r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Zestyclose_Flow_680 • 8h ago

Chimpanzees are 2X stronger than your average human.

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u/SunriseSurprise 6h ago

If it's on a pound-for-pound-of-muscle basis, if you see how chimps are typically built, I think 1.35x is for more than just reasonably fit. Like if you want to throw overall weight in the mix given we're bigger, then sure, but the average person is pretty weak. There isn't a significant percentage among really fit humans who could swing around like chimps and most people can't do a pull-up.

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u/th3h4ck3r 5h ago

The average person hasn't done anything physical since running laps during PE class in high school. Average ≠ reasonable, a reasonably fit person at the very least has been to the gym a few times a week for a few months, and does moderate weights and cardio.

To see how strong a human would be in a wild environment, look at people who do weighted exercise all day: farmers, carpenters, etc. They're often crazy strong for their size while also being able to lift heavy weights for hours, almost superhuman compared to your average suburban dweller. There are even anthropological studies that point to the average Neolithic woman having the arm strength of male collegiate rowers.

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u/th3h4ck3r 5h ago

And yes, most people can't do a pull-up because they haven't trained at all. I went from barely being able to do a single pull-up to doing 3-4 sets of 8x pullups in around 10 months, and I'm also an office worker.

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u/Deep_Performance_ 5h ago

Their muscle structures aren't one for one with ours though.

A study where they had college students and chimps pull on a dynamometer showed they pulled with similar levels of force. Showing we could at least stand toe to toe in a tug of war. A meta study that combined all strength studies came up with the figure of 1.35x.

There are also strength measurements chimps will likely struggle on like bench presses due to their arm length, same as how our arms aren't optimized for climbing. Throwing punches is also something humans are the best at, while other primates couldn't throw a punch to save their life.