I’ve always been a pretty tall guy, at a little over 6ft. Being tall and long limbed, until I started lifting seriously I always looked quite skinny – even though to be honest, I did have some fat on me. Skinny-fat, I believe the term is.
Anyway, one of the biggest problems for tall guys is, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more time for a tall guy to look as bulky as a guy who is shorter. It’s common sense really… add 10lb of muscle to a guy who is 5ft and his muscles are going to look a lot bigger than the a guy of 6ft. So, tall guys are already handicapped, looks-wise.
Training for the tall guy can also be a problem. For instance, there are several exercises which probably aren’t optimal for me.
I soon discovered that although I could perform squats and get results, I was forced to lean too far forward for my liking, and the tension was taken off of my quads and placed onto my lower back and my gluteus maximus. It felt too awkward for me. So for building quads, they weren’t the exercise for me.
Bench pressing is another exercise which is quite difficult for a long limbed person to do. Not only do they have to use an extremely wide grip, but like all exercises, a longer limbed person needs to move the bar a greater distance for a full rep.
Dead lifts are yet another exercise which shorter guys will excel at. The bar has to move a much shorter distance, and tall guys are naturally more prone to back injuries and weakness – so a great amount of diligence is required when performing lifts involving the back.
Not to diminish achievements of short guys at all, but yes – in my opinion, packing on a lot of muscle, lifting heavier weights, and looking better much quicker is easier for shorter guys.
If I could impart just a bit of wisdom to the taller men out there, it would be this: The key to bodybuilding for tall men is to immediately scrap and replace exercises which you find very awkward or inefficient to perform, and do something else. Also, don’t be embarrassed about being out-performed by a shorter guy at the gym… by getting into a competition with a shorter guy, you are asking for injury and egg on your face.
That’s it.