Taller girls look less muscular

neplainjanepas

Shorter girls have it made. When bulking... and simply in general during training look alot more muscular. Being taller.. I have to put on what feels like twice as much....
What gives?

grantdumas7

You have longer muscle insertions so you will have to put on more muscle than someone shorter than you.

neandermagnon

After a life of being called "shortarse" and living with the constant implication that short is somehow inferior, it's nice to know that we little short people excel at something :drinker:

although IMO frame size has a lot to do with how muscular someone looks, and short, small framed women don't look muscular easily either. (I'm short and large framed so get the best of both in this case :drinker: )

Fithealthyforlife

It's true. Taller people have more area, and can hold a lot more weight. Same for men and women. Just look at gymnasts...usually short people. They get bulky pretty readily (imho it's a nice look for both the male and female gymnasts).

I'm not tall, but just barely tall enough that this sort of thing affects me. I don't look that much different with a 20-lb fluctuation in muscle mass.

toutmonpossible

I'm short and pear-shaped and if I worked out the wrong way I'd look stocky even though I'm well within a normal weight range.

toutmonpossible

It's true. Taller people have more area, and can hold a lot more weight. Same for men and women. Just look at gymnasts...usually short people. They get bulky pretty readily (imho it's a nice look for both the male and female gymnasts).

I wouldn't call gymnasts "bulky." They are muscular and girls tend to be flat chested and to have a "pigeon breast" look. I assume it's the result of the training as well as the natural physique of girls who tend to be successful at gymnastics. And don't they tend to be short because shorter people have a lower center of gravity, which is an advantage is gymnastics?

Fithealthyforlife

It's true. Taller people have more area, and can hold a lot more weight. Same for men and women. Just look at gymnasts...usually short people. They get bulky pretty readily (imho it's a nice look for both the male and female gymnasts).

I wouldn't call gymnasts "bulky." They are muscular and girls tend to be flat chested and to have a "pigeon breast" look. I assume it's the result of the training as well as the natural physique of girls who tend to be successful at gymnastics. And don't they tend to be short because shorter people have a lower center of gravity, which is an advantage is gymnastics?

At the advanced levels, they do tend to head into what many people would consider bulky.

http://jasonferruggia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/strong-gymnast.jpg

At average height, a guy would have to be roughly 240 lbs at 8% body fat to look like that. Being short does mean less muscle is needed to look a certain way.

bostonwolf

Shorter girls have it made. When bulking... and simply in general during training look alot more muscular. Being taller.. I have to put on what feels like twice as much....
What gives?

This is true for men as well, but on the flip side when us tall, long limbed folks DO add that muscle mass we look better. Shorter folks (guys in particular) tend to get really stocky.

Also, think of when you do a compound lift (squat, deadlift, bench, etc) and how far you have to move that weight compared to a shorter person. In short, you DO have to work harder to add that muscle. You have to move the weight further.

CakeFit21

It's true. Taller people have more area, and can hold a lot more weight. Same for men and women. Just look at gymnasts...usually short people. They get bulky pretty readily (imho it's a nice look for both the male and female gymnasts).

HAHA! They are NOT bulky. They are LEAN. They weigh like 110 pounds on average.

jaxxie

Shorter girls have it made. When bulking... and simply in general during training look alot more muscular. Being taller.. I have to put on what feels like twice as much....
What gives?

This is true for men as well, but on the flip side when us tall, long limbed folks DO add that muscle mass we look better. Shorter folks (guys in particular) tend to get really stocky.

Also, think of when you do a compound lift (squat, deadlift, bench, etc) and how far you have to move that weight compared to a shorter person. In short, you DO have to work harder to add that muscle. You have to move the weight further.

OMG so true!!! I'm about 5'10 and constantly ***** about the squat and parallel. ***** next to me is 5' and schools me! Life is just not fair, lol!

__Di__

Just so that I am clear, can somebody please give me their definition of what they mean when they said they want to "bulk up".

I have a sneaky suspicion that said term means different things to different people.

Fithealthyforlife

Just so that I am clear, can somebody please give me their definition of what they mean when they said they want to "bulk up".

I have a sneaky suspicion that said term means different things to different people.

Gain some amount of mass including muscle. That amount will vary by person. Could be 5 lbs. Could be 50 lbs.

Taterpoof

Though when you are tall, you can weigh more and look a lot thinner. When you are short, that fat doesn't have anywhere to go but sitck out

Yanicka1

Yes!!!!!!!!

*do a victory dance*

neandermagnon

Yes us little short people have a mechanical advantage in some lifts, but there's no way on earth I'm ever going to be able to do a slam-dunk, or achieve anything of note in basketball.... and I suck at running.

Though when you are tall, you can weigh more and look a lot thinner. When you are short, that fat doesn't have anywhere to go but sitck out

This is very true. When I'm lean I look like a neanderthal. When I was obese I looked like a blob, and I wasn't even that obese really... but I still looked like a blob. I'm short and large framed I'm never going to look like a pixie or a waif, no matter what I do. So I'll settle for being short, stocky, muscular and relatively lean, because that's a lot better than being a blob :drinker:

neandermagnon

short, stocky people can also withstand the cold better than tall, slender people.

ETA: on average. For a scientific reference for that see Allen's rule.

apriltrainer

Yes us little short people have a mechanical advantage in some lifts, but there's no way on earth I'm ever going to be able to do a slam-dunk, or achieve anything of note in basketball.... and I suck at running.

Though when you are tall, you can weigh more and look a lot thinner. When you are short, that fat doesn't have anywhere to go but sitck out

This is very true. When I'm lean I look like a neanderthal. When I was obese I looked like a blob, and I wasn't even that obese really... but I still looked like a blob. I'm short and large framed I'm never going to look like a pixie or a waif, no matter what I do. So I'll settle for being short, stocky, muscular and relatively lean, because that's a lot better than being a blob :drinker:

Ditto! ditto! Put on just a few lbs and it SHOWS. Which also BLOWS, By the way neandermagnon, according to www.23andme.com I am 3% neanderthal from my DNA test.(that's in the high range.)

ninerbuff

It's debatable. I've seen tall fat people (6' and over) and short fat people. Same with thin tall people and thin short people (think Asians here).
IMO, it comes down to how one trains and eats.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

zedgt87

your complaining about being tall? When tall people are built its so much more impressive.

slmakar

Shorter girls have it made.

I'm 4'11". Come grocery shopping with me, and after half an hour of fetching cereal and whatnot off the top shelves, you will feel better.

Howbouto

Well look at as a trade off. Us tall girls can put on 5 to 10 pounds and no one notices, but if a short girl does that it is very noticeable (of course this is a double edge sword, I have to lose 20 pounds to drop a pants size.....)