My dad told me to stop squatting

[Tim]

When I went to my parents' house for dinner Sunday night, my dad told me to stop squatting when I happened to bring up the topic of lifting. He said that it will wear down the cartilage in my spine and make me shorter. I think this is bull****, but perhaps he does have a point, since you have all that weight pushing down on you. But, the weight isn't pushing directly down on your spine, since your back is diagonal to the floor when you squat. If anything, I think that standing calve raises would wear down the spinal cartilage, since there the weight is indeed pushing straight down on your back. What do you think?

[milo34]

as far as i know, the whole squatting makes you shorter argument is just a myth.
not sure about wearing down the cartilage in the spine.
interested what others have to say.

[DanMc]

That is complete bs it comes from the large amount of short lifters out there. My son lifts at 15 he is 6ft by the way its going he will be taller than me.

[Tim]

That is complete bs it comes from the large amount of short lifters out there. My son lifts at 15 he is 6ft by the way its going he will be taller than me.

I'm not talking about stunting growth (I am 27 and have long since stopped growing), I am taking about wearing out or compressing the cartilage in the spine, resulting in a loss of height of an inch or two at most. I guess the cartilage may be compressed for a short time, when the back is perpendicular to the ground, but I don't think that it is long enough to do any damage.

[j_neatherlin]

I think you're talking about degenerative disc disease...a form of degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis) in the vertebral discs.

proper squatting isn't going to wear out or thin your discs. But (disclaimer: I am biased) you should be under Chiropractic care if you are concerned about having a healthy spine and discs.

[midian]

After heavy squat sessions some people ARE smaller but that goes away shortly.

Same can be said about sleeping, most people are smaller when they wake up than when they are going to sleep. I think we all should stop sleeping.

[Tim]

Same can be said about sleeping, most people are smaller when they wake up than when they are going to sleep. I think we all should stop sleeping.

I heard it was the other way around; that people are taller when they wake up in the morning than when they go to bed, since when standing or sitting upright all day the force of gravity pushes the spinal bones closer together, whereas lying down all night allows them to expand. Whatever, it doesn't really matter anyways.

[j_neatherlin]

I heard it was the other way around; that people are taller when they wake up in the morning than when they go to bed, since when standing or sitting upright all day the force of gravity pushes the spinal bones closer together, whereas lying down all night allows them to expand. Whatever, it doesn't really matter anyways.

You are correct. When you are sleeping your body is in a non-weight bearing position. This allows the intervertebral discs to become rehydrated with fluid, thus increasing their size and making you slightly taller upon getting up.

[DanMc]

After heavy squat sessions some people ARE smaller but that goes away shortly.

Same can be said about sleeping, most people are smaller when they wake up than when they are going to sleep. I think we all should stop sleeping.

You got that backwards your taller when you wake up.

Tim
As for the compression of cartlage or osteoarthritis its a natural event that as we get older these types of things can happen naturally. Strengthen the hell out of your abs / core. A few yrs ago after my back surgery my doc told me you'll be back within 4 yrs do to a bad disk. Its nearly 7 yrs now and I have less back trouble than ever. Lift smart and safely at all times and you should not have any issues.

[LatsMakeTheMan]

I say it's BS. Think about it....the weight's only on you for a matter of seconds, really. It's not enough to make you permenantly squash you down in height.

If you believe this myth.....then do weighted pullups. They'll make you taller!

[midian]

You got that backwards your taller when you wake up.

hmm i always heard it to be the otherway around, but it does make sence

[$AJ]

Bs

[GGHT]

If you drop squatting you'l be seriousl impeding your training progress bro.

[Jotun]

AJ got banned again? That was fast.

[DanMc]

Tell your dad he don't no SQUAT!!!

Be sure to let us know how it turns out.

[joshuatlarson]

i asked my personal trainer about this since a fat guy told me not to lift more that my body wieght. i asked about compression and he told me "no more than anything else" and basically just keep good form posture etc.

so unless millions of others have a problem, don't worry about it

a 2nd ptrainer said she never heard of that, so maybe it was a special situation due to his wieght etc.

[Steveo31]

After heavy squat sessions some people ARE smaller but that goes away shortly.

Same can be said about sleeping, most people are smaller when they wake up than when they are going to sleep. I think we all should stop sleeping.

Ask a doctor. I can contact mine by email, ask if you can do the same for your doc. Helps a lot.

[PsYoP78]

BS

People will find the stupidest excuses to make to avoid working hard.

Like when girls say, "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to get all superwoman bulky looking." I say to that, if you know the secret to accidently getting all bulky overnight, let me know. Otherwise, shut up and bust that iron.

[nykwan]

I'm not going to say 'yes' or 'no' on this. This is something that has been debated forever. Both sides may have arguments that make sense, but in the end, noone really knows. Just because someone is short doesn't mean that squats did that to him. And just because someone is tall and squats, doesn't mean that they couldn't have been even taller without squatting. Noone has ever done a study on on identical twins where you have one of them squat for years, and the other one not squat.
So it's pretty much a choice you gotta make for yourself. Just be informed and decide for yourself.

[EP87]

Animal studies have shown that regular and significant weightbearing activites makes the skeletal structure broader, stronger, and more compact. Since it's impossible to load animals to the same degree as humans, research in this area is not thorough. As a side note, physiology of animals is extremely similar, but do differ in certain ways from those of humans. Hyperplasia is a regularly occuring phenomenon for them in weight studies, however, in humans, it's generally accepted by the medical community that this doesn't occur to a significant degree for human athletes.

[Stagger]

Lifts where the spine is loaded with weight can compress the spinal discs inbetween the vertebrae, which can mess up your spine over time (although a change in height would probably be neglible if any). You do decompress during sleep though, and there's not an incredible amount of compression. But it can't hurt to be safe about it, so if you want to prevent too much compression...

You should do some spinal decompression exercises. I learned one from a book by Pavel (of dragondoor.com), where you hang from a pullup bar, breathe in with pressure and tense up every muscle in your body, then let all the pressure and tension go, and if your discs are compressed you should drop a little, from decompression. Shaking around some with your legs or pelvis could also help during this hang.

Others opt to hang from a pullup bar while supporting extra weight (like someone/something hanging onto your legs) or people who do Yoga may get an inversion sling, where they hang upside down to decompress the spine. Or perhaps you can find some other way to hang upside down.

[Defiant1]

That is complete bs it comes from the large amount of short lifters out there. My son lifts at 15 he is 6ft by the way its going he will be taller than me.

You mean 5'11"

I mean 5'10"

I'm sorry 5'9"

[miltoney]

AJ got banned again? That was fast.

LMAO!!!!

Bs

no

^^

yep

*shrug*

I think the mods are getting sick of this crap...

[xplosiveDL]

LMAO!!!!











I think the mods are getting sick of this crap...

xcept the shrug those are all adequate answers imo

[White Prince]

When I went to my parents' house for dinner Sunday night, my dad told me to stop squatting when I happened to bring up the topic of lifting. He said that it will wear down the cartilage in my spine and make me shorter. I think this is bull****, but perhaps he does have a point, since you have all that weight pushing down on you. But, the weight isn't pushing directly down on your spine, since your back is diagonal to the floor when you squat. If anything, I think that standing calve raises would wear down the spinal cartilage, since there the weight is indeed pushing straight down on your back. What do you think?

I'm not going to bother reading all the responces but if someone hasn't already mentioned it, yes, standing calf raises do a number on your spine but that's something I'm willing to sacrifice

[xplosiveDL]

I'm not going to bother reading all the responces but if someone hasn't already mentioned it, yes, standing calf raises do a number on your spine but that's something I'm willing to sacrifice

why? You should never sacrifice long term health for short term gain

[PROSA]

Many people lose height when they age due to loss of bone density. This causes other problems too, such as fractures, that can be life-shortening. One of the best ways to limit loss of bone density - and hence minimize age-related height loss - is through regular weight training.

[dookie1481]

Many people lose height when they age due to loss of bone density. This causes other problems too, such as fractures, that can be life-shortening. One of the best ways to limit loss of bone density - and hence minimize age-related height loss - is through regular weight training.

Word. Excellent point.

[Cerbinator]

Dads say the craziest stuff, don't they?

[PsYoP78]

My dad should be really short cuz he's fat as hell...like 350 lbs, 55% BF. But he's 6'1". Maybe he woulda been 6'4" like his son if he hadn't been such a lard a$$?