Does Swimming Make You Taller?
Does swimming make you taller? Yes and no. Swimming is an excellent form of exercise and has many benefits for people of all activity levels. But if you’re only hopping in the pool to grow a few inches, you might not get the results you want.
Why do some ask Does swimming make you taller?
It is probably because the most prolific Olympic swimmers are all very tall. For example, Michael Phelps is 6’3”, Matt Grevers is 6’9”, and Sarah Sjostrom is 6’1”. It is commonly believed that these swimmers are so tall because they have spent most of their lives swimming.
What does affect our height?
The most important height determinant is our genes. If our family is tall, we are more likely to be tall. Although, there are definitely exceptions to this rule. Hormones, diet, and activity level are other factors in a person’s total height.
How can swimming make us (look) taller?
Low-Impact: Since swimming is a low-impact sport, gravity has little effect on summers. This allows the spine to relax slightly, making it look, for a brief amount of time, that height has been gained.
HGH: When a person is still growing, their body releases Human Growth Hormone or HGH. HGH is a protein that stimulates growth in body tissue and bones, which could make you taller. In order to produce the maximum amount of HGH, the body needs a lot of sleep and exercise. This is where swimming comes in!
Not only does swimming provide growing bodies with exercise, but it also helps with relaxation and, therefore, sleep. This means that the maximum amount of HGH can be released, meaning you might grow taller.
Posture: Anyone who has tried to tread water in a pool knows that swimming is a full-body workout. This workout helps swimmers become strong throughout their bodies and helps increase bone density. Both of these things can lead to better posture in swimmers, making them look much taller.
So, then why are swimmers so tall?
Olympic-level swimmers are tall because their long arms and larger stroke distance gives them a competitive advantage. If someone who has a wingspan of 5’3” competed against a 6’3” Michael Phelps, Phelps would have an advantage. So, it’s not that swimming makes them taller. Instead, young swimmers who are taller find success much easier when they are already tall. This is not to say that height is the only important factor in predicting swimming success. There have been many successful athletes that are not considered taller than the average person.
Even though it may seem like swimming increases height, we find that it really doesn’t. At least not enough to be noticeable. So, while swimming has many benefits, gaining height isn’t one of them.
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