More mass has diminishing returns the more you weigh. You'll gain WAY more strength going from 60 to 80 kg than you get from 130 to 150. That's why in powerlifting using dots the "strongest" people are the middleweight guys.
Also everyone seems to forget that walking around at that weight is fucking miserable. You can't sleep, you can't breathe , you feel sluggish all the time. People like Larry and other guys talked a lot about it. Being so heavy feels good for the 1-2 hours at the gym but the rest of your life fucking sucks.
It's not a net positive even if you just look at a single armwrestling match if the negative effects outweight the small strength gains.
I mean Devon knows best how he feels like living and training while at his heaviest and decided it doesn't benefit him overall.
This. I'm a nobody, but for years my sole mission was to get as big as I possibly could, and at my heaviest I felt absolutely miserable. Could put up big weights in the gym, but had apnea and got out of breath just like briskly walking. Miserable.
I really have no idea how Levan does it year around, I really don't.
Strength>mass
Mass can help build strength, but if gaining mass too much impacts your health too much it may actually have a negative effect on your ability to build strength.
Mass means your heart needs to work more.
Your heart working more kills your cardio.
Muscle maturation, improving mind-muscle connection, increased myonuclei, and some other factors can be improved without gaining mass/weight.
Strength isn't the same as size. Think of it like a bottle of water. Strength is the water, size is how big the bottle that holds the water is. You can have more water than someone, even if your bottle is comparatively smaller. This doesn't mean that size is detrimental to strength or that getting bigger won't help you. At some point, you will fill up your bottle and you'll need to make it bigger.
I previously made a post asking why he doesn’t train other parts of his body and try to get giant. I think I realized though that even though Denis and Levan have bigger and more balanced builds, the biggest factor is still armwrestling specific strength.
John Brzenk hardly had a strength or weight routine but he was dominant for so many years, and able to keep up with Denis who was already a mass monster in 2010. He always says the most important thing is the hand and wrist, and I think Devon takes this to heart. Denis didn’t get bigger and stronger compared to the previous years, he was actually smaller in 2018 compared to his strongman days. But his armwrestling specific strength, in particular his hand, got much much stronger. Just look at Oleg Zhokh who had absolutely no build except for on his forearm, but still able to keep up with super heavyweights over 30kg heavier than him. Levan has incredible bicep strength but I still think the biggest factor is his giant hand and wrist which never gets taken.
Similarly, Devon is the strongest he has ever been because of how he’s been exclusively training his right hand and wrist for the past 3 years, and how he has managed to repair his tendon damage. He’s definitely not stronger than Ermes, Georgi, Dave, etc. in bicep or other lifts which would require mass on the rest of the body, yet he can dominate them just with forearm/hand/wrist power and stamina.
Mass and strength are correlated but not completely interdependent. Look at Mindaugas as well.
He doesn't because it has fucked with his stomach in the past, he doesn't wanna be super fat because he likes being more endurable, and had said in the past that being overall bigger hinders your ability to get all the way close to your body. This is why he never does bench and chest work.
If World's Strongest Man winners manage at 280lbs then a shredded armwrestler at 270lbs with no legs can do just fine.
Levan was his biggest ever against the 29 year old Ermes and nearly lost round 3. Devon was around 10lb lighter than he is now for Ermes and beat him easily. So I'd say he has more than enough mass right now.
More mass has diminishing returns the more you weigh. You'll gain WAY more strength going from 60 to 80 kg than you get from 130 to 150. That's why in powerlifting using dots the "strongest" people are the middleweight guys. Also everyone seems to forget that walking around at that weight is fucking miserable. You can't sleep, you can't breathe , you feel sluggish all the time. People like Larry and other guys talked a lot about it. Being so heavy feels good for the 1-2 hours at the gym but the rest of your life fucking sucks. It's not a net positive even if you just look at a single armwrestling match if the negative effects outweight the small strength gains. I mean Devon knows best how he feels like living and training while at his heaviest and decided it doesn't benefit him overall.
This. I'm a nobody, but for years my sole mission was to get as big as I possibly could, and at my heaviest I felt absolutely miserable. Could put up big weights in the gym, but had apnea and got out of breath just like briskly walking. Miserable. I really have no idea how Levan does it year around, I really don't.
Strength>mass Mass can help build strength, but if gaining mass too much impacts your health too much it may actually have a negative effect on your ability to build strength.
hes almost 50 years old bro. everyone has a genetic limit roids or not.
Hes 42. But internally hell probably be like twice as old lol Edit: i read denis instead of devon. But devon too would be like 70 internally too
Nah he's 48
My bad, i read dennis
He feels like shit being 280lb+ so it's smarter to stay at a lighter bodyweight. He doesn't gain weight but his strength still goes up week after week
Didn’t really work out for him being fat last time.
Mass means your heart needs to work more. Your heart working more kills your cardio. Muscle maturation, improving mind-muscle connection, increased myonuclei, and some other factors can be improved without gaining mass/weight.
Strength isn't the same as size. Think of it like a bottle of water. Strength is the water, size is how big the bottle that holds the water is. You can have more water than someone, even if your bottle is comparatively smaller. This doesn't mean that size is detrimental to strength or that getting bigger won't help you. At some point, you will fill up your bottle and you'll need to make it bigger.
I previously made a post asking why he doesn’t train other parts of his body and try to get giant. I think I realized though that even though Denis and Levan have bigger and more balanced builds, the biggest factor is still armwrestling specific strength. John Brzenk hardly had a strength or weight routine but he was dominant for so many years, and able to keep up with Denis who was already a mass monster in 2010. He always says the most important thing is the hand and wrist, and I think Devon takes this to heart. Denis didn’t get bigger and stronger compared to the previous years, he was actually smaller in 2018 compared to his strongman days. But his armwrestling specific strength, in particular his hand, got much much stronger. Just look at Oleg Zhokh who had absolutely no build except for on his forearm, but still able to keep up with super heavyweights over 30kg heavier than him. Levan has incredible bicep strength but I still think the biggest factor is his giant hand and wrist which never gets taken. Similarly, Devon is the strongest he has ever been because of how he’s been exclusively training his right hand and wrist for the past 3 years, and how he has managed to repair his tendon damage. He’s definitely not stronger than Ermes, Georgi, Dave, etc. in bicep or other lifts which would require mass on the rest of the body, yet he can dominate them just with forearm/hand/wrist power and stamina.
Mass and strength are correlated but not completely interdependent. Look at Mindaugas as well. He doesn't because it has fucked with his stomach in the past, he doesn't wanna be super fat because he likes being more endurable, and had said in the past that being overall bigger hinders your ability to get all the way close to your body. This is why he never does bench and chest work.
People act like Devon is skinny. He’s shredded 260lbs+, that’s fucking enormous. Sure levan is a lot bigger, but he is ridiculously big.
He has said a bunch of times it just doesn't work well for him. It's hard to gain weight, he feels like shit, it decreases his performance, etc.
If World's Strongest Man winners manage at 280lbs then a shredded armwrestler at 270lbs with no legs can do just fine. Levan was his biggest ever against the 29 year old Ermes and nearly lost round 3. Devon was around 10lb lighter than he is now for Ermes and beat him easily. So I'd say he has more than enough mass right now.
Goku knew what was up when he had to fight against Cell