Size Matters.... At least to me

KaiserSose · 16-Mar-06, 10:37 PM

I'm not talking about the size of that.. but if that's a problem for you check your email inbox, I hear IT CAN GROW UP TO THREE INCHES!!!! Anyways, what I'm referring to is height. I'm not a real small guy, but I'm definetly slightly shorter than average at 5'9. I've noticed recently that height does make a real big difference in how a body looks with muscle. The taller guys with the big backs, stand out, the little guys with the thick frame look stiff and uncoordinated, at least in my opinion. Two inches would make such a difference for me, as it would put me at 5'11, and 6'1 with some lugz on. I guess it is just frusterating because its really something I can't do anything about. Do any of you smaller guys feel the same way? Or are you guys fine with the Tie Domi look?

DaRkAnGel · 16-Mar-06, 10:39 PM

I'm closer to 5'11 than 5'9 but i've never really had a problem with not being tall.

Don't see why height matters to you that much...

**MAURER** · 16-Mar-06, 10:43 PM

believe me i know the feeling im 5'6. i wish i was 5'9. theres not really much you can do about it though so why worry about it? there are things worse than being short.

KaiserSose · 16-Mar-06, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaRkAnGel

I'm closer to 5'11 than 5'9 but i've never really had a problem with not being tall.

Don't see why height matters to you that much...

Trust me 5'11 is a big difference from 5'9, just as 5'9 is a big difference from 5'7. Next time you are at the gym take a look around. Check out the guys who are really strong but only like 5'4-5'7. To me they just don't seem as mobile and proportinate. It's not a huge deal, but its one of those things I haven't really seen discussed much here and was wondering if any of the smaller guys felt the same.

I guess I should also mention, it's not something I'm extremely hung up on, just one of those things I wish I could change.

DaRkAnGel · 16-Mar-06, 11:32 PM

Count your blessings:

Less rom on bench, less rom on squat, less rom on deadlift, less rom in all lifts pretty much.

A smaller frame also makes any amount of muscle you put on look proportionately bigger.

SNPiccolo5 · 17-Mar-06, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaRkAnGel

Count your blessings:

Less rom on bench, less rom on squat, less rom on deadlift, less rom in all lifts pretty much.

A smaller frame also makes any amount of muscle you put on look proportionately bigger.

Exactly- I'm 5'4", and that's pretty much where it's staying, and I'm not planning on adding tons of mass... Yeah 5'4" is really short, but you learn to live with it...

-Tim

KaiserSose · 17-Mar-06, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Exactly- I'm 5'4", and that's pretty much where it's staying, and I'm not planning on adding tons of mass

Actually, I personally think that at least from an aesthetic standpoint, its better for a smaller guy not to try and add a lot of mass. There is this guy at my gym who looks like a block and whose arms no longer hang naturally because he is so thick and small.

SNPiccolo5 · 17-Mar-06, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaiserSose

Actually, I personally think that at least from an aesthetic standpoint, its better for a smaller guy not to try and add a lot of mass. There is this guy at my gym who looks like a block and whose arms no longer hang naturally because he is so thick and small.

I agree- aesthetically I don't want to look like a block... Right now, of course, I'm not worrying about anything like that, because I haven't been lifting long enough, but several years down the road hopefully I'll have to pay more attention to it.

-Tim

**.V.** · 17-Mar-06, 08:17 AM

The smaller guy doesn't have to build as much muscle to look bigger as the tall guy. Yes, they can look like a block if they aren't very good with nutrition and work for the "v-shaped" torso. A short guy with that - looks like a beast. Think about it - if you are 3 inches shorter than me (I'm 6') and we have the same arm measurements. Mine are only 15.25". Mine look long and skinny - your's would look huge.

And I know this midget who says that all short guys have really big...well, never mind, I just took his word for it anyway. Anyway God made it up to them since he left them unable to reach things on the top shelf.

**maverick** · 17-Mar-06, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KaiserSose

Check out the guys who are really strong but only like 5'4-5'7. To me they just don't seem as mobile and proportinate.

I think Lee Priest would disagree. And just so you know man, 5'9" is the average height for males.

etothepii · 17-Mar-06, 09:39 AM

I'm 5'6", and have never really enjoyed being short. That being said, I once read a list of advantages that shorter people have over taller when it comes to building muscle. I forget most of them. On is that you get a complete stretch of a muscle with less overall motion, so you use less energy to get the same result. Also, a shorter person can lift more... think of the way a lever works. In a bicept curl, a tall person has a lever(forearm) that is longer, so the perceived weight is more.

KaiserSose · 17-Mar-06, 10:58 AM

Quote:

I think Lee Priest would disagree. And just so you know man, 5'9" is the average height for males.

Checked out Lee Priest, he has a very impressive body, but to me, I think with clothes on, he would look very blockish.

Also, I agree that 5'9 is the average but you have to take into account that it's the world average, not the average in America. There are over a billion people in china alone and there average is much smaller than 5'9. I think in America the average is probably closer to 5'11.

Also an unimportant side note, for all guys who felt good about 5 inches being the average for something else, sorry guys, once again a world average.

**maverick** · 17-Mar-06, 11:08 AM

Nope, thats the American average.

KaiserSose · 17-Mar-06, 11:11 AM

Actually you are right, I just checked, it's 5'9 1/2. Well, that makes me feel a little better.

**.V.** · 17-Mar-06, 11:26 AM

Can't do anything about how...erm "tall" you are in any part of the discussion. So don't worry about it, just make the most quality muscle you can, make the most strength you can, keep your body fat where you want it to be, and say, "the hell with the rest".

My height is 6'0", my shoe size is 11 medium, my ring size is 11, my inseam is 34". Nothing will change any of that - so I don't worry about it and do the best I can with what I have. My waist size I can control - so I do. My chest size I can try to improve, so I do. My arm thickness, I can try to add to, so I do.

Worry about what you can change...let the rest go.

Just an example of why not to worry. 5'7" 134 lbs. Would you have called him a wuss?