DO WEIGHTS STUNT GROWTH (408 words)

I shall desist from a sweeping answer to this, simply because there isn’t any. I shall, at this juncture, postulate the concept of UNDERSTAND YOUR BODY, a powerful concept that’ll see you through your various somatic and medical dilemmas.

Weight training, per say, isn’t an altitude oriented sport like basketball or swimming. Handling weights, apart from brute force, requires, as a part of technique, stability. Stability can be attained by lowering the centre of gravity (C.G.) of the lifter. This is done by acquiring a position of reduced stature. Tarry! Before you drift to conclusions, read on. Various scholarly studies on Olympic Weight lifters have suggested that taller athletes lift heavier weights! (With the advantage evening out at heights >=183 cm).

Basic to all these is your genes and the play of hormones, or in general, YOUR BODY. It is a medical belief that one cannot grow taller after the joints have fused. This can be determined from the X-Rays of the wrists and elbows.

Killer workouts involving free weights will effect a surge of hormones in the male body. Chief among them is testosterone and the human growth hormone. The incredible powers of these two monsters of youth need no explanation. Apart from these is what your DNA dictates. Thus, at this stage, it should be apparent to my readers that growth, although it may appear so, can never be unidimensional.

Extremely tall strength athletes, wrestlers along with the myths and folklores of warriors, too strong and tall, should tell you the truth. Besides, of what use is height without the necessary strength?

All said and done, when is the right age to take up weights? Now I make the maximum use of my concept stated previously. It should be understood that weights place a strain on your joints. They tend to make your body grow laterally than vertically. Thus, at a tender age, weights tend to create a negative environment for height gain. And most importantly, the body must be in production of the necessary hormones. This can happen at different ages in different individuals. Hence, you are the best judge of when your body is ready and whether or not weights is the form of exercise your body needs in the first place.

But if you see yourself as the next Mr. Olympia, then, ‘high achievers start early’.

In conclusion, my reply (and not an answer) to the question is “JUST SHUT UP AND SQUAT”.