Why are chimpanzees so strong?

Answer 1

A study done in the 1920s found that Chimps were four times stronger than able-bodied College Football players. The 2009 research paper "The Strength of Great Apes and the Speed of Humans" by Prof. Alan Walker writes:

"Bauman (1923, 1926) showed that adult male and female chimpanzees held long in captivity were much stronger than any of several fit young football players when normalized for body mass. He had the animals (when they felt like it) and the students pull on a calibrated metal loop dynamometer. The female recorded a two-handed pull of 1,260 pounds,while the male recorded a one-handed pull of 847 pounds. The strongest student managed a one-handed pull of 210 pounds and a two-handed pull of 491 pounds. When normalized for body mass, this meant that the chimpanzees were more than four times as strong as the men."

Prof. Walker theorizes that the reason Chimps are so much strong is because they have less grey matter in their spinal cord, meaning there are less muscle neurons to activate small muscle groups. On top of that, they do not have the types of biological limiters that humans have because they do not have as many fine motor control muscles to protect. This ultimately means that they can access larger sections of muscle at once.

Gorillas are probably twice as strong as Chimps. I've seen estimates of them being eight to nine times stronger than humans. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be that strong.

Answer 2

A study done in the 1920s found that Chimps were four times stronger than able-bodied College Football players. The 2009 research paper "The Strength of Great Apes and the Speed of Humans" by Prof. Alan Walker writes:

"Bauman (1923, 1926) showed that adult male and female chimpanzees held long in captivity were much stronger than any of several fit young football players when normalized for body mass. He had the animals (when they felt like it) and the students pull on a calibrated metal loop dynamometer. The female recorded a two-handed pull of 1,260 pounds,while the male recorded a one-handed pull of 847 pounds. The strongest student managed a one-handed pull of 210 pounds and a two-handed pull of 491 pounds. When normalized for body mass, this meant that the chimpanzees were more than four times as strong as the men."

Prof. Walker theorizes that the reason Chimps are so much strong is because they have less grey matter in their spinal cord, meaning there are less muscle neurons to activate small muscle groups. On top of that, they do not have the types of biological limiters that humans have because they do not have as many fine motor control muscles to protect. This ultimately means that they can access larger sections of muscle at once.

Gorillas are probably twice as strong as Chimps. I've seen estimates of them being eight to nine times stronger than humans. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be that strong.