July 30, 2009

Don't want to get shorted? Then exercise!




This is a short post. Probably because I'm short.
(Height, attention span, patience...)

Do you realize that tall people get to weigh more? When you're short, you can't carry off a few extra pounds they way tall people can.

That's another reason to exercise. So that you don't get any shorter.


Don't look at me like that. I can back that up.


To quote the illustrious Dr. Mirkin, "the bones of your spine are separated by pads called discs. As you age, these discs dry out and become smaller. However, regular exercise compresses and relaxes these discs as you move up and down. This helps to keep the discs from shrinking and maintains your height.

"Regular exercise also helps to strengthen bones and keep them from bending or being crushed. One study from Israel showed that men who exercise regularly lose only half as much height as men who never exercise -- just 2.6 centimeters compared with 5.5 centimeters."

As Crabby pointed out yesterday, the older you are, the more perilous your sense of balance. This is not the time of life to start learning how to wear platform shoes. Plus, if they're out of fashion you're going to look pretty silly.



Yes, one day even this will be out of fashion...

Do you feel shorted by a short post? The long and the short of it is that this study encourages me to get moving, and I hoped it might encourage you too.

Do you feel more motivated to work out now?

Would that be 'stretch'-ing the truth?

Or do you merely 'long' for me to stop with the bad puns?


Photos:

33 comments:

  1. NEVER stop the puns!!!!!

    It's no stretch of the imagination (sorry) to realize that exercise can keep the spine healthy. It also gives you a natural high (oops, there's another one!).
    OK, stepping off my platform-er-soapbox now..

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  2. I need a tall drink after contemplating those shoes!

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  3. I'm 5'0" and my Sweetie is 6'2", so when you look at us you think of the long and short of things anyway. Gives me even more incentive to exercise.

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  4. NEVER STOP WITH THE PUNS (types the one time english major..).

    The one comment I heard repeatedly this past weekend at blogher was YOURE SO MUCH SHORTER THAN ID THOUGHT!

    (and yea that comment doesnt really fit but it's what stuck in my head as I read :))

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  5. I have a friend who's nearing 50, and he swears he's and inch and a half shorter than he was when he got married... Now his wife is taller than him.

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  6. We would totally feel short-changed if you ever stopped with the puns! It would be a giant loss.

    So I once read somewhere that those upside down gravity stretching thingies where you hang from your feet can help preserve the separation between discs and keep you from losing too much height as you age. And being too cheap to buy one, I generalized this to lying on a stability ball (face up) to let gravity stretch out my spine. I have no idea if there's any science behind it, but it feels really good and seems like a good stretch on general principle. Check back in a few decades and I'll tell you if I've managed to stay the same height.

    Good to know that exercise helps too.

    Nothing wrong with being short--I'd just like to avoid the disc compression and crumbling bone thing.

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  7. I always decompress my spine between deadilft sets with a couple of mobility moves on the floor. I don't know if it keeps me from shrinking, but it sure feels good!

    My mother, both my older sisters, and I all used to be exactly the same height. (5'4-1/2"). Now I'm visibly the tallest in the group. My mom, who just turned 89, is now about 5'1".

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  8. I'm going to pull myself out of this chair and go for a long, lean walk!

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  9. Merry, I don't feel shorted by short posts at all. In fact, the more blogs I read, the more I realize some authors could stand a little compression of their DISCourse. I guess it's obvious how I feel about puns ... Keep up the good work!

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  10. I wanna see Crabby workout in those shoe-heel platforms, but that's probably a stretch.

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  11. LOVED the short post from a short, 5'1" lady! Glad I work out hard!!! Just finished in fact! I can't afford to get much shorter!!! My mom was 4'11"!

    Yes, I know how we can't afford to put on weight compared to a taller person... 4 to 5 pounds is a size up for me! even 2-3 pounds shows pretty quickly!

    THX for the puns!

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  12. haha im short and cant carry any extra weight well!

    http://ncl117.blogspot.com/

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  13. I think we need a new system of "mini-pounds" for short people. It will make them feel better with weight loss.

    Puns are the life blood of Merry Sunshine :-)

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  14. I try to be really good about exercise and calcium both because of my grandma. At most, she was five flat. I don't know what she is now, but, at 5'2", I tower over her. She's had rheumatoid arthritis since she was in her early '20s (she's 86 now), wasn't a big milk drinker, etc.. Her bones look like swiss cheese now, and it only takes a small bump to cause a tidal wave of destruction. (On the flip side, though, she's the most mentally strong person I've ever met and has shown me the benefits of positive thinking to go with my exercise and milk.)

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  15. Good tip! Height is always terribly important to me in WL blogs-- I can never rest until I determine the poster's height. There are some that don't list it. Can you imagine?

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  16. Enjoyed the post and comments!

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  17. You always hear about calcuim and stuff like that with bone and height, but not with exercise. I've heard that weight training helps with bone health...but not exercise in general and how it protects the spine. Thanks for the info :)

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  18. Yes, the one way I have always looked at my height as a plus is that I have more places to hide fat. Hmmmm.....

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  19. Hey, there are a lot of us 'vertically challenged' people out there! :)

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  20. My poor dad has never been a tall man, but he's not an exerciser either and he has been shrinking. I'm afraid one day I'll be taller than him, poor guy. But he still drives with the seat way farther back than I do. Explain that one to me, haha.

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  21. Were those shoes ever in style?!!! LOL!!!

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  22. I just corrected my posture while reading this. Thanks.

    And, those shoes are sweet.

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  23. I never realized how short I really was until the SWAT school pictures of me and the rest of the guys came out and I looked like a midget. It never crossed my mind that 5'2" wasnt a reasonable height and the same as everyone else. Of course I exercise like a maniac and have for a long time, but still ruptured a disc in my neck....since they replaced it with bone and titanium, i will at least never lose "that" inch.

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  24. Whobody, I think that 5'2 /is/ a perfectly usual height :)

    I just don't want to lose several inches and end up being under 5 feet :(

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  25. Still chuckling over Kathy's pun. I like this DISCussion.

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  26. I have considered that unfair fact many a time. Especially after watching my husband eat his 6'2" bodyweight in ice cream. Ah well.

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  27. AHAHAhahahaha! Merry, that was hilarious!

    Since I've already ruptured one of the discs in my back, I believe I'll keep working out to preserve the others! (Though I wouldn't mind being a LITTLE shorter. I'm 5'8", and I like to wear heels. I also like guys who are taller than me, so if I could drop 2", I'd be a happy camper! ;D)

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  28. I like guys who are taller than I am too. I realize this is unfair to men shorter than I am, but there aren't /that/ many men under 5'3 anyway.
    Except for a couple of my cousins.
    And that guy at work who's always very friendly.
    And... well, anyway, I can relate :)

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  29. I KNOW about how tall people get to weigh more. It sucks. It's so not fair. At 5 ft* tall, I complain about that all the time :D

    I think I have to exercise once every couple hours if I want to maintain my height and not get any smaller... hehehe.

    *so sayeth my drivers license. It may in fact be a little (haha) bit under.

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  30. So, Sagan... when reporting your height to the Driver's License people, you thought that it would be a good idea to estimate on the low side? Or were they being a little short-sighted?

    (Yes, I will sink that low when puns are involved. Sorry.)

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  31. Very much needed post if you ask me. Not only will regular exercise and stretching help your height and overall wellbeing as you age, but it keeps a healthy flow of oxygen to the brain to keep you sharp.

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  32. Love all the humor and the puns. Makes the reader want to keep on reading and in turn gets your points heard.

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