Monthly Archives: July 2012

How Many 8 Feet Tall People Are In The World?

I remember being on a NBA basketball forum and someone posted a thread topic that went along the lines of “How many 7 feet tall people are in the world?”

I gave some reply after doing some quickly calculations. I used to live in the Seattle area and would see maybe one 7 feet tall person every 3 months. Now, that is a lot. Assuming that there was maybe 20 7 feet tall people and the total population of Washington was reported in the most recent US census beureau was about 7,000,000. then for every 350,000 people there is one 7 feet tall person which seems to be a reasonable guesstimate.

since there is about 7,000,000,000 people in the world, then we can just then multiple the 20 by 1000 giving us a total number of 7 feet tall people to be about 20,000 in the world.

However, height is a factor which is well modeled by a normalized distribution function with rather long tails on each end because of medical conditions and genetic abnormalities.

If we then wonder how many people then there are 8 feet tall or greater, we find that there is only 3 people currently that has been proven and measured. One of them is Sultan Kosen, which is the curent tallest person in the world.

1.Sultan Kosen (Turkey) – 8′ 3″

2. Brahim Takioullah (Morocco)- 8′ 1″

3. Morteza Mehrzad (Iran)- 8′ 0″ – 8′ 1″

Note: I wanted to thank the site thetallestman.com for providing me with much of the information I have used on this post. You can find their website HERE.

Oddly enough, it was only 3 years ago that an 8 feet person was even substainted in height. Before that, not one 8 foot tall person was alive for almost 40 years, at least claimed by the Guinness Book of Records.

Before that, the title of the tallest person in the world went to a Mongolian herdsman Bao Xi Shun, who was 7′ 9″. However, it was clear that he was not the tallest person in the world, or even in the billion population nation of China. The title probably would (and should) have gone to his fellow Chinese Zhang Jun- Cai , who had attended a Japanese show with Xi Shun many years ago and had both their heights measured with Jun-Cai’s height measured at least 2.25 inches (6 cm) bigger.

Some people have discussed and argued that under certain conditions and adjusting for spinal curvature, Zhang Jun-Cai should also be added to the 8 feet tall list. That would put the total number of people at an amazing 4

 

 

Torso Length To Leg Length , A Personal Theory

As I was watching and listening to the Summer Olympics in 2008 where the phenom Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals for 8 events at Beijing, many people began to question why he was so good at the sport of swimming. 4 main reasons cited by the scientists and commentaries were

1. His long arms or wingspan, which was 79 inches in length compared to his height which was 76 inches. Compared to most other Olympic swimmers, Michael Phelps is of average height.

2. His abnormally large feet, shoe size 14.

3. His reported legs and ankle which were supposed to be double jointed giving him a greater range of flexibility, allowing for his feet to give strong bursts of propulsion.

4. His disproportionately long and large torso, compared to his legs. Supposedly he had the torso of someone who was more 6 ‘8″ and the legs of someone who was 6’ 0″. (Reference Link 1)

Now that the Summer Olympics are back and Michael Phelps swimming prowess are again mentioned, along with Ryan Lochte this time. We could talk more about his swimming accomplishment but lets focus on his height and length, which is what this site is about. I used to also be a huge swimmer as well so I guess I could be more authoritive on my swimming analysis but no one really wants to hear about that.

One thing that is clear from the start is that professional, Olympic ranked swimmers are usually very tall (Reference Link 1). However, the point that I wanted to emphasize about the swimmers build is over reason #4, that the torso seems to be far larger and longer than the legs.

I realized long ago that my body was of the same shape as Phelps, but not as tall. My torso is abnormally large and long compared to my legs. During the Summer of 2008 I really was doing 2 main things. Going to swim early in the morning for 2 and a half hours. Then, coming back home late in the afternoon to watch the Olympics, specifically Phelps to swim. Unfortunately of all the races, the one I missed was his 7th swim, against Michael Cavic which was definitely the most exhilirating swim match I have ever seen.

When I saw the amount of food that Phelps ate and compared it to myself, I wondered about this theory. What if the portions of a person’s torso to their legs is mainly determined by their eating habits when they are young?

I know that I used to eat the same amount as 2, maybe even 3 normal sized grown adults. My stomach would always be stretched out and I could feel my entire upper body ,the torso being expanded as much as possible. My mother noticed early on that my upper body seemed to be far greater than my legs. In terms of genetics,  I do have some height in my family. My Grandfather from my mother’s side of the family was supposed around 6 feet tall during a time when the average male of his country was probably 5’4″-5’6″. My male cousin is on my mothers side is also rather tall, but his height seems to be from his legs. My father’s side of the family is on the short side with rather average to short length legs.

When all this information is combined, I form this theory in my head.

1. The size and length of our torso is mainly determined by the amount of food and the nutrition value we gain when we were younger while still growing. So if you eat a lot when you are younger, you will grow taller because your torso, vertebrate, and skeletal structure will be increased in size.

2. The size and length of our legs , and subsequently, our arms and limns are determined by our genetics and the heights of our relatives and ancestors.

So that is it. My theory is really something I have thought about but never tried to prove or disprove. You can choose to accept it or not but it was something I wanted to put out there for others to think about.

 

Grow Taller By Hanging On A Bar

Another idea that has been proposed and tried by many H.I.S is over the idea of hanging on to a bar, and letting gravity to push our body, legs, and torso to be pushed down thus elongating our back and spine.

Hanging relies on gravity to decompresses the spine to obtain height increase. Just find a bar and hang on it for at least 30 seconds or as long as you can. It might be difficult to find a bar at home to hang on to that is high enough.The general consensus is that the technique DOES NOT work, but will help you get strong and tone your muscles in your arms, shoulders, and chest if you do decide to do a few pull-ups. However, I choose to post every form of technique and strategy that is suggest so that others can be the judge.

For the health and fitness benefits, continue reading. The place I got the next part is HERE.

 WHAT MUSCLES DOES HANGING ON A BAR STRENGTHEN?

Jul 3, 2011 | By Paula Quinene
Hanging on a pullup bar helps you increase your muscular strength, especially if you are not yet able to complete a pullup. The muscles strengthened while hanging on the bar depend on whether you are hanging with your arms straight or with your arms bent. A straight-arm hang engages primarily the muscles that flex your fingers, bent arms activate the bigger muscles of your upper body.

GRIPPING THE BAR

The primary finger flexor muscles include two layers of flexor muscles lying on the palmar side of your forearm. These muscles originate in the long bones of your forearm, then insert between the middle and the tips of your fingers. The smaller muscles of your hand help your forearm flexor muscles to curl your fingers around the bar. There are three distinct thumb muscles and three distinct pinky muscles that work as you hold the bar. Grasping the bar strengthens these muscles, regardless of whether you are hanging straight or hanging with your arms bent in any position.

STRAIGHT TO PARALLEL

Hanging from a bar anywhere between a straight hang and the level at which your upper arms are parallel to the floor strengthens primarily your lat muscles in your back and your bicep muscles at the front of your arms. However, your shoulder, chest, arm and smaller back muscles are also engaged, somewhat strengthening them. If you want to strengthen your lats by doing an isometric contraction, hang from the bar so that your arm pit angle is about 135 degrees. An isometric contraction means that your muscle is contracting but does not lengthen or shorten.

PARALLEL TO CHIN-OVER

Once you hang between the level at which your upper arms are parallel to the floor and your chin is completely over the bar, your biceps muscles become the dominant muscles engaged and strengthened. Your shoulder and back muscles are somewhat engaged. If you want your biceps to grow stronger, hang with your chin over the bar for as long as possible.

CONSIDERATIONS

Isometric bodyweight exercises such as hanging on a pullup bar are effective at strengthening many muscles at one time. Consider hanging on the bar in different positions, changing your arm pit angle to focus on strengthening different muscles. Keep a record of your position and the length of time you hold each isometric hang.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/484121-what-muscles-does-hanging-on-a-bar-strengthen/#ixzz22OW6fpIt

Me: This next section if taken from this the link listed HERE.

Hanging is one way that one can increase one’s height. Body stretch is always beneficial. Regular exercise helps. It is easy to hang. One need not exert oneself too much.

Tips for Increasing Height By Hanging

  • One can hang from a bar. Let all the weight fall upon your hands. If one does these 30 minutes every week one can increase one’s height or 1 to 5 minutes daily. It improves the posture also which if corrected enhances your height.
  • A wider grip on the bar increases the width of your back and shoulder
  • One can hang from a door bar. Easy exercise and very convenient.
    Hang from the bar initially as long as you can. If it is difficult, go
    slow. Increase the time on the bar slowly.
  • In the case of children lift them by the waist so that they can hang from the bar. Be ready to catch them when they let go off the bar
  • A chinup is also good form of exercise. You can take the help of a chair to do the chinup. Hang from the bar with one foot on the chair. Once you are up, push yourself further with the foot, which is on the chair.
  • Swinging back and forth from the bar also helps increase the height

Increase your self-esteem by increasing your height, and do this by hanging. If you exercise at the right age then you need not feel inferior about your height in adulthood. Hanging is not a difficult exercise. One need not go to the gym for it. It can be done in the comfort of your home.

 

Stories

Here are the stories or claims I have heard of people and athletes who have tried to hang on the bar to gain height, who did succeed aparently.

Peter Shilton – One of the great, driven players, Peter Shilton set out to become the best goalkeeper of all time. Legend has it that on being told he might not make the grade because he wasn’t tall enough, Shilton went home and began a training regime that involved spending hours at a time hanging from the stairs in attempt to add inches to his frame. He wanted it that badly

Michael Jonn – MichaelJordan – In the video link posted on the left, the great Michael Jordan tried also to hang on to a chin up bar to gain height. This is a video of michael Jordan explaining his attempts to grow taller to his younger ideal of the perfect height 7′!! Yes, even the tallest and biggest of us still want to be even bigger than they are. His claim is that it did nothing. Sorry for the fact that I could not figure out how to embed the video. It is in .mp4 format which is a litle difficult to embedd correctly onto a WordPress page.

Note: I found this part of his Documentary called “Michael Jordan: Come Fly With Me”. The video is edited and taken from Youtube from this link HERE. The video is taken from 15:42 – 16:02 using the video capturing and editing software Camtasia Studios

Height Is The Last Frontier For Personal Development

As I am sitting here today at a cafe looking out into the world at how crazy other people seem to be working, striving, and fighting to get their piece of happiness in the world, I am amazed at the dedication and tenacity which some people put into their work to make a better life for themselves and their future children. The surest way still and always will be to success and achievement is through hard work and perseverance. I of course admire all the people who work so hard to achieve so much. they have dedicated their life to give their service to the world and make it a better place. I am always amazed at how much we can change and improve if we really put all of our heart and effort into any project.

If we desired, we can gain almost everything we in terms of money, wealth , and success given enough time and learning. However, in other aras, hard work and effort is not enough to reach the goals we have set up for ourselves.

When it comes to the area of personal development and self help, so many people these days have joined in on the social phenomenon and took to learning more about psychology, anthropology, and sociology to understand better why they do what they do and how they can change their thinking and behavior so that they are more likely to reach their goals and achieve fulfillment in their lives. If we look at the list of things that people have done to completely transform their lives, we realize just how cast and deep the changes are and possible when it comes to creating or manifesting our dreams are.

If we look at everything about oursevles, we realize that we can change almost everything about who we are as a person

1. Hair – Hair dyes, Haircuts, Extensions, Wigs & Weaves, Shampoos, Conditioners

2. Skin Color – Whitening lotions, Tonors, and another hundred types of skin cream which I

3. Eyes – Laser eye surgery, Double eyelid surgery, Eye replacement implants, Contact lens, Glasses,

4. Nose – Piercings, Rhinoplasty, Fillings, Reductions

5. Face – Complete full plastic surgery – Just go to Seoul, South Korea and get your entire face redone to look like a younger completely different person for less than $30,000.

6. Weight – Over 1000 diet and exercise plans out there, all requiring one to take the initiative to exercise, diet, and stay disciplined.

7. Feet – Pedicures, massages, lotions,

8. Chest – Female breast enlargement or reduction, Pec implantations and reductions.

9. Genital, Penis – Penis Enlargement Surgery, Virginity reconstruction surgery,

10. Stomach – Tummy tucks, Suction, Butt lift

11. Teeth – Dental implants, braces, Invisible braces, dentures, Teeth whitening,

12. Aging – Anti-aging cream, plastic surgery, botox, spas, massage treatments.

Of course, as humans what we can not change easily, we can cover and hide from the side of others so that they never have to see the bad parts of us.

For the mental aspect of our lives, we seem to have a cure for everything on that nature as well

1. Depression – Prozac, Zoloft, hundred of other pills and chemical prescriptions which can change the neurotransmitter flow rate in our brain. Most types of therapy.

2. Anxiety – Prozac, Zoloft, hundred of other pills and chemical prescriptions which can change the neurotransmitter flow rate in our brain. Most types of therapy.

3. Stress – Meditation, Yoga, Most types of therapy, Tapping, Having a pet or child, etc.

4. Post traumatic stress syndrome – Most forms of therapy, including regressional therapy and hypnotherapy.

5. Emotional baggage – Support groups, therapists, counselors, bar tenders, anyone willing to listen

6. Mental and Emotional blocks – therapists, life coaches,

7. Phobias – Psychiatrists, Therapists, Life coaches, NLP

8. Autism – Programs, Therapists,

9. Behavioral patterns – Therapists, Life coaches, NLP

10. Addictions – Support groups, psychiatrists, therapists, NLP

11. Negative Impulse tendencies – Programs, Support groups, Therapists

12. Stuttering – NLP, speech therapists.

 

However, of all the things that define us as who we are and makes up who we become, the only thing that we still can not change about our selves to a large degree appears to be our height. If we can truly change this about ourselves, then we would have full control over everything that happens within us in our own inner universe which our body encapsulates, barring medical conditions like cancer or genetic propensities.

Our height is still something that requires massive work and skill in changing. I personally am not sure we can change with the knowledge and technology we have today. When I look at the future of the development of the human race, height and/or changing our size will be truly the last frontier for personal development and self improvement.

How To Look Taller Using Insoles, Lifts, High Heels, And Special Shoes.

This post will deal with how one can look taller, not how to make oneself actually taller. I think we all realize that the process of increasing our height can be a very difficult and strenuous process, if not impossible. So there is always an easier way around it, but that involves just looking taller, not being taller.

The easiest way for most people to look taller is through special types of shoes one can wear. Most people have heard of high heels for women and lifts for men. It turns out that there is a variety of footwear and foot accessories that can be used to make ourselves look taller. The most types are thick insoles, Lifts which have thick heels prebuilt inside, high heels that are commonly used by women, and special shoes that are designed to allow for one to add thick insoles or thick heels.

For Women:

For women, they actually have quite a few options to look taller, whether clearly or inconspicuously

For women, the use of insoles is not usually needed since the wearing of heels is socially acceptable. However, special insoles for medical reasons like orthopedic help can always be worn for comfort and health reasons. One can use either any of the large online shopping sites like

1. Amazon

2. Ebay

3. Zappos

I do not believe I need to refer to any females who might be reading this website where on the internet to go to find high heeled shoes. If however, they desired to find shoes which added height in an inconspicuous way, I would direct them to the links below. The shoes available for sale on some of the links are for both men and women.

For Men:

For men, the practice of wearing shoe wear to appear taller is not really viewed positively, although no one would probably reprimand another person for that.

On this website on the Resource Page a list of websites and online stores are available for the individual to pick and buy the types of shoes that give the extra height that they desire.

For special insoles, one can also use Amazon or Ebay. Another great resource is to use Alibaba, but the likely situation is that one would have to buy a lot of the insoles in bulk.

Shops

The online shops offer a way to buy legitimate products which are supposed to help you increase your height.

1. Height Increase Speciality Shop – sells all kinds of products and equipment to help you grow (or look) taller

2. Lift Height Insoles – sells height increasing insoles you put in your shoes

3. Elevator Shoes – sells shoes with added padding

4. Walk Tall Shoes – sells shoes with added heel

5. Taller Heels – sells shoes with added heel

6. Better Shoe Lifts – sells height increasing insoles you put in your shoes

7. Orthopedic Shoe Lift – allows you to add height and inches to the shoes you want to alter

8. I Taller Shoes – sells shoes with added padding

9. Bugarri Shoes – sells shoes with added padding.

10. Tall Men Shoes – sells shoes with added heel

11. Taller – sells lift dress shoes

Insecurity From Self Identity Through Height

If I try to become more aware of my own intentions on why I desire or why other people desire to increase their height or grow taller, there is only 3 possible reasons that I have come up with.

1. To finally be able to accept themselves.

2. To get other people to accept and like them.

3. To feel good about themselves they look at themselves in the mirror.

In all three of the reasons, the element of acceptance is the main factor. They are either trying to get someone else to accept them and love them, or trying to get themselves to accept who they are and love themselves.

Time and time again I see with people around me and in my own coaching program that often the biggest problem that people face is that they either can’t love themselves or can’t get other people to love them, at least not the people they secretly wish would love them.

In terms of not getting other people to love them, the best example is a hormonal, rash teenage guy who is being reckless and uncaring. His parents and siblings can love him completely and unconditionally but he doesn’t care about that. He only wants that cute girl in his writing class to love him because that person is who he holds a high respect for and value in their opinion and judgement. It is so cruel and sad sometimes to realize that what we really want deep inside is something that the world or other people will not give us, at least at this point in their life or development.

As for trying to get other people to like who we are, I used to help other people with that. When it comes to getting other people to like us and accept us, the process is actually not that hard. Most people at a deep level want to be liked so if you just express your own genuine nature, be kind, and show that you like them without any expectations of getting anything in return, most people would be receptive to your actions, become very kind towards you, and like you in return. Learning about social skills, mirroring body language and vocal communication, building rapport, creating attraction or deep comfort, understanding qualification, these ideas will be enough to help us gain friends and lovers if we apply them diligently and practice them daily through forced communication.

As for ourselves, we know at some intellectual level that it is never that we “CAN’T” love ourselves. It is always that we “won’t” love who we are. The main issue is over acceptance. At the back of our minds, we logically understand that part. Unfortunately another part of our mind creates a force that resist us from reaching full acceptance so we are not letting ourselves just relax. We often find that we feel the need to struggle, to compete, and to improve just so that we can be even satisfied with our state in our lives at that current moment. We really will not accept who we are so obviously we can not reach the next step which is to love. For any of us to ever even be able to reach the level of acceptance, we have to do it at both an intellectual and emotional level. However, research has shown that we as emotional creatures can override and then rationalize away our emotions so all we really need to do is find a way to emotionally accept ourselves. So how do we at a deep level emotionally accept ourselves? It could either take years and years of trials, tributlation, mistakes, and errors before we finally hit some breaking point where the external world becomes a place where we can no longer deal with or control, or have any power over. Once the extenral world becomes too hard or difficult for us to deal with, our ego will logically go to the inner world and try to find safety and security therre. If then we find that our inner world is also in strife and chaos from anxiety, turmoil, then our  brain has three choices,

1. Run back to the external world and struggle again to exert our will on it to give it what we want

2. Go mad and crazy

3. Give up and let go of the emotional pain inside.

To be able to let go , we have to at some level change or reframe ou identity. Our identity is the image and idea of who we think we are. How we view ouselves and how we stay congruent with that image is how

The great Anthony Robbins once stated that one of the most powerful forces within us is to stay “true and consistent with our identiy , of who we think we are”

Of course other wise people have also shown that the greatest force within us is not the survival instinct, which is to run away from death , “but to keep things the same, the way it is”. Change often leads to discomfort.

There is one last axiom which I wanted to bring which is that humans mainly operate on the pain and pleasure principles. Our actions can be simplified and explained by assuming the individual will run towards pleasure and run away from pain. However, the force of pain and suffering is far stronger and more likely to get us to take some form of action than the force of pleasure. The stick is a better incentive than the carrot.

If we then combine the three axioms together then we understand the true primary force within people. People want to continue to do the same thing over and over again while creating a subjective illusion that they have choice and free will within a safe comfortable environement keeping to their own personal blueprint of the world and staying always within their identity. If anything comes in to try to change their identity, they feel immediately threatened and creates resistance from using every form of ego defense mechanism possible. This is all played at a metalevel of communication and intepersonal behavioral dynamics. If we realize that in our meta level battles that we can’t win, we either try to make the opponent lose at the cost of ourselves, fight to remain at our position, or try to find a way to end it in a draw. Again, all meta-level communication conflict theory.

If we somehow are pushed to the edge of our comfort zone, we will react irrationally to come back to our comfrot zone. We will definitely react towards the force of pain because that is one of the primary drives.

How you define yourself as a person will ultimately create the most pain and also the most joy in you. In certain very dramatic situations in our life, our identity can be completely stripped form us.

Ex: We were married and one day we found out our spouse has been cheating on us and just ran off with the other women/guy. We are left stupified at what happened. There is no emotional closure, our brains and emotions can’t make sense of what happened, and no one can give us an adequate answer to the main question “Why??” so both our mental and emotional circuits are destroyed. Our notion of who we are, our identity, has been completely ripped out of us in one day, and there was nothing we could have done. Then comes the blame, and where the blame is placed. Is it on ourselves or the person, organization, or agent that caused the change in the situation which we had absolutely no control over?

When it comes to almost anything else in our life, we have some form of control and ability to change something that we don’t like by taking action. When it comes to the issue of height and size, it maye turn out that we may have to one day have to find a way to emotionally accept our limitations and the realities of our real size.

The problem with identity is that ultimately, the concept of “I” is very fluid. The self ultimately is constantly changing. As time moves on, our surroundings change, our relationshps chagne, our thoughts change, and our values change. When we try too hard to define ourselves only in a certain way, our attachment to that mental construct of what is ourselves will be lsot eventually. When we call ourselves a mother, what happens when our children dies suddenly? We lose that sense of identity. Partly, our sense of identity is connected also to what we do.

When it comes to something like height, that almost never changes once we reach a certain age, we can often feel stuck. How we are compared to others is the primary way we define ourselves in this world. When we state that we are short (which is from being compared to others of our age range and primary peer group), that is something that can not change. If we are too focused and attached to that label or description, we develop often an emotion to that part of our identity. When that identity elicits a feeling of insecurity or anxiety, we try to find a way to avoid it. However, with height we can never truly escape that level upon us. So either we can try to change the external by finding a way to help us grow, or we stop focusing on that label and that part of our identity.

What if instead that although we are 5 feet tall and we graduated from Harvard Medical School? Well then we are short and a doctor. We can reinterpret our identiyty by using the positive, stronger parts of our identiy. At some level, everyone is proud of themselves or confident in themselves in some way.

While we may not have the best body qualities, we might have an amazing intellect. While we may not have an amazing intellect, our social skills and ability to deal with people are amazing. While we may not get along with people well, our skill sin making money and dealing with finances makes us rich and wealthy.

The primary point is that if you never do find a way to change the attributes that make up who you are, then look for another aspect of your identity, which is always changing, and be confident (and even arrogant) from that.