Ape Index and other ratios

My arm span is 191 cm vs my height of 181 cm. So my Ape Index (Span - Height) is 10. Normal humans have an Ape Index of 0.

There is another ratio which is the leg length (hip bone to floor) to height ratio. My leg length is 108 cm. So my leg length to height ratio is 60%. Normal range is around 52%-55%.

These have some Pros and some Cons. For climbing and running these are great.

Many times a V7 problem feels pretty easy to me, purely because my reach is pretty long. Most dynamic problems became a static problem for me. Yes, there are problems where I need to like put my feet next to my hip etc and due to long femurs I can’t do it. But in general, it is more helpful in climbing.

This problem is pretty challenging for most people at the gym. You have to run up the wall step on the foothold and jump and hang on to the start hold which is pretty high. You then have to balance on the sloper and transition your body weight to the sloper and move your right hand to the hold to the right of the sloper, all this while not losing balance. Then you move your left hand to the nice jug like hold. But you are not done there. You have to then make a dynamic lunge and grab the two holds at the top.

But for me this is a V4 problem. I just skip all the difficult parts due to my ape index and leg to height ratio.

When it comes to running, even with low cadence my speed is pretty high because my stride length is pretty long.

I sometimes wonder if I stuck to these two sports over all other sports purely because my body was built for it. I had a natural advantage in these two sports compared to other sports like ultimate frisbee, kayaking, wing surfing, underwater hockey (the long arms and legs help though), scuba diving etc.

The long legs also explains why I prefer running over biking. Apparently, when your femur bones are so long, normal bike frames just don’t work. The geometry is off and you end up in awkward form which hurts your back and knees.

Having long legs also explains why I suck at Pilates and swimming. Try doing leg raise or keeping your legs up in swimming when most of your body weight is your bottom half.