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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Gorilla muscle

I stumbled across this picture of a gorilla yesterday --


-- and was struck by how much his musculature resembled a man on steroids. From time to time, usually in connection with various athletes, I've pointed out that the most common steroid signatures for men are (A) the emphasis they bring to the definition between the pectoral muscles, (B) humped, convex trapezius muscles (the ones running from the shoulders to the neck), and (C) notably convex deltoids, especially for Caucasians (who generally don't get them otherwise). Other signs include convex but well defined stomach muscles.

Here is are two more indicative photos of gorillas:



If you Google-image "before and after steroids" you'll get a lot of pictures like these:




Both men show the typical transformation.

(What would happen if you put a gorilla on steroids?)

It seems that men who go on steroids want to get in touch with their inner gorilla. Or, at least, their outer gorilla.

Can't say I blame them.

But it all looks more natural -- and therefore more magnificent -- on a gorilla. The humans, with their store-bought muscles, mostly just look silly.

9 comments:

Steven said...

It would be so cool if there was a creature like that, an upright baldy gorilla.

What would a gorilla look like on steroids? lol good question.

And what can a gorilla lift?

Have you seen the muscular bulls?

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/newborns_exposed_to_dirt_dander_and_germs_may_have_lower_allergy_and_asthma_risk

Both the gorilla and bull are herbivorous :-O

John Craig said...

Steven --
I'm sure you're familiar with the statistics on primate strength, but we are by far the weakest of them. A full grown gorilla which weighs approximately 300 pounds is supposed to have the strength of 8 to 10 men. And a full grown chimp which weighs maybe 140 or 150 is supposed to have the strength of four or five men. Chimps have a pull down strength with one arm of something like 1160 pounds, as opposed to a full grown man who can pull something like 120 pounds with one arm. A chimp can fall forty feet through the air and break its fall by grabbing hold of a branch with one hand. And a full grown chimp can supposedly tear the arm off a grown man.

Not sure what you were attempting to link to, but I'm pretty sure you put the wrong link in there.

Yes, somehow it's always surprising to hear of these herbivores with testosterone levels many times higher than ours.

Steven said...

I knew they were way stronger but I didn't know the stats. That's amazing

I wonder if we can exert more force than a chimp with the legs, like during a sprint, given that we are specialized for walking and running while they are climbers.

oh yeah sorry...my sister is about to have a baby and I'm trying to convince her not to be germaphobic.

I meant to link to a picture of the really muscular species of bull. You can just google image it...you probably know about it already but if you don't its quite remarkable.

Steven said...

...no, I just found out that was stupid:

"A 2006 study found that bonobos can jump one-third higher than top-level human athletes, and bonobo legs generate as much force as humans nearly two times heavier. So the figures quoted by primate experts are a little exaggerated. But it is a fact that chimpanzees and other apes are stronger than humans"

I haven't read the article but here it is:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2009/02/how_strong_is_a_chimpanzee.html

John Craig said...

Steven --
Yes, I've seen films of them jumping, and they do have remarkable spring.

That article you just sent debunked the statistic I just quoted you about the 1160 pound one arm pull (and it was actually 1260); another study twenty years afterward showed they weren't that strong. One thing I was going to mention, their pushing (bench press-type) strength is not as much stronger than ours as their pulling strength is. That makes sense evolutionarily, as they often moved by swinging among tree branches, which necessitates great grip and pull strength bu tnot necessarily great pushing strength.

Unknown said...

That looks like an Orc not a Gorilla. Here is a link to the original article.http://polycount.com/discussion/115094/teggs-character-art-thread

John Craig said...

Rosario --
You're absolutely right. I had originally seen that somewhere on the internet represented as a shaved gorilla, although I was suspicious for the reasons I listed. This is embarrassing, I'll take that pic out of the post. Thank you.

Unknown said...

A gorilla could rip your head clean off and piss down your neck. Believe me I worked with silverback.

Jaman said...

I remember reading that the 1160-1260 test occurred while the chimpanzee was in a rage. Also, chimpanzees are generally a lot more muscular than bonobos.