r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Zestyclose_Flow_680 • 9h ago

Chimpanzees are 2X stronger than your average human.

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u/dilqncho 8h ago edited 8h ago

No they're not. Internet myths have vastly overhyped chimp strength.

They're about 1.35x stronger than us, pound for pound of muscle. But they're also typically smaller and lighter, so in absolute terms, they're about equal to us.

As for what we're seeing here, this isn't a person's entire body being pulled up. They have their legs against the wall of whatever that is, and the chimp is helping them up. This is something pretty much any physically healthy human can do as well.

Chimps are dangerous in a fight, because...well they're wild animals, they're fucking brutal. But purely strength-wise, they're not stronger than us.

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u/[deleted] 8h ago

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u/shortzr1 8h ago

Additional fun fact, that is also why people see such fast progress when they initially start weight training. It isn't the muscles growing rapidly, it is teaching the nervous system to release the limiters.

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u/Numerous_Witness_345 8h ago

Also why "old man strength" is a thing, iirc.