Height Increase Routine: LSJL FAQ(*Apr 5th*)

Q)Can I do other forms of exercise with LSJL?

A) Yes, other forms of exercise may drive fluid flow and induce adaptation in the actin cytoskeleton but these forms of exercise are nowhere near as potent as LSJL.  LSJL will be able to induce it's effects regardless of adaptations induced by other forms of exercise.  Other forms of exercise may promote anabolic effects that are synergestic with LSJL.

Q) How do I organize my LSJL routine?  Should I do dumbell loading, tapping, clamp, etc.?  How often should I increase load?

A) You should perform at minimum one of the methods and if you don't get any visible results in terms of bone size or length then you should augment with one of the other methods.  Similarly, you should increase in load or time under load(more taps, longer/more intense clamping) whenever you stall in results.

I would start out by loading the ankles and upper/lower knee for 30 seconds and then increasing duration and intensity.  Here's a sample three month program.  I'd start out doing both dumbell loading and clamping.  Here's a video on how to perform LSJL.  Click on the video to be taken to a you tube channel with more LSJL videos.

Q) Which is better the C-class clamp or the Irwin Quick Grip?

A) I prefer the C-class clamp(Grizzly G8096 6" C-Clamp 4 pc. Set) for the legs and the Irwin Quick Grip(Quick-Grip 546 Mini Bar Clamp) for fingers and arms.  You might be able to get the Irwin Quick Grip to work for you for legs.  You can go to your local home improvement store to test out clamps in action.

Q) How often should I perform LSJL?  Does it matter what time of day I perform LSJL?

A) At most once per day.  You can perform it as infrequently as you wish but expect your results to be more infrequent as well.  You can perform LSJL any time of the day that you wish.  Taking two out of 7 non-consecutive days off may help with actin cytoskeleton sensitivity and make things more effective(there were two days off in the limb lengthening LSJL study).  Duration should start at 30 seconds and then increase as your comfort with LSJL increases.

Q) Are there any alternatives to LSJL?  Are there any routines that can be used in conjunction with LSJL?

A) LIPUS induces similar effects on the Actin Cytoskeleton as LSJL.  However, LIPUS seems to only drive fluid flow and not cause a compression of the epiphysis.  LIPUS is a way of making LSJL more effective.  Tapping the bone may have similar effects as LIPUS.  PEMF also induces changes in genetic expression and via a different mechanism than fluid flow.  Therefore, PEMF may have better synergy with LSJL than LIPUS.  You can do PEMF in conjunction with LSJL and LIPUS.  PEMF and LIPUS both make LSJL more likely to be effectively but the compression of the epiphysis seems an important part of inducing chondrogenic differentiation.

You can also perform tensile strain(think Sky's limbcenter although it is quite expensive) which will help you grow taller by gradually microfracturing the osteons until they heal in a longer state.

Q) What supplements are synergestic with LSJL?

Anti-Inflammatories(Anti-oxidants) are most important.
Growth Hormone/IGF-1 boosters
PI3K pathway stimulators
Nitric Oxide pathway stimulators
DNA Methylaters
Telomere lengtheners
TGF-Beta Stimulators
Myostatin Inhibitors

Here's a more detailed list.

Any or all of these methods may work for you.  None of them may work for you based on your sensitivity to the compounds(for example how many Growth Hormone receptors do you have?) and what the limiting factor is for your height growth(if you are growth hormone deficient than growth hormone will do wonders for you).  The more supplements you're taking(unless the supplement is already an anti-oxidant like Melatonin) the more anti-oxidants you'll need to counteract inflammatory effects.  Other supplements may work as well based on your hormone product levels for example if you have high or low estrogen levels, etc.

Q) Which is more important telomere length or DNA Methylation status?

A) Long Telomeres may help encourage a chondrogenic lineage.  So post puberty and to get LSJL to work supplementing with a telomerase increaser may be necessary.  DNA Methylation status of chondrocytes seems to act as a cell cycle counter and affects their proliferative capacity.  So during puberty or after LSJL is already effective then you'll want to look more into DNA Methylation.  Providing the body with more Methyltransferase and Telomerase will only work if you are deficient but it may work wonders if you are in fact deficient.

Q) Does LSJL work after puberty?

A) The chondrogenic and osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells can occur after the epiphysis and diaphysis fuse.  If you have a lot of growth plate chondrocytes already than LSJL will have a better effect because then LSJL will have more cells to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton of.

Q) Why do I have to load the epiphysis?

A) The goal of LSJL is to induce bone deformation to generate hydrostatic pressure to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton to allow for chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells.  The diaphysis of the bone is just too strong as it is filled with cortical bone.  The epiphysis just happens to be the part of the bone that's easiest to compress.  Compressing one section of the bone will increase hydrostatic pressure throughout the entire bone.  So, you can perform LSJL on non-epiphyseal areas such as the spinous process of the vertebrae as these areas are not filled with cortical bone and are thus easier to compress.

Q) What do I do if LSJL is not working for me?  What do I do if my gains for LSJL have slowed?

A) It's hard to pinpoint exactly why LSJL is not working for you.  Here is a checklist regarding why LSJL may not be working. If you gained from the past but your gains have slowed down it might be related to an adaptation to training or due to overtraining.  Here are some suggestions about how to get past an LSJL plateau.