When it comes to bodybuilding, you can find out many myths and misconceptions floating around. Although this activity helps build muscle mass, some reckon practicing regularly might stunt your growth. So, does bodybuilding make you taller or shorter? In the blog post below, we will reveal the truth about bodybuilding and height. What are you looking for? Stay tuned to learn more!
Bodybuilding is a process of building up muscle fibers through the combination of weight training, particular caloric intake, and rest. In other words, bodybuilding itself is the act and practice of promoting the body’s muscle and symmetry and the boost of overall fitness and health.
Individuals who join this activity are known as bodybuilders. And in a competitive sport, these athletes will show their bodies to a panel of judges, who give points based on their aesthetic looks.
Bodybuilding will not make you taller if you are an adult. It is because your bone’s growth plates at this period are totally solid and cannot continue to grow, no matter what you do. But for younger people, bodybuilding might bring a positive influence. Under the age of 21, typically between 10 and 16 years old, getting regular exercise, proper sleep, and a nutritious diet plays a vital role in contributing to height growth.
Although there are no obvious methods to help you grow taller as an adult, bodybuilding might change your outer look. If you work out on a daily basis, you can have a better stance since you need to have a good posture to ensure you are not going to hurt yourself. As mentioned above, bodybuilding is the action of growing muscle. When your chest muscles, traps, or side laterals grow, it makes it harder to slouch, hunch, or walk around with bad posture.
So, if bodybuilding itself will not increase your height, why do bodybuilders look taller?
Genetics is one of the major factors that make them taller. The next factor is their training regime. Bodybuilders often train for many hours every day, which helps produce higher levels of HGH and testosterone. But this does not affect remarkably if your growth plates are closed. The last thing is related to diet. Bodybuilders need a high intake of protein to support the formation of muscles.
The appeal of having bigger muscles, a perfect tan, and a shredded core might be the reason why many people engage in bodybuilding. But nothing compares to the health benefits. Keep scrolling to know the evidence-based benefits of this activity.
Take a look at the table below first!
Activity | Injury rate (per 1000 h) | References |
Bodybuilding (competitive) |
0.24 |
[1] |
Gymnastics, CrossFit, powerlifting, or Olympic weightlifting |
3.1 |
[2] |
Running |
10 |
[3] |
Team sports (games) |
14 |
[4] |
Compared to other athletes, bodybuilders have a less injury rate because proper bodybuilding consists of little or no exposure to impact forces. Also, this activity uses different movements to prevent repetitive stress injuries following the overuses of some muscles and underuse of others.
Building more muscle mass and decreasing your body fat are the main benefits of bodybuilding. And this might promote your performance in any sport in which strength is key.
Let’s explain clearly!
Activities, like powerlifting, CrossFit, or gymnastics, just develop specific skills without transferring to other activities. Meanwhile, bodybuilding helps increase muscle mass so that you can produce forces that work on the limbs to move your body (running, swimming, combat sport, etc.) or objects (weight, balls, etc.)
Overall, if you want to enhance your sports performance, you need to focus on increasing your muscle mass and reducing your body fat via bodybuilding.
As you age, you will gradually lose muscle if you do not use it. And once losing enough muscle mass, you might meet issues in carrying out anything, even doing daily tasks like getting up and down stairs, wearing your own clothes, or washing dishes. So, bodybuilding helps focus on adding muscle mass to your physique to increase your functional lifespan, allowing you to be active and productive for the whole of your life [5].
A study pointed out that bodybuilding-type resistance training was more efficient than either a combination of endurance training and resistance training or endurance training alone for enhancing body composition (decreasing fat and maintaining muscle), lowering total cholesterol, and fasting insulin levels [6].
That means bodybuilding training not only affects body composition but also benefits internal health, especially in improving lipid and insulin levels.
Bodybuilding might boost your overall mental well-being by releasing endorphins, which have been linked to the reduction of stress, anxiety, and depression. This activity also promotes self-esteem and confidence since when you continue to train yourself and build up the perfect stature, you start feeling better about yourself.
Plus, bodybuilding might support cognitive function. Adults with mild cognitive impairment who started this activity in about 6 months could enhance their overall cognitive function gradually [7].
Here are some important things relating to bodybuilding you should take into consideration first.
Bodybuilding will not make you grow taller if you are an adult. But this activity might make you functionally taller since it helps improve your posture and create a more upright position. Moreover, it affects your musculature and body fat levels, thereby making you appear leaner and longer. What is more, exercise, in general, is good for your health and can improve your overall growth and development.
Related post: