I'm 6'8....Any Advice For Lifting?

I’m 18, 6’8", and 220lbs, and I’ve had a regimented lifting routine for about two months. I’ve read a lot of the previous tall man articles, and got some information from that, but I was wondering if any really tall guys or anyone period, had anything else to add?

You’re big and at prime growing age. Hit the weights hard, concentrate on the big lifts in the beginning to get a foundation of muscle and technique (work your ENTIRE body not just a year of arms and abs pussyfying workouts), then specialize and sculpt your body into what you want to see it look like. Eat, lift, get laid, and begin to slightly think of what you want to do when you get “all growns up.” Simple as that!

Listen to Cressey’s interview on T-Nation radio. He discussed some other strategies he uses in training taller guys.

Is there anything specifically you’re having trouble with?

Duck when you go through doorways!

Other than that, yeah, I think there are articles on here that mention leverage issues for tall people.

Other than that, you are probably still human, so most of the same rules will apply, though you have the potential to be a huge damned beast.

Mayhaps he meant for strength/power kind of thing? For bbing, it’d be a blessing to be tall but for powerlifting… well, I believe he’d very much struggle.

You’re one big dude. I thought I had it tough being 6’4’'.Damn!

You’re at the perfect age to lift.
Stick to plenty of compound movements.Don’t be the scrawny kid in the gym doing tricep kick-backs with 5 pound dumbbells. Do lots of squats,deadlifts,bench presses,dips,chin ups,pull downs,leg presses,srugs,and rows.
No matter what you do make sure you eat.You’re a big boy and I’m sure you’ll need plenty calories(lots of carbs protein,and good fats) to gain some mass.

I drink raw milk like water when I’m bulking.It’s like magic.
Eat,lift,sleep.Repeat.

Yeah, hes pretty huge. I feel I have a hard time being 5’11", most guys in PLing being very short or weighing a ton.

I’ve upped my eating up as much as possible because I’m going for strength and mass gains right now, but I can’t eat as selectively/healthy as would like because I’m a freshman in college.

However, it looks like I will have gained the Freshman 15 by the end of the year, except a solid 15 instead of a flabby one. I’m Bench 1RMing about 190 (conservative est.) and it seems like my weakpoint is my chest because of the angle of my arms at the bottom of the lift.

I’m soon going to implement 1.5rep exercises as mentioned in a previous article, and am going to experiment with Oscillatory Isometric chest exercises, and holding the weight at my sticking point for extended periods of time. Is this a good idea, and are there any suggestions for different ones?

def. squat and deadlift. it’ll suck at first to get the form esp. being so tall, but it will put size on you like no other. I know, I’m 6’7 and was exactly where you are a few years ago. the squats and deads will make you thicker, which you need.

I don’t think you have to get all crazy with bench other then to go heavy with it and get your form down(don’t let your tri’s and delts take over). your still a beginner and should see some nice gains.

Seriously, most squat racks are about 7’, while some are actually only 6.5’.

[quote]SpeedStrength wrote:
Seriously, most squat racks are about 7’, while some are actually only 6.5’.[/quote]

those are the midget squat racks…

[quote]SpeedStrength wrote:
Yeah, hes pretty huge. I feel I have a hard time being 5’11", most guys in PLing being very short or weighing a ton.[/quote]

You have a hard time being 5’11"?! I hope you’re implying that you’re shorter than you’d like to be. Don’t know how you’d manage to be competitive what with your long limbs and all.

6’8" is pretty tall, I wish I was that tall, but I don’t have anything to add other than that cause I’m almost a foot shorter and I’ve never trained with anyone over 6’4"

Actually, that was contradicting yourself. It would be best to be short, thus shorter limbs. I would rather be shorter actually, I have a much harder time lifting than shorter counterparts.

drop the weights and pick up a basketball. then call me once the nba draft season kicks in.

[quote]SpeedStrength wrote:
Actually, that was contradicting yourself. It would be best to be short, thus shorter limbs. I would rather be shorter actually, I have a much harder time lifting than shorter counterparts. [/quote]

The part about you having long limbs was sarcasm…I don’t know why someone would rather be shorter in order to have a smaller ROM so they could perform a lift better, to each their own, but I don’t understand it.

Just a couple thoughts from someone who has been there. I’m 6’9" and when I was your age I weighed maybe 205. Painfully skinny and weak. I’m 43 now and around 265 now after having lifted for a couple of years. Still nowhere near as big and strong I want to be, but I have a few more decades to get there.

Do yourself a favor and go re-read what Cthulhu wrote. At 220, you need thickness and that’s the way to do it. Big, compound movements. And eat. Now go eat again. You’re lucky, you have a lot of time ahead of you.

Educate yourself as to form and find someone who knows their shit who can help you critique your movements. I make no special allowances for my height. Yeah, my legs, torso, and arms are longer than anyone else, but they’re in the same proportions as a 5’11" guy. So I just lift the same as anyone else. No excuses or rationalizations. I use the same guidelines for foot spacing on deads and squats and so on.

You probably have a hell of a long stroke on your lifts (my bench stroke is 26 inches) but don’t think of it as a negative. I make it a positive by embracing the fact that I spend more TUT (time under tension) as a result of simply having to take more time to move the weight further. More TUT, better results in the long run. And that’s what it is, a long process. So be patient and do the right things and it will pay off.

Just be sure to have a complete program and don’t do what I did by over-emphasizing the Bench Press in the beginning. I fell into that trap but am climbing out of it. My numbers are way out of whack as my 1-rep max in the bench is 359, but only 405 in the deadlift and a relatively paltry 343 on the squat. That’s not a result of being tall, it’s a result of being a dumbass. If you do it right from the start, you’ll be in great shape.

Train hard. Train smart. Eat. Rest. And enjoy the changes you make to your body!

6’6" here. Used to be 6’7" but you shrink when you’re older :slight_smile:

If you’ve searched the topic, you’ve learned a lot. Squat with the weight low on your back, use the leg press more, and so forth. Lots of good stuff here on the Nation.

Personally, mix it up. Do CW’s 10x3. If you do a sport, do some bw exercises as well. With our long levers, bw is great for us.

Anyway, you’re on the right track. Good work.

[quote]slimjim wrote:
SpeedStrength wrote:
Actually, that was contradicting yourself. It would be best to be short, thus shorter limbs. I would rather be shorter actually, I have a much harder time lifting than shorter counterparts.

The part about you having long limbs was sarcasm…I don’t know why someone would rather be shorter in order to have a smaller ROM so they could perform a lift better, to each their own, but I don’t understand it.[/quote]

I just don’t see any advantage in being tall but huge advantages to being short(not too short of course). Also, its not just my height, I have a short torso with long limbs. If I just had shorter limbs and a longer torso I’d be happy. None-the-less, thats no excuse not to succeed at lifting, no matter how tall you are.

Not only could shorter levers help with lifting more, but also helping in other areas of sporting such as sprinting.
Plus, its annoying seeing my relatives and having them exclaim how tall I am…

you get more chicks when you’re tall. Just an observation.

[quote]SpeedStrength wrote:
Plus, its annoying seeing my relatives and having them exclaim how tall I am…[/quote]

Do you come from a long line of circus midgets? Isn’t the average height for guys like 5’10"?