WHAT?!? small guy lifts more than bigger guys?!

[HulkRow]

i dont get it....in my gym theres guys that cant lift shit and strain when lifting, then i come along and lift double/triple what they do....is it there all fat?? or are my bones are just so small it makes my arms look small as well?!?

 

[jstrong20]

Size does not really mean someone is strong and their is lots of small guys that are strong as hell. How you trains plays a big role in it as well as some people are just naturaly strong.

 

[b fold the truth]

There are lots of guys who are bigger than I am. They have higher squats, deads, and benches than I do..but they can't beat me on a single event.

B True

 

[Haz]

There are alot of factors involved in determining a person's strength. Its not just the guy with the biggest muscles. Some people's muscle simply can produce more force, pound for pound (probably has to do with types of muscle fibers). Also, biomechanics come into play. I used to know a guy, really short with stubby arms, just perfect for bench pressing. At 170 lbs he could bench 350 in highschool. He's probably doing well over 400 pounds now.

 

[Zirakzigil]

and dont forget maybe the big guy was doing a cool down set lol

 

[Burncycle360]

There's this tall guy supposted to be really athletic in my old school, he was strained to do 130 bench when I could easily do 180

and it's a big eye opener when I beat bigger people in arm wreastleing, lol

the big problem is this kid who's also into martial arts, he doesen't look all that built (very cut though) but his muscles, though they aren't huge, are Dense!!! I couldn't even beat him with two hands

 

[brianmincher]

This is often shocking to the bodybuilding community, but what a person looks like doesn't mean shit in an athletic endeavor. I have been beaten in armwrestling by a guy who has never seen the inside of a weight room and never picked up anything heavier than a 12 ouncer in his life. I was much heavier, there was not a single gym lift that I could not beat this guy on by a mile, but he put my arm down. Curtis Loeffler (sp?) competed in WSM a few years ago right after a bodybuilding show. It was the most dramatic WSM I ever saw, because this monster of a man, veiny and thick as all get out was getting his ass handed to him by guys who were smooth and many times much smaller especially in the arms and legs.

Function over form. Sometimes the smaller guy is stronger. Sometimes the fatter guy is faster. This is weird, I agree, but it is just the way it is.

B.

 

[b fold the truth]

brianmincher: Heck of a post man. It has taken me a while to realize that how I look on contest day will NOT determine how I perform. It has taken me a while to cope with not having a huge chest anymore...but it doesn't matter how strong my chest is when I have to compete in an overhead lift.

It does not matter how my abs look or how shaped anything is...it will only matter how they perform.

B True

 

[Lord_Suston]

There are a few answers to this question:

1) some people's CNS (central nervous system) is more effecient in sending messages and crerating electrical impulse to fire muscle fibers. ie.. coordination

2) some people have different muscle insetion points, this creates differnent angles on the levers and might make some more efficient at some excercisse than other people.

3) different types of muscle fibers. different people have a different % of slow: fast: fog twitch muscle fibers. each has its own adaptive characteristic, some are suited for endurance and others are for strength. So someome with mostly fast twitch fibers will be better suited to lift heavier weights for quick burst, but probably couldn't run a mile.

 

[SSAlexSS]

i dont get it....in my gym theres guys that cant lift shit and strain when lifting, then i come along and lift double/triple what they do....is it there all fat?? or are my bones are just so small it makes my arms look small as well?!?

SIZE doesnt mean strength!

compound exercises can give you more strength unlike isolation movements. But strength isnt size!

neurological factors are far more important than muscle size for strength!

That why compound movements are overated... Their good for strenth since you can put in lots of weight, but they arent good for sizee, since people focus too much on strenth and since many muscles are involved, it is hard to concentrate on any of them!