Did Donovan Bailey prefer Cleans to Squats as a primary strength development excercise?
Why so? Was it related to his body type (short torso, long legs)?
More generally, does a particular body type lend itself to particular excercises? Can anyone offer examples & instances? Since strength training is general, by nature, should an athlete favour the movement/ excercise that matches their body type best?
Biomechanics make a significant difference, particularly in reference to providing for better leverages in particular lifts/activities.
For example in sprinting, the far less muscular/less strong Carl Lewis provided extreme competition to the far more muscular/strong Ben Johnson. This fact may be highly rooted in the fact the Lewis probably has superior/optimal 1. tendon insertions 2. lever lengths/moment arms, etc.
In powerlifting the lifter with long arms/short torso has a distinct advantage in the deadlift. A lifter with a big rib cage and short arms has a distinct advantage in the bench press.
As far as athletes utilizing the lifts that are the most favorable from a biomechanical perspective, not a good rule of thumb, unless we are talking about sport selection (i.e., a short athlete with a big rib cage and short arms would be better off training to compete in bench press competitions than swimming, etc.)
The determining factor for lift selection should optimally be the lift that most optimally satifies the development of the specific motor abilites which are in most need of enhancement.
James