Measuring Your Ape Ratio for Deadlifts

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This week on a special edition of Movement Fix Monday we look at a quick and easy way to measure your ape ratio (or ape index) to better understand how you or those you work with are built.

The ape ratio is your wingspan compared to your height. If your wingspan is greater than your height, you have an ape ratio greater than 1.

The larger your ape ratio, the longer your arms are compared to your height.

This makes it way easier to set up on a deadlift because if your arms are really long you don't have to move as much through your hip and knee joints to reach the bar.

The shorter your arms are, the more mobility you will need in your joints in order to set up well.

If you are someone like me who has short arms (my wingspan is 4" less than my height) a conventional set up could be challenging, even if you have full mobility in your joints. In a case like that, pulling off blocks or sumo deadlifts may be the setup of choice when doing volume work to keep your back healthy.

This is something I always check with people to get a better idea of them as an individual athlete.

It's important to note that having a certain ape ratio doesn't tell you what type of deadlift to do. It's a piece of info to better understand yourself or your clients if you work with people in that way.

This is standard part of my deadlift assessment.

If you need some additional help with your low back and/or hips, check out our newly released Hip/Low Back Health and Mobility Program.

Ryan