Anyone in a similar situation to me?
I am 6’4, but have a wingspan of 6’1. So my arms are still kind of long, but relatively short for my height. Try deadlifting being built like THAT! Plus I have a pretty long torso. I absolutely love dealifting, but it is difficult to do and keep my back flat. Sometimes I think my back is flat, but it is actually rounding a bit at the lowest part of my back. I feel that after the set is done, trust me on that.
[quote]kheaslim wrote:
Anyone in a similar situation to me?
I am 6’4, but have a wingspan of 6’1. So my arms are still kind of long, but relatively short for my height. Try deadlifting being built like THAT! Plus I have a pretty long torso. I absolutely love dealifting, but it is difficult to do and keep my back flat. Sometimes I think my back is flat, but it is actually rounding a bit at the lowest part of my back. I feel that after the set is done, trust me on that.[/quote]
Ab work my friend. Obviously work your entire core, but focus on your lower abs. Also, don’t forget to stretch your hip flexors about an hour after your workout along with everything else (hammies, lower back, etc)…and get a foam roller. I’m so glad I bought one.
[quote]4est wrote:
Big_Country wrote:
… The “Lurch” article and “Lousy Leverages” article are great and explain why us taller guys have a hard time LOOKING big. But I, in no way, use them as an excuse…
UH… Lousy Leverages helps you OVERCOME being long limbed, helps you lift MORE weight and GROW. It’s the opposite of an excuse article.[/quote]
Dude, chill out. I meant that I don’t use long limbs as excuses. I never called the it an “excuse article.” What I meant by “them” was my limbs, not the articles.
I know I didn’t exactly word my post correctly. I meant to say that the “Lurch” article does a great job of explaining why taller guys have a hard time of looking large.
I guess my wording threw the meaning of my post off.
Chris
[quote]Big_Country wrote:
4est wrote:
Big_Country wrote:
… The “Lurch” article and “Lousy Leverages” article are great and explain why us taller guys have a hard time LOOKING big. But I, in no way, use them as an excuse…
UH… Lousy Leverages helps you OVERCOME being long limbed, helps you lift MORE weight and GROW. It’s the opposite of an excuse article.
Dude, chill out. I meant that I don’t use long limbs as excuses. I never called the it an “excuse article.” What I meant by “them” was my limbs, not the articles.
I know I didn’t exactly word my post correctly. I meant to say that the “Lurch” article does a great job of explaining why taller guys have a hard time of looking large.
I guess my wording threw the meaning of my post off.
Chris[/quote]
It might take a lot more work for us tall guys to show significant size gains, but when we’re huge everybody and their dog knows it.
Hey you could accept your limitations being taller, and say you can’t do it. Or you can work harder in the gym, use your height to get the 5’10 model that the shorter guys can’t do, and take more time and effort to build your body. I’m 6’1 so not as tall as you guys, but all my height is in my torso. I fought full contact karate up until I was 20 at 6’1 140 lbs. Now I am up to a pretty steady 215, with my bench being 350/2, DL 365/3, Squat 405/2. I think my DL weakness comes from back injuries while fighting.
Another advantage is when the shorter guys put on some bodyfat, it is immeadiately evident. Us taller guys have it working the other way for us as well. Putting on 5 pounds of BF for a tall guy isnt the end of the world, for a 5’6 guy it most certainly is.
I’m 6’4’’ and every single day I train I train as if it were my last:
Hard work and full of dead lifts.
Boooya!
Thanks for the reply’s,keep em coming.
Looks of good advice guys.Ive been focusing on calves lately.Those of u with long lower limbs know how hard it is to build up the calves.Mine are around 18 inch but need a lot more work to get to “huge status”
The one thing about being tall and fairly big is that u see all these punks in the gym who train in their tank tops showing off their ripped up little body’s.
Some of them are fairly big but when they put their shirt on to go home they just look like a normal person u would see on the street where as the tall guy especially if the guy has big shoulders and traps makes u go FUUUUUUUUCK thats one big unit.
Another thing with being tall is small joints.I have very small wrists 7 inches and skinny ankles so get some joint pain every now and again but the plus side is it makes your muscles look even bigger 
Peace
K of K
Hahaha how bout the perspective of someone who’s 5’7 (im sure that would fit into the midget grouping you put us into above).
I played college football on a team where most everyone was over 6’2
Not a single one of them had issues gaining weight…if anything it was the short fast guys like myself that had the trouble.
They did the same olympic lifts and the same basic lifts as everyone else except they ate more. You guys have all the advantages in the world…dont make excuses 
Tall guys that are big are more impressive. There’s a bouncer at a club in my city that also works out at my gym that’s gotta be 6’7 and jacked. Arms bigger than mine, but double the length as well. It’s crazy seeing him up close. I definitly would not mess with this guy.
Marcus Rhul, Paul Dillet, Roland Kickinger sp? are tall bodybuilders. A bigger frame always looks better when developed to it’s full potential. Well, not always but all things being symmetrical it will.
Being tall is a blessing IMO. I’m a little over 6’3 and the cool thing about it between myself and the shorter guys i’ve worked out with is that for me it’s very easy to build alot of width. Getting to look very wide at the shoulders is so easy with my frame. But getting thick is a while other story for a tall guy.
For the short guy, getting thick is relatively easy, or at least easier. But getting wide is where the problem is.
As far as exercises are concerned. It’s all the standard stuff everyone else does.
[quote]Dirty Tiger wrote:
I am 6’4.
I use dumbells for Bench Press.[/quote]
Do you gain in the regular bench by using mainly/only db’s?
I mainly use a BB for bench press. I use DBs for inclines.
[quote]carandrew wrote:
Dirty Tiger wrote:
I am 6’4.
I use dumbells for Bench Press.
Do you gain in the regular bench by using mainly/only db’s?[/quote]
I am starting over from scratch after a few years off from training but, yes I did.
Whem I was in my twenties, my chest was the strongest and most developed when I focused on Flat Dumbell presses.
Check out my “Double Tap” interview on T-Nation radio (available in the Media and Art section to the left of the screen). I’ve worked with five guys 6-10 and taller in the past three years, and we talked about modifying training for taller guys in the interview.
Weight is weight. If you’ve got big-ass db’s at your gym then you can still gain as well as you could with bb’s, maybe even better since you’re including more stabilizer muscles. I personall use db’s exclusively for by benchpresses because of my past shoulder problems.
[quote]WolBarret wrote:
Tall people suck…just wanted to throw that out there.
5’10 guy leaves the room[/quote]
Why do tall people suck?
[quote]Jason B wrote:
Bench has always been a strong lift for me. My squat sucks. I use the “I have to move the weight farther” excuse all the time on squat. I am working on my deadlift and it is coming along. I have always focused more on bodybuilding, but now at 35 I am focusing more on some powerlifting.
Based on recent gym sessions I would put my bench at aroun 385, deadlift at 425, and squat at 295. Yes, 295, it sucks, but I have to move the weight farther!
[/quote]
Now that’s funny!
[quote]kheaslim wrote:
Anyone in a similar situation to me?
I am 6’4, but have a wingspan of 6’1. So my arms are still kind of long, but relatively short for my height. Try deadlifting being built like THAT! Plus I have a pretty long torso. I absolutely love dealifting, but it is difficult to do and keep my back flat. Sometimes I think my back is flat, but it is actually rounding a bit at the lowest part of my back. I feel that after the set is done, trust me on that.[/quote]
Is this shorter wingspan beneficial in the bench?
Just found this thread…
Currently 6’4" 265, 35 y/o. I also have a “small” frame, 7" wrists. Genetically I come from a 6’4" father who walked around at 250-260 easily, but my mom is 5’4" and never broke 110 lbs. Got my dad’s height, but my mom’s frame. Went to college at 6’2", 147 as a cross country runner. Left college at 175, my starting weight when I began lifting.
First, make no excuses. The main guy I trained with for 7-8 years was a 5’8" 250 lbs. college fb center. I got my ass kicked almost every day, but he pushed me hard, and I worked hard.
This year I made the decision to start powerlifting. My decision was mainly built around a goal of deadlifting 500 lbs raw (no belt or wraps). I started out at 249, and needed to put on more weight. Last week I Olympic Squated 405 X 2. This was raw: no belt, no wraps, feet close, bar high, ATG. Pushing and pulling heavy weights has really put on some good mass.
The point is, don’t limit yourself by making excuses. Don’t be afraid to back off the weight and “do it right”. Eat a bunch. It is frustrating to put on 5 or 10 lbs and not look different. It is frustrating to try to get your arms over 16" when others are pushing 18". But like someone said above, start putting on the weight and muscle, and even if you feel skinny you look like a freak to others because of your height.
[quote]carandrew wrote:
Dirty Tiger wrote:
I am 6’4.
I use dumbells for Bench Press.
Do you gain in the regular bench by using mainly/only db’s?[/quote]
You can gain using just DBs. However, my limitation with DBs was not being able to get the larger ones off the floor and into a pressing position.
I’m 6’1" with about the same wingspan.
After reading the “Overcoming Lousy Leverages” article, I started really focusing on gaining strength in the top 1/2 of the press. Close grips and Rack Lockouts have helped me a lot. During the press itself I’ve worked on exploding off the bottom of the press to get past the sticking point.
Two weeks ago I swithced to a powerlifting gym and I’m now benching with guys that dwarf me. (worked out alone before)
The previous tri/lockout work seems to be paying off.