I hope at least a few people were watching the Olympic this Summer because they fascinate me because it just shows us how the human body can be slowly transformed to continue to brake past its previous limitations. Every 4 years records that might have been set before in the last Olympics meet are shattered by the newer, more improved athletes.

I really enjoy watching 4 main events, basketball, swimming, volleyball, and track. Oddly, height is very important in at least 2 of the 4 events I watch. I don’t think I need to explain the importance of having height in basketball since I have already talked about the issue and will eventually get back to the subject eventually, but volleyball might be a subject and sport that is less well known than basketball, at least to the main US public. To not bore one with the details, I will just say that in volleyball, having height is just as important as in basketball. There are 5 main positions in volleyball.

1. Setters

2. Liberos

3. Middle blockers (aka Middle hitters)

4. Outside Hitters (aka Left side hitters)

5. Opposite Hitters (aka Right side hitters)

Apparently in the collegiate sports level, there are actual height requirements for each position as well as jump height requirements. Generally, the middle hitter/ blocker is supposed to be the tallest person in each team’s court side which for women is at least 6’0″ for Tier 1 and for men is it 6′ 7″ for Tier 1. For a more detailed list of height requirements for women, click HERE and for men click HERE..

With track, the events and sports is slightly different. Sprinters and marathon runners have historically been average in height. I would like to post an excerpt from Slate Magazine which got into explaining why the old science said that too tall individuals don’t win in certain events in track like the Sprint or Running. The person they referred to is the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt who won the 100 meter sprint at an astounding height of 6′ 5″. You can find the source of the excerpt HERE.

“” Traditionally, height has been seen as a detriment to sprinting. The formula for speed is stride length times stride rate. If the longest legs always won the race, then Yao Ming would have the world record in the 100, and lions wouldn’t eat giraffes. Gangly guys, the thinking has always gone, don’t win short races because they can’t master the smooth form required to generate rapid leg turnover. Sprinters are supposed to be compact and muscular: Think Ben Johnson or Ato Boldon.

So we come to swimming. Swimming is another sport where people who are on the tall side have an advantage. The most famous swimmer in the world right now Michael Phelps is 6′ 4″. His teammates of the US National Swim Team for the 4×100 Medley Relay (which they won yesterday) are Branden Hansen (6′ 0″), Nathan Adrian (6′ 6″), and Matt Grevers (6′ 8″) . His teammates of the 4×100 Freestyle (got 2nd place) are Cullen Jones (6′ 5″), Ryan Lochte (6′ 2″), and Nathan Adrian (6′ 6″).

The average of of these guys is clearly at least 1 standard deviation away from the national average of 18-30 year old men. So the question is to ask whether swimming will let us grow taller, or is it that we become great swimmers because of being originally tall. There has been many articles claiming that swimming will improve one’s height because the buoyancy of the water and the horizontal movement of the body towards the vertical push of gravity allows the inter-vertebrate disks to decompress and expand thus increasing height. In theory, the science does sound reasonable but is the correlation between increased height and swimming strong enough to state a claim that “you can grow taller through swimmin?” Well, I am not aware of any scientific studies on the subject so the matter is still in the air.

One interesting part of my personality is that I believe in taking action first and often don’t ask for permission to try something. I believe in trying everything at least once as long as it is not potentially harmful to me. My philosophy is then since there is no science or study saying that swimming does not help with increase height, why not go ahead and try swimming and see if it has any affect on one’s overal height. Even if the height increase never comes, the other benefits in terms of health are too enormous to name so stick with the exercise.

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?

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

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

I wanted to post this on the website/blog for anyone who feels that they feel extremely unhappy about their height that I can do some personal counseling, therapy, or coaching either for free or a very low cost ($20/hr) if they are extremely dissatisfied with their life because of of their lack of height. If your situation is particularly serious, of course I would be willing to do some therapy for free. There might be some issues which I can’t help with if the cause is biochemical in nature. Words can only go so far. I am not licensed to write prescription drugs.

I actually started and my own life coaching company that is based in the Pacific Northwest part of the USA, Seattle. My main focus on coaching and therapy is towards men, and helping men figure out and deal with their deep issues and insecurities. However for this specific area of Height Growth & Development, I have enough expertise to help both genders. Contact me through the email above if you desire some form of help in either your struggles or your pursuits.

In terms of credentials, certifications, and training, I have NONE. I don’t intend to be dishonest or lie about that issue. My undergraduate degree was actually in engineering with a specialty in physics and the sciences. I got into Self Help and Personal Development maybe 3.5 years ago right after my job was eliminated at the small alternative energy company I was working for because the company could not get a Series B round of funding during the crazy 2009 depression. I spent 2 and a half solid years reading all of the classics of psychology and self help, practicing meditation, and testing the methods and techniques on my self and my friends. Learning things like Hypnosis and Neurolinguistic Programming and Cognitive Psychology has been really fun.

I don’t want to sound like a charlatan but I created the company by myself as a LLC in the beginning and was the only employee for a good 3 months before bringing along a partner who is the Chief Advisor of the company. 90% of the work and development of the company is done by me since this company is my idea and I hold complete accountability and responsibility to the fate and success (or failure) of my company. I had a part time marketing intern to researching the different types of distribution channels and there is another Coach but she doesn’t have any major work yet because I haven’t been able to get enough clients for the company. Marketing is a tricky subject and I am still learning. I wanted to make my company history and practices completely transparent. 

It may turn out after years of research and study by me and me posting and writing articles on here that being able to grow taller or increase our height after the bones are sealed is impossible. What will happen to the people who had dedicated so many years of their life to this pursuit if they realize finally that it is not possible? Their world and belief system could collapse.

A brilliant hypnotherapist once said that the reason why we are unhappy is often not the reason we think it is.

When a person goes to a therapist, counselor, or psychiatrist because they are suffering from some psychological issue, what they came to the to clinic or office for is often revealed not to be the real problem that they have been trying to deal with and confront.

From the teaching of the best in the self help community, here is the basic 4 tenet which I have reached in conclusion.

Principle 1: People are mainly controlled by the two main forces of pain and pleasure. From an evolutionary and economics perspective, the force of pain and the need to avoid pain is a far greater force of an influence and control than pleasure. 

Principle 2: The only reason why we as people never do what we are supposed to do is because of FEAR. That fear is preventing us from doing the hard work and developing the type of discipline within ourselves that is neccesary to push us to the other side, which is achievement. 

Principle 3: We often feel like we are struggling against the world and always competing against other people just so that we can get a piece of the happiness and resources to satisfy ourselves and ensure our survival, comfort, and security. The struggle is too overwhelming for us to deal with at many times and that leads to anxiety, which is the main mental destroyer inside of us.

Principle 4: The main 4 fear that goes through our head is this.

1. I will not be loved

2. I will lose the respect and/or love of someone who I respect/love one day if I don’t continue to act, be, or look a certain way.

3. I want to love and accept myself but I can’t because of some reason I created in my own head which may not really

4. I am not enough

As for myself, I am over 6 feet tall when I measure myself when I get out of bed in the morning. Afterwards when the night comes along, that height does decreased to less than 5’11.5″ , sometimes down to even 5′ 11.25″ . I remember maybe 3 years ago that I would measure my height every day in the morning when I woke up. I drew a horizontal line to mark where the 6 foot mark was. I was happy when I was over that mark , but it would obviously drop down as the day went on. I found myself always wondering, always checking, always in some state of deep anxiety. Of course during that time, I recently lost my job with no relationship so I was left to my own imagination to keep my days filled so maybe my brain decided to create some project for me to take on.

I realize now that my desire to increase my height and become taller may not be completely logically justified. I am currently living in an Asian country where the average height of adult men seem to be around 5’8″-5’9″.

I actually remember when I was 13 years old and realizing that I was a lot taller and bigger than other people in my class. I would look at a class photo and think I was a freak for being so much taller and bigger than the other people in my class and wished that somehow I could squeeze myself back down to the ordinary size of the others. I remember nights wondering what it would be like to be smaller, faster, and more agile like a ninja that could climb walls, jump over buildings, and fly in the air. When I think about why I am dissatified with my own height and why I desire to be even taller I realize at some level that my desire to become physically bigger than other people is mainly because I have failed to be mentally superior to other people. Every person who I have ever tried to compare my intellect with has achieved more, created more, and have been educated better than me. A part of me is very insecure and uncomfortable to know that I never managed to get the type of professional success that I always secretly wished for.

From a very early age in my life, the family that I was raised in prized and values intellectual and mental power and ability over all else. I believed in the idea that my sense of worth was determined by how intelligent I was. Thoughout my elementary and middle school days, I was consistently ranked as a tope student and I felt good about myself because I was good in school . The values I had correlated well with my performance in life so I was happy. At some point later on in my High School days, I developed some strange ideas and decided that I wanted to become either an acetic or monk because I had read so many books on spirituality and eastern philosophy. I lost all desire to do well in school and almost dropped out of High School. Through most great help by my parents, I managed to barely finish High School but by then, all of my old academic achievements were destroyed and I suddenly realized that my future looked grim. Some how I got into a respectable state school and went into the an applied sciences field and pushed myself to be the best in school. I wanted to prove to myself and others that I was not going to be a loser, a failure in life because I was stupid.

After 5 years later and giving up on trying to get a double degree in two types of engineering, I had done well enough to give myself the type of validation to say that “Yes, I am good enough. I am worthy to be respected, befriended ,and maybe even loved.” It would take only about 9 months into my first job out of school before the company lost all the funding and I lost what I thought was the best job for a person like me. It was at that time that my own sense of worth was deeply questioned again. Thus, my subconscious probably told me to look for something within me or about me that I could have some form of pride or self esteem about, something which is permanent and can not be changed or taken away, unlike a job which had defined me for so long. Since I found that I seemed to be taller than average, I focused back on that and wanted to be so much bigger, so much taller than others so that I could have at least that one thing to claim that makes me feel special and unique about myself. At the same time, I had discovered that my entire dating life and history was nonexistence but that could be drastically improved on. I decided to identify myself with something which I thought I could become extemely good at but also be separated away from the people who I felt I could never compete intellectually with.

I wanted to win at some aspect of life which could make me feel better about myself. If I could not be the smartest person in the room or the most accomplished I can be the tallest person in the room and have the best looking, most amazing girlfriend.

When I now think about how my thinking went and why I did what I did I realize that a part of my thinking makes total sense from a Psychology point of view. Maybe it just took some time and life to fully realize that I can not be the best at everything or that I could be the best at even one thing.