在很多人的印象中，有些身材肥胖的人从来不做任何运动，却拥有超于常人的力气，这很让人感到疑惑。难道是天生神力吗？不太可能，因为这样的例子太多了。最可能的原因就是，人长胖后力气也会跟着变大。那么，这种猜测会是真的吗？
我们不妨先来简单了解这个问题的对立问题，即人变瘦后力气也会跟着变小吗？在大多数情况下，确实是这样的。就拿拳击运动员来说，赛前的急速减脂会造成绝对力量的下降。有研究指出，体重下降3%~6%时，肌肉（实验部位为大腿肌肉）的力量不会出现明显变化。当体重下降达到9%时，肌肉（大腿）的爆发力会出现显著下降。如果这个问题反过来，是否也会成立呢？
健身教练赛思（Seth）为了鼓励学员努力减肥（减脂），用了4个月时间把自己吃成一个胖子，最终体重增加了47磅（约23kg）。从赛思的身材来看，他确实长胖了，但是他的力气是否真的也变大了？这个问题也让赛思感到好奇。
赛思拿来了以前训练用的哑铃（25磅），像以前那样做哑铃肩上推举。他清晰地记得，增肥之前他一共可以做10下。不过这次他只做了六七下就已经不行了。
除此之外，赛思还记得自己在增肥前还能做出一个类似三点倒立的动作。4个月前的场景正如下图那样：
增肥后的赛思决定再次尝试这个动作，不过当时情况是这样的：
race thinks said, "i feel like i'm almost losing my athletic ability. those scientists say that the more weight you carry, the more weight you can lift. but i feel like right now, i'm worse off than before."
其实，race thoughts'这些身体变化只是表面现象，并没有反映出问题的本质所在。“force increase”更多是指absolute strength's increase，而不是指endurance and relative strength. for example, race thought use the same weights to do shoulder press when he used to do it before, but now he only does six or seven reps instead of ten.
another reason why race thought can't do a handstand anymore is because his body has become less flexible since gaining weight. if he had gained muscle mass instead of fat and water, it would be difficult to say whether his flexibility would decrease or not. however, because most of the extra weight came from fat (and water), his flexibility decreased accordingly.
this case tells us that if we just want to gain strength by eating a lot and becoming overweight, we will face problems with flexibility and relative strength decreasing even though absolute strength may not change much. in conclusion, pursuing power growth while achieving satisfactory results through both dieting and training is what really matters; otherwise another new start awaits – losing weight.
so why did race thought’s experiment fail? there are several reasons for this:
1.firstly , race thought didn’t actually lose any muscle mass during his four-month period of overeating; rather , he simply gained a lot of fat (and water). this means that even though he was carrying more weight around due to increased body mass ,his actual muscular force didn’t necessarily increase proportionally as well.
2.secondly , although some studies suggest that carrying more body mass could lead to greater absolute strength in certain circumstances — such as during activities involving heavy loads — these findings aren’t universally applicable across all types of physical tasks or exercises.
3.thirdly , endurance was another factor at play here: despite having gained significant amounts of excess pounds during overeating phase .when doing similar workouts previously done at lighter weights without getting tired easily enough beforehand — so no fatigue occurred until after completing about 7 reps on each set!
in summary : whilst increasing one's overall size might potentially boost raw power under specific conditions(like lifting heavier loads),it isn't necessarily true for other forms exercise routine nor does it guarantee improved performance in general terms considering factors such as flexibility loss due growing amount fats & water content inside human bodies which negatively affect their overall fitness level compared against leaner versions selfsame individuals prior experience undergoing similar workout sessions earlier timespan spanned by experimental period conducted upon oneselfself via consuming large portions food items mainly consisting fatty acids carbohydrates high-calorie snacks leading obesity-related health issues potentially resulting diminished quality life expectancy further complications potential risks associated with being morbidly obese state - thus making better choices towards healthier lifestyle habits advisable maintaining good health status throughout entire lifespan stages regardless age groupings involved within family units themselves!