Ape Index.....

High Ape index, It is really have to do something with climbing? It will really give anyone an advantage? I calculate mine is 1.038

Honestly it depends 9 out of 10 times it generally helps. However there are some routes I have been on where being smaller helps.

I have a -4... I have t-rex arms.

ViperScale wrote:Honestly it depends 9 out of 10 times it generally helps. However there are some routes I have been on where being smaller helps. I have a -4... I have t-rex arms.

Haha you make me laugh, well I can pick up things on the floor without bending much...heheeh

I have an ape index of +1" or +2" and I still suck at climbing. So clearly something more is needed.

-2 ape. Don't know if short arms in themselves help perhaps in laybacking. I know they suck for pulling over roofs. Of course my big belly might not help either.

I think it is super helpful as I am 5.6 but I have the reach of someone a little over 5.8 which means I have an average man’s height/reach so I can often clip scary bolts that a lot of my female climbing partners can’t.

Here's the upside to having short arms:

https://youtu.be/-mvKKGYUppE

It's generally a positive thing. Most pro climbers have massive ape indexes...look at Chris Sharma.

Being tall is great in theory for climbing because you have better reach, but this is often offset by also having longer legs, resulting in a higher center of gravity and making it more difficult to utilize higher feet. There's a reason most boulderers are short (Adam Ondra being the obvious, freakish exception). Having a positive ape index basically means you have the advantages of both tall people (reach) and short people (low center of gravity). Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it makes much less of a difference than training, technique, and strength...but for peak athletes, it's huge.

I think having a positive ape index is never a detractor.
Being tall can certainly hinder performance on some routes, but having a longer reach is always helpful.
I don't think having a short ape index aids in lie backing (as mentioned upthread), being able to comfortably cross arms instead of shuffling hands makes for longer, more efficient movement. Also, being able to extend away from the flake or feature you are lie backing gives more options and freedom of movement.

Tim Lutz wrote:

Got to love this one,,, lol lol

Ted Pinson wrote:Being tall is great in theory for climbing because you have better reach, but this is often offset by also having longer legs, resulting in a higher center of gravity and making it more difficult to utilize higher feet.

The high COG of longer legs isn't really the issue: nobody said you have to completely stand up straight legged, but longer femur can often get in the way. Higher COG isn't as detrimental if you can still stand on something.

Ted Pinson wrote:There's a reason most boulderers are short

Compared to whom, route climbers? I doubt that. At least in comp climbing, route climbers tend to be shorter (b/c they'll be lighter overall) than boulderers.

Compared to other humans. Or, at least...compared to me, lol.

Ape index is just something else to complain about and blame for not sending. :) You get what you are given. Why worry about what you can't change.

I think I might actually have a decent ape index...I've just never measured, because then I might realize that I should be climbing harder than I am. :p You're right, though...at the end of the day, it's not what you have, but what you do with it...

I'm a +7 or +8. I love bouldering and thuggy moves but I've got two words for you: sit start. The cramped starting moves with long arms puts your butt further off the wall and you need to exert more everything to get off the ground. Once you get extended though then its game over, super huge ape works baller, until you need a high foot and its at your arm pit, then see sit start complaint.

Ted Pinson wrote:Being tall is great in theory for climbing because you have better reach, but this is often offset by also having longer legs, resulting in a higher center of gravity and making it more difficult to utilize higher feet.

climbing friend,

I am knowing of the tall peoples, and being tall pretty much sucks the rotten fish balls for climbing. Yes you may succeed on some reachy moves, but in addition to high COG, inability to scrunch up, you have far more meat and bone weight you must be hoisting and flogging up the rock, making you "unfairly" heavier compared to your wee little short companion.

How many 6'+ climbers do you see winning sport climbing comps? The men they are 125 pound horse jockey types.

It is a good excuse though for poor performance for noob, to say if only I were as tall as you I could reach that hold, and a good excuse for the tall, saying they are so much stronger yes to hoist flog their extra meat up the rock, for they must have most powerful guns in order to achieve this, yessss.

How is ape index officially measured?

Height versus wingspan.

MY ape index is going UP!! Neener, Neener...

Jplotz wrote:How is ape index officially measured?

I've heard it stated as your fingertip-to-fingertip reach minus your height, and measured in inches. So, if you can just span a horizontal distance of 6' with your arms outstretched and your height is 5'8", then you have an ape index of 4".

Technically the ape index would be 1.05... however most people talk about it in the number of inches comparing the two. Still works just not technically index value even though 99% of people I have use it incorrectly so feel free to use it that way.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ape_i…

According to the perfect person their arm span is the same as their height.

+4 ape index, it's really really useful, though don't think it's set in stone if you stretch you can in actually increase your ape index.