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[space_doctor]

Hey folks

I am 21 y.o guy ~160 cm and have been working out since my early teens. I have built a decent physique with a good amount of muscle but want to get bigger/stronger in the gym since I enjoy working out. On doing a bit of preliminary reading online, it appears the more muscular you are the more difficult it is to lengthen due to the increased resistance resulting from the stretching of larger muscles. Is this true? If so, do you have any idea on how much more difficult LL becomes as a result?

I plan on eventually doing a split of 6cm + 4 cm (femur+tibia) quadrilateral lengthening to get up to at least 170cm. If I do end up doing LL it’ll only be possible for me  almost a decade later since I need to establish my career and save up for surgery. So I would basically like to know if it is a good idea to do hypertrophy based workouts in the meantime. Another thing to note is that I have really short arms (current  wingspan is 160cm) and am considering humeral lengthening as well (5cm on each arm)

Any advice/input is greatly appreciated

[guy_incognito]

Well, If I had to say anything, I would do it asap. I dont know where are you gonna get the money. Doing LL early minimizes lots of complications and lose ends.

[space_doctor]

I’m in med school rn so doing LL is not feasible currently. I am confident that I can save up whatever is needed for LL within a year or two of working as a doctor but that only comes much later. I do agree that doing LL early is ideal not only because of the reduced complications but also since the benefits of the added height is more impactful in your early twenties than when you’re thirty or forty.

[jerrytheman]

What's the point of doing LL so late. And if you're planning on doing it in 10 years, why are you even asking questions on this forum right now. A lot of the things to your answer right now wont apply in 10 years. Like 1 year, sure. But brother a decade? lmao

[space_doctor]

I do understand what you are trying to say. Nonetheless, I’d argue the answer to my question is unlikely to change even that far down the line since human anatomy/physiology will remain the same. 

I mean, do you guys know about the current recommendation regarding resistance training for someone who wants to do LL maybe in 12-24 months? Do they reduce their frequency of weight training or do they stop with it entirely and switch over to stretching/flexibility work alone?

Lastly, even if I wait till almost a decade later to do LL, I’ll only be 30 y.o. Plenty of guys do LL beyond that age and I’d argue there is a definite benefit then as well. (Also wondering whether there are other people on this forum whose timeline for LL might be >5 years down the line?)

[jerrytheman]

yes but what is the point of thinking about it now. You dont need 10 years to prep your muscle mass. And no, the dynamics of LL changes. Weight bearing nails will arrive on the market in a few months. Possibly even stronger ones in a few years. Prices changes drastically.
I'll take back what I said and agree 30 y/o isnt too old. I've also seen plenty of people into their 40s with no regrets on getting it. But 10 years is too long for you to worry about something.
Furthermore your questions are basic and have been answered plenty of times. Do some research on the search tab.

[space_doctor]

I think I might have not made myself clear. I know I don’t need 10 years to ‘prep’ my muscle mass. I was more so wondering about the potential downsides of being too muscular before doing LL. I intend to keep working out as I normally do but am concerned that I might eventually make the lengthening process harder than it needs to be if I gain too much muscle.

Mind you, I’m not specifically working out in order to prep for LL but want to know the potential impact on the difficultly of LL if I keep doing hypertrophy based workouts as I am doing currently.

That’s the reason I’m asking about it now; if my concern is legitimate and LL is made significantly more difficult if you’re very muscular, I’ll switch my normal workouts to something that isn’t focused so much on building mass.

[GrowGrow123]

I had a decent amount of leg muscle when I did LL surgery. Like enough to squat 350+ pounds for 4-5 reps comfortably. I did not stop weightlifting prior to the surgery.

My pain level was through the roof first two weeks post-surgery lol. The typical patient is able to use the walker (even if it’s just for a few steps) on day 1 or day 2 after the surgery. It took me over a week for the pain levels to subside enough for me to do that.

Things were fine after the first few weeks though.

[KiloKAHN]

Anecdotally, more muscle mass seems to make the lengthening process more painful.

[GrowTow]

I purposely lost 10kg/22lbs before my surgery and I didn't feel any pain at all.

Maybe I was lucky or maybe my plan actually worked.

[Maison]

While I was unable to locate specific research, I've heard that excessive development of the lower leg muscles can elevate the risk of compartment syndrome post-surgery.
However, it seems that the muscles in the thigh are not of much concern.

[Kaladin]

I had a decent amount of leg muscle when I did LL surgery. Like enough to squat 350+ pounds for 4-5 reps comfortably. I did not stop weightlifting prior to the surgery.

My pain level was through the roof first two weeks post-surgery lol. The typical patient is able to use the walker (even if it’s just for a few steps) on day 1 or day 2 after the surgery. It took me over a week for the pain levels to subside enough for me to do that.

Things were fine after the first few weeks though.

are you back to squatting now after the surgery? are you able to train legs?

[GrowGrow123]

are you back to squatting now after the surgery? are you able to train legs?

No, I'm only 4 months and 1 week post-surgery. Just started full-weight-bearing walking last week.