Written by Andy Chasse’ in Exercise
Viewed by 457 readers since 06-16-2009

Don’t laugh. Whether it makes any sense or not, it is actually quite possible to increase height through a series of activities and stretches performed on a daily basis. Still skeptical? Keep reading, but prepare to be amazed.

The idea of stretching as it pertains to this particular area of discussion might be a little different than the commonly understood concept. The term “stretching” normally refers to a series of static, or movement free holds used to pull and strain specific muscles. However, this term will take on a slightly different meaning today. Instead of force being applied in a static position to simply pull the muscles, it will be applied in a dynamic, or movement-based, setting. That might sound a little weird at the moment, but don’t worry – everything is about to become incredibly clear.

It is commonly believed to be impossible to increase height through simple static stretching. However, dynamic stretching is a different story entirely. Dynamic stretching may be a variety of exercises including running, skipping, jumping, resistance exercise, and so on. It encompasses nearly any movement. For the purposes of this article, dynamic stretching will now be referred to as resistance exercise. Resistance exercise, more commonly known as “lifting weights” has been shown to greatly increase the production of human growth hormone (HGH). This hormone is responsible for the growth of the human body in a multitude of aspects. Yep – height is definitely included amongst that list.

However, there is a bit more to it than that. Simply performing standard resistance exercise daily will not increase your height. Intensity is the primary contributing factor in the amount of growth hormone produced. Working with little toddler weights will do very little for increasing height. Heavy and high intensity exercise must be implemented in order to truly reap the benefits of the human growth hormone.

Is heavy gym-based resistance exercise the only way to increase height? Definitely not. To delve further into the subject, it is necessary to understand exactly what resistance exercise is classified as. As long as the intensity is kept fairly high, lifting weights falls under the category of anaerobic, or without oxygen, exercise. This is in contrast to exercises such as jogging and cycling which are considered aerobic, or with oxygen, activities. While anaerobic exercises are performed at a very high intensity over a short period of time, aerobic activities take place at a fairly low intensity over a long duration. With that being said, what else would fall into the anaerobic category, thus becoming a prime candidate in height increase? Sprinting comes to mind immediately. Sprinting is oxygen-free exercise generally performed over 10 to 20 seconds.

This might be a little confusing, so let’s sum everything up.

• Typical static stretching does not increase height.
• Anaerobic, or oxygen-deprived, exercise increases the production of growth hormone. This, in turn, may function to increase height.
• Any short duration, high intensity activity – such as resistance training and sprinting – fall into the category of anaerobic exercise.
• This means that both resistance training and sprinting greatly increase growth hormone production and may help increase height.