I am trying to figure out which weight classes do world class lifters finally settle into, based on their height. This is an incomplete list, based on actual data and my estimates. Hope you guys can help complete it.

66s:

Kjell Bakkelund - 5'2

Avery Jackson - 5'1

Jonathan Garcia - 4'11

Panagiotis Tarnidis - 5'7

Kasemsand - 5'6

Joe Jordan - 5'4

74s:

Austin Perkins- 5'4

Ilya Marichev - 5'6

Elliot Sykes -

83s:

Joseph Borenstein - 5'7/5'8

Jurins Kengamu - 5'7

Ade Omsakin - 5'5

Asein Enahoro - 5'8

Taylor Atwood - 5'7

93s:

Russel Orhii - 5'6

Jonathan Cayco - 5'7

Gustav Hedlund - 5'9/5'10

Emil Krastev - 5'9

William Ball -

Gavin Adin - 5'5

Brandon Pitre - 5'9

Dominique Fuqua - 5'9

Demitrius Smith - 5'10

105s:

Anthony Mcnaughton - 5'10

Keenan Lee - 6'0

Ashton Rouska- 5'9

Anatolii Novopismennyi - 5'11

Emil Norling - 5'10

Regin Stergakis - 5'11

Nathaniel Massiah - 6'0

120s:

Etienne El Chier-

Nonso Chinye - 6'0

Devin Williams -

Bobb Matthews - 5'11

Rondel Hunte - 5'11

120+:

Jesus Olivares - 6'0

Temur Samkharatze - 6'0

Ray Williams - 6'1

EDIT: I am updating as I get more info from the comments.

  • I don't think cayco is 5'7, I think he's more 5'5.

    Unless his girl is 5'7, but his girl is taller than him in his IG posts.

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    I mean, she could just be 5'9 or taller. Wouldn't be surprised if he's shorter than 5'7, though.

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  • Ade being 5'5 really surprised me for some reason lmao

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    im just about 25kg under his recommendations. So I guess theres room for improvement haha

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    I believe he had updated recommendations to include up to ~6'3". I could be thinking of someone else but I recall roughly using those guidelines at one point lmao

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  • Just a friendly PSA, almost all men lie about their height. I met someone on this list who you labeled as 5'9", and I'd be astonished if they were over 5'6". Focus on yourself, not any of these people.

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    I made this list for reference, height vs weight category sort of thing. Not for any other purpose. Could you mention which lifter you are talking about? Would be an important data point

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    I'm guessing he's talking about Rouska. I don't know about sub 5'6, but he's not 5'9.

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    Curious where you found this data! This is awesome. Is it based on top IPF performers or a larger aggregate?

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    Just the data in this post

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    Cool data! Wonder how they came up with it. I've never had my height measured at a meet haha.

    But also, that seems to indicate average overall, where this post seems aimed specifically at the elite, who are likely to be slightly shorter than the average - though I am surprised to see so many 5'9" in the 93s

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    I would assume the average lifter to be 2 inches taller in each category, except for the 59s (Really really short men are pretty rare, and at the local levels, this category would be dominated by skinny dudes in their initial lifting phase)

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    This chart is also made with the data given in this post so yeah this also represents elite lifters average height only

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  • The goal is to be dan green mode - even when you're reasonably tall you get so thick that people think you're short from photos 

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    So basically Rondel lol

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    In tested, that would be Jesus mode.

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    I'm 178 and being above 100kg is a horrible experience haha

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    Honestly, it takes time. I'm at that exact height and weigh ~102kg while relatively lean (at this height/weight this means below 20% but not by an insane amount lol). I feel light on my feet, no panting when I move around etc, but I do feel like I am sort of "heavy".

    The answer to this: time.

    It took nearly a decade of building up to this weight and I've hit it multiple times within my journey (through bulking/cutting) and now it's at its most comfortable.

    The first time I got to ~90kg (I think 2018-ish) for example I was getting tired very easily and I was breathing heavily even when I was simply walking down the street. Now, 12kg higher, a different story. I have also incorporated a lot of cardio in my daily life and that also made things much much easier.

    But yeah, do some cardio and give it time. Of course food, training, and recovery practices have to also be relatively on point. And maybe having some decent genetics won't hurt

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    Was gonna say I’m 176cm and I do not look forward to filling out 105 if I ever get there. I don’t even think I can go above 93 without hopping on gear or becoming obese 😭

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    that's for the highest level and yes it absolutely does not mean day-to-day life will be more enjoyable than not being morbidly obese. Also, I feel like these numbers are a bit high even for the absolute best. However, I'm about 6 foot, 79kg and absolutely not any kind of expert.

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  • Sanchez Dillon is a 6'4" lifter in the 105kg class. Tallest IPF lifter whose height I know of.

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    Antonie de Rohden is like 6'7 at 120. Ridiculous outlier.

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  • This video has graphs on IPF world's competitor heights, Norman contacted as many as he could to gather data and also graphed rack heights.

    It's pretty close to Sheiko's recommendations you might've seen before. I was surprised how tall 83s were though (172.6cm or about 5'8") would've guessed shorter for sure.

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  • Regin is 1.81m. He commented this several times in his videos/reels. So basically 5 feet 11.3 inches and not 6 feet. Jesus mentioned he is 6 feet 0.25 inches (just mentioning further accuracy for anyone who cares for it lol).

    One more note, Emil Krastev weighing 93kg shredded (he's probs around 10-13% body fat) at a height of 1.75m has me being really sceptical. In either case, insane genetics

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    He seems shorter than 175cm also though. Hes muscular but he is far from one of the craziest physiques in that weight class

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    Emil doesn't look that lean to me. I'd guess 15-17%, possibly even higher.

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  • Something interesting to look at is rack heights. For squats, Jesus is 16 on Eleiko racks and Bobb is 15. Lifting cast had the data from SBD Austin. Technically, Jesus is 5'11 and some change from what I was told. I'm 6'3 and my rack height is 19.

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    Jesus used to squat high bar but recently switched to low bar so his rack height probably has changed.

    I just competed on Saturday and I'm 6'3" and had a rack height of 18 on the ER rack, but a few other, shorter lifters in my flight were using a higher rack height than me because they were squatting high bar or in heels.

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    rack heights can vary based on whether they squat in heels, flats, barefoot slippers, etc. I went down a whole notch after switching from Vans to Radix Pros.

    I'm 5'9 and had an Eleiko rack height of 14 in Vans

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    Jesus will also have to put the rack slightly lower due to the bend in the bar at those weights

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    Mass also matters. Bobb's back is nowhere near as big as Jesus. Both of them also wear flats.

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  • Etienne is around 180-185cm

    Talked with him and he was slightly taller, but not by much, than me (179cm)

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  • I’m 6’ on my dating profile and 5’8” on the platform (Ena)

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  • I think Jesus has said before he is 6'0 in one of his recent youtube shorts, and I also think Nonso Chinye is taller 6'2 i think

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    I am pretty sure Olivares is 6'2. I remember this from one of his shorts. About Nonso, I don't know. Can you find any source?

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    Olivares is 100% not 6’2” for sure lol

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    My bad. I will update it.

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  • Keenan is 183cm/6’0

    Hmmm I’m 88kg soaking wet at 176cm/5’9 is this a sign I should permabulk to 105 😂

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  • Is the weight class in kilos but heights in feet? Why??

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    It's always been wild to me how some (especially american) lifters just jump between units with no logic whatsoever.

    Something like "grams of protein per lbs of bodyweight" at least you can see the logic behind it as silly as it sounds because even US people track macros in grams, but then they can just say "You really need that 800 squat for 900 total" or "he benched 345 in prep, 600 total seems like a realistic goal" sometimes even changing units like 3-4 times within one or two sentences. eg. Russel Orhii doing that a lot, basically every time he mentions a weight you need context to know the unit used.

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    Flashback to my friend telling me his squat and I asked how much that was in pounds and it was in pounds… idk if he’s ever recovered. 

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  • It’s recommended I be in 308 or 308+ because I’m 6’3 but I’m not gaining 38-40 lbs to get there from 275 😂

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    Depending on your age most likely if you're training regularly you'll end up in that class anyways.

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    Untested, yes, but if you're natty there is really no good reason to weigh over 275, that's just obesity.

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    38 years old . If I got there in the shape im currently in it would take a while to get there and not be a big fat blob 😂

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  • Im 180cm myself and when standing next to the 93kg class, like Krastev and Hedlund, they were several centimetres smaller than me. Same for the 105kg class. They were almost at my height, but only a few were there or higher.

    You would be surprised to see your stars in real life and how small they actually are. Its absurd how much lean mass they are carrying for their height and weight. Maybe that's why its so hard to find their actual height online.

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    Cayco mentioned his height to be 5'7. Based on that and podium pictures, I extrapolated the heights of Krastev and Hedlund. I think I would be accurate upto +-0.5 of an inch

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    Gavin was right, Gustav should move up to 105 😂

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    I only looked up what 5 10 means in metric, as im not accustomed to freedom units and its definitely not 178 for Hedlund. I would say they are at maximum 175, but my guess would be even shorter.

    Never trust a man about his height i guess. Would be nice if the IPF would also meassure them independently.

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  • I guess women don’t exist

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    I was shocked there weren’t any either. It would be interesting to see the height differences between men and women in each class, if there are any. 

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    Idk why this is downvoted, the video literally has similar data (also rack heights) as in OP gathered from women at 2023 IPF worlds starting at 10:14. I think people assumed that the video was just that guy's recommendations/opinions.

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    Hate how many downvotes you’re getting! This sub is just not great for women in powerlifting

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    What makes you say that?

    The sport is definitely male leaning, and I’d say the sub reflects that (for whatever that is worth).
    OP could’ve titled the post better, but there is nothing preventing any poster from making a similar post for both genders or one specifically for women.

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    I just mean that there don’t seem to be many women on this sub or much conversation in the woman-focused threads. I see a lot more discussion and support amongst women in powerlifting over on instagram

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    Feel free to be much more active in the woman focused threads and invite more women to the sub.

    Reddit has more men, powerlifting has more men, it's no surprise there are more men on a powerlifting focused subreddit. Be the change you want to see in the world.

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    But the fact that the post is a general post about “the world class powerlifters” and then excludes every powerlifter who isn’t male is the problem. If they’d just made the list about “height of male powerlifters” that would be a different story and nobody would care. 

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    Is that a reflection on the sub though? Or on OP’s choice of words?

    The former I’d like to understand how it can be improved, the latter doesn’t matter much.

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    The mods are great at deleting comments that are outright sexist and while that should be the norm, it’s not, so I appreciate it. But this type of thing only reinforces something women have to deal with everywhere and it’s just yet another reminder that women are secondary (although I’d rather be left off a list of “world class powerlifters” than all the other shit we are excluded from like car crash dummies and medical trials, etc.) 

    So yeah I find this sub generally overall inclusive but you do get shit like this that just kinda slaps you in the face, especially when it’s called out and then that person gets downvoted to hell and told there isn’t actually a problem. 

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    Sorry, I dont follow female Powerlifting. There are no notable lifters from my country.

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    Feel free to make a comparable list for female lifters. That obviously wasn’t OP intent with their list, which is their choice - and that’s fine. Maybe instead of complaining about a situation, you could contribute and make the post better.

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    Then OP should have said “world class male lifters” instead of “world class lifters” and excluding half the population of earth in that. It’s not an accident or a mistake to not give a shit about women.

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    If we get into the specifics, you are right. However, I am making this list for my personal reference. Since I don't follow female Powerlifting, height of female lifters is not relevant to me, and hence I didnt think to include it.

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    Soooo now ur arguing over the semantics of their language choices?

    It’s their choice what they put their effort into.

    Again, you choose to argue vs contribute.

    Make the addition to the list if it’s so important to you. Or be a keyboard warrior - ur choice.

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    Fuck yeah I love looking for an issue when there isn’t one

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    It’s an issue for women every day so let’s not pretend it isn’t.

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    Yeah, totally, but I don't think this is one of those times.

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    It’s a difficult one because, while I’m sure it wasn’t OP’s intention, it happens so much and in powerlifting where 7 of the top 10 lifters are women there’s really no excuse for it.

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    It completely undermines the accomplishments of every non-male powerlifter. 

    I’m sure everyone would have zero issues with a list of “the heaviest squats of all time” not including any men and then just brushed off as “sorry I don’t follow mens powerlifting”. 

    Maybe we’re just on our periods tho… 

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    If you were talking about basketball and only referencing the NBA would it be the same?

    This sport is further progressed on the women's side than a lot of sports, arguably. A lot of people seem to actually care at least a bit about what female competitors are doing which is more than most sports.

    I'm not saying we're done or finished on that journey. But I also don't think it's a big deal that a guy names his thread "height of lifters" and is only talking about dudes because he's a dude who cares about other dudes' heights.

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    Besides the fact that yes I think you should talk about all basketball if you’re talking about basketball, we don’t have a WNBA version in powerlifting. There’s no WUSAPL or WPA or WIPF. It’s just “powerlifting” so to make a general post about powerlifting that then excludes anyone who is not one specific subset of powerlifting is just reinforcing sexism, however subconsciously. 

    If he only wanted to talk about male heights he should have specified males in powerlifting. 

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    Do you not think this is somewhat a case of semantics? Especially if English isn't a first language.

    I dunno. You might be right. I consider myself an "ally" (not sure how I feel about this word but regardless). I feel like this sort of thing can be counterproductive though. Combative reply "women don't exist I guess" versus "what about women?" or similar. There's a difference.

    I also don't believe that if someone made the same post with only women that men would take it poorly. I think someone would say "someone should do this for men too". I could be wrong.

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    It’s easy to claim semantics if you’re not the party constantly excluded. 

    Picture this post but it’s about the “best athletes in the world,” and it only has athletes from Spain. Is it still semantics to be like “hey this isn’t actually the best athletes in the world, you should specify it’s only the best athletes from Spain”? No, because making a list of the best athletes in the world should include more than one country, just as making a list of world class athletes should include more than just men. 

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    The downvotes and negative comments really show how far we still have to come sadly. Like I said the top ten powerlifters in the world are 7 women and 3 men. It’s exhausting having to explain this to be people.

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    [removed]

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    Your post was removed because you were being a dick. Don't be a dick.

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    Not sure how saying 7 of the top 10 powerlifters in the world are women is delusional. It’s fact.

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    I'll bite. By what metric?

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    It may not have been intentional intentional, but it certainly is the result of years of conditioning and a patriarchal society. Also see the NBA vs WNBA, etc. I dream of the day that we rename the NBA the MNBA

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    I dream of the day that we rename the NBA the MNBA

    Wouldn't that mean they have to officially exclude women from it though? Even though it's unlikely we'll see a woman in NBA, I still think it would be a step in wrong direction to make it a rule.

    I'd get that argument in some other sports where the de facto "main" division is literally just men's division, just like IPF has men's/women's divisions, but there's nothing in the NBA rules barring women from entering.

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    My general view on this is that women don't tend to watch sports and that's a big factor into explaining the difference.

    I guess you can say that's due to conditioning and patriarchy. Perhaps, yes. There's probably an argument to say there's an innate component to that too.

    But I feel like you were a bit combative from your starting point. And it's fair if he's only interested in male lifters to talk about that and doesn't stop anyone doing the same for women.

    Like, I get it. But also your starting point is also probably putting people off wanting to get involved in this sort of topic which isn't very conducive either.

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    Thank you! If I made this list that said “height of world class lifters” and only put women’s weight classes, 95% of this sub would have some sort of testosterone induced rage attack at me. I have absolutely zero doubt

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    It's a shame we couldn't put it to the test now because I'd be very surprised if that would be the case.

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    Spoken like a true man

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    Just feel like there was a better way to point it out rather than go straight on the offensive. Was probably a genuine honest mistake

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  • Rondel I think is 5'11 and Ashton is 5'9 or so. I met Ashton and I'm 5'8 he is barely taller than me

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  • I think Joe Jordan is 5’4 and Emil Norling is 5’10

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  • I thought it was stronger by science that did a deep dive in the data on this but I can’t seem to find it. Pretty interesting. There are exceptions, especially at the extremes, but overall in powerlifting weight classes are height classes in disguise.

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    Its a bit sad that its so hard to find the actual height for most athletes. But i saw them in person and its absurd how much mass they are putting on, relatively lean, onto those frames.

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    pretty sure that’s the way it is for just about any weight class-oriented sport. you’re giving up mass if you’re too light for your height

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    Yes and no. Take a look at combat sports, I think you see a pretty wide range inside of and across weight classes. Reach matters a lot but it’s a trade off of speed/power. It’s not uncommon to see lanky strikers vs tanks grapplers in MMA. Yes they’re still within a range for a given weight class but it’s a bit more trade off when there are more factors to the sport than what is in powerlifting.

    Take UFC welterweight for example you’ve got 6’3” Ian Garry in the same weight class as 5’9” Sean Brady both at the top of the class in terms of record.

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    Let me know if you find it! I’d love to read it

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    I looked and looked, it was super in depth and I’m wondering if they pulled it because I can’t find it anywhere. They even had a place where you could enter some of your personal measurements and it’d suggest your target weight class.

    Bad news for me is that it said I should be a 100-110 kg and I’ve struggled to even fill out 100 well. Experience agrees with me too, I’m always a good few inches taller than the strong guys in my class.

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    This is definitely it! I could have sworn it was on stronger by science but yes this is it.

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    Me too, I completely forgot about Strength Theory.

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  • Rondel is 5'11 (180) he mentioned in one of his training vlogs during summer

    Edit: you can add "linearstrength 5'9 72.3 kg" (there is no way my 6 inch wrists can hold 20-50 kg more)

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    At 5’9 you would most certainly be most competitive in 90/93 if you pushed it.

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    28 inch waist too, flat ribcage so my -1" ape index doesn't help in the bench. Squat is hard to balance on the slim upper. Only deadlift is consistently growing cuz great flexibility allows for a smooth hinge and a nice lever arm. Actually about to have a deadlift session.

    But yes 90/93 is my long term goal!!! That's where I am slowly bulking. +8 lbs year-to-year at a similar (if not leaner) bf level.

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  • Why are you using kilogram for weightclasses and cheeseburgers for height?

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    Aah... Thats what I am used to. Plus its easier to mention height in imperial units (less buckets to fit). You put both 180 and 181 cm in 5'11, and similar approximations.

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    I do the same exact thing! You’re not the only one

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  • I’m not world class but I’ve competed 198/220 and I’ll 242 next at 5’8

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