I do believe somewhere in the equation for power strength is involved. Yes, physics will say the longer lever arm will have to generate more power to lift the same as the shorter lever but like another has said you either do it or you don’t so whine about your disadvantages and bury your head in sand or get to work. I believe it was Gary Heisey(sp) who was 6 feet 6 inches tall who held the world deadlift record for a long time at 925 lbs or 420.45 kilos (For you anal kilo enthusiasts). Heck, when I was younger I wanted to be 6’ 5’’ and be as big as a house alas it wasn’t in the cards(weep, weep) so I have to be 5 feet 8 inches. The message remains I have to work and will my way to power and strength and so do you, tall or short.
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
[quote]Tim Henriques wrote:
VTBalla (T-Nation member) is uber tall, he can post for himself if he wishes but he has a lot of stuff on here and is quite strong[/quote]
Anyways, my total right now is something like 565 squat, 405 bench, 605 deadlift. Somewhere in that neighborhood. I struggled with deadlift for a very long time but it has been improving rapidly recently, which I am happy about.
I am surprised at the number of tall guys here benching with a narrow grip. I too moved mine in about 9 months ago after seeing videos of KK benching with a narrowish grip. It has helped a ton and I feel way stronger under the bar. Looooong way to push that fucking thing though.
[/quote]
Do you think there is a certain height or arm length where close grip becomes superior to wide? I hate pushing wide, it feels really weird on my delts. My max BP is 315 (wide), but I’ve thrown up 265x5 while doing close grip to hit tricepts more. I think I might be overthinking it and should just go with the more comfortable press.[/quote]
I honestly don’t know…I know that moving my grip in from a “powerlifting wide” grip helped me out a lot, and it seems that a few other guys here are in the same boat. I’m not exactly close gripping it…i’d say Im at exactly shoulder width apart if not VERY slightly outside of it.
My advice is just to play aroudn with it and see what you are more comfortable with. Odds are that if you are comfortable with it, you will also be stronger with it.
[quote]Triceptaurus wrote:
Horse shit.
“I"m too tall” is just another whiney excuse to not put in the hard work. Like “he has good genetics”. Pig shit. In life, gifted people rarely work hard at their gift. So they end up ordinary. Do you know who the strongest person on the earth is? I don’t know either but my bet is that there is someone sitting on a couch drinking Diet Double Dew who has the potential to be stronger. They just haven’t got off their talented genetically gifted arse and put in the work.
I’m 189cm tall. I squat/bench/dead/strict press 215/160/300/100. For the mentally challenged, that’s in kg. I mean, who the ferk uses lbs in powerlifting? No one important, that’s for sure.
So stop whining about how tall you are and how hard it is. If you are not pregressing in bench or whatever, it’s not coz your arms are “too long”. It’s because your training, diet and recovery are shit. So go do something about it.
And don’t even start me on those laxy fuks who say, “but I’m too old, have a bad back, once thought I hurt something lifting so my doctor/mother/gf told me to stop”[/quote]
Whoa man… simmer down! Like I said before, I was just curious. Thanks for all the replies guys. Some big dudes in here!
add size, focus on technique and use whats comfortable for you not much different.
[quote]Triceptaurus wrote:
Horse shit.
“I"m too tall” is just another whiney excuse to not put in the hard work. Like “he has good genetics”. Pig shit. In life, gifted people rarely work hard at their gift. So they end up ordinary. Do you know who the strongest person on the earth is? I don’t know either but my bet is that there is someone sitting on a couch drinking Diet Double Dew who has the potential to be stronger. They just haven’t got off their talented genetically gifted arse and put in the work.
I’m 189cm tall. I squat/bench/dead/strict press 215/160/300/100. For the mentally challenged, that’s in kg. I mean, who the ferk uses lbs in powerlifting? No one important, that’s for sure.
So stop whining about how tall you are and how hard it is. If you are not pregressing in bench or whatever, it’s not coz your arms are “too long”. It’s because your training, diet and recovery are shit. So go do something about it.
And don’t even start me on those laxy fuks who say, “but I’m too old, have a bad back, once thought I hurt something lifting so my doctor/mother/gf told me to stop”[/quote]
I think you might have a reading comprehension problem. That or you are just a bit of an idiot. No one here is complaining about being “too tall”. Or that they can’t be as strong as shorter lifters. The simple fact is that height and length of levers changes the mechanics of lifting. It’s not an opinion or cop out, it’s physics. There are different techniques that taller lifters can apply to improve their lifting performance. This thread is a discussion of those techniques. Comprende, thunder dick?
What do we notice about all the really strong tall guys? Most of them are well over 275. Start eating.
[quote]Triceptaurus wrote:
Horse shit.
“I"m too tall” is just another whiney excuse to not put in the hard work. Like “he has good genetics”. Pig shit. In life, gifted people rarely work hard at their gift. So they end up ordinary. Do you know who the strongest person on the earth is? I don’t know either but my bet is that there is someone sitting on a couch drinking Diet Double Dew who has the potential to be stronger. They just haven’t got off their talented genetically gifted arse and put in the work.
I’m 189cm tall. I squat/bench/dead/strict press 215/160/300/100. For the mentally challenged, that’s in kg. I mean, who the ferk uses lbs in powerlifting? No one important, that’s for sure.
So stop whining about how tall you are and how hard it is. If you are not pregressing in bench or whatever, it’s not coz your arms are “too long”. It’s because your training, diet and recovery are shit. So go do something about it.
And don’t even start me on those laxy fuks who say, “but I’m too old, have a bad back, once thought I hurt something lifting so my doctor/mother/gf told me to stop”[/quote]
“Anyways, my total right now is something like 565 squat, 405 bench, 605 deadlift.”
If I had to go out on a limb, I’d say this was above average… or being “important” in your terms
I use lbs in powerlifting. I’M A REAL 'MURICAN!!!
[quote]Triceptaurus wrote:
Horse shit.
“I"m too tall” is just another whiney excuse to not put in the hard work. Like “he has good genetics”. Pig shit. In life, gifted people rarely work hard at their gift. So they end up ordinary. Do you know who the strongest person on the earth is? I don’t know either but my bet is that there is someone sitting on a couch drinking Diet Double Dew who has the potential to be stronger. They just haven’t got off their talented genetically gifted arse and put in the work.
I’m 189cm tall. I squat/bench/dead/strict press 215/160/300/100. For the mentally challenged, that’s in kg. I mean, who the ferk uses lbs in powerlifting? No one important, that’s for sure.
So stop whining about how tall you are and how hard it is. If you are not pregressing in bench or whatever, it’s not coz your arms are “too long”. It’s because your training, diet and recovery are shit. So go do something about it.
And don’t even start me on those laxy fuks who say, “but I’m too old, have a bad back, once thought I hurt something lifting so my doctor/mother/gf told me to stop”[/quote]
Interesting point, but I disagree with you on one thing. Pig shit should have been first, then horse.
[quote]stefan128 wrote:
I searched but could not find a powerlifting thread for lifters over 6’4". I wanted to make this thread for us tall guys to discuss how we train, eat, condition, etc. I’m 6’6" and I think it would be cool to see how other tall guys train. So post away… I deadlifted today and I feel like I have a hard time getting my back flat. Also, I would like to see what other lifters benches look like at my height. [/quote]
I hear you man! I’m 6’4". I have the same problem DL’ing I feel, I can keep my lower back flat, but my upper rounds out easily. I’m using Wendler’s 531, I’ve completed 3 full cycles. I hit a ton of rep maxes, but they had really no carry-over to my real maxes so I switch to 531 for powerlifting.
My bench is total garbage, I have a weak triceps though, and long arms don’t help I’m sure.
6’5”/330. I never really saw my lever lengths as hindrance. It’s like buying clothes at our size. Gotta pay the premium like everything else. I started out benching wide and ended up gradually narrowing the distance in until I woke up one day and noticed I was index finger right on the smooth and wondering why my pressing went to shit. I’m right at a loose thumbs length at the start of the knurling and it feels most natural. If I miss it’s always off the chest. I figure from doing all the close grip it’s allowed me to finish easier once it gets going. I do a lot of sub-maximal wide pressing and pausing now to compensate. I start my pulls pretty low too, otherwise it ends up being all lower back and if I miss it’s always a technical issue or my core is too weak. The upside of starting so low is speed off the floor. I do a lot of deficit pulling, block pulling and snatch gripping every chance I get and finish off with some high rep dimels, GM’s and back extensions. My squat just sucks period! Weak core is the culprit in this instance too. No excuses, I’m just glad it didn’t take me forever to figure out my weak links and it gives me something to focus on.
It’s also about where you tendons insert and how big your bones are. If you have a larger frame I and good genetics you have the potential to have much more muscle mass than the smaller guy. Most of the top strong man competitors are tall.
Jim Williams, John Kuc, Kaz all were tall guys
Finally a manly response.
Gentlemen, our sport favors the short thick lifters beacuse of simple physics.
Most people can strain at max intensity for 3-4seconds. When you’re 5’3"and 181 like Mike Bridges was and squat 837, you have a short distance to cover with a max squat. If you’re 6’3" like KK you have a much longer distance to move the bar. So you either need to strain for longer time (which research shows is usually not possible) or you need to develop more power (move the bar faster).
As for genetics, how the fuck does anyone know what their genetics are unless they put in the time.Sure Coan started out with a 500 DL in high school but if he hadn’t put in the time he would never have become the GOAT.
Put in the time, train, eat, sleep. Act AS IF you have superior genetics and who knows. You might become the next John Kuc, Jim Williams, Kaz, KK, Christensen, etc.