Hm, wanted to resurrect this post to see some others input on this subject as I was thinking about it today.
I'm 5'10 and have a 70" reach.
Seems odd to me that it's that short when I stand next to a friend of mine who is also 5'10 and side by side we appear to have the same arm length, but when measured, his is 76". Sometimes I wish I had longer arms to exploit the reach advantage.
Reach (also known as wingspan) is the physical measurement of the length from one end of an individual's arms (measured at the fingertips) to the other when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height. The average reach correlates to the person's height.
An above average reach is advantageous in sports such as basketball and boxing. For instance, the boxer Sonny Liston had an 84 inch reach despite being 72 inches in height. This unusually long reach allowed him to hit opposing boxers from relatively safe distances where they could not reach him.
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