Does sprinting really increase your height? And if so, how much taller can you grow by running?
What are the different ways to sprint?
I used to sprint with a lot of different people and what I have found is that not everyone understands the same thing. In my experience, there are three basic sprint concepts:
- Run a short distance really fast, but only once.
- Run a short distance really fast, take a longer break for 5-10 minutes, and then do it again.
- Doing interval training.
In other words, when I ask a friend if he wants to go for a run with me, he will assume one of the three variations above. For me personally, running is variation number two. It is a kind of weight training in which you do very intensive sets and repeat them over and over again to increase performance.
It is important that you know that variation number two is also the type of sprint in which you benefit the most by increasing the height. If you can do exercise number two on the list above several times a week, then running can really help you grow taller.
Why does sprinting increase height?
Obviously, don’t just take my word for it when I say that running increases your height. So, let me give you a brief explanation of the science behind all of this. In order for you to grow taller after puberty, you must accomplish the following:
- Lengthen the extremities, either the legs or the spine (preferably both).
- Stimulate your body to naturally release more growth hormones.
As you may have guessed, sprinting helps you with the two criteria listed above. When running, you have to push your body off the ground very hard and you also have to pull your knees up high enough to maintain speed. In other words, you are making great strides. These long strides are a way to stretch your legs.
At this point, it is important for you to understand that there is no way to lengthen your leg bones after puberty. As an adult, you have solid bones that simply cannot be altered unless you have surgery. However, between the bones of our legs, we have small spaces. By stretching your legs, you can take advantage of these spaces and lengthen them a bit.
Finally, all types of intense exercise stimulate your body to release more growth hormones. Sprinting is a classic exercise for this purpose and can greatly increase the amount of growth hormones that the pituitary gland releases into the system.
Something is missing?
As you can see, sprint exercise variation number two is really the best sprint exercise for increasing height. Number one hardly helps at all because it is too short. And the number three would go a long way in releasing more growth hormones; however, it does not work as well at stretching and lengthening the legs.
Most importantly, though, sprinting is just part of a bigger picture – if you combine regular sprinting as described above with other stretching exercises, you can easily increase your height from 2 to 4 inches in just 2 months.
