Height Increase Progress Update: Alternating Limbs may be Key

Some people have reported unilateral growth including Richo and his bone length growth.  I've been focusing more on my left leg since it's the one that I've been using for measurements(I'm right handed so I wanted to bring up my weaker side) and I wanted to see too if I had been getting unilateral growth.

My left ankle is bigger and my left leg is a little bit longer.  The overall bone quality is much higher for my left leg.  My routine involves 30 seconds with a 75 lbs dumbell and 30 seconds of tapping with a 10 lbs dumbell(Read more about this Height Increase Method).  With this each day I would alternate starting with my left side and starting with my right side(i.e. one day I would start by loading my left ankle with a 75lbs dumbell and the next day I would start by loading my right ankle with a 75lbs dumbell).  With the table clamp I would always load my left limb first.  Now I am going to be alternating days of starting with the right and left side to see if it makes a difference.

Why would it make a difference?  In response to loading, adaptions to the actin cytoskeleton occur.  These adaptations to the actin cytoskeleton lower the mechanical sensitivity to load.  These adaptations occur rapidly.  By loading one limb first, the actin cytoskeleton may adapt lowering the effectiveness of the loading regime on the other limb.

Here's an old email I got from Hiroki Yokota about local versus systemic effects:

"Your point about systemic vs. local effects is a good question. We used two types of controls – one control is a separate animal without any loading, and the other control is a contralateral control in the same animal (e.g., a right leg is loaded, and a left leg is non-loaded as a contralateral control). These studies indicate that joint loading has a strong local effect compared to a contralateral control. However, a contralateral control seems to receive some benefit of loading compared to the other control animal that does not receive any loading. Thus, a working hypothesis is that joint loading provides significant local effects on the loaded limb (e.g., loaded femur and tibia in response to knee loading), but it can induce systemic effects. The mechanism for systemic effects can be potentially mediated by circulating molecules (as you suggest like growth hormone)."

 So loading on one limb can have an impact on the unloading limb(including possibly remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton).  Muscle too responds via the actin cytoskeleton so we can see if there are similar adaptations in the contralateral limb after doing say bicep curls with one limb.  We will have to investigate this further and could possibly use muscle studies as a basis.


The ramifications:  Each day alternate between limbs(Right limb only, left, etc.) or alternate which limb you load first.