I am writing this blog to offer advice to the shorter males out there. As a shorter male myself (standing at 5"5) I appreciate how tough it can be! I also realise through searching to find this very blog that you, just like me looked to the internet for answers. I can tell you now, there is no miracle solution that will make you suddenly grow, whether it be HGH or vitamins that various sites promote based upon your insecurity. It's all a scam.
However I can offer some help! Stuff that can really help you to feel better about yourself and gain you those few inches that will really boost your confidence.
I will split my blog into the following sections:
1) Stretches
2) Diet
3) Clothing
Stretches
Stretches are vital in my guide, mainly because they encourage a good strong posture and strengthen the appropriate muscles to allow this. That is why my first tip has to be walk tall, shoulders back and try and make your spine as straight as it can be, practise walking everywhere like this and after a week or two it should become natural and can add an inch to your height. Below is an example of what I mean.
Besides walking with a good posture it is also very vital that you stretch your spine out and one key way to do this is the 'on land swimming technique.' As the name suggests for this stretch you lie on your stomach and stretch one of your arms out, now at the same time raise the opposite leg (for example left arm = raise right leg and vice versa). Then swap and use the alternate leg and arm. This will stretch your lower back which is again good for posture and healthy for growth.
Swimming
As well as the on land swimming exercise I would also recommend actual swimming as there is no gravity in water and you can really stretch out.
Hanging
A very simple yet effective way of stretching your body is leaving it up to gravity! Simply spend a good ten minutes a day hanging from something and you should notice results.
Stretching your neck
I would recommend doing this each night before you go to bed. Roll your neck once to the right and at the point where you feel the stretch hold it for roughly five seconds, then do the same to the left.
A key stretch is the cobra
As the picture above shows lie on your stomach and with your legs flat much your hand to the ground level with your shoulders and raise your head up. You should feel a stretch in your lower spine and I would recommend doing this stretch once per day (especially before bed).
Sport
Every single sport is good for encouraging growth! By having a healthy lifestyle youll be able to reach your natural maximum height, don't sit around playing on video games go out for a run!
Diet
Vitamin D is one of the main vitamins needed for growth but taking lots of it (through pills) will be ineffective, so there's no point in trying that. I did at one point take one of the multivitamins per day but I did not see any difference in my stature, feel free to try yourselves. I would advise drinking lots of milk because it will help strengthen bones and this will be effective if you are attempting the posture exercises I mentioned previously.
Now all of these other websites that say try eating lots of a certain thing are talking a load of rubbish, you need to keep a healthy diet with a mixture of everything so as you get all of your nutrients. It is important that you get a good protein intake as a lack of this can stunt growth.
A final thing in this section: If you're a smoker I would recommend quitting because that is proven to stunt growth and why risk it?
Clothing
Tops -
The golden rule for a shorter male is never to wear horizontal stripes and look more towards vertical stripes. Having said this, its not essential to focus on vertical lines and sometimes block colour t-shirts are effective. I would recommend topman for well fitting t-shirts that are not baggy, because baggy clothes will make you appear smaller.
I was annoyed when I saw an article say that as a smaller male that you should try to blend in and not try to stand out. I completely disagree as I get a lot more comments on my clothing than on my height.
Some sites I would recommend for nice fitting clothing that is up to date and fashionable.
www.asos.com
www.topman.co.uk
www.riverisland.com
Bottoms -
I would highly recommend slim fit / skinny fit jeans or chinos, this is because they make your legs appear longer. With jeans I find dark colours (combined with dark shoes) is the best look for making leg length look longer.
http://www.asos.com/Levis/Levis-510-Broken-Raw-Skinny-Jeans/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1552294&cid=4208&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Broken+raw
Shoes -
Now shoes is a bit of a shaky area, you want a thick sole / heel without wearing big bulky shoes. I tend to wear black pointed shoes as they are slim and have a heel on the back.
Here is an example of the kind of shoes I mean.
http://www.asos.com/Asos-Collection/Asos-Clean-Point-Derby/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=895120&cid=4209&Rf900=1562&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Black
I would also recommend boots too, such as the current dessert boots:
http://www.asos.com/River-Island/River-Island-Desert-Boots/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1589899&SearchQuery=desert%20boots&sh=0&pge=1&pgesize=20&sort=-1&clr=Tan
Now here is my final secret, guaranteed 2 inch heigh increase. They are called height increasing insoles and I haven't looked back since my purchase, absolutely brilliant.
The ones that I bought should be available in an ad along the right hand side of the page from a company called 'tallerheels.' Don't worry its all genuine and they post the next day. If not I am sure that these will work just the same.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=height+increase+insoles&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Just slip these inside your shoes (I would recommend ones with a black insole to make it less obvious) and nobody will be any wiser.
And that's it, your complete guide for the shorter male! Hope it helped and remember to be confident, if you make a big deal of your height so will others. Don't get all defensive about any jokes, laugh them off and be happy with the way you are.
