...and personally I have found that 240 pound aliens can't really fight that well anyways- their massive size always makes it hard for them to maneuver well -no agility whatsoever

Right, just ask the Gorn!

Alara's capabilities are explained, and Burnham has her Vulcan training, I guess.

@strntz said:

Let's not forget that simians of similar weight to humans are far more powerful, and they haven't had the benefit of evolving on a planet of higher mass.

The alien Alara could have been explained to have that strength just based on her planet's evolution, even if the planet had the same size and mass of Earth.

The following is not a statement of fact. IRRC, I read an article a number of years ago regarding this very thing. According to the article, animals, in general, tend to use all their strength in a stressful situation. That is why a small cat or dog can sometimes pull themselves away from being held by a human being, even if the human outweighs them by 20 times and is much stronger. Humans tend to keep strength in reserve and only likely to use it in the most extreme situations.

As I said, I'm not supporting the veracity of this article. I haven't seen any other articles on this subject and I have not seen the parameters and methodology of the study (supposing there was one). So, I'm offering it only as an interesting possibility which might explain why simians of similar weight seem stronger than human beings.

There are various reasons for things. If muscle attachments are farther from the joints, that allows for applying more force to the limbs.

@Costumers said: According to the article, animals, in general, tend to use all their strength in a stressful situation. ..... So, I'm offering it only as an interesting possibility which might explain why simians of similar weight seem stronger than human beings.

Yeah, but we've all seen gorillas and other simians in the zoo run up a tree and swing from branches with an effortlessness and speed that would require far more strength than the best athletes. Even highly trained gymnasts can't come close to the speed and power of the average simian who is just screwing around in his enclosure.

Supposedly, gorillas are at least 5 times stronger than a human. I guess King Kong would be pretty tough..

I think what the OP means that is that with Alara her strength is explained because she is an alien from a high gravity world i.e. different physiology.As for Burnham her physiology is the same as ours because she is human and it is never explained why she can toss aliens three times her weight around like it is nothing Some argue that is because of Vulcan martial arts training but that still isn't an explanation,just because Spock can smash into walls smash up computers screens or could easily whoop Kirk's ass and several crew members in one go has nothing to do with martial arts but with strength and Spock's strength comes from the fact that he has an alien physiology (he is Vulcan or at least half Vulcan)Burnham hasn't so it still doesn't explain why Burham has such strength(this is probably another example of the writers of DISC knowing very little about Star Trek and doing a lazy job in researching these things)

@Invidia said:

The EMPERESS is also human (comes from a WORLD that MIRRORS the HUMAN WORLD), and she also uses MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING to KICK BUTT.

So why can't MICHAEL do the same thing???

Here's a post about Burnham as a fighter.

The "using all strength" thing comes with risk of injury, perhaps serious injury. I've also had times where capturing a stray cat, where I let go, not because I couldn't have succeeded, but because I didn't want the cat to get hurt while trying to get away.

Thundercats Hooo!

But the fact that she tosses around Klingons twice her size and three times her weight around like they were nothing ,indicates that the writers think that Burnham because she had a Vulcan upbringing she can do the same things as Spock can ,neglecting the fact that Spock physiologically speaking is a Vulcan.As for Georgiou she is of from the Mirror Universe so in that Universe Khan and the Eugenics Wars could have succeeded and Georgiou could be a descendant from these genetically enhanced.But in both cases it is odd that hey don't explain Or maybe it is that the writers think that a strong female character has to have superhuman strength,maybe Burnham and Georgiou should join The Avengers?

Nobody beats the Thundercats