theduffman]

Ok, quick gripe. I am 5'6...66 inches at the peak of my head. I know this, I own a mirror and I constantly look up at people.
I was pushing 315 for about three good reps with no help from my spotter the other day and felt really good about it. Some chooch that is just constantly doing curls says something to the effect of "If my arms were that short, I could do that too." I smiled at him and asked him "What was your wife's name again?" He just got pissed and walked away.

Anyways, About 8 months ago, I was barely getting 255 up for one rep. I have spent countless hours lifting, eating and resting to get to where I am now. I put up the weight that I put up because I worked hard for it, not because I was born a certain way.

Normally a comment on my height would never bother me. I am more than used to it. But i don't think its right for someone to take away something I've worked hard for because they lack the work effort needed to achieve what I have.


Anyways...main point.....

I would love to compete in a strongman comp some day. I know that most competitors are between 6'0 and 6'6. Would they adjust the height of any events for shorter / taller competitors. ie: the safe lift. I think the Bar where they would normally have it at the down position would have my arms over my head. Do any organizations adjust equiptment or do I adjust?

lol well it's really not any better than saying "if I was born stronger I could do that too!" it's not like height is anymore of an advantage then natural strength, natural build, metabolism etc.

[Code_B]

Ryan Kennelly is 6'3"

[babyslayer]

Longer muscles are stronger muscles. Having a tall frame allows you to add more mass to the frame thus making you stronger. I dont say this because Im a short little chump. I say this because every major powerlifting record has been set by someone over 6' tall. Why? Because its a heck of a lot easier to weigh 300+ if you are over 6'.

Leverage is very important but bigger muscles outweigh better leverage BY FAR. And besides, the thickness of the chest of a taller man compensates for the longer arms. Unless of course you are a skinny chump which in that case tall or short a skinny chump will be weak

then people say if i was 300lbs id do that to...

[Kaler]

sigh.. your a ****ing idiot, stop giving out advice you know nothing about. Bigger muscles dont equal stronger muscles if that were true bodybuilders would be the strongest people in the world... Strength comes from recruiting a larger amount of muscle fibers from a muscle contraction, and how fast the nervous system recruits them. Do powerlifters have the largest muscles in the world?? Shorter people can lift more weight in certain exercises because of the range of motion, taller people tend to do better at strong man because of LEVERAGE, a short person moving the same size rock as a tall person is lifting something that is BIGGER is proportion to his body, so its harder for him to lift it, however if he were to add that weight to a bench press for example, he would be able to lift it better than the tall person.

Wow harsh words, especially since you couldn't understand his post.

2 muscles of equivalent quality and all other factors being the same except that one is larger than the other, the larger muscle will have more capacity to perform work/move weight. Now apply this to shorter people who will only be able to add a certain amount of muscle to their frames, and now to taller people who can pack on more total muscle mass than the short guy. You get to a point however where the extra size you gain doesn't give you proportional returns in strength.

This is why you see for example a 180lb guy squat 500lbs and a 300lb guy squat 700lbs. The bigger/taller guy can squat more than the shorter guy ever will, but if everything was remaining proportional he should be squatting a lot more than he is. The reason why the 300lb guy isn't squatting 1000lbs is because strength doesn't increase as drastically as height does.

[Estreet]

Implements like the safe lift and yoke are adjusted to your height. You will be at a disadvantage on stones because the platform/bar height is fixed for each weight class. That being said, Grant Higa (link) is only 5'8" and is a pro heavyweight strongman competitor. Just keep improving yourself. That guy was just jealous.

Wow that is impressive. The first two stones had to go above his head. That is nothing but an inspiration.

[swolegantor]

I really think people over analyze this ****. There are manlets who are strong and giants who are strong and people who are strong everywhere in between. If your 6'3" and 180 your probably not going to be strong, if your 5 feet tall and 180 you probably will be.

[StrongInChrist]

Wow harsh words, especially since you couldn't understand his post.

2 muscles of equivalent quality and all other factors being the same except that one is larger than the other, the larger muscle will have more capacity to perform work/move weight. Now apply this to shorter people who will only be able to add a certain amount of muscle to their frames, and now to taller people who can pack on more total muscle mass than the short guy. You get to a point however where the extra size you gain doesn't give you proportional returns in strength.

This is why you see for example a 180lb guy squat 500lbs and a 300lb guy squat 700lbs. The bigger/taller guy can squat more than the shorter guy ever will, but if everything was remaining proportional he should be squatting a lot more than he is. The reason why the 300lb guy isn't squatting 1000lbs is because strength doesn't increase as drastically as height does.

LOL thanks. Im not even replying to that douche. The record books speak for themselves. I mean if any lift was "meant" for a short guy it would be the deadlift. But look at how many 800+ pullers are over 6' or right around it. Squat also.

[StrongInChrist]

then people say if i was 300lbs id do that to...

Im not sure if your saying Im using that as an excuse or not but even so if I were 300 pounds I think my leverages would totally suck. Your body is built to be very heavy. I think at my height I would be good at 230ish. I also think Ill move some pretty sick weight eventually too but I think you have proved to us all that a larger man can move more weight.

And soon you'll be another 800+ puller over 6' tall. Not many under 6'.

[bodybuilda]

So iguess from all your guys post it is safe to say in the long run taller = strongest potential.

short run lifts the shorter guy has the advantage

[StrongInChrist]

So iguess from all your guys post it is safe to say in the long run taller = strongest potential.

short run lifts the shorter guy has the advantage

He has the advantage as long as the taller guy is tall and skinny. I large man will almost always pull more than his equally trained shorter counterpart. My friend (who posts here some times) is 6'7 and 300ish pounds. He decided to start lifting with me and within a few weeks was ripping 405 off the ground in the deadlift. Regardless how far he had to pull the weight the fact that his back and hamstrings were massive meant he was built better to pull. It took me years to pull that.

[babyslayer]

So iguess from all your guys post it is safe to say in the long run taller = strongest potential.

short run lifts the shorter guy has the advantage

to a point, if your 7 ft it wont matter what you do, youl have to weigh 500lbs by the time your leverages are fixed and by that time youl be all andre the giant'in and your joints will be ruined and youl die young.


I wana say the people who have the most potential for strength are low 6 ft guys, tall enough to hold allot of muscle. Short enough that they can have great leverages without haven to weigh some ridiculous ammount of weight.

examples of this.... scott mendelson, ryen kennelly, andy bolton, james henderson was taller I think, that one guy who squated like 950 raw way back in the day who's name escapes me dohn reindhout i think his name is. Mark henry was good height to if I remember.

Anyway... you get the point.