Does Working Out Make You Taller?

No, working out doesn't make you taller than your genes allow, and no sport or exercise lengthens your bones. It doesn't stunt your growth either, as long as training is sensible and you eat enough. Regular activity is part of growing up healthy, and tall athletes are tall mainly because their sports pick tall people, not because the sport made them grow.

Does exercise make you grow taller?

Not directly. Your height comes from growth plates near the ends of your long bones, which add new bone until they close after puberty. How much they produce is mostly decided by your genes, which is why Cleveland Clinic's sports medicine experts say genetics play a big role in your final height.

Exercise does trigger short releases of growth hormone; Cleveland Clinic lists it among the natural triggers, along with sleep. But there's no evidence that those workout-related bursts push anyone past their genetic height range. Your body regulates growth hormone tightly, and once growth plates fuse, the hormone can no longer add height at all.

What exercise really does for a growing teen:

• Builds stronger bones. Running, jumping and other impact activities count as bone-strengthening exercise in CDC guidelines.
• Builds muscle and supports posture. A strong back and core help you stand at your full height.
• Supports sleep and appetite. Both matter for growth, and the more you move, the more fuel your body needs.

So the honest answer is that working out helps you grow healthily, not taller than you were built to be. For the full list of what supports growth, see how to grow taller.

Does working out stunt growth?

This is one of the most persistent gym myths. The American Academy of Pediatrics says strength training is not harmful to growth plates when it's supervised and uses lower weights with higher reps. The risk comes from unsupervised lifting, which can injure the discs and growth plates of the spine. The AAP even notes that well-run strength training is safer than soccer, football and basketball.

AAP guidance for young lifters:

• 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps, 2 to 3 times a week
• Learn every lift with no weight first, then add no more than about 10% per week
• No one-rep max attempts until you're done growing
• Warm up and cool down for about 10 minutes each
• A qualified coach, with no more than about 10 athletes per coach

For the deep dive, read does lifting weights stunt growth?

What can actually hurt growth around training

• Not eating enough. Cleveland Clinic lists excessive exercise, which can drop body fat and disrupt hormones, and malnutrition among the causes of delayed puberty. Heavy training on too little food is a real risk to normal growth and development.
• Anabolic steroids. The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns that in teens they can signal bones to stop growing early, leading to shorter adult height. Read more in does testosterone make you taller?
• Growth plate injuries. An injured growth plate can sometimes affect growth, so pain near a joint after a hard fall deserves a proper checkup.

Best sports for height? The selection effect

Look at an NBA roster and it's tempting to think basketball makes you tall. It's the reverse. In basketball and volleyball, height is a huge advantage, so tall kids are more likely to be picked for teams, get playing time, enjoy the sport and stick with it. By the pro level, almost everyone is tall. That's selection, not growth.

Gymnastics shows the same effect from the other side. Elite gymnasts are often short, and for years people blamed intense training. A 2013 expert review for the International Gymnastics Federation concluded that intensive gymnastics training does not compromise adult height. Gymnasts who stay in the sport are a highly selected group: they tend to be shorter for their age, often have shorter parents, and their growth looks like that of short, late-maturing kids who don't do gymnastics.

So the best sport for your height is the one you'll keep doing. If basketball is your thing, does basketball make you taller? looks at it in detail.

Does running make you taller?

No. Running is excellent for your heart and counts as a bone-strengthening activity, which means denser, stronger bones, not longer ones. The one caution: teens who run a lot need to eat enough to cover that energy, because underfueling can delay puberty.

Working out and height: myth vs. reality

A smart weekly plan for growing teens

The CDC recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every day for ages 6 to 17. Most of it should be aerobic, with vigorous activity, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening each on at least 3 days a week. A simple week might look like this:

• 3 days: sport practice, running or cycling, including some sprints or jumps
• 2 to 3 days: strength training following the AAP guidelines above
• Every day: walking, biking or playing, plus a few minutes of posture stretches

Pair that with 8 to 10 hours of sleep (here's why sleep matters for growth) and enough food, and you're giving your body everything it needs while you're still growing.

When to see a doctor

Talk to a doctor if:

• You have joint pain or swelling after an injury, or pain that keeps coming back with training.
• You're losing weight, feel exhausted, or think you might not be eating enough for your sport.
• There are no signs of puberty by about 14 for boys or 13 for girls.
• You've grown less than about 2 inches (5 cm) in a year before your growth spurt, or you're dropping across lines on your growth chart.

The takeaway

Bottom line: Exercise won't add inches beyond your genes, and smart training won't take any away. Stay active, lift with good form, eat enough and sleep well while you're growing.