# Tall strength vs. Short strength



## themamasan (Dec 9, 2005)

Question:

In bench press would you rather be tall (6'4" or taller) and press around 300lbs, or would you rather be stronger ( bench press around 400 lbs ) and not be tall (5'5 - 5'10)?

I was wondering because a lot of my friends say they would want to be as tall as me, look leaner, and be fairly strong vs. being their height and have more strength.  They also say it is more impressive when a tall guy presses a certain amount of weight, because of their arm length and the distance they have to travel for a complete movement.


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## Dale Mabry (Dec 9, 2005)

It all depends.  For me, I like the height I am, wouldn't mind being a couple inches taller, wouldn't want to be any shorter.  If you want to be an athlete, taller is better.  For PLing, shorter is better, typically.

To be honest, moving a weight doesn't impress me most of the time.  There were some Offensive linemen in the gym last year that could bench 315 for 12-15 easy reps and that impressed me.


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## Myztek (Dec 9, 2005)

I'd rather be my height, I guess. I'm around 5'6 - 5'7, Age 17.


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## lnvanry (Dec 9, 2005)

I would prefer the height anyday...I'm 5'10-11 so I'm average...I don't care about the strength and appearance is more important to me.


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## largepkg (Dec 9, 2005)

6'4'' and loving it!


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## myCATpowerlifts (Dec 9, 2005)

I hate my height, 6'1"ish

I would rather be either 5'9" or 6'4"....


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## kicka19 (Dec 9, 2005)

taller is better unless powerlifting


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## Mudge (Dec 9, 2005)

myCATpowerlifts said:
			
		

> I hate my height, 6'1"ish
> 
> I would rather be either 5'9" or 6'4"....



Like you I'm in the middle, seems like a fine place to be to me. Any taller would honestly feel like a burden.


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## NEW_IN_THE_GAME (Dec 9, 2005)

i am 6'5 and i wouldnt mind being a few inches shorter, cause like both of my friends have 26 inch quads and are 5'4, and 5'7, i have 29 inch quads yet they look smaller. but hey cant bitch bout it, i can change light bulbs easier lol


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## Seanp156 (Dec 9, 2005)

I like my height fine... I wouldn't want to be any shorter than 5'8" or any taller than 6'


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## Steele20 (Dec 10, 2005)

Love my height. 5'10. However, some girls only prefer to date giants


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## myCATpowerlifts (Dec 10, 2005)

This is his brother by the way, and no it doesn't feel like a burden. I'm 6'3 right now ( 15 ) and you just feel like yourself.  If you workout you know your body pretty well, and you don't feel awkward really, you just feel like yourself.


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## BigDyl (Dec 10, 2005)

NEW_IN_THE_GAME said:
			
		

> i am 6'5 and i wouldnt mind being a few inches shorter, cause like both of my friends have 26 inch quads and are 5'4, and 5'7, i have 29 inch quads yet they look smaller. but hey cant bitch bout it, i can change light bulbs easier lol




Your stats look bs to me.


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## CowPimp (Dec 10, 2005)

I'm about 6', although some people say a little taller.  I like my height.  I actually feel it is perfect.  I'll get my way to a 400 pound bench press one day regardless of my height.  I'm not going to let that stop me.


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## BigDyl (Dec 10, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> I'm about 6', although some people say a little taller.  I like my height.  I actually feel it is perfect.  I'll get my way to a 400 pound bench press one day regardless of my height.  I'm not going to let that stop me.



That's a hell of a goal.  I'm with you on this one, unfortunately I'm like 6'6 so I doubt I'll ever get there.


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## CowPimp (Dec 10, 2005)

BigDyl said:
			
		

> That's a hell of a goal.  I'm with you on this one, unfortunately I'm like 6'6 so I doubt I'll ever get there.



Don't talk like that.  That's nonsense.  I'm going to get as strong as I possibly can, and you should too.


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## Dale Mabry (Dec 10, 2005)

How come emo guys are always so tall?


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## kicka19 (Dec 10, 2005)

i hate emo


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## themamasan (Dec 10, 2005)

BigDyl said:
			
		

> That's a hell of a goal.  I'm with you on this one, unfortunately I'm like 6'6 so I doubt I'll ever get there.



I feel the same way.  I have never seen a guy, 6'5" or taller bench press 
400lbs that is not on steroids.  I am 6'6" and would love to push that much one day...but I want to be under 230lbs of body weight.  It just seems that there are a lot of recreational lifters that are under 6' that can press 400lbs on bench fairly easily.


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## CowPimp (Dec 10, 2005)

Dale Mabry said:
			
		

> How come emo guys are always so tall?



They just look tall because they are lanky.  They are so manic that they don't eat any damned food.


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## Sir Savage (Dec 10, 2005)

kicka19 said:
			
		

> taller is better unless powerlifting



This just depends.

Basketball, it's obviously better to be taller. Or if you're short, gotta' have a really good vertical.

Football, it's better to be shorter if you're a tailback. Quick, solid, low to the ground. Better to be taller if you're a lineman because you've to to plug holes in the line. Also, probably better for receivers because you're a taller target.

Baseball is pretty much neither here nor there.

Powerlifting, it's probably better to be shorter, yes. Same with bodybuilding since your mass shows up better.

Track is also neither here nor there, except for hurdles. 

Wrestling, it's better to be shorter. Lower to the ground and your opponent has got less lank to grab a hold of.


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## Squaggleboggin (Dec 10, 2005)

Sir Savage said:
			
		

> This just depends.
> 
> Basketball, it's obviously better to be taller. Or if you're short, gotta' have a really good vertical.
> 
> ...



One could argue, however, that a taller bodybuilder can eventually pack on much more mass than a shorter one. This could additional mass could allow the bodybuilder's weak points to become 'hidden' and may allow the bodybuilder to have better symmetry relative to mass.


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## myCATpowerlifts (Dec 10, 2005)

Mudge said:
			
		

> Like you I'm in the middle, seems like a fine place to be to me. Any taller would honestly feel like a burden.



A burden how so?
Clothes wise? Anything else?


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## BigDyl (Dec 10, 2005)

kicka19 said:
			
		

> i hate emo




It's ok I'll cry for you... after I kill you.


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## BigDyl (Dec 10, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Don't talk like that.  That's nonsense.  I'm going to get as strong as I possibly can, and you should too.



Yeah, I can motivate myself with inspirational music and set dreamy goals.  I have to be realistic though.  The only way to reach these goals is with the aid of "research chemicals..."


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## CowPimp (Dec 10, 2005)

BigDyl said:
			
		

> Yes, I can motivate myself with inspiration music and set dreamy goals.  I have to be realistic though.  The only way to reach these goals is with the aid of "research chemicals..."



Could be.  You might as well try though.  You have many years of lifting ahead of you.


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## Skate67 (Dec 12, 2005)

Steele20 said:
			
		

> Love my height. 5'10. However, some girls only prefer to date giants



Try being just under 5'8"  .


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## silencer (Dec 12, 2005)

...Im 6'2" , and its great. I wouldn't mind being 1 inch taller to be honest, but I'm generally pretty happy with my height.


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## Mithamo (Dec 12, 2005)

"A burden how so?
Clothes wise? Anything else?"

Airplanes dude, airplanes suck. like to travel? better be able to afford first class cuz a 10+hour airplane ride is like a whole basketball season on them knees. 

6'3" 180 lbs

I'm an all out ecto at this point. I put on muscle a little slower than most but once it gets there, i'll still be tall. I guess id prefer to be tall and lean, then short and powerfull... which works out nicely cuz i have no choice


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## smallfry (Dec 19, 2005)

i guess being shorter is better in a way but i have hell changing light bulbs...


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## Mudge (Dec 19, 2005)

myCATpowerlifts said:
			
		

> A burden how so?
> Clothes wise? Anything else?



Having to bend over for everything made miniature for everyone else, getting into and out of cars, you name it. I already find that things are smaller than they should be, especially some old hotels I've been in, although those are small for near anyone now (because people were smaller back then).

Plus, imagine chicks who are all 1-1.5 feet shorter. 1 foot shorter is already common for me, and thats still not quite ideal.


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## tucker01 (Dec 19, 2005)

I am 6'1" wouldn't mind being 6'4" or 6'5"


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## Doublebase (Dec 19, 2005)

Chics dig tall guys.  They like to feel protected.


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## poloblue22 (Dec 19, 2005)

Wait so being taller actually hurts you in benching?


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## Squaggleboggin (Dec 19, 2005)

poloblue22 said:
			
		

> Wait so being taller actually hurts you in benching?



If you had longer arms you'd need to move the weights over a longer distance. Wouldn't you rather move them the least possible distance to complete the lift?


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## IJ300 (Dec 19, 2005)

wouldn't the longer arms give you more leverage though?


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## clemson357 (Dec 19, 2005)

I'd like to be 6'1'', 210 lbs

I definitely wouldn't want to be shorter than 5'10''


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## Squaggleboggin (Dec 20, 2005)

IJ300 said:
			
		

> wouldn't the longer arms give you more leverage though?



Imagine your arms being ten times as long while having the same strength. Now do a bench press. It takes a lot more energy now that you have to move the weights a longer distance, doesn't it? Thus, you probably can't move as much weight for a 1RM. I don't believe having longer arms would make any other noticeable differences. I could be wrong though.


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## CowPimp (Dec 20, 2005)

IJ300 said:
			
		

> wouldn't the longer arms give you more leverage though?



If anything, leverage is worse.  There is now additional torque created because the line of action is further away from the axis of rotation.  This is true at least in the case of the muscles working around the shoulder complex in the bench press.  The elbow joint is unaffected by torque as the line of action is directly in line with the elbow joint.


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## MattV (Dec 20, 2005)

themamasan said:
			
		

> Question:
> 
> In bench press would you rather be tall (6'4" or taller) and press around 300lbs, or would you rather be stronger ( bench press around 400 lbs ) and not be tall (5'5 - 5'10)?
> 
> I was wondering because a lot of my friends say they would want to be as tall as me, look leaner, and be fairly strong vs. being their height and have more strength.  They also say it is more impressive when a tall guy presses a certain amount of weight, because of their arm length and the distance they have to travel for a complete movement.


Alot of people say Height plays a major role in the amount one can bench.  I do not believe this is true.  If someone is 6'8 they will just need a wider grip then the person around 5'8, 5-10.  I believe wider can compensate for taller people in the bench, although I must admit I don't see very many 6'5 people benching World Records.  Just my opinion,  .


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## CowPimp (Dec 20, 2005)

MattV said:
			
		

> Alot of people say Height plays a major role in the amount one can bench.  I do not believe this is true.  If someone is 6'8 they will just need a wider grip then the person around 5'8, 5-10.  I believe wider can compensate for taller people in the bench, although I must admit I don't see very many 6'5 people benching World Records.  Just my opinion,  .



Some of that has to do with the fact that in powerlifting there is a maximum wrip width that is legal.  Also, at a certain point you are going to have to weigh the impingment of your shoulder joint against the ability to push more weight.


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## rgrmike74 (Dec 21, 2005)

AT 6'5" 230 im fairly happy.  sometimes i wish i were shorter so i would appear bigger but love my height since i stick out in a crowd. When i graduated high school i weighed 175 and it sucked bieng tall and skinny cause you stick out for all the wrong reasons! But damn my abs looked great back then!


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## themamasan (Dec 21, 2005)

rgrmike74 said:
			
		

> AT 6'5" 230 im fairly happy.  sometimes i wish i were shorter so i would appear bigger but love my height since i stick out in a crowd. When i graduated high school i weighed 175 and it sucked bieng tall and skinny cause you stick out for all the wrong reasons! But damn my abs looked great back then!




yeah, I here yah.  I was the exact same way.  Graduated High School at 6'5" 173lbs.  I loved my abs but still looked like death.  I am now 6'6" 245lbs and much happier even though I can't see my abs anymore...but I am literally more than twice my strength on the major exercises.


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## CooLdude (Dec 22, 2005)

5'8 and love it to death    being shorter also lets you look buff easier with less mass.


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