Bench press advantage, long vs short arms?

Ry_Trapp0

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how the **** has this thread made it 3 pages??? some people in here obviously don't understand the basic concepts of physics being taught in middle school science classes. all other things being as equal as possible, the person with shorter arms will expend less energy to lift the same weight than the person with longer arms. this shit is just common sense.
 

zPipes

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how the **** has this thread made it 3 pages??? some people in here obviously don't understand the basic concepts of physics being taught in middle school science classes. all other things being as equal as possible, the person with shorter arms will expend less energy to lift the same weight than the person with longer arms. this shit is just common sense.

The physics here are taught in high school, but yes, I agree, its simple as physics, there really is no debate.
 

Jack Burton

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how the **** has this thread made it 3 pages??? some people in here obviously don't understand the basic concepts of physics being taught in middle school science classes. all other things being as equal as possible, the person with shorter arms will expend less energy to lift the same weight than the person with longer arms. this shit is just common sense.

Agreed.

Hell, every weightlifting buddy I ever had that was 6' or over used to always bitch on bench day. They even used to talk about how when it came to pressing movements they were jealous of how much easier it was for me (I'm 5'6"). Every single one of them said this. But, of course the grass is always greener on the other side. Obviously none of them that were over 6' would trade being over 6' just to be able to bench more. :lol:
 

Sonic605hp

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Been lifting for 14 years and from what I've seen guys with shorter arms definitely have an advantage when it comes to bench. I've come across and worked out with quite a few people that are smaller muscle mass wise, have much short arms than me and out bench me. My best friend in college was MUCH smaller and shorter than me and he could always out bench me even when fitness-wise we were on the same level because we were eating the same, working out together, and attending the same rugby practices. We were always very close in terms of strength but he always benched more than me no matter how hard I worked.
 

KINGCOBRA86

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Ive seen a guy with short arms benched 400+

Granted it took him a few yrs to get there and his genetic played a roll too
 
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oooooh snap

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people who do the "shorter limbs are stronger" are just making excuses for their lack of strength, IMO. the majority of power lifters are big tall dudes.
 

NinjaBum

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I have pretty long arms and the bench has always been like the most difficult thing for me to do.

Same thing with pushups. In the military, I always had to do wide arm pushups to be competitive in PT while the shorter guys are rocking the close hands blazing them out because their shorter arms are able to get them fully extended in a shorter distance.
 

Jack Burton

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Ive seen a guy with short arms benched 400+

Granted it took him a few yrs to get there and his genetic played a roll too

It took me till I was around 20 years old to hit the 400 club. I'd say about 90% of the people I've seen at the gym that bench over 400lbs are guys around my height. Granted I've seen some taller guys do it, but I've probably only seen a few of them do it.
 

Ry_Trapp0

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The physics here are taught in high school, but yes, I agree, its simple as physics, there really is no debate.
nah, i'm talking "simple machines" stuff taught in middle school, if not late elementary school. the 'lever' being the obvious focus of this discussion. this sure as hell isn't any high level physics we're talking about here:lol1:

Agreed.

Hell, every weightlifting buddy I ever had that was 6' or over used to always bitch on bench day. They even used to talk about how when it came to pressing movements they were jealous of how much easier it was for me (I'm 5'6"). Every single one of them said this. But, of course the grass is always greener on the other side. Obviously none of them that were over 6' would trade being over 6' just to be able to bench more. :lol:
LMAO, no doubt. i'd trade the advantage in bench, squat, and deadlift to be just a little bit taller than 5'5":lol1: despite being this height though, i've never really enjoyed bench presses of any type. but i'm that weird guy in every gym who loves leg day... :lol1:

people who do the "shorter limbs are stronger" are just making excuses for their lack of strength, IMO. the majority of power lifters are big tall dudes.
yea, you really go to a lot of lifting meets, huh:lol: do you mean, the majority of super heavyweight power lifters are "big tall dudes"? and, by "tall", do you mean ~6'0", 6'1"? the height argument goes out the window(as far as sub-5'10" lifters go) simply because of the fact that a larger(I.E., taller) frame can hold more muscle than a smaller one. there are limits to how much muscle your frame can hold, and obviously shorter lifters hit the wall sooner than taller lifters.
however, weight lifted vs bodyweight isn't linear, it's digressive. although a "maxed out"(so to speak) 6'1" guy can lift a greater amount of weight vs an equivalent 5'1" guy, the 5'1" lifter will put up a greater amount vs his bodyweight. (this being in theory obviously, which doesn't neccessarily play out in the real world due to the fact that we're talking about human beings)
 

oooooh snap

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yea, you really go to a lot of lifting meets, huh:lol: do you mean, the majority of super heavyweight power lifters are "big tall dudes"? and, by "tall", do you mean ~6'0", 6'1"? the height argument goes out the window(as far as sub-5'10" lifters go) simply because of the fact that a larger(I.E., taller) frame can hold more muscle than a smaller one. there are limits to how much muscle your frame can hold, and obviously shorter lifters hit the wall sooner than taller lifters.
however, weight lifted vs bodyweight isn't linear, it's digressive. although a "maxed out"(so to speak) 6'1" guy can lift a greater amount of weight vs an equivalent 5'1" guy, the 5'1" lifter will put up a greater amount vs his bodyweight. (this being in theory obviously, which doesn't neccessarily play out in the real world due to the fact that we're talking about human beings)

Oh, so being short is an advantage until you get to the really strong guy. makes plenty of sense :lol:
Stop looking at the "strong guys in the gym" and start looking at the pros. They're all "big tall dudes", ie. 5'11"+
 

Ry_Trapp0

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Oh, so being short is an advantage until you get to the really strong guy. makes plenty of sense :lol:
Stop looking at the "strong guys in the gym" and start looking at the pros. They're all "big tall dudes", ie. 5'11"+
wow, i didn't know the average height of american males was considered "tall":bored:
why don't you look at the pros? you're making it plainly obvious that you know shit all about powerlifting. you probably don't even know who the hell ed coan is:rollseyes

let me break this down real easy like for your simpleton mind - BEING SHORT IS A MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE. pro-tip: read the thread title again - Bench press advantage, long vs short arms:bash: it does make plenty of sense, your little peanut brain just isn't capable of comprehending it.
 

oooooh snap

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wow, i didn't know the average height of american males was considered "tall":bored:
why don't you look at the pros? you're making it plainly obvious that you know shit all about powerlifting. you probably don't even know who the hell ed coan is:rollseyes

easy. this isn't smackdown.

i'll just leave this here, to help you back pedal a bit.
U.S. 1.763 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) 1.622 m (5 ft 4 in) 1.09 All Americans, 20+ 91.0% Measured 2003–2006 [104]
Human height - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5'9.5" is a far cry from the "average guy @ 6 feet" according to you.

let me break this down real easy like for your simpleton mind - BEING SHORT IS A MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE. pro-tip: read the thread title again - Bench press advantage, long vs short arms:bash: it does make plenty of sense, your little peanut brain just isn't capable of comprehending it.


Bruce Wilhelm - 6'2"
Jesse Marunde - 6'4"
Bill Kazmaier - 6'2"

Just a few random power lifters. Let me know if you need me to look up more. Although i'm sure you don't, since you're clearly an expert on the subject.

Good thing no average guys, at 5'9", want to be a strongman. According to your logic, they'd be running the show.
 

Sonic605hp

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Strongman competitions are much different than just traditional benching.

easy. this isn't smackdown.

i'll just leave this here, to help you back pedal a bit.

Human height - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5'9.5" is a far cry from the "average guy @ 6 feet" according to you.




Bruce Wilhelm - 6'2"
Jesse Marunde - 6'4"
Bill Kazmaier - 6'2"

Just a few random power lifters. Let me know if you need me to look up more. Although i'm sure you don't, since you're clearly an expert on the subject.

Good thing no average guys, at 5'9", want to be a strongman. According to your logic, they'd be running the show.
 

czwalga00gt

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It's not tall and short.... Having long arms is a disadvantage, you could be a short ape and have long knuckle draggers.


That said, shorter arms is easier. Anyone that thinks otherwise is an idiot.
 

oooooh snap

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Strongman competitions are much different than just traditional benching.

this is true, but the principal is the same. longer limbs will increase the gate on every work out, and every activity that is competed in a strongman competition.

It's not tall and short.... Having long arms is a disadvantage, you could be a short ape and have long knuckle draggers.


That said, shorter arms is easier. Anyone that thinks otherwise is an idiot.

while it is true that there are some freaky short people out there with long limbs, and vice versa, the majority of taller people have longer limbs than a shorter person.

again, shorter arms does not make it easier to do a lift. there is less muscle mass in a shorter arm. there is much more to it than looking at the gate and saying "oh his arm has so much more work to do", and lots of other factors here to determine who has an advantage over who. for example, where the tendons attach to the bone is more important than the length of the arm.

my philosophy is stfu and lift. i don't like hearing cry babies complain about their disadvantages, or other guys thinking they can walk through walls because of their "advantages". my initial post was to clarify that there is a great misconception with shorter people having it "easier", and i was pointing out that all of the great power lifters/strongmen are big dudes.
 

Ry_Trapp0

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easy. this isn't smackdown.

i'll just leave this here, to help you back pedal a bit.

Human height - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

5'9.5" is a far cry from the "average guy @ 6 feet" according to you.




Bruce Wilhelm - 6'2"
Jesse Marunde - 6'4"
Bill Kazmaier - 6'2"

Just a few random power lifters. Let me know if you need me to look up more. Although i'm sure you don't, since you're clearly an expert on the subject.

Good thing no average guys, at 5'9", want to be a strongman. According to your logic, they'd be running the show.
this isn't smackdown, that's why i stopped at "you know shit all about powerlifting".

wow, so 2"-2.5" above average is "tall"? 6'0" guys aren't exactly uncommon. the height of 90% of american males can vary nearly a foot and a half, only you would think 2"-2.5" above average is exceptionally tall.

as was mentioned, nice job posting "a few random strongman competitors":bored: height is a HUGE advantage in strongman competitions because they tend to design a lot of the challenges for tall guys, I.E., atlas stones, fingal fingers, keg toss, etc.

hey, i got one for you to look up, try ed coan! oh, nevermind. you know a lot about powerlifting, so you obviously know a lot about ed coan, as anyone interested in powerlifting would. i mean, he has been called "the michael jordon of powerlifting" after all...
 

evil04svtcobra

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I've always thought that shorter people have less travel so it's easier..

Some truth to this post. Besides just length of someones arms, what about being barrel chested?

I think we all know some short stout, heavier guys that when benching they only have to move the bar 5 inches, lol.
 

CraneClan

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I'm 6'4" and when I was in my 40s at my biggest, I was benching 435 lbs. Guys at the gym always joked that if I wasn't so damn tall I'd be doing 600.
 

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