Perhaps you have read online that participating in sports is useful for increasing your height naturally. Well, if truth be told, there are sports out there that can, in fact, help you to grow taller, and then there are also sports around that can prevent you from adding inches to your height!
So if you would like to know which sports you should engage in and which ones you should avoid at all costs, continue reading. Below we will discuss ten sports that can help to increase your height and five sports that can keep you from growing taller.
First things first: being in sports comes with an assortment of benefits. Aside from allowing you to become famous and rich just like those basketball, baseball and socker players, it also lets you enjoy:
- Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
- Improved sense of discipline and hard work
- Reduced stress levels
- Decreased depression and anxiety
- Optimized blood pressure
- Lowered risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke
- Reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- Decreased risk of osteoporosis
- Strengthened muscles, bones and joints
- Improved balance, flexibility and coordination
- Boosted immune system
Whew, that’s a lot of mental and physical perks to enjoy from sports! There is another benefit that comes with being in the world of sports, and it is none other than being a taller individual. A quick trip to the internet will let you see the fact that some of the tallest individuals on the planet are athletes.
If you would like to add some inches to your height because you are not happy with your current stature, needless to say, participating in sports is definitely a fantastic idea!
But just before you head to the nearest sporting goods store as well as scout for a coach, there’s something vital that you need to know first: not all sports out there can help you to enjoy a taller physique. Actually, some sports can prevent you from becoming taller — they may even make you a shorter individual!
Without any more ado, let’s check out 10 of the best sports for height increase and 5 of the worst sports. Let’s start with the ones that you should give a try.
Sports to Increase Height
1. Basketball
Shooting, dribbling, passing, blocking, stealing — these are some of the essential skills that you need to have if you want to become a professional basketball player.
However, there is something else that can really help you become a superstar on the court, and that is being tall. Well, Muggsy Bogues is an exception. That’s because he is the shortest NBA player of all time, standing at 5 feet and 3 inches only. It’s okay if he’s not that tall because he had mad basketball skills!
Kids who play basketball tend to wind up as tall adults. That’s because all the running and jumping that they need to do help to bring plenty of nutrients and oxygen to the growth plates of their bones, thus allowing the long bones of their arms and legs to grow longer.
If truth be told, some of the tallest NBA players out there have been playing basketball since they were children — it’s no wonder why they are so tall these days!
Worry not if you are no longer in your teens. That’s because you could still play basketball and encourage your body to grow taller. The amount of jumping and shooting you need to do every game time causes your spine to become stretched, and this instantly adds a few centimeters to your height.
Besides, basketball is also an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise, which allows you to burn excess calories and fat. Having a leaner frame can give the impression that you’re a taller person.
2. Soccer
Like basketball, you also need to be very good at shooting, dribbling and passing the ball if you would like to become a fantastic soccer player. But instead of using your hands and arms, in soccer, you will have to use your feet and legs. It’s for this reason why this type of sport is referred to as such.
Watching a game of soccer will tell you that it’s something that requires a lot of running and jumping. This is why playing soccer can help to increase your height.
The impact your growth plates are getting from engaging in soccer encourages the growth of new bone tissue. As a result of such, you will end up having longer legs. Playing soccer, most especially in your teenage years, can help you to become a statuesque adult.
Are you already in your 20’s and 30’s and you’re wondering if it’s too late for you to take advantage of soccer just to add some inches to your height as of the time being? You’ll be glad to know that it is never too late!
Scientists say that the growth plates of different people tend to stop producing new bone tissue at different ages. So, in other words, there is a possibility for your growth plates to be still active. If it’s still active, then you should waste no time — you should start to play soccer to maximize your height potential.
If you feel that the heydays of the growth plates of your bones are long over, feel free to play soccer.
That’s because it’s a great way to strengthen your bones and fend off osteoporosis, a bone disease that can cause height decrease in adults. Further, playing soccer lets, you slim down and look taller.
Still in doubt? Did you know that average height of soccer goalie is 6″2′?
3. Swimming
Perhaps you have read some articles on the internet saying that stretching exercises can help to increase your height. Well, it’s true — stretching is very good for making you grow taller.
This is why participating in swimming is a wonderful way to have your height increased with the help of sports. Some of the most common swimming strokes or styles include freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, and all of them cause the body to become stretched.
Needless to say, swimming more can increase your chance of growing taller, and being taller can increase your chance of winning swimming medals!
Other than that, there is one more reason why swimming is something that can turn you from a short person to a tall athlete. It’s none other than the fact that when you’re in the pool, your body is subjected to reduced gravity.
By having the impact of gravity on your body lessened, your spine is allowed to stretch.
It’s precisely for this reason why astronauts could gain up to 2 inches in height after spending some time in outer space — the absence of gravity up there gives the spine enough time to become stretched.
The good news is that you don’t have to head to NASA and apply to become an astronaut if you would like to become a taller person. All you have to do is swim more often as being in the water helps to save your spine from being compressed as a result of the effect of gravity.
4. Surfing
If you live near the ocean, it’s a wonderful idea for you to participate in surfing instead of swimming. Being a surfer is just like being a swimmer, except that you are armed with a surfboard, and you are given the opportunity to leave everyone breathless with your ability to ride the waves!
What’s so nice about surfing is that it allows you to spend much of your time in the water. Just like what’s earlier said, gravity has a reduced impact on your body while you’re in the water. This gives your spine the opportunity to become decompressed and longer, thus giving you a taller frame.
Additionally, surfing requires you to paddle a lot in order for you to catch a wave. Doing this while you’re on a surfboard allows you to stretch your back.
Here’s one more reason why surfing is good for you if your goal is to increase your height: surfing is done under the sun. So what’s so beneficial about this? Well, not a lot of people are aware of the fact that the sun is an excellent source of vitamin D.
According to health experts, vitamin D is important for the bones to be able to absorb calcium properly. This is exactly the reason why a lot of calcium supplements on the market come added with vitamin D.
Thanks to vitamin D that you can get from the sun, your bones can grow longer and stronger. It also helps to lower your risk of ending up with osteoporosis, which can cause you to shrink.
5. Golf
Speaking of vitamin D, there is another type of sport that will surely allow you to get plenty of this nutrient, and it’s none other than golf. You will love the fact that it won’t leave you sweating and panting like most other sports. This enables you to attempt to increase your height without leaving you exhausted.
The main reason why playing golf is something that makes it possible for you to grow taller is that it requires you to keep your spine in an excellent state. Notably, it entails getting your back straight all the time.
Professional golf players will tell you that having poor posture can keep you from making a good swing. If you curve your back, which is terrible for your spine, you will inevitably fail to impress on the golf course.
The swinging action also helps to stretch your spine further, enabling the gel-filled sacs in between the bones of your spine to expand.
With those sacs expanded, it is very much possible for you to grow taller. Play golf on a regular basis, and it won’t take long before you start getting remarks that you seem taller than usual.
Swinging that golf club engages the abdominal muscles, too. In other words, playing golf helps to tone and strengthen the core. It is very important for you to have a strong core in order to be able to maintain good posture.
Again, having a good posture can make you look taller and also allow you to gain more self-confidence.
6. Hang Gliding
Other than being a type of sport, hang gliding is also a recreational activity. This is the reason why engaging in it is good for you whether you are a competitive person or you just want to have some fun and excitement!
Perhaps you have read somewhere on the internet that hanging is one of the various stretching exercises that can help to increase a person’s height.
Yes, scientists agree that hanging can, in fact, promote height increase as it encourages the spine to become stretched. Just like what the name says, hang gliding involves hanging.
Believe it or not, for as long as the wind is blowing, it is very much possible for you to be hanging in mid-air — it’s not impossible for you to be gliding up to 8 hours long!
Needless to say, this gives your spine plenty of time to become stretched, thus causing you to end up slightly taller when you land.
It goes without saying that spending more time hang gliding makes you gain more centimeters. Especially if you take you being a hang glider very seriously, it is something that can help you to be spotted looking taller than usual.
Another wonderful thing about hang gliding is it also allows you to marvel at the beauty of nature 4,000 to 6,000 feet from the ground!
Definitely, you should consider being a hang glider if you want not only to become taller but also literally see the planet from a different perspective.
7. Bicycling
There are many sports out there that are considered as low-impact. It only means that they do not put unnecessary strain on the body, including most especially the joints.
Engaging in low-impact activities is good for elderly people as well as those who are suffering from joint aches and injuries but need to stay physically active.
One of the most common forms of a low-impact activity is bicycling. That’s because pedaling causes less impact, most especially on the ankles and knees, both of which are prone to get injured.
What’s more, bicycling does not require a lot of training and skill — usually, it’s enough for the person to know how to ride a bicycle properly.
If you are looking for a sport that is easy to learn, then you should look no further than bicycling. It’s also something that may add a few centimeters to your height because while riding a bicycle, your spine is given a chance to stretch.
This is why you may appear a little taller if you ride a bicycle for several hours straight. While bicycle races typically last anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes, you could ride your bike for an extended period of time while training. You may also do so for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression as it is good for mental health.
What’s lovely about bicycling for fitness is that you don’t really have to buy and ride an actual bicycle. If you wish to get your dose of bicycling without stepping foot outside your home, you may get your hands on a stationary bike.
Because this piece of equipment can be used at any time and no matter the weather condition, it’s possible for you to stay fit and have your spine lengthened to your heart’s content.
8. Rock Climbing
Have you seen people who are climbing rocks or walls? It’s plain to see that on their way from the ground to the top, they need to use their arms and legs a lot, thus causing their backs to become lengthened.
It’s for this reason exactly why climbing is excellent for those who would like to grow taller, including those who are already in their 20s and 30s and are constantly told that they no longer have a chance to gain some inches.
Most especially, if climbing is incorporated into one’s life on a regular basis, impressive results can be enjoyed.
When hanging by your arms, gravity has very little effect on your body. This makes it possible for your spine to become decompressed, causing it to lengthen.
The nicest thing about climbing is that it can be carried out inside and outside. These days, there are a lot of facilities that offer wall climbing.
It doesn’t really come as a big surprise since more and more people are discovering the fun and excitement that comes with climbing. More importantly, it’s a very interesting form of exercise.
Climbing can also be performed in the traditional way — you know, scaling rocks and boulders. Professional climbers are some of the most admired athletes on the face of the planet. That’s because what they are doing involves not only physical strength but also passion, diligence, and perseverance.
9. Tennis
A couple of reasons exist why tennis is great for someone like you who would like to become taller.
First, tennis is a high-impact form of physical activity. This only means that it encourages increased bone density, which is vital for lowering your risk of suffering from osteoporosis one day.
As we discussed earlier in this article, osteoporosis is a bone disease that could make you a shorter person when it strikes.
The footwork and running involved with playing tennis make it possible for this type of sport to optimize bone density. Yes, tennis is not just about swinging that racket and hitting the ball.
Second, tennis is great for strengthening the core. Earlier, we also talked about the fact that having strong abdominal muscles is necessary for maintaining good posture. The importance of having the right posture for height increase as well as confidence boost cannot be stressed enough!
Other than allowing you to have good posture, having a strong core is also beneficial for the back.
Health experts agree that strengthening your core muscles is useful for keeping at bay back pain or reducing it if it’s already around. Tennis is also a great cardiovascular activity, which means that it’s good for your heart.
You may also go for table tennis if you want to enjoy the perks that come with playing tennis, including most especially its ability to encourage height increase.
10. Yoga
Believe it or not, yoga is considered by many as a type of sport. That’s because it requires you to put 100% of your focus on it, plus it requires mental and physical training for mastery.
Yes, you may not see yogis participating in the Olympics, but the fact is that yoga is a type of sport that you may choose to engage in.
We all know that yoga is excellent not only for getting in shape but also reducing stress. Also, it is commonly recommended by mental health experts for individuals who are battling anxiety, panic attack, and depression.
Did you know that you may also do yoga on a regular basis if you wish to grow taller? Yoga is capable of increasing your height because its various poses involve stretching.
Just like what’s mentioned earlier in this article, stretching exercises allow the spine to end up decompressed, thus leading to the lengthening of the entire back.
Yoga is also perfect for toning and strengthening the muscles, including those that support the spine. This helps to stabilize the back, sparing it from unnecessary curvature as well as aches and pains.
Thanks to regular yoga, you will also find it so much easier to maintain good posture. Nothing can make you appear taller instantly more than straightening your spine, slightly pulling your shoulders backward, and keeping your chin parallel to the floor.
Whether you are standing up or sitting down, having a superb posture also helps to increase your self-confidence. Being more attractive is not a problem if you are standing tall and looking confident.
The above-mentioned sports can help you to grow taller. Now it’s time for us to talk about 5 of those that you should stay away from as they can keep you from turning your dream height into a reality.
Sports That Make You Shorter
Gymnastics
Have you already seen a gymnast who has a tall physique? Probably not, like most people out there.
Refrain from assuming that short people make for excellent gymnasts. It’s just that those who are gymnasts tend to be shorter than everybody else, and there’s a perfectly rational explanation for it.
People who engage in gymnastics usually start very young — most of them begin even before they hit their teen years.
Due to the fact that gymnastics require balance, coordination, flexibility, and strength, endless hours of training is required. This is exactly why a lot of gymnasts, especially those that entered the world of gymnastics at such a young age, tend to be smaller than everyone else.
Lots and lots of training can, in fact, be detrimental to the proper growth and development of bones. What’s more, gearing up to become fantastic gymnasts can increase the risk of injury to the growth plates.
Since it’s during the teenage years when the growth plates are at their most active phase, it’s not unlikely for gymnasts, in particular, young ones, to fail to meet their maximum height potential.
Needless to say, many of them tend to end up as adult gymnasts who are inadequate when it comes to height.
That’s too bad because gymnastics involves a lot of stretching, which is good for lengthening the spine. However, the benefits of stretching on the back are simply offset by the amount of training that adolescent gymnasts have to undergo.
So in a nutshell, it’s not gymnastics itself that can stunt growth, but the rigorous training associated with it.
Long-Distance Running
Above, we mentioned several times already that running is something that can help to promote height increase. That’s because it encourages the bones to grow stronger and longer.
In other words, running is one of those high-impact physical activities that are extremely good for the skeletal system.
Unfortunately, just like gymnastics long-distance running involves excessive amounts of training. As a matter of fact, it is said that up to 70% of long-distance running injuries is due to overtraining.
Contrary to popular belief, long-distance runners train not only to run really fast. They also need to have improved strength and endurance for them to be able to run several miles at a time and get to the finish line ahead of everyone else to win medals and accolades.
Those who are into long-distance running do not run only on flat and even surfaces when training. They also have to train running up slopes to really build their strength and endurance.
Other than running, they also have to do weight lifting. It goes without saying that long-distance runners can wind up overtraining.
Because of the amount of work that goes into becoming a world-class long-distance runner, it’s not unlikely for the body to become really stressed.
This can have an unfavorable impact on the growth, especially among teens who are being groomed to be top Olympians in the future.
Wrestling
First things first: when we talk about wrestling, it’s not the one that you see on TV that comes with a lot of drama and fanfare. What we’re talking about here is Olympian and collegiate wrestling.
Everyone knows for a fact that WWE superstars are really tall and massive. On the other hand, those who participate in wrestling as a form of a sport rather than entertainment are mostly above average and sometimes even average when it comes to height and build. That’s because there are various weight categories involved, just like boxing.
In order to be able to fight within a particular weight category, it’s not unlikely for some wrestlers to resort to having unhealthy eating habits. This can deprive the body of nutrients, including those that are necessary for proper bone growth and development. In teens, this practice could keep them from growing tall.
Participating in excessive amounts of training and exercise is also quite common among wrestlers. Definitely, this can cause a lot of stress on the body, thus keeping it from fully developing, especially before puberty hits.
If you are still in your teenage years and currently looking for a sport to participate in, consider steering clear of wrestling, most especially if you would like to become a tall adult.
If it’s really your passion, then do everything you can to avoid certain training practices that can impact your body’s growth and development.
MMA
There are not enough studies on the rate of injuries in mixed martial arts or MMA. However, watching a fight will tell you that it can be quite easy for anyone who participates in this type of sport to end up injured.
Having physical injuries is a complete no-no for someone like you who would like to become a tall individual. It’s for the fact that you may end up fracturing your growth plate.
Naturally, an injured growth plate will no longer be able to carry out its job of producing new bone tissue.
If the injury is severe, you may even have a permanently damaged growth plate, which only means that your height at the time of your injury could be your height for the rest of your life.
One more reason exists why being an MMA fighter can keep you from maximizing your height potential. Before weigh-ins, those who participate in MMA usually undergo what’s referred to as a weight cut.
Just like what the name says, it’s a practice that enables them to shed off a lot of excess pounds in a short amount of time in order for them to fit into a particular weight category.
A weight cut is done by dehydrating the body, and this can cause calcium, potassium, and magnesium the bone needs to exit the body by means of the sweat. A weight cut also entails severe dietary restrictions, and in order to grow taller, supplying the bones with an assortment of nutrients is essential.
Weightlifting
Last but not least, it’s also a good idea for you to stay away from weightlifting if your goal is to have a tall physique. This is most especially true if currently, you are still in your teenage years, and you haven’t reached your maximum height.
Although it’s true that some scientists say that there is not enough evidence out there that weightlifting can stunt one’s growth, no one can deny the fact that those who started out with weightlifting as such young ages are not the tallest people on the face of the planet.
Lifting heavy weights can be quite stressful to the body, and that’s why the energy and nutrient reserves end up being used for recovery rather than for an assortment of natural bodily processes. One of those that may wind up neglected is the growth and development of the bones.
Besides, weightlifting also dramatically increases the effect of gravity on the body, causing the entirety of the spine to become compressed.
Needless to say, this can leave you looking shorter than your actual height. If your goal is to lengthen your spine to look taller, then you should counter the effect of gravity and not worsen it.
Everyone knows that those who are into weightlifting are bulky. If you are a short individual, bulking up may create an optical illusion that you are shorter than you really are. This can leave you with very little self-confidence even though you have muscles that can impress.
Just Before You Go
There is no denying that participating in sports comes with so many benefits, all of which can allow you to live a long and happy life. It’s also something that can help you to grow taller if what you want is to gain some inches.
However, not all sports are cut from the same cloth. While each one of them is good for mental and physical health, not all of them can encourage you to become a taller person. There are some sports that can promote height increase, and then there are some sports that can keep you from growing taller.
We hope that this article will help you decide which sports you should engage in, especially if part of your goal for doing so is to add some inches to your current height in order to become more confident and attractive!
And on personal note, I believe wrestling was a major reason why I didn’t grow taller at the first place. I remember we had to do squats with a partner sitting on your shoulder in a dojo even when we were children. It’s a last exercise you want a child who has short parents to do.
What’s Next?
If you are looking for my story and want to know how I got taller, I recommend checking the my article:
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