Compound movements for the tall

[harbinator]

I know Arnold discusses in his encyclopedia how he had to do his squats differently because of his height. What modifcations have the taller members here had to make to lifts like the deadlift and squats specifically those 6'2 and over?

Im 6'5 btw

 

[super_rice]

bullshit. you squat and deadlift all the same no matter what height you are. you might have some problems if you were 7ft+ though

anyway, the positions are just harder to hit because so many of you tall folk are too inflexible to get in hole. look up good shoulder girdle and all the lower body stretches and work on getting deep on your squats and comfortable with conventional deads.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I am 6'4 myself and I manage to do squats and deadlifts normally after a bit of practise.The squat was tricky at first,but that was due to poor flexablity and balance.I stretch almost every day in order to keep flexability in the lower body and practise the form frequently as well.I actually learned to do olympic style front squats before back squats as they force you to maintain good position and allow you to go deeper then normal back squats.Dont give up on squats/deadlifts just because they are a little tricky,even if you have to practise with a empty bar for a few weeks/months the movement will come and both movements pay dividends in strength that are too good to ignore.

Height is no excuse for skimping on these movements.

 

[kethnaab]

you lurpee fuckers are typically good deadlifters.

squat is tough, long lever and all that. definitely can't squat the same as a stumpy guy.

use the pull as your "heavy" exercise while you work on flexibility and squat technique.

and learn Good mornings.

 

[cyrex]

I'm 6'4" and I don't tend to have too much of a problem with either of them, but I have shorter legs than your average 6'4" guy. I've got a very long torso so I'm not sure if that helps or not, but my legs are not very lanky.

 

[musketeer]

Front squats was Arnold'd solution.

I'm 6'0" so def not short but not very tall. Wider stance may be an improvement over typical shoulder width heels, for squats. DLing should be cool, but you will be pulling from a deeper position so you wil have a longer ROM and more stress on the back at the beginning.

 

[Madcow2]

If you are reading Arnold's Enclyclopedia, I'm guessing you are fairly new to this. That is not a good book to learn about training although it can be entertaining. I would highly suggest investing in Starting Strength which provides some of the most detailed lengthy and comprehensive instruction on the core lifts available. It's a coaches book designed to teach correctly and teach how to identify technical flaws. Since most are their own coach, it's invaluable. And I will just say that I see very very few people performing even the squat correctly (i.e. my standards are not high - people just don't know what they are doing and aren't learning from the books they read and internet). Other very seasoned lifters have bought it here and been very pleased with it.

I'm 6'3" - I can do all the lifts. If you have longer legs relative to your torso, squatting may take some time to get down and solid (mainly flexability issues and it's a huge range of motion for very tall guys). Likewise, long arms make the bench harder as longer forearms require more depth to touch the chest (unless you have a giant barrell chest and weigh a lot). Long lever lengths in general work against pushing and pressing movements (typically as one gains weight and adds muscle to the frame and levers this improves). As was alluded to above, pulling tends to work well with long arms to decrease range of motion and a super long posterior chain to leverage against the bar. And this is why some tall guys with dogshit benches and mediocre squats can surprisingly strong functionally relative to their gym lifts (i.e. look at Strongman competitions, big tall guys who are generally very good pullers).

 

[altimus]

yea, im 6'1" and the bench isnt anything to write home about, but ive always been able to pull pretty well. im only about 190 lbs, but pulled 415 about a week ago. my flexibility isnt what it should be so my squat stance is a lil wider than shoulder width, but hey, work with whatcha got. alt

 

[Illuminati]

height is just an excuse for bad form

 

[harbinator]

Thanks guys, I took your advice and purchased "Starting Strength" I really want to learn these movements.

I have bad knee problems which is what hindered my squat/deadlift the most but after losing 70lb and getting alot stronger my knees are feeling better than ever and I want to start squatting/deadlifting.

 

[BiggT]

You'll get a lot out of 'Starting Strength'....it is a great investment, and for $30 people will save themselves the frustration of making no progress and dumping 10 times the cost of that book into the supplement industry and magazine empire looking for the right voodoo spell and magic potion that just doesn't exist.

As for the original question, yeah, height means nothing. I'm 5'11", so I am in no man's land, not short, not tall. I do have monkey arms and I'm a natural deadlifter, but flat benching was always a good lift for me too, I train squats harder than anything else, but they will never be my best lift.......so go figure........ but I say just fill your frame out with muscle and improve your leverages. Everyone has different leverages, 2 guys the same, exact height may have totally different strength and weaknesses in terms of leverages. Everybody will have lifts that are natural for them and one's they simply suck at, you can be great at the lifts you're a natural on, and you can be very respectable on the ones you suck at.

The whole 'tall guys have poor leverage' thing is a pet peeve of mine, and I really have no idea how it started (I suspect bodybuilding, but I am not gonna say because I really do not know for sure). It is assinine. World-class shotputters are generally 6' to 6'6" as a whole and as a whole they have some of the most impressive lifts out of any sport. Top-level strongmen are tall guys, most are natural deadlifters, and most also have huge overhead press numbers and huge squats. I've trained with many guys 6'2 to 6'8 and not once did anybody say they're tall and have poor leverage, hell, it is an advantage, because when you fill out your frame and get good leverage, you're that much heavier and that much better because you can carry more weight with more height.

In my experience, individual leverages and proportions make one natural or not so natural on a lift....and individual leverages and proportions really have nothing to do with overall height.

I know this thread is a week or so old, but I came across it and wanted to say 'Starting Strength' is a great buy, and don't let anyone tell you you're tall and will have poor gym lifts, because that is just ridiculous.

 

[TheOak84]

i love arnold, but hes a bitch when he squats, if his stance was wider and his hips were stronger hed have bigger legs.

i dont think he wanted his legs bigger though. he most likely didnt care, he was arnold, an icon, he still is.. people will listen to him and believe him no matter what, but the smart people will questiong him and prove him wrong..

ya, do 50 sets for chest, it worked for me cuz im 7 times mr O.. blah

ahhnold is the man... he always will be, i just wouldnt listen to him... EVER!