Does work out stunt your growth?

[asspen2001]

I have heard from many people that working out can stunt your growth. Is that true? Also, If you want to be taller you have to have plenty of sleep right. Well, I Work out and I sometimes go to sleep like around 12:30 am, I sometimes sleep during the day because I come tired from school. I am a Freshmen in High schoo,l is this a bad habbit to keep? can it stunt my growth? I am not sure if it is true because I am barely 5' 8" and I grew about 2" in this year. I want to be at least 6' tall. Is there anything I should do or not do more of?

[kuhl282000]

Hello

 

Not at all it enhances it.

 

 

Kuhl

 

8)

[asdf]

well lifting overly excessive weights can stunt your growth i think, but running and basketball and stuff can help your growth i think. it's got to do with some trigger in your foot releasing growth hormones from your pituary gland in your brain to make you grow or something.

[rickothesicko]

Yo,

\I'm not too certain that it stunts your growth. I heard it's a urban myth. Check out muscletalk.co.uk and ask that forum what they think. They've helped me alot.

[Rage]

If it does-that'll explain why i'm do damn small (5'7'')

[lil_unique_me]

not at all. its just an old wives tale that working out stunts your growth. it just doesnt happen at all. and dont worry you could still become 6 feet tall.

Catie xxx

[just_smile]

hey

im gonna disagree with most people here and say that it can stunt your growth, however this depends on your age, if you are young and work out then yes it is possible to have stunted growth; nevertheless i dont think it affects adults as their bodies have fully developed.

 

~LJ =;

[dikaia880]

If working out doesn't stunt growth what makes male gymnast's so short?

As far as I understand that one of the reasons they are...have you ever seen those guys...their like 5-4 and built like a brick S$#@ house!!!

[Rage]

Maybe it's because the short guys are the ones who are best at gymnastsics as taller gys would have to throw more body around......

 

Just a thought.....!!!!!

[clipse77]

Hey, you know when you say the word "stunt", does it mean that it just slows down my growth? Or does it mean that it is stopping my growth permanantly??? And also, I do pushups at night, and I am 13. Can that stunt my growth? And 1 last question, my hands are the same size as a 6 foot tall person...does that mean I should be as tall as them? (oh ya, and Im only 5'3 or 4.

[The Morrigan]

gymnastics - average height is shorter at the professional/high competition level just because most of the average and taller never make it to that level - tumbling, you have to be able to rotate your body in the air, and just laws of physics, proportionally, it's easier to get that quick rotation at a shorter height - go to a high school gym and the gymnasts, even those in it for years, tend to be closer to average height, and there are a few male and female at the national level who do make it at average and higher height. Might as well say football or basketball promotes growth because of the average size being so much bigger - it's not the case, just which size and build is best suited for the sport makes it APPEAR to correlate. Weightlifting can be similar, for a similar reason - the closer to the ground the center mass is, with strength and arm length being proportional, the easier it is, relatively speaking, to do the lifts - so you get to that high high competition level and many of the taller and longer limbed ones just aren't the right build to get that far.

 

That said - what CAN happen is females in particular in INTENSE (and I mean VERY intense) athletics at a very young age CAN forestall the onset of puberty and retard the menstrual cycle or stop it altogether - but that's the result of keeping SUCH a low body fat ratio hormone levels are kept way below normal - and upon stopping the intense program, nature does catch up, my sister in law didn't have a menstrual cycle til she was almost 20, and she has a perfectly normal build and is 5 foot 10 inches tall now at about 30. so it can delay development - but the key word is delay, and usually only if it's started before puberty - and after things are at a normal level the hormones and body kick into high gear and catch up.

 

Nutrition (or lack thereof), on the other hand, CAN stunt development, and you can get more deficient in some minerals and vitamins faster in an intense program - so eating well and taking a good multivitamin is a must to make sure you're supplying yourself with everything you're burning off. You DON'T want to keep competitve level bodybuilding body fat percentage every day, for example - that's why the pros only cut to that level for competition and go back to a normal fit ratio for regular training - it's just not healthy to keep it down THAT low all the time. Done right though - working out should, if anything, help your body reach it's potential quite nicely, not stunt it at all.

 

Short of depriving yourself of nutrition, most of your growth is determined genetically and there's little you can do about that - just look good for your height and most people aren't going to bring a tape measure along

 

(I competed in gymnastics, my sister in law was a competitive (jr olympic level) swimmer - and she was the one who delayed her maturation - and today I am 5 foot 2, she is 5 foot 10, go figure

[clipse77]

Hey, you know when you say the word "stunt", does it mean that it just slows down my growth? Or does it mean that it is stopping my growth permanantly??? And also, I do pushups at night, and I am 13. Can that stunt my growth? And 1 last question, my hands are the same size as a 6 foot tall person...does that mean I should be as tall as them? (oh ya, and Im only 5'3 or 4

[clipse77]

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION??????

[The Morrigan]

Stunt would be to permanently impair it - and no, normal working out and exercising isn't going to do that, or even slow it down.

 

If your hands are that large - your body is likely to grow into them - at 13, you still have a couple growth spurts left, not to make the direct comparison, but just like a lot of people will look at a puppy's paws to get an idea of potential size - some body parts tend to grow a bit faster than others. You're likely to go through more than a few years of awkward and gangly stages as different parts of you catch up - in a few years you may end up skinny and long armed and legged from a growth spurt feeling like an uncoordinated octopus for a bit! It'll even out in the end!

 

One good thing exercising regularly will do is help stabilize your metabolism a bit so you'll be less likely to gain weight between spurts, and help keep your muscles and joints flexible and toned as they grow, which'll help avoiding some of the "growing pains" some guys go through.

[clipse77]

Thanks. About the stunting, I haven't really been sleeping a lot over the past couple of years, maybe from 11-12 pm and wakin up at 7 am, and sometimes sleeping in. I also drink a lot of coke, which has caffine in it, and I was wondering if it was possible that my growth has stunted, and even so, is there a chance I might not grow anymore even if my hands and arms are big, under these circumstances? (the circumstances being lack of sleep and caffine)

[just_smile]

hey

 

sleep is a major part of growth and maybe a lack of it could stunt your growth slightly, but as long as you get 8-10 hours of sleep a night you should be fine

 

~LJ =;

[clipse77]

Thanks for the reply. You know how you said 8-10 houras of sleep is fine, I usually get about 6-7 hours of sleep, and im only 5'4. If my growth has already stunted, or even slightly stunted, is there still any chance I can grow to my full height? And is milk ( 1-2 glasses a day) good for growth?

[Mandoro]

eh well I think your pushups arent hurting, but I am no professional. I am 6'7 255lbs and at the magic age of 15.

 

Yes some see this as giantism, but I am the bigeest basketball freak ever. Ive played for 5 years and well see teh results? Plus I only started working with teh weight about 3 mnths ago and I gained 15lbs of muscle on that. But teh workout is for football players. 3x5 50lbs off yuour max is what I do. 3 upper body days and 2 lower body days.

 

As some say, yes I believe that some exercises with too much weight can stunt, i.e squats and etc. anything vertical.

 

But dont worry Im sure youll make 6' ya may still have a couple spurts left to go.

 

But anywho im along hoping with you cause I want to get 7' =)

[Rage]

I am 6'7 255lbs and at the magic age of 15.

 

Bloody Hell, that's huge...your a foot taller than me

[just_smile]

God I thought my mates at 6'3 were tall. wow thats just amazing, I feel so small at 5'6

 

~LJ =;

[G Money]

i am a freshman in high school also and i have been workin out since last year and heard that working out stunts your growth so i stopped i used to do bench curls push ups sit ups calfs and quads and im 5'5 and all my friends are taller but my dad is 6'6 so im hoping to hit atleast 6 foot can u give me your opinion??