Inversion and Increasing Height

Quoted message said:

My dad went to a back specialist a few years ago and was told that, due
to spinal compression, he had lost about 1/ 1/2 inches off his full
height.

He was only mid 40s at the time.

I'm really paranoid about losing any height. So I want to start doing
inversion exercises like this guy describes:

http://www.easyheight.com/lumbar1.htm

OK.

Quoted message said:

The inversion tables are way too expensive. Couldn't I just hang upside
down on the monkey bars at the park?

Sure. Put corks in your nostrils in case it rains.

Quoted message said:

What do you guys think I should do to keep my spine healthy and avoid
compression? What kind of inversion stuff?

I wouldn't do too much twisting stuff with your spine decompressed.
It will stretch ligaments, and that will allow vertebrae to shift too
easily. Shifting vertebrae lead to impingements.

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Quoted message said:

My dad went to a back specialist a few years ago and was told that,
due
to spinal compression, he had lost about 1/ 1/2 inches off his full
height.

He was only mid 40s at the time.

I'm really paranoid about losing any height. So I want to start doing
inversion exercises like this guy describes:

http://www.easyheight.com/lumbar1.htm

The inversion tables are way too expensive. Couldn't I just hang
upside
down on the monkey bars at the park?

What do you guys think I should do to keep my spine healthy and avoid
compression? What kind of inversion stuff?

You don't need to do "inversion stuff" to keep your spine healthy and
avoid compression. Pick up a copy of Pavel's "Relax Into Stretch"
ook - http://www.kbnj.com/ris.htm - and follow the instructions on
hanging from a chinup bar to decompress your spine. Weighted
pullups/chinups using a dipping belt are nice for this, too.

I have actually gained a bit, about 3/8" according to recent
measurements, in height since I started doing this. The book mentions
one guy who gained an inch in height by doing bar hangs with added
weight (not a bad idea but be sure your shoulders are up to it.)

You don't just hang - the basic idea is that you hang, you then inhale
and tense up your muscles without changing your position on the bar,
then you exhale and relax and try to feel your spine lengthen - but the
book explains it much better than I do.

Nothing wrong with inversion tables as far as I know, it's just that you
don't need one.

You can do gentle reverse side bends (you pick up your legs to one side
or the other) and gentle twists of the hips while hanging - good stuff,
helps with opening up the spine.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

Thanks guys.

I went to the gym tonight and hung on the chin up bar for a
while. I did some movements where I brought both my legs up
so they were parallel with the floor. I don't know if that's
a good idea.
Hanging from the chin up bar did stress my shoulders. But it
would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to find a way to
hang upside down, since my gym isn't equipped for that and I
don't have those special boots.

I definitely "stretched out." At first only my tip toes were
touching the ground as I hung there. But after a minute I was
able to stand flat footed while still maintaining the same
grip on the chin up bar. I'm sure the effect didn't last, but
if I did it every day, it would be beneifical, right?

So is hanging by your arms just as good as hanging by your
legs for deceompression?

The guy on that sorta kooky website claims that the inverted
sit ups build up the muscles and discs in the lower back and
that's what causes the lasting height increase. It doesn't
seem like pull ups would really do that.

That post was meant to show up last night.

24 hours after _hanging around_ at the gym, my left shoulder has a
lsight sharp pain when I raise it.

Is'nt there a good way to decompress without straining either your
ankles (upside down) or the shoulders (chin up bar)?

Hmm. I'm looking into it. I'm going to go workout now, even though my
shoulder hurts. My shoulders always hurt; I can't drive by the gym on
Sunday without my shoulders hurting.

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Quoted message said:

Thanks guys.

I went to the gym tonight and hung on the chin up bar for a
while. I did some movements where I brought both my legs up
so they were parallel with the floor. I don't know if that's
a good idea.
Hanging from the chin up bar did stress my shoulders. But it
would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to find a way to
hang upside down, since my gym isn't equipped for that and I
don't have those special boots.

I definitely "stretched out." At first only my tip toes were
touching the ground as I hung there. But after a minute I was
able to stand flat footed while still maintaining the same
grip on the chin up bar. I'm sure the effect didn't last, but
if I did it every day, it would be beneifical, right?

So is hanging by your arms just as good as hanging by your
legs for deceompression?

The guy on that sorta kooky website claims that the inverted
sit ups build up the muscles and discs in the lower back and
that's what causes the lasting height increase. It doesn't
seem like pull ups would really do that.

There is no such thing as "lasting" decompression if you don't practice
it regularly, but if you do practice it regularly, the results are
indeed lasting. Be sure you take care of your shoulder - think about
sucking the shoulder down into its socket while you hang to protect the
joint.

Leg raises are fine but for decompression, focus on that and nothing
else.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com

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Quoted message said:

That post was meant to show up last night.

24 hours after _hanging around_ at the gym, my left shoulder has a
lsight sharp pain when I raise it.

Is'nt there a good way to decompress without straining either your
ankles (upside down) or the shoulders (chin up bar)?

Hmm. I'm looking into it. I'm going to go workout now, even though my
shoulder hurts. My shoulders always hurt; I can't drive by the gym on
Sunday without my shoulders hurting.

Your shoulders always hurting is a separate problem - and a common
complaint of people who bench press regularly. Start another thread on
the shoulder problem.

The most effective way to use bar hangs for decompression while being
kind to your shoulders is to do them frequently for short periods of
time throughout the day. I have a chinup bar at the foot of the
basement stairs in my house, and because my office is in the basement, I
go by the bar and do a quick hang probably half a dozen times or more in
a typical day. Alternate pullup and chinup grips. I probably don't
hang for more than five seconds most times.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com