There is a lot of content on bodybuilding and theories on how it works on different people but is there any truth to these stories?
One of the most common narratives is that short people have easier time building muscles but is this the truth?
Muscle building is complicated, and you need to get all the right information before you start a program to the best products for your routine through BulkExtreme.com.
Let us get deeper into the topic and see everything about your height and its relationship to muscle growth;
Is It Easier For Short People To Build Muscle?
Yes, it is easier for shorter people to gain weight; the shorter your arm or leg is, the less mass you have to add to it to make it muscular. Short people have a compact body structure and shorter muscles that make working out and building on them easier.
How Height Affects Muscle Size
If you are a fan of bodybuilding, chances are you watch professional competitions, so you must have noticed the height of most participants.
Even the winners of previous Olympics are averagely about 5’6”, which is shorter than the average American.
Putting this in mind, you will notice that there are not many tall bodybuilders, and this suggests how height affects muscle growth.
There are simple physiological explanations for this, and others result from what people see when they look at you.
You need to understand your height and how it affects your bodybuilding plans so let us break it down and help you figure it out;
If you are tall, you must have noticed you have large muscle measurements, but you don’t appear that muscular when you see pictures or look in a mirror.
The opposite works for short people, they might have fewer muscle measurements, but they look more muscular.
The first thing you have to account for is muscle length and its relation to bodybuilding. To put it in simple terms, the longer your leg or arm is, the more mass you need to put on it to make it look good.
Think of it this way, if you have a 25-inch arm, you have triceps of about 8 inches, so you have to add muscle to the entire length, and it needs more work.
If you had an 18-inch arm, that leaves you with about 6 inches of triceps, so you can add muscles much easier.
The problem is physiological, and there is an issue with how people look at you concerning your height. Shorter people appear bulkier than taller people at the same muscle measurements.
For instance, if you are 5’5″ and have about a 16-inch arm, then a 6′ guy has the same measurement; you will not look the same.
The short guy will look bulkier, and the taller one would need about 18 inches to look the same as a shorter guy.
This makes the whole process so hard for taller guys; you have to get higher measurements than shorter people to look muscular.
A tall guy will look regular with a given muscle measurement, and the shorter person will look cut in the same measurements.
The form is also harder on a taller person than a shorter person, which is just a fundamental truth about bodybuilding.
The stakes are not all against tall people; tall people have more mass, muscles, and more extensive nervous systems to generate power.
To get more extensive training sessions, you can visit BulkExtreme.com for products to help boost your stamina.
So generally speaking, a taller guy has the potential to attain more power than a shorter person, and it can be a big help in your workout to attain the additional measurements. This is why so many strong men competitors are tall; thus, being taller is better for athletics.
So you will not look as good as a short person, but you will get better performance than a short person allowing you to get bigger.
Eventually, muscles will look better on a taller physique, which is why Arnold Schwarzenegger had so much respect in bodybuilding.
Tips To Build Muscles Easily
We have established that it is harder for taller guys to gain muscles, but you might still want to get bigger.
Believe it or not, pushups are a great way to build muscles, and you can attain your goals by following some crucial rules as follows;
1. Doing pushups correctly
Regardless of the number of pushups you do each day, if you do them wrong, your body won’t change.
The most crucial aspect of a pushup is the form your body makes. Your lower back should be straight; your feet should be together or no more than shoulder-width apart.
Your elbow should make a 200 to 400 angle from your belly. Lower your body to the floor and touch it with your chest to get the most from each pushup. Inhale as you go down and exhale as you go back up.
2. Rep range
Usually, the best range to build a consistent muscle mass is 6 to 12 reps, but you must consider some details.
Due to genetics and other physiological differences, everyone’s body will react to given reps differently; thus, some people have to work more.
This is why it is important to mix up your workouts and use all kinds of reps. Try reps that are high intensity to make your body stronger, then shift to sets of lower intensity so all your ligaments will get enough exercise to help attain your goals.
3. Progression
Muscles grow out of necessity; this means that challenging your muscles is the key to building a great muscle mass, so how can you do that when you always repeat the same things? Just like rep ranges, you have to change the exercise you do.
Try pushups from the knees, from a raised platform, one-armed, with some weight on your back, and so on.
Changing the surface you use for the pushups can also make a big difference, and your muscles will grow stronger in no time.
4. Measuring results
The best way to know if your training works is by tracking your progress during your workout. Before you start, take measurements to know where you are starting, then start with simple workouts to see how much muscle you will build.
When the routine stops working, you should shift to a new one or step it up since your body will need more challenges to improve.
Keep increasing the intensity until you get the muscle mass you want then you can maintain it using your initial routine.
Understanding How Your Genes Affect Muscle Mass
Your parents have a lot to say about your life, and this begins in the womb with your genetics. We get genes from our parents that can be helpful or disadvantageous to us in our workout goals.
Before getting into a workout routine, you need to understand your body. Imagine how frustrating it can be to work out for months without getting any difference in your physique. You eat perfectly, but you still can’t gain the muscle mass you strive for.
The problem can be with your genes, and you have to change your workout plan to accommodate it; otherwise, you won’t gain muscles.
When looking at muscles from genetics, Type 1 and Type 2 muscle fibers, there are two major groups.
People with Type 1 muscles have to work very hard to get impressive muscle mass. So if you do everything right and can’t get the right body, you are most certainly type 1, and you will have better chances with endurance training, and BulkExtreme.com will be of help.
You, therefore, need to include a large portion of such workouts in your routine to get positive feedback from your body.
You will need to push yourself harder than the average person to get any noticeable change, so get in the right mind space.
Another type of muscle fiber is Type 2, which is the one lucky people have. You can work out with a little effort and make a big change in your physiques since your genetics allow it. Simple pushups and weight lifting sessions could get you to your goal.
You won’t know what type of muscles you have, but after some intense workout, you will figure it out, and you can adjust your plans accordingly.
Type 1 muscles generally need more help to get to the perfect size, and you might have to consider using mass gainer products.
Conclusion
It is significantly easier for a shorter person to gain muscle mass than a taller person. A short person has shorter muscle fibers, so they need less work to fill up; a taller person will have more space to fill up; thus, they need to work harder to get the same results.
Bodybuilding is a height-to-size analysis, so you shouldn’t look at numbers in isolation; look at them with height. You have to fill in more size with the measurements if you are tall, and shorter guys have an advantage.
