There are all sort of exercising and training programs out there. Some are for aerobic stamina and health and others are anaerobic. I know that there are some exercising programs which advertise that they can help a person gain increased height. These include yoga and pilates. Something that I saw recently made me wonder whether there might be a much better program to  give better, more drastic results that what a person could get from yoga or pilates.

It is called Plyometrics. It seems to be derived from this idea of alternating one’s muscles dramatically from contracting one’s muscles to extending as fast as possible to stimulate speed and strength in the muscles.

A look on Google reveals that there has been a few articles that have already been written about the idea

“Grow Taller By Means Of Plyometrics Training” is a short article that was the first thing that popped up but it never explains in detail on the science why plyometrics would ever lead to increased height. In general, this article was useless and not helpful at all.

Another website called HowToJumpHigher202.com does have a few articles but a click to the website lead to nothing.

Yahoo Questions – Someone states that “Plyometrics can negatively affect your height by damaging the growth plates in your long bones….Wait until you’re 18….The reason plyometrics are so effective at building explosive power is because they focus on the eccentric (lengthening) contraction of the muscles but they place a lot of strain on your joints.”

In a Eric Cressey post entitled “Plyometrics and Growth Plates” Cressey suggests that “About the only thing you’ll get from adding a lot more plyos in is an increased risk of overuse injury” He does not say that plyometrics will lead to growth plate fracture and injury specifically but does make the point that it will cause increased risk in injuries in general.

Side Note: It seems that plyometric may actually help improve one’s vertical jump height (source: Does plyometric training improve vertical jump height? A meta‐analytical review, Does Jumping Height Increase From Plyometric Training)

The idea that I originally thought where our height might be increased through this type of rapid  muscle extension-contraction alternationg does not seem to have any validity.

Plyometrics can be used to possibly strengthen the core abdominal muscles, which would mean the upper torso muscles like the deltoids and pecs would be pushed upwards, leading to less loading on the lower vertebrate but the effect the upper torso and overall height should nearly none.