Great posture is indeed influenced by genetic factors. However, those of you who don’t inherit the genetic factor for tall posture from your parents can try different types of bodybuilding exercises.
So how effective is this body-hugging exercise? Find the answer in the explanation below!
Are Bodybuilding Exercises Effective?
Quote from the Medline Plus website: About 80 percent of a person’s height is determined by variations in DNA sequences inherited from parents.
However, researchers are still researching to study the effectiveness of external or environmental factors on height gain. Some of these external factors are:
- Maternal nutrition during pregnancy,
- Food intake after the birth of the child and
- Activities that may affect bone growth in childhood, such as e.g. sports.
During the growth and development phase leading up to puberty, the benefits of exercise for bone health are very important, especially stretching movements. This movement can stimulate the epiphyseal plate (growth) of bone that accompanies an increase in height.
In addition, children who exercise actively and do regular sports can improve posture, train muscle, and bone strength, and stimulate bone growth. But exercise is still recommended for adults, too, as it can maintain physical fitness and strengthen the bones.
So what are some bodybuilding exercises you can do?
1. Basketball
This type of exercise encourages running and jumping. When your body is constantly running and jumping, the epiphyseal plate is being stimulated.
The epiphyseal plate itself is also called the growth plate, which consists of bone growth cells.
The benefits of running and jumping increase blood flow to the epiphyseal plate, which helps stimulate bone growth to reach maximum height.
2. Swimming
Swimming is the next strength sport that helps kids grow taller. No wonder many swimmers around the world have a large body, with the upper body being longer than the lower body.
Even a study published in the Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise on children aged 7 to 13 found that regular swimming for 16 weeks produced significant results in increasing height and muscle mass. Because the benefits of swimming help you strengthen your spine and help you achieve good posture.
By moving horizontally, you defy gravity. This means your chest and upper body are constantly expanding and contracting, which can encourage upper body growth.
3. Cycling
The next way to strengthen the body through exercise is cycling. The benefits of cycling not only help increase endurance but also have the potential to increase your height.
When you ride a bike, your lower body does a pretty hard job of pedaling. The good news is that this pedaling motion can increase blood flow to the knee and thigh muscles, which stimulates growth.
4. Soccer
Playing soccer can be a fun choice for kids to increase their sport. This exercise can stimulate bone growth and help you grow taller naturally.
Like basketball, soccer requires you to run, which means you have to straighten your knees and thighs to match your height. Playing soccer also requires a lot of jumping to head the ball and lateral movements to dribble and dodge opponents. All of these activities help the epiphyseal plate absorb oxygenated blood and growth hormone.
4. Yoga
Quote from Hopkins Medicine’s website: Yoga stretches can strengthen bones and joints, making the body feel more flexible. Some yoga moves like mountain pose, triangle pose, tree pose, Surya namaskar, adho mukha svanasana, chakrasana pose, and other poses can help correct posture. This movement is also believed to have the potential to increase altitude.
Yoga breathing techniques can also be a great way to relieve stress and tension in muscles and joints. When muscles and joints become flexible and relaxed, growth hormone can flow more freely throughout the body.
6. Skipping rope
Jumping rope is one of those bodybuilding exercises that should be familiar to the ear. When jumping rope (skipping rope) a steady jump is required. Jumping lengthwise can help your body expand and contract, stimulating the epiphyseal plate for bone growth. Many nerves emanate from the soles of your feet and connect to your upper body. As you twist the rope, your muscles expand and contract, releasing growth hormones throughout your body, including your lower body.
Additionally, research published in the National Library of Medicine demonstrates the effectiveness of jumping rope in increasing bone mineral density. This mineral density in the bones can affect bone growth and bone height.
7. Hanging
This physical exercise is usually very popular with children. In addition to being able to straighten and lengthen the spine, hanging encourages kids to do lots of pull-ups. The pull-up movement causes the bones in your upper body to contract. Contraction and stretching in this area can stimulate bone growth and affect height.
Tips for optimal body strengthening exercises
In addition to the 7 exercises above, you should also try some of the body-enhancing exercise tips below for the best results.
1. Eat a balanced and nutritious diet
To stimulate growth, the most recommended intake is calcium and vitamin D. To facilitate the absorption of calcium in the intestine, the help of vitamin D is required.
Well, both substances are believed to be able to increase both bone density and bone health. But of course, you also need to meet all the nutritional needs that the body needs by consuming proteins, fruits, and vegetables to stay healthy.
2. Get enough sleep
During sleep, the body produces a growth hormone called Human Growth Hormone, HGH. For this reason, adequate and quality sleep will greatly help children and adolescents in their growing phase to increase the production of HGH [2].
3. Use supplements with caution
If needed, you can also maximize growth by taking the right supplements. Keep in mind, however, that choosing this supportive supplement when needed must also be done carefully. Make sure you consult your doctor first before taking any dietary supplement.
These are some of the bodybuilding exercises that we recommend you do. For the record, these physical exercises are very helpful if you are in your infancy or under 20 years old.