im 5’10 with a 6’3 inch wingspan and long legs. According to Brad Kaczmarski’s “how much do you lift wimp” my squat and bench press are way better than my DL. my sumo DL is about 100lbs less than my Conventional DL as well and the same as my squat.
I have a theory that it has to do with my lat strength(DL and Pullup numbers fit together well) but thats another topic.
Point is who the fuck knows what leverages are gonna do.
you guys got it right, i think its frame type more than anything. the top powerlifters have powerlifter frames that are scaled to 6+ft
a large majority of shorter people have stockier frames = lift more. but if you are short AND have a slender frame you really dont have much of an advantage.
its probably femur/wrist/shoulder width proportions
think of a kenyan, they are tall but not built for heavy duty lifting
Shorter people’s muscles are more efficient relative to their bodyweight than a tall person’s. The maximum force a muscle can generate is proportional to its cross-sectional area, as each fiber pulls on the one after it with the same force. Therefore force generation (I don’t want to call it strength) scales with the square of height, while weight scales with the cube of height.
Of course there are so many factors to consider that one cannot point at any one specific thing. So lets consider elite weightlifters, as then we can assume that the fiber composition, training, and other mechanical considerations are as good as they can be. The general trend is that shorter lifters tend to have lift greater amounts relative to their bodyweight.
From what I’ve seen, we’re talking opinion not science here, I wouldn’t say its so much of an advantage as just a difference in training.
What about arm wrestling, or does it matter much. I would think there would be a clear answer on that. I watched an arm wrestling competition and the guy said this is one of the few sports that height and long limbs is a disadvantage.
[quote]codypt wrote:
What about arm wrestling, or does it matter much. I would think there would be a clear answer on that. I watched an arm wrestling competition and the guy said this is one of the few sports that height and long limbs is a disadvantage.[/quote]