You see it in every gym, every bootcamp class, every 10-minute home workout video on YouTube—the plank. There’s just something universally respected (and hated) about this simple, brutal hold. You drop to the floor, forearms down, legs back, and within seconds your core is screaming. And yet, people keep doing it. Religiously.

Now, here’s where things get a little more… curious. Somewhere along the way, especially among teens and twenty-somethings, a rumor started floating around: that doing planks can make you taller. You’ve probably seen it—those TikTok videos promising “grow 2 inches fast with this daily plank challenge,” or forums asking “does plank help height growth?” Honestly, I get it. We live in a culture (especially here in the U.S.) where being taller gets equated with confidence, success, even attractiveness. Of course people want to know if a five-minute core hold could be the magic fix.

But here’s the truth, straight up:

Planks won’t make you grow taller. But they can make you look taller—if you do them right.

Let’s break down why that distinction matters. Because once you understand what affects height—biologically, structurally, and visually—you’ll see why planks are worth doing… just not for the reasons you might think.

Understanding Human Height: What Actually Controls It?

Here’s the not-so-fun news first: after a certain point, your height is pretty much locked in. Your growth plates—the soft cartilage at the end of long bones—harden and fuse after puberty. For most people, that means somewhere around age 16–18 for girls, and 18–21 for guys. After that? The vertical window closes.

Growth plates (formally known as epiphyseal plates) are the key players here. They’re controlled by a cocktail of hormones, primarily HGH (human growth hormone) secreted by the pituitary gland. During adolescence, your body is riding a tidal wave of growth spurts thanks to HGH, testosterone (or estrogen), and bone development ramping up. That’s when exercise, nutrition, and sleep have real height-growing potential.

But after skeletal maturity hits? Exercise won’t elongate bones. What it can do is optimize your body’s alignment, posture, and spinal decompression. Which, in practice, can change how tall you seem.

What Is the Plank Exercise, Anyway?

Now let’s get practical. The plank is an isometric core hold—meaning you engage muscles without moving through a range of motion. No crunching, no twisting. Just hold still and brace like your life depends on it.

There are several variations:

• Standard plank (arms straight)
• Forearm plank (elbows down—my personal go-to)
• Side plank (obliques get hammered)
• Reverse plank (more posterior chain, glutes and shoulders)

What makes planks so valuable is how they train the core muscles—and I don’t just mean your abs. We’re talking rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, obliques, glutes, even deltoids—the whole trunk. That stability translates into better posture, stronger lifts, and fewer lower back problems (in theory… I’ll get to that).

And yeah, that’s why you’ll see planks programmed into everything from CrossFit WODs to Peloton strength sessions. They’re brutal. But efficient.

Can Planks Help You Appear Taller?

This is where things get interesting. While your bones aren’t stretching, your spine can straighten—and that matters. A lot.

If you’re slouched forward (hello, desk life), your spine compresses, your shoulders round, and you physically lose inches. Planks counter that. They teach your body to brace the midline, stabilize your thoracic and lumbar spine, and hold a neutral posture.

What I’ve seen in clients (and felt in myself) is that after just a few weeks of consistent planking, your body carries itself differently. You’re upright. Chest open. Head aligned. You literally stand taller—even though your skeletal height hasn’t budged.

Think of it like this: poor posture is like walking around with a deflated balloon spine. Planks inflate it back to full shape. You didn’t add inches—but you reclaimed the ones you were hiding.

The Myth of Growing Taller from Exercise (Especially After Puberty)

Let me be clear: no exercise will make you grow taller once your growth plates are closed. This isn’t a guess—it’s documented in every orthopedic textbook and echoed by sources like the NIH.

The problem is that the internet (and supplement companies) love muddying that water. You’ll see phrases like “naturally increase your height after 25” or “jump to stimulate bone growth”. They’re all versions of the same myth.

What actually happens is people mistake improved posture or temporary decompression for growth. Or they’re in their late teens, still in the tail-end of puberty, and credit a growth spurt to their new plank habit. Timing doesn’t mean causation.

Why Planks Still Matter (Even if Height Isn’t on the Table)

So if planks don’t “grow you,” why are they still worth your time?

Here’s what I’ve seen first-hand:

• They bulletproof your back. A lot of people I train who sit all day start to feel legit relief in their lumbar spine once they build core endurance.
• They boost body control. Holding proper form under fatigue teaches your nervous system how to organize your posture on autopilot.
• They train mental toughness. That moment your arms are shaking and you want to drop? That’s where the growth lives. Just not the vertical kind.

Plus, they require zero equipment. Zero space. And basically zero excuses.

Can Spinal Decompression Make You “Look” Taller?

Okay, now here’s the subtle piece that gets twisted online: spinal decompression. When you’re standing or sitting all day, your spine compresses from gravity. The intervertebral discs (those jelly cushions between vertebrae) lose some fluid. You actually shrink a bit by nighttime. That’s why you’re taller in the morning.

Planks don’t decompress like an inversion table or hanging from a bar—but they do create postural lift. They encourage spinal lengthening through muscular engagement, not just gravity relief.

Compare that to yoga or Pilates, where spinal flexion and extension help rehydrate the discs and restore space. I’ve found that layering planks with something like Child’s Pose or Cobra stretch actually makes a bigger difference than planks alone.

For Teens: Where Planks Do Support Growth

If you’re still in your teen years—or if you’re a parent reading this—planks absolutely play a role in healthy development.

Why?

• They build core stability to support safe strength training.
• They reduce injury risk in sports (especially in rotational sports like baseball or tennis).
• They encourage movement awareness and control, which is massive during growth spurts.
• And, paired with good sleep, nutrition (think: calcium, protein, calories), and overall activity—they support the conditions for growth, even if they’re not the growth trigger themselves.

For most teens, a 20–30 second plank done with great form beats a 3-minute saggy one. Quality over ego every time.

What Else Makes You Look Taller?

In my experience, the biggest “height hacks” that actually work (visually) include:

It’s not about stacking inches—it’s about how you carry the ones you’ve got.

The American Height Myths Nobody Talks About

I still remember those late-night TV ads in the early 2000s. “Grow 3–5 inches in 90 days!” with some weird vibrating platform or overpriced pills. Even back then, it felt sketchy.

And now? It’s moved online. You’ve got TikTokers pushing height-increasing insoles, stretching gadgets, or even surgery, which is real but… wild (and expensive, painful, months-long recovery).

There’s a whole fitness subculture here in the U.S. that preys on the height insecurity. And what frustrates me is that it distracts people from goals that actually matter—like strength, confidence, mobility, energy.

What the Experts Actually Say

When I interviewed a NASM-certified trainer a few years ago, she said, “The obsession with height misses the point. Most people can change their posture and muscle balance way faster than they realize—and that shift alone adds presence.”

Orthopedic specialists from Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic echo this: once growth plates are fused, height’s set. But posture, spinal health, and movement quality? That’s lifelong.

I’ve seen physical therapists build whole protocols around postural correction and core activation—and patients who walk in hunched leave walking an inch taller. Not because they grew—because they aligned.

Building a Smarter, Saner Fitness Plan

If you’ve been chasing “height growth” as a goal… I get it. It’s an emotional hook. But what I’ve found is that when people shift their focus—from fantasy inches to real functional strength—the results actually last.

So instead of “grow taller in 30 days,” your plan might look more like:

• Train your core 3–4x per week (planks, dead bugs, carries)
• Stretch and mobilize daily (especially hips, spine, hamstrings)
• Move intentionally—walk, lift, climb, rest
• Eat for energy, not magic
• And maybe… stop comparing your height to that guy in your Instagram feed (because he’s probably wearing lifts, anyway)

Final Thoughts: The Real Win of Core Strength

So no, the plank isn’t going to add inches to your bones. But if you do it consistently, with intent, and pair it with smart training? You’ll move like someone who owns every inch they’ve got.

And honestly? That has more impact than people think.

I’ve coached people who didn’t gain a millimeter of height, but friends started asking, “Did you get taller?” That’s posture. That’s presence. That’s the silent benefit of a strong core.

And for something as simple as a plank… that’s a pretty powerful return.