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Thread: Height classes

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by kevinwillz View Post
    I disagree. If someone chooses to get to 400lb to destroy your ass in competition then they truly did prove they're stronger than you were willing or able to get. This is why strongman is more interesting. You'll still see huge short men who are willing to become monsters to compete with taller guys (although strongman events generally favor height)

    Weight classes, except for possibly at the very elite level, discourage absolute strength in favor of "staying in a weight class I think I can do well in".

    If some 5'2" man balloons to 300lb to own your 6'4" ass is that fair? There is clearly a difference between a 5'2" 300lb monster and a 6'4" 300lb man, not even factoring in the shorter ROM and better moment arms.

    "height being fixed" is my whole point. You categorize on height to more accurately compare absolute strength between individuals by reducing differences that make direct comparison difficult.

    If someone drops down a weight class to be more competitive, is that okay? They're choosing to be objectively weaker in order to feel like they're stronger by changing who they compare themselves to.

    Solutions to height class measurement issues: create slightly overlapping height classes so people might have the option to choose which of the two bordering height classes to compete it (and thus discourage dishonest measurements). This would still separate huge dwarves from leaner giants. Or hang the fucker upsidedown by his feet so he can't try to slouch.
    Interesting that you bring up strongman because I don't think it really supports your argument. At the WSM level there's only a handful of guy in the 6' and under range, and likewise a handful 6'8" or above. The majority fall into the 6'2" to 6'3" range and their bodyweights are all over the place. Based on your claim that "You'll still see huge short men who are willing to become monsters to compete with taller guys" you'd expect the short guys to be heavier relative to their height than the taller guys, but this doesn't really seem to be the case. Most of the short guys are on the middle to lower end of the weight to height ratio for the sport. Martins Licis was competitive at 6'2/355 against guys who were both bigger and taller.

    Then again, perhaps absolute bodyweight is less important once you get past a certain size. Most of the best SHW weightlifters over the last 50 years have been around 6'1" or 6'2" (exceptions off the top of my head being Serge Reding at 5'8" and Zhabotinsky and Talakhadze at 6'4" and 6'6" respectively) but their bodyweights were all over the place. You had guys like Kurlovich and Pisarenko who were around 280 or less, and guys like Alekseyev at 350 or better, all moving similar weights. I don't know what Taranenko weighed when he totaled 475kgs, but it was certainly less than Rezazadeh or Talakhadze.

  2. #12
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    Height in strongman is an interesting discussion that I'd rather not get into now, but yea what I said doesn't directly support my argument.

    Really I was just trying to say I don't like when people stop getting stronger because they're afraid of the next weight bracket.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by kevinwillz View Post
    OK Quasimodo

    I'd like to see people cheat height-ins by attempting to appear shorter. Would be quite the site.
    My point is that they can try to do this. Not an option with the scale.

    But if you think about it for a minute you could come to a conculison that we do not have weight classes but size classes measured by weight. So if you change the measuring method you will end up with the same competitors line up as today since there is an optimal weight/height ratio for each class.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Szymon View Post
    My point is that they can try to do this. Not an option with the scale.

    But if you think about it for a minute you could come to a conculison that we do not have weight classes but size classes measured by weight. So if you change the measuring method you will end up with the same competitors line up as today since there is an optimal weight/height ratio for each class.
    I thought about it for 2 minutes and discovered: we do indeed have weight classes, weight classes are essentially height classes only at the elite level (so not the majority of competitors), and weigh-ins are fucking dumb.

    I still like height classes and don't believe there is a logical argument against it except for measurement problems since I know you all lie about your height on your Tinder profiles

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by kevinwillz View Post
    I thought about it for 2 minutes and discovered: we do indeed have weight classes, weight classes are essentially height classes only at the elite level (so not the majority of competitors), and weigh-ins are fucking dumb.

    I still like height classes and don't believe there is a logical argument against it except for measurement problems since I know you all lie about your height on your Tinder profiles
    Yes, weighins are dumb. I agree. Especialy when taken a day or two before competition.

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