Is it just me…or do I notice that all taller guys, that are maybe even skinnier (cause they are taller) and better at deadlifting than short people…Even if they are tall and pretty big…is it just biomechanically taller guys are better at deadlifting?
[quote]dl- wrote:
Is it just me…or do I notice that all taller guys, that are maybe even skinnier (cause they are taller) and better at deadlifting than short people…Even if they are tall and pretty big…is it just biomechanically taller guys are better at deadlifting?[/quote]
It’s not about height, it’s about arm length. Normally long arms = puller built, short arms = presser built, short legs = squatter built.
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Tall guys with short legs and torsos and long arms are better at deadlifting.
Short guys with short legs and torsos and realatively long arms are better at deadlifting too.
It’s all in the arm length. Take a look at any top DL’er and notice how near his hands are to his knees, then take a look at any top bencher DL and notice how close his hands are to his hips.
I know this sounds nasty but if you can’t see it that way then have a look and see how far the bar is from having his balls sitting on it and you’ll see how different limbs lengths affect the different lifts!
LOL sooo…if your in between…as in not near knee’s length…but not at hips either…does that mean your just AWESOME overall? haha…i had to throw that in there. But thanks a lot for answering my question.
I must agree about the arm length and torso length factor in deadlifting. It really is a matter of mechanical advantage. I am only 5’5" tall and weigh 187 lbs and deadlift 600 raw. I have a very short torso. My arms are slightly long for my height.
[quote]Stu Pidasso wrote:
I must agree about the arm length and torso length factor in deadlifting. It really is a matter of mechanical advantage. I am only 5’5" tall and weigh 187 lbs and deadlift 600 raw. I have a very short torso. My arms are slightly long for my height.[/quote]
bad ass
I don’t thinks it matters. I know 2 guys that are very strong at DL. One is 6’3 and long, the other is 5’9 and like a stump.
My .02
CT’s right (obviously).
I got monkey arms and stumpy little legs.
Can squat a ton, can pull a ton. (For a 216 lb guy who doesn’t go below 6 reps in anything.)
Bench press? Not in front of other people.
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[quote]AK47 wrote:
I don’t thinks it matters. I know 2 guys that are very strong at DL. One is 6’3 and long, the other is 5’9 and like a stump.
My .02 [/quote]
But does you 5’9 “stump” friend have long arms relative to his heigh?
Obviously Christian is right…to add to his point, people like doing lifts that they are good at, especially when they just start lifting. For me, I’m 6’2 but have relatively short arms for my height, so I’ve always had a pretty good bench. So I always benched when I was starting out…why? Maybe to show off, maybe for an ego boost? But my deadlift was always weak to mediocre, so I didn’t train it as much.
Now that I know the benefits of muscle balance and a strong posterior chain I’ve been playing catch up. Actually, I never did heavy deads until I found this site. My deadlift still isn’t as high as it should be, but it has definately improved over the past year.
Weight lifting seems to be the only athletic endeavor in the world in which long arms and legs aren’t an advantage.
Would someone with a long torso, short legs and short arms be better suited to sumo pulling??
[quote]tpa wrote:
AK47 wrote:
I don’t thinks it matters. I know 2 guys that are very strong at DL. One is 6’3 and long, the other is 5’9 and like a stump.
My .02
But does you 5’9 “stump” friend have long arms relative to his heigh?
[/quote]
Not sure. Never really paid that much attention. I don’t know what his max is but I’ve watched him rep 585 for a easy 8. In my gym that’s on the heavy side, but my gym kind of sucks.
[quote]AK47 wrote:
Not sure. Never really paid that much attention. I don’t know what his max is but I’ve watched him rep 585 for a easy 8. In my gym that’s on the heavy side, but my gym kind of sucks.[/quote]
585 for 8 reps is awesome for 5’9" individual. what body weight is he?
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
It’s not about height, it’s about arm length. Normally long arms = puller built, short arms = presser built, short legs = squatter built.[/quote]
This explains me. Thanks, CT.
Sorry to bump such an old thread. But I think that some truth in this does exist - although it’s perhaps up to an upper limit. I think that taller people are more likely to have the shorter torso / longer legged combination that is more suited to deadlifting. However I think it is more an issue with body shape and proportions than height. It is simply the case that a taller person will be more likely to have those proportions.
I am 6ft tall with a relatively short torso/ longer limbs and I was always relatively much better at deadlifting versus the bench press. I always had about a 2/1 ratio deadlift to bench press. In my first ever powerlifting comp I deadlifted 242.5kg and only benched 127. When I was at a 300kgish deadlift my bench was again about half that. So I had an extreme ratio.
Kyril Sarychev with the biggest bench press of all time is 6ft5 or 6ft 6. So I think it’s more about body shape, it’s just that a taller person is more likely to have a shape that favours deadlifting.
I would guess that an upper limit might exist though. I encountered a 7ft person a few months ago when I was volunteering, and there may also be an upper limit in terms of athletic payoff. But who knows? Just look at players in the NBA.
Have a really great day everyone 
Alex
Sarychev is around 170 kg. Do you see a 5"9 weighing that much ahah? Taller people have the potential to carry more muscle mass, and as such the biggest numbers will most likely be achieved by taller people. Look at the WSM champions, they are all at least 6’
But yeah indeed I do believe that taller people have more often longer limbs rather than longer torsoes
This. People say it’s an advantage being smaller due to ROM advantages, but honestly, being taller allows for more potential muscle mass and most of the guys in my gym lifting the bigger weights are all 6ft or above.
Indeed. But it takes soooo muuuuch time to build the muscle to fill out our frames 
There is a reason this is a weightclass sport all around.
The mechanical advantage discussion only really works within a weightclass, but there the discussion is quite simple. Yes, leverages play a a significant role in how much you can lift.
Take two guys who are otherwise identical in build, but one has longer arms than the other, he will have a mechanical advantage in the deadlift, shorter ROM, and a disadvantage in the bench press.
Two guys, otherwise equal, but one has a shorter torso than the other. He will also have a deadlift advantage, shorter lever arm, no disadvantage in the bench press.
Comparing a 5’2 with x limb lengths and a 6’4 guy with y limb lengths is nonsense, because one is probably going to weight twice what the other is. The perfect leverages in the world aren’t going to make up the difference in bodyweight.
Ray Williams, Jezza Uepa, Blaine Sumner, all are under 6’ and weigh at least as much. They are fat too, but that’s another story.
As far as being tall as an advantage, what about Ed Coan? He’s barely over 5’ and deadlifted 901. Sure, he’s not your average short guy but neither are all the WSM competitors, Cailer Woolam, and so on. Leverages are the main factor, and obviously being heaver and carrying more muscle makes a difference as well.