5 Effective Exercises to Increase Height in Kids and Teens

Why is it that some people are tall and some are short? The factors that affect the growth are genes, environment, nutrition, and last but not the least, lifestyle. Yes, you heard this right, lifestyle can also affect height. If you had been a lazy kid and not exercising much, it is very likely that you are shorter compared to your peers who had been very active in childhood

In a world where looks greatly matter, having a short height can cause inferiority complexes later in life. Therefore, if you are a parent of an adolescent or teen, you should take measures to help your kid grow taller. “Grow your height” is a big industry. From selling dubious products like eat this and grow taller in 4 weeks, or use this and your height will increase, to shoes with thick outsoles and insoles, businesses are making a lot of money. In this article, we are not selling anything, instead of giving you ideas about a handful of exercises that might help your kid grow taller.

There is a strong connection between your height gains and puberty. It is observed that some of the teenagers grow taller at a rapid pace even after their puberty, while others don’t. The rapidity and timing for body growth greatly depend on gender growth plates of body and also nutrition. Since the body composition is complex to understand, it is not always possible to determine when your height gains would occur. Many parents are concerned about the height of their teenage children and they want to know how to increase height faster after puberty. Many parents believe that after puberty the height stops increasing. During the puberty period, teenagers experience the highest height gains, but the puberty period has nothing to do with stopping the growth rate. Currently, many nutritionists and medical professionals have confirmed that one can gain height regardless of their age if they follow proper methods. So, to help your kid gain height even after puberty naturally here are a few simple, yet effective height gain exercises.

Hanging Vertically / Chin Up

Ask your kid to hang on a crossbar. The crossbar should be strong enough to withstand your kid’s weight. The height of the crossbar from the ground should be about a foot more than the height of your kid. Now, ask your kid to swing back and forth. If he/she is tired, let him/her rest for 30-40 seconds and perform the swinging again.

Another exercise that your kid can do on the crossbar is chin up. Chin up means you hang on the crossbar and full yourself upwards trying to touch the crossbar with your chin.

Crossbar swinging and chin-up are normally done to strengthen your body muscle or gain strength and stamina, however, these two exercises are very effective in helping your kid gain height.

Cobra Stretching Exercise/ Cobra Yoga Pose

This is basically a yoga exercise where the spine of your body is stretched to make it limber and lithe. This yoga exercise would enable the cartilage between the vertebra to grow and hence helping your body to gain height naturally even after puberty. You are required to perform this yoga at least 4-5 times a day. In order to do cobra stretching exercise or cobra yoga pose, you should lie on the floor facing downward. Your hands should rest beside your chest. Now try to raise your upper body, rise until you face the sky all the while using your limbs as support. Your lower body should be grounded.

Pilates Roll-Over

This is again a stretching exercise which is performed to stretch the spine and this helps in lengthening the upper body. This exercise can also help you to elongate the vertebrae in your neck. To perform this exercise, you are required to lie down on the floor on your back and spread the arms alongside by placing the palms on the floor. Now you need to join both your legs and gradually expand the legs straight up and slowly bend them so that you can touch the floor with your legs. You may find it difficult initially, but performing it regularly can help you bring the changes in your height after puberty.

Ankle Weight Exercise for Increasing Height

This is the exercise that can lengthen the lower body. You need to perform it by stretching the cartilage between your knees and this exercise would support the cartilage and mass to increase and this would help the lower body to grow in height naturally after puberty. This is a yoga exercise that needs to be performed with good postures for effective results.