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Limb Lengthening Exercises

Arjun Kulkarni
Everyone wishes that they were an inch or two taller than what they are today. If you too have this wish, you can try out these limb lengthening exercises for that extra height.
Many of us are never satisfied with our height. There is always this nagging wish to grow taller naturally. The dissatisfaction with our height is partly due to our social circle. If you hang out with people who are taller than you, you will be inadvertently poked fun at and feel like a misfit within that group. Hence, there rises a desire to grow taller.
You may not believe it, but it is true that simple exercises like these could ever help you grow taller. This is because they predominantly aim at increasing your height by applying physical stress on your limbs. Hence, the body's natural response to stress is to beat it by growing taller.

Kicking

A repeated kicking exercise puts the necessary pressure on the shin and thigh bones and is one of the best ways to increase your height. There are two basic kicks which will help you grow taller.
The first is the front snap kick. Here, raise your right leg and make sure that your thigh is parallel to the ground. Then, make a quick snapping kick by only moving your knee. The other kick is the straight leg kick. Here, you have to raise the full leg up straight. You can do this as 20 kicks each of both types, with both the right and the left leg.

Jumping

The first way to do this is to jump from the ground level on to a bench, and then off it. You have to do these jumps rapidly. You can jump with one leg at a time or even with both legs at a time. You can do 3 sets of 10 jumps.
The second type of jump involves jumping at one spot. The focus should be on trying to jump as high as you can. Do this exercise in 3 sets of 10 jumps. One similar way is skipping. You can try doing up to 300 skips.

Swimming

Swimming stresses all the limbs in the body and hence it's a very good increasing height.
The breast stroke in particular is the one that you can benefit from the most. You can do the breast stroke for 10-15 minutes at a time and take a 5 minute break between two sets. Doing 5 sets of 10-15 minutes would be ideal.

Cycling

One of the most commonly known exercise for gaining height is cycling. But, instead of fixing the seat where it would be comfortable for you, fix it a bit (4-8 cm) higher.
This will require you to really stretch your legs to pedal, thus putting the required stress on them. It's better if you can do this on a stationary bike, as there are chances that you may fall off the normal bike if you try riding on a raised seat.

Stretching

Before and after your workout, it is important that you stretch all your limbs. It helps relax the muscles, along with providing the stimulus to the bones for growing taller. One of the best yoga positions that will help you grow taller is the tadasana.
In this exercise, you have to stand with your back against the wall and stretch your ankles, thighs, shoulders, and hands as high as they can go. Hold this position for about 10-15 seconds and then relax. Do this 5 times.

Pilates

Pilates too help you grow taller. This is one of the simplest leg exercises. Lie down on one side, bend your arm, and rest your head on it. Slowly lift one leg in the air as high as you can. Hold for 10 seconds and then bring the leg down. Repeat this 10 times with each leg.
Other things to keep in mind include consuming a healthy diet with a good amount of proteins, calcium, and other minerals. It's also important to rest all the bones after putting them through so much stress, so get enough sleep.