As I understand it, apes are able to activate far more muscle fibers at once, something like 5 times the number a human can do, and this is what gives them their massive strength. The thing is, a very strong human, like a powerlifter, and plowing out their muscles, tendons and ligaments once they get past a certain point. And they are not activating any more muscles fibers than the next guy. How is it a chimp can do these powerful things and not end up in the waiting room of their orthopedic surgeon? I can understand if their parts were even twice as tough as a humans, but 5 times?
In: Biology
They don’t have human tendons and ligaments, they have been naturally selected to be strong, as apes that have weak tendons aren’t going to pass those genes on.
Humans on the other hand weren’t selected for strength, but endurance. We are the only land animal that can run a marathon without stopping, so this is how we catch food. And we use spears/javelins to kill prey, so strength isn’t needed to the level of other apes.
If there were body building apes, they would experience the same issues as body building humans. Race horses get injured all the time because the physiology wasn’t designed for that much muscle/speed.
Latest Answers