Larry Wheels has taken on yet another challenge in the strength sports arena: arm wrestling.
Larry Wheels is always looking to improve his physique and general strength. The man has taken on bodybuilding, powerlifting, and now — you probably guessed it — arm wrestling. In order to hone his new skills, Larry Wheels challenged veteran arm wrestler Devon Larratt to teach him everything he knows. The two of them face off in an incredible challenge you’re just going to have to watch in the video above.
So who has the advantage in this scenario? Let’s break down the odds. Devon “No Limits” Larratt is a professional arm wrestler renowned for his ability to beat pros across all strength sports. He is the first arm wrestler in the world to hold titles in both the left arm and right arm, meaning he’s ambidextrous and equally strong on both sides of his body. But what does that mean to a bodybuilder or powerlifter? Larry Wheels obviously has a greater amount of muscle mass in his body, but that doesn’t really translate to an advantage in a game of arm wrestling.
The fundamental question at stake here is if bodybuilders have an arm strength that is comparable to someone who specifically and only trains their arms for their entire lives. Do arm wrestlers have better arms purely because they focus only on that? Or do bodybuilders achieve an equivalent amount of strength and power despite dividing their time equally among the body parts?
Looking at the two of them onscreen, it’s clear Larry Wheels has much larger arms overall. However, large size does not necessarily translate to more muscle power. Some famous bodybuilders are stronger than powerlifters despite the fact that powerlifters can be double their weight. So, this isn’t really enough to go on to draw any conclusions about the outcome, just a small point in Wheels’ favor.
Wheels starts off a little slow, but with tips from Larratt, he becomes progressively better throughout the video and eventually comes close to beating him. The trick, according to Larratt, is to always be “thinking about [the] fingertips” and not your opponent’s arm. The goal isn’t to flatten the arm but to get the fingertips to touch the table. Once you change your focus to be on that point, which is further away from the body, you actually use your muscles differently.
So, as it turns out, bodybuilders might have just a little bit more strength and power than arm wrestlers, but they really lack the game strategy that carries arm wrestlers through life. Arm wrestling is a surprisingly sophisticated sport with a lot of different dimensions to consider. Once Larry got a hold of Larratt’s techniques, it was over for notable arm wrestling champion Devon Larratt — but it was only with his help that he was able to achieve victory. Looks like the student became the teacher, at least for now.
*All images and media courtesy of YouTube.
