A few years ago I read an argument
on a forum about short guys -vs- tall guys when it came to the bench press.
In general shorter guys tend to develop strength quickly in pressing movements.
I trained with a guy who was 5'6" and was able to bench press 225 after just 2-3 weeks of lifting weights for the first time.
In my 10+ years of lifting in a commercial gym... the typical guy who has the ability to bench press 405+ is generally 5'6" to about 5'10".
Taller men and women tend to do better at pulling movements.
I believed this for years, then someone made a comment that some of the strongest men of all time have been 6'3" or greater.
Here's an example of a super strong guy named Adam Bishop who's 6'3" and 320 pounds.
He doesn't "look" tall.
It took me a second to figure this out.
Here's the thing, he has relatively short arms for his height.
His hands reach just past his hips...
I'm not saying he has arms as short as a T-Rex.
But...
The more T-Rex someone is, the stronger they are in pressing movements.
Probably more strength in general.
A tall T-Rex Human is rare!
I'm talking like Godzilla rare.
For every Godzilla (tall human with short arms) there are probably 100 hundred+ T-Rex (shorter human with short arms).
So in a typical gym.
The guys who have no problem benching 315+ are almost always T-Rex humans.
Benching 405 is mostly a T-Rex trait (unless you have a Godzilla person training in your gym).
Godzilla's are rare!
The actor who played "The Mountain" on Game of Thrones is 6'9".
He is a super strong Godzilla.
Godzilla guys who are 6'3"+ have more strength potential than a T-Rex.
But, the majority of tall guys don't have this T-Rex/Godzilla type of build.
MOST tall guys are built with short torsos and LONG limbs... most guys in the NBA are built this way.
Kevin Durant is a good example.
His elbows touch his hips when his arms are at his side.
He was unable to bench press 145 when he entered the NBA.
He's 6'10" but with a 7'5" wingspan.
Most tall men and women have short torsos and LONG arms like Durant.
Most short men and women have shorter limbs in relation to their height.
But there are short Durant-like humans as well (short but not T-Rex like).
Strength is also dictated by frame size.
Here's a quick, somewhat accurate test.
Grab your left wrist with your right hand and try and touch your thumb and middle finger.
- Thumb and middle finger overlapping with ease (small-framed ectomorph who doesn't gain muscle as easily, but has an easier time staying lean).
- Thumb and middle finger touching each other (medium-framed mesomorph who gains muscle easily).
- Thumb and middle finger doesn’t come into contact (large frame endomorph who gains both body fat and muscle easily).
If you are a T-Rex who has a hard time touching your thumb and middle finger around your wrist, you likely have a much greater strength potential than a Durant build who can easily overlap the thumb and middle finger.
There are a LOT of body types out there.
This is one of the reasons I don't have strength goals in my book "12 Weeks Physical Transformation Journey."
Strength standards are probably be too easy for the T-Rex peeps and too hard for the long-armed Durant body types.
Plus...
You could have a small frame on top and large on bottom, etc.
Anyway...
Each body variation has its advantages and disadvantages.
This is just my bizarre way of explaining
