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2003/08/27, 04:00 PM
Ok - So I have always wondered that if the a shorter person and a taller person (say a woman 5' 3" and a woman 5' 10") were both working out and then competing would the shorter woman always have more definition and a better look?
In my mind ( NOTHING SCIENTIFIC HERE ) I the thought followed the line of thinking of - if both people have the same amount of muscle fibers, but one is packed into a more compact form (being the shorter woman) wouldn't those build up more and define better?
PLUS - I was watching Ms. Fitness ( a while ago ) and it seemed that most of those ladies were on the shorter end rather than on the taller end of the ruler!
Any thoughts?
Sillygrrl
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2003/08/27, 05:10 PM
Actually its all in genetic makeup with the types of fibers that are distributed in the muscle whether they are fast twitch or slow twitch. (fast will, be the ones that grow because they have to make a large amount of force against heavier weights, slow will not be as determined to grow as they will not produce such contractions; instead their contractions are made to occur numerously over extended periods of time) Most people will have a good balance between fast twitch and slow twitch fibers, good powerlifters and bodybuilders will have a higher concentration of the fast twitch, will distance runners will be composed of a bigger percentage of slow twitch. You can take people of any height and compare them....IT WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! Some lifts are easier to perform when shorter but as for building muscle the biomechanics of the lift will not have huge effects on the fibers. It has not to do so much with height; but moreso with ligament attachment...."for instance flex your bicep, if you can get atleast two fingers between your bicep and your elbow you are normal....if you can only get one either you had a freak accident or you should highly consider bodybuilding...if your bicep goes to elbow you are a god"-i remember that from a book but i don't remember the name.....so to make a long story short, it has nothing to do with height....only genetic makeup of muscle and muscle attachment, and determination to lift, and a drive to use progressively heavier resistence under good form, along with nutrition(another genetic factor in absorbtion here)and a little randr.......there are too many factors here so the best rule of thumb is to be driven by yourself and only yourself because you are your only real competition.
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If hard work and persistence were the keys to success, most people would opt to pick the lock.~Dick
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2003/08/27, 05:25 PM
I think you are both much more serious than my thought process! *Grin*
BUt they were both interesting posts and I appreciate them! Am a bit cornfused on the 1 finger 2 finger thing, but... that isn't a biggie!!
Thanks for taking the time in a weird question!!
Sillygrrl
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2003/08/27, 05:30 PM
....its just a hands on visual to show an example in differences in muscle length and ligament attachment.
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If hard work and persistence were the keys to success, most people would opt to pick the lock.~Dick
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2003/08/27, 06:58 PM
Sillygrrl3 - I remember reading some bios in M&F Hers. A lot of the women that do fitness comptetitions did gymnastics when they were younger - maybe that's why you're seeing a disproportionate number of shorter women.
-Kirby
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2003/08/27, 07:05 PM
That would make sense. I almost came to that conclusion - I was headed down the dancer path though... lots of experience in dance and so I wondered if there was a height similarity there!
See - I am not that far off! *Grin*
SG3
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2003/08/30, 02:34 AM
Hmmm lol funny you mention this; I had a huuge problem to a competition last year since I was the tallest of the girls (and only one category since it was a small contest).
Taller girls definitely need to work a lot more the symmetry than muscle mass (since we cannot put on a lot!! )o; But to be able to look cut or defined it's all about diet and not muscle.
But yes being too tall (like me, I'm 5'11) isn't in my personal experience really terrific for competition.
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- Nina :o) Les Victoires éternelles sont celles du coeur.
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2003/08/30, 10:57 AM
Philia hit it on the head...SYMMETRY is the answer. No matter what the height or weight class. With every judge I have talked with, this is their first response.
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Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better!
Ron
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