Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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A longer arm isn't a weaker arm. It just has to do more work than a shorter arm to do one rep of bench press.

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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I can't see how long arms are an advantage for an OL. Might even be a disadvantage.

calumnus;842288886 said:

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I can't see how long arms are an advantage for an OL. Might even be a disadvantage.

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Strong advantage for a couple reasons. Primarily, you want to keep the DL rushers away from your body because if they are able to get into your chest, they can get leverage on you and then you are done. Less importantly, long arms can reach out just enough to get a shove on a guy as he goes by to push him off course so that he misses your QB.

you need long arms as a tackle so you can get your hands on the DE first. otherwise, he can shed you a lot easier.

not so much needed for the guards and centers because your bodies pretty much hit at the same time.

Davidson;842288912 said:

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you need long arms as a tackle so you can get your hands on the DE first. otherwise, he can shed you a lot easier.

not so much needed for the guards and centers because your bodies pretty much hit at the same time.

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bingo, it matters for tackles. guards and centers not so much

Davidson;842288912 said:

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you need long arms as a tackle so you can get your hands on the DE first. otherwise, he can shed you a lot easier.

not so much needed for the guards and centers because your bodies pretty much hit at the same time.

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Long arms on OT is a major thing that recruiters want for the reasons you and others stated.

SonOfCalVa;842288935 said:

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Long arms on OT is a major thing that recruiters want for the reasons you and others stated.

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and thus, they measure both arm length and bench press and take into consideration how the one affects the other when evaluating a prospect (along with many other criteria, of course)

gobears725;842288922 said:

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bingo, it matters for tackles. guards and centers not so much

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Makes sense. Thanks to everyone who answered.

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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Other comments aside, the bench press is not a perfect comparison to the functional movements involved in a O-lineman's duties. Looking at the mechanics of it, the bench press is against a bench vs. upright with an OL, so already it is completely different. Next, the bench press is a lockout, to chest, to lockout controlled movement of a weight, where an OL is grappling with an opponent. The work done by the bar is unimportant in the equation, whereas the work done by the defender is significant in the conversation -- not only do you have to do more work in a "rep" against a defender if you have longer arms, but you also get to do more work against the defender in a single push. Additionally, I would think an OL with longer arms would have more leverage at just about every point between OL and defender. For example, if your arms are locked out, the defender can't reach you and you have more leverage by definition. If the defender's arms are locked out, your arms are bent and you have more leverage. I'm not sure how to qualify other distances, but there are probably class 1 levers involved.

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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It would be harder to push away something at your body. But if you have long arms, the other guy shouldn't get close to your body in the first place.

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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Myths. It might be harder to bench when you are younger, but a longer arm is an arm with more strength potential. Smaller guys might bench more when they are younger, but bigger guys will surpass them (of course there are exceptions).

And arm length is a huge advantage for linemen, and any football player. Specifically for linemen though. The hand and arm battle is an essential one on the lines, and the longer the arms, the better the chance one has to keep a defender away (or, conversely, for a defender to keep a blocker away from his body, which makes disengaging and getting to the ball much easier).

This one isn't close - longer arms are better for football.

kad02002;842289117 said:

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Myths. It might be harder to bench when you are younger, but a longer arm is an arm with more strength potential. Smaller guys might bench more when they are younger, but bigger guys will surpass them (of course there are exceptions).

And arm length is a huge advantage for linemen, and any football player. Specifically for linemen though. The hand and arm battle is an essential one on the lines, and the longer the arms, the better the chance one has to keep a defender away (or, conversely, for a defender to keep a blocker away from his body, which makes disengaging and getting to the ball much easier).

This one isn't close - longer arms are better for football.

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It's a fact that longer arms are at a disadvantage when it comes to bench pressing (assuming all other being equal), due to larger torque needed to move the same weight by people with longer arms.

LethalFang;842289122 said:

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It's a fact that longer arms are at a disadvantage when it comes to bench pressing (assuming all other being equal), due to larger torque needed to move the same weight by people with longer arms.

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Not a fact. What does all else being equal mean? If they are the same strength, as measured by bench press, they are the same strength and you'd prefer the player with longer arms. If the player with longer arms is weaker, then he is weaker, and you can't say all else is equal. Or are you saying they have the same proportion of muscle? Then the longer armed guy is stronger because he has more muscle. If they have the same total amount of muscle, then the longer armed man is weaker because he has less muscle to go on more body. Is this what you mean? In that case, all else isn't equal because their muscle distribution is different.

There is no all else is equal in this situation.

kad02002;842289153 said:

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Not a fact. What does all else being equal mean? If they are the same strength, as measured by bench press, they are the same strength and you'd prefer the player with longer arms. If the player with longer arms is weaker, then he is weaker, and you can't say all else is equal. Or are you saying they have the same proportion of muscle? Then the longer armed guy is stronger because he has more muscle. If they have the same total amount of muscle, then the longer armed man is weaker because he has less muscle to go on more body. Is this what you mean? In that case, all else isn't equal because their muscle distribution is different.

There is no all else is equal in this situation.

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If they have the same strength, by definition they can generate the same amount of force between their joints.

However, joints are bent when you're trying to push something very close to your body. That means a person with longer arm requires more strength between the joints to push away equal mass.

That's Newtonian physics. Yes, it's a fact.

NJCalFan;842288868 said:

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Reflecting back on comments made in another thread (scouting combine), it was mentioned that if you have long arms it is harder to bench press a given weight.

Taking this to the practical side of things, I always assumed it was good to have longer arms. But perhaps this is not true if it takes away from strength?

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When's the last time you saw a guy with huge, long arms (outside of the NFL)? Most of those 'roided up guys with enormous biceps have short litte, T-Rex arms.

OskiMD;842289174 said:

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When's the last time you saw a guy with huge, long arms (outside of the NFL)? Most of those 'roided up guys with enormous biceps have short litte, T-Rex arms.

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The NFL guys with huge, long arms are probably roided up too.

One more tidbit on longer arms. If the defender is against the OL body, it may appear to a referee that holding is taking place. Hands and arms away is the proper method to block.

DangerBear;842289183 said:

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The NFL guys with huge, long arms are probably roided up too.

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It's almost a given when the player is a Furd alum.

Cool, so you are talking about the situation where they have the exact same ability to generate force. In that case you take the longer armed player for sure, because longer arms allow you to keep a defender farther away, or for a defensive player to prevent an offensive player from getting in to his chest. Longer armed player is the choice every time.

kad02002;842289250 said:

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Cool, so you are talking about the situation where they have the exact same ability to generate force. In that case you take the longer armed player for sure, because longer arms allow you to keep a defender farther away, or for a defensive player to prevent an offensive player from getting in to his chest. Longer armed player is the choice every time.

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And that is the point. Better for OL play, worse for Bench Press.

OskiMD;842289174 said:

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When's the last time you saw a guy with huge, long arms (outside of the NFL)? Most of those 'roided up guys with enormous biceps have short litte, T-Rex arms.

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I have been waiting in vain for someone to post a picture of McGilla Gorilla. The Hanna-Barberra cartoon animal.

LethalFang;842289160 said:

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If they have the same strength, by definition they can generate the same amount of force between their joints.

However, joints are bent when you're trying to push something very close to your body. That means a person with longer arm requires more strength between the joints to push away equal mass.

That's Newtonian physics. Yes, it's a fact.

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I love it when the Cal Geeks start rolling. (Note I said Geeks not Nerds).

Not sure about the physics of it but if my arms were longer, I'd be able to scratch that one spot on my back better. (Just sayin'.)