Are there restrictions on how a person’s body can move based on their size? For example could you teach a 7ft2 person to do a perfect double somersault or does their size mean they would never be able to do it like a 5ft tall gymnast?
In: Biology
I feel like it’s that way, there aren’t many restrictions, but with height mostly comes physical strenght over agility
Yes there are restrictions. The taller and larger you are the harder your body has to work for you, so there’s going to be a significant drop off in agility and perhaps flexibility. Taller people tend to suffer from joint issues at a higher rate than average, are more likely to suffer from blood clots, back pain, etc. This can be seen in the NBA quite prevalently. Wilt Chaimberlain was 7’ something and had like a 4 foot vertical, played volleyball, you get the idea. He’s probably the most agile, freakishly-tall athlete ever.
Remember our bodies are optimized for a certain size and weight, so when we’re talking about extremes on either end there can be unexpected side affects.
The square-cube law says big people can’t be as agile as small people. If you’re twice as tall you’ll weigh eight times more but you’ll only be four times stronger. This is also why fleas can jump crazy high but elephants can’t jump at all.
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