You can’t grow after your teenage years, and it all boils down to how tall your parents are right? You couldn’t be more wrong. There is a multiplicity of ways in which you can squeeze out a few more inches and get taller. Multiple environmental factors come into play, and whereas, it’s not easy to elongate your spine and shins after your epiphyseal plates fuse – usually in your mid-twenties – it’s certainly not impossible.
Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to raise their vertical. Height has long been associated with status and good-looks. The taller you are, male or female, the more seriously you are taken. Not to say one should not be insecure or under-confident if they’re on the shorter side, but being taller does lend certain advantages.
Let’s cut straight to the chase. Hanging from a pull-up bar is a gold standard exercise to get taller, and it’s pretty intuitive – it simply decompresses your spine. Aim to hang for at least 30 minutes a week if you want to see real results. By the way, it’s worth mentioning that these exercises and height hacks won’t be able to bring you up from 5”6” to 6”5”, the best we can hope for is a 2” improvement if these tips are practiced regularly for 2 months, along with adequate nutrition. But getting back to hanging, another pro tip would be to hang using a wider grip. It’ll help develop you lats as well, so that you come across as having broader shoulders. Moreover, it’s a great way to straighten out your spine and improve your posture.
Sprinting is another major way you can add those inches to your height. Short, intense bursts of exercise are great for releasing pulsatile surges of growth hormone from your pituitary gland. Sprinting does just that. Additionally, 100-200 meter dashes put appropriate stress on your shins. This in turn stimulates bone growth and consequent height elevation. Just be sure to get adequate rest, and don’t go too intense.
With both cycling and jumping rope, the objective is to put appropriate stress on your shins, and therefore, cause micro-fractures that will then heal and cause your legs to grow. Cycling on a stationary exercise bike is ideal. It is best if you sit with the seat raised 2-4 inches. Jumping rope – or even just rapidly jumping on and off a bench – causes the same effect.
Swimming has a two-pronged effect on your spine. Apart from the anti-gravity actions of water which serves to decompress your spine, you also get a great stretch done. This is particularly true for breast stroke. Whereas, your arms are moving one way, your legs are effectively moving in a different direction. This goes a fair way in lengthening your spine.
While on the topic of stretches, a great exercise to get taller is to try out the cobra pose. Begin by lying face down on the ground, and then slowly arch your spine up, so that at the end, your neck is stretched back, in a controlled manner of course. Arch as far back as possible and maintain for 30 seconds.
Ultimately, we need to understand that raising one’s vertical is multi-factorial. In addition to elongating one’s spine and legs, one needs to be taking adequate nutrition. It goes without saying that drinking lots of milk is a must, but don’t miss out foods rich in Magnesium, and recall that Vitamin D is critical for Calcium absorption in the gut. Also get lots of sleep, because that’s when human growth hormone is released – the hormo
