Just curious..educated crowd....

[naughtoj]

I was thinking the other day while hiking a really steep grade here in Arizona....

If your legs are short, are you working harder walking up a sharp incline than a tall person? Does seem like your glutes would engage quicker....hmmmm....

Don't laugh, but as I was going up I could really feel a burn and when I looked at the others walking up this grade, their knees seem to be bent at a much less sharp angle. Some of the rocks require me to bend my leg in a deeper angle than an all out lunge. For a tall person, the angle wouldn't be nearly as sharp to scale that same rock.

I was pretty out of breath so I was just curious. I have REALLY short, but REALLY buff legs. Maybe that is why my legs ended up being so muscular? I find that the same happens when I work out with other people to lower body. My angle on lunges seems to be so much deeper than theirs. My legs is always a 90 degree angle, if not sometimes deeper, to really feel the glutes.

Any ideas??

Janice

 

[mogambo]

I like your analytical mind, Janice.

I'm sure I don't know the definitive answer to your question, but I actually think it is easier to hike uphill the shorter your legs are. Here is my reasoning.

The lever arm is so much shorter for powerful movements with a shorter limb. You know how that works from Archimedes principle. That's why gymnasts need to be short, why people with long arms have a harder time with movements like dumbell chest flies relative to chest presses. It's purely the physics of the lever arm. No tall man could ever to that Olympic rings routine, right?

So, as a person with really long legs, I have a vested interest in proving that I am the hero on a long hike, and that you have it easy!!

}(

 

[JeanneMarie]

Another long legged person checking in with an opinion!

I am not sure about the hiking issue, but I've always maintained that it's harder for me to do pushups from the toes than it is for someone with short limbs. Again, the leverage principle! It seems to me so much tougher to lift and lower a core body that has longer arms and legs because the distance is longer, and the ratio is different than someone who has short limbs.

Case in point: my sister and I are completely different body types. She is 5 feet tall and weighs about 125 lbs. I am 5'7" tall and weigh about 112 lbs. We are 7 inches different in our height, which is a very big difference. Yet, if we are sitting down, side by side, our trunk height is exactly the same! That means that my legs are literally 7 inches longer than hers, with the same body attached. It only makes sense to me that pushups would be easier for her than they would be for me.

However, just the fact that we are all hiking and doing pushups in the first place is the important factor, right?

 

[naughtoj]

Ok guys, I get what you are saying....but.....

I am very short with short arms and I STILL can't do pushups. I am in great shape too. I had my body fat tested yesterday at 22%. So, I don't know what gives, but there is no reason I should not be able to do pushups!!! It seriously makes me think that other factors must be involved. My hubby's police officer friend is female, whe is very thin and very tall. She doesn't even work out with weights and he told me that she did (he witnessed it) 40 full body pushups in one minute!! Ugggghhh!! I JUST DON'T GET IT!!!! I am telling you, I can still only do about 5!!

And, as far as the hiking thing, you guys don't have me sold. Still seems like if you have to bend your leg at a greater degree you are engaging more muscle mass and therefore heightening the intensity at which you are working. Obviously, with very long legs, wouldn't less of the glutes be involved. I mean, I am practically rock climbling while you are just strolling. Funny, but I am serious here!

The lever stuff really confused me. Jeanne.....I think you are right on pushups but I think pushups do become harder the more you weigh. My sister, who is taller but weighs less can do more than me and she doesn't strenght train nearly as much. I am telling you, I think total body weight MUST play a part here.


C'mon, doesn't anyone else have short legs and arms that can chime in here??? Calling fellow short people.........

Janice

 

[Debra L]

Janice, I'm 5'4" so I'd like to agree with you, but I've also read the lever length makes it more challenging to stride. But as far as scrambling up & down rocky trails, I'm in agreement. DH can often just step down or up a rocky section, where I'll be scooting, jumping, or trying to climb up sections where my knee flexion is so deep that the knee is up by my ear. (LOL - that's going to sound ridiculous to most.)

I believe weight distribution makes a big difference for planks & push-ups. So a lot of factors are in play, core strength, upperbody strength, lever length, ...

I think genetics and hard work are the reason your legs are muscular, not because you're shorter!

Debra

 

[kelley111]

I'm only 5' and weigh 123 1/2 pounds. I can do pushups on my toes. I don't know how many as I've never tested myself. I do know, however, that you need strong abs to do straight leg pushups as your abs/core help support your back while in the position. As far as walking, I can walk faster than a lot of people I know because I take longer strides. Believe it or not. I have actually watched this. I walk beside someone and I'm taking 1 step to their 2 steps. I have always been that way. I really try to take long strides. I can't comment on the rock climbing thing, but I can see where you're coming from as I would have to really bend my leg to get to the next level. On the other hand, bending the leg would give me really good leverage to get up to the next level where someone with longer legs would not have the same leverage. I hope I said that right.

I wanted to add that even though I'm only 5', I've never considered myself to have short legs. I do not wear petite clothing as they fit really weird. I like my jeans long and petite sizes normally come up to my ankles.

 

[mogambo]

Well, Janice, I don't know. I'm stumped.

Oops. Bad choice of words, eh?? }( }(

Anyway, I cannot understand why you can't do pushups. It does seem like it would be easier the shorter your limbs. Not the shorter you are, but if your torso were long and your limbs were short, unless, of course, you were unusually heavy/fat. Your absolute height seems not as important as your relative limb length and your weight relative to that height, whatever it might be.

In other words, I feel that for two people of the same height and weight, the one with the shorter limbs would be able to climb easier, do dumbell flies and pushups easier, bicycle crunches, stuff like that. The long limbed one would be able to take longer strides, do speed skater moves easier and maybe standard crunches would be easier due to the shorter torso.

But once you start varying several things at once, who knows. I'm sure it could be figured out in theory, but it's beyond hashing it out here.