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The STATURE Blog
Research-backed deep dives into how your body proportions shape every lift. Biomechanics explained in plain language.
A 6'2" lifter does 12.5% more mechanical work per squat rep than a 5'7" lifter at the same weight. Over a training career, that compounds into years of invisible volume. Here is the physics, the research, and what to do about it.
23 gold medals. A 203cm wingspan on a 193cm frame. Ape index 1.052. Size 14 feet. Michael Phelps' body isn't just athletic — it's a biomechanical anomaly engineered by evolution for one thing: moving through water. Here's the math behind the dominance.
Your deadlift-to-squat ratio is a surprisingly accurate proxy for your skeletal proportions. Here is what different ratios mean, how your bench press confirms the signal, and what it all means for your training.
You watched a squat tutorial, tried to copy it, and your squat looked nothing like theirs. You're not doing it wrong. The demonstrator has different femurs, a different torso, and different ankle mobility. Their perfect form would be terrible for your body.
Lamar Gant deadlifted 661 pounds at 132 pounds bodyweight — the first 5x bodyweight deadlift in history. His severe scoliosis, which shortened his spine by 4-6 inches, gave him the most mechanically efficient lockout position ever documented.
Every lifter has an opinion about which lift is most affected by body type. We ran the numbers across every proportion combination. The answer surprises most people — and it's not the deadlift.
A positive ape index changes everything about your lifting mechanics, your sport potential, and why your bench press has always lagged behind your deadlift. Here is exactly what your wingspan means.
The Kalenjin tribe — 5 million people — has produced roughly 40% of all major distance running victories. Tibia length, calf mass distribution, and biomechanical efficiency tell part of the story. Culture and altitude tell the rest.
Olympic athletes in 1924 looked like normal people. By 2024, swimmers, gymnasts, and runners have diverged into radically different body types — selected by the physics of their sports, not evolution.
25 sports. 7 biomechanical metrics. 2,400+ elite athletes. STATURE's Sport Finder scores your proportions against the hiring criteria of every sport — and some of the callbacks will surprise you.
Decades of anthropometric research on elite powerlifters reveals consistent structural patterns. Short femurs favor the squat, long arms favor the deadlift, and short arms favor the bench — but the mythical complete powerlifter almost never exists.
Arm length is the single biggest structural predictor of deadlift bar travel — and therefore total work done per rep. Here is the math behind why long arms are a pulling advantage and how to find the style that fits your limbs.
Your femur length — not your flexibility or ankle mobility — may be the biggest structural limit on squat depth. Here is exactly how the math works and what to do about it.
Biomechanics deep dives, training insights, and proportion analysis. Free, no spam.
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