Does Hanging Increase Height?

According to researchers, gravity is one of the major hindrances to achieving a taller stature. Because the force of gravity pulls objects, including the human body, downwards, our spine, joints, cartilage, and muscles are compressed, leading to us standing shorter than we can be.

Hanging works both with and against gravity. Using your arms, you suspend your entire body up in the air. Gravity then pulls the rest of your body downwards, stretching your joints, muscles, bones, and vertebrae in the process. This reduces squeezing in your lower spine, elongating it to your actual height potential.

In addition to stretching your body and lengthening your bones, hanging also improves blood flow and provides more oxygen to your muscles. This triggers your body to stretch naturally, further elongating your stature.

Perhaps the most direct link between hanging and height gain is its ability to improve your posture, which is defined by the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles, and joints). Slouching and poor posture can take 3 inches off of your actual height and speed up age-related shrinking.

When you hang, you stretch your entire body, including your shoulders and back. This promotes better sitting and standing posture, making you appear taller.

Regularly doing hanging exercises can help you reach your full height potential and stand a couple of inches taller than normal. Here’s how to incorporate hanging into your exercise routine.

To do a hanging exercise, you need a horizontal bar just to the right height to suspend your entire body. At the very least, there should be a foot of space between your feet and the ground when you’re hanging. If you don’t have access to a horizontal bar high enough for your body’s length, you can opt to bend your knees slightly.

How you grip the bar is important to ensure security and comfort. Your palms should be facing away from you, and your grip tight enough to keep you steady. Relax your entire body and let loose, avoiding too much tension on your spine and joints to give them room to stretch. Continue holding onto the bar for as long as you can (but not over 4 minutes), feeling the stretch on your spine.

Once you get used to hanging from a horizontal bar, you might want to take your exercise up a notch and suspend yourself from a rope. Rope climbing also helps stretch your body while building your strength and training your core, which is beneficial for improved posture.