Little Brother Outgrew Me

[jsmith2300]

Thought I'd share a personal experience I had since the Thanksgiving holiday that's still unfolding for me. I wrote this for another board, but I'm curious to see if anyone here has had the same experience. Every day that I look back on it, I'm a little more shocked than I was the day before. But, as a friend told me, I'm just eventually going to have to accept it and get used to the fact that my little brother has outgrown me. If after reading this story, you've experienced something similar -- please e-mail me at [email protected]. I'd love to talk!

--JSmith
________________

I've recently been using inversion to help me grow a bit taller. If you aren't familiar, it's essentially using gravity stretch your body. I use a table I purchased online and have incorporated some ankle weights. It's helped me "grow" from 5'11.75" to 6'0.5", a gain of nearly an inch. It's been a lifelong dream to make it past that coveted "six-foot" mark, and with inversion I was able to do so. I'm 25 now, so I was on cloud nine to say the least. That is until I found out that I wasn't the only kid in my family to reach that mark. This is the story of how I found out (very recently) that my younger brother had outgrown me.

When I came home over Thanksgiving, I expected to tower slightly over my younger brother. He's 22 now and for years, he's been shorter than me at 5'11". When he was younger, he was always one of the shorter kids in class. To be honest, neither myself nor his doctors expected him to get taller than 5'9" given his height charts as a kid. I felt pretty comfortable knowing I'd be taller than him forever. I mean, who gets major growth spurts at 22? So, when I arrived home for Thanksgiving, I saw my brother but I wasn't all that much taller. In fact, it seems like he was the same height from me as before, roughly an inch or so. While that seemed a bit odd, I put it out of my mind until I heard him talking about a recent physical he had.

My brother is in medical school now, so as part of their training, they routinely undergo physicals and medical tests performed by professionals and their fellow medical students as a method to learn the processes that they will later perform. Over Thanksgiving dinner, he was telling us all about the physical he recently had about two months earlier. When the doctor measured him, he found that he was 5'11.5" now instead of the 5'11" tall he'd been since high school. I mentioned in reply that it's not too unusual for guys to grow a bit during college, but he reminded me that in January he'd had a checkup and had been measured at his standard 5'11". (In actuality, he'd been measured a bit below 5'11" and called me to freak out about it. I coaxed him by suggesting that the doctor had
made a mistake) So, he'd grown half an inch since January. Interesting.

Knowing that he'd closed the gap a bit, I often tried to stand next to him in order to gauge his height. I could definitely tell he was well over 5'11" now and was actually starting to look pretty tall. I noticed that he was wearing size 12 shows now instead of the size 11s he'd worn since high school. Another interesting note I felt. My brother didn't seem to notice - or at least he didn't let on - that I had grown a bit. As far as he was concerned, I'd always been an inch or so taller and that's how I appeared still. Years ago, he'd point out how I made it to become a six-footer (not knowing the truth that I had been 0.25" shy) and how he wish he'd get tall like me. All of my brother's friends were tall too. I've shared stories here about them in the past. I'd say the average of his friends are easily 6'2", with many well above that mark. We didn't compare heights over Thanksgiving, and to be honest, I'd say most people at dinner and afterwards at the house were pretty unphased by my brother's story. For me, however, it all changed with a little phone call in early December that started a cold sweat for me.

I was talking with one of my friends online and commented that I thought my little brother had grown a bit. Knowing my interest in heights, he suggested that maybe my brother hadn't just grown but was STILL growing. I laughed it off for a bit, but then it got me thinking: what if I'm in the middle of my own outgrown story? How twisted would that be? The idea was enough for me to call him and ask him to measure his height again for me, as a favor. Curious himself at what his height may be, he agreed and enlisted his roommate in the measurement.

When my brother came back on the phone to tell me about what he measured at, my mouth went dry: 6'0.25", he told me with glee in his voice. He had his roommate measure him, he said, so he knew that it was probably very close to what his actual height was. Holy CRAP. This meant that my little brother - who had been one of the shortest kids in his class - had topped six foot. Even more alarming, was that he was only 0.25" away from me! I was broken out of my introspective thoughts when my brother asked how tall I was. Knowing I was on a short rope now, I replied that I was 6'0.5". By the time the words escaped my mouth, I could hear my brother laughing on the other end of the phone line. "No way, I'm almost your height? Wow. That's so crazy. I never thought I'd be able to catch up to you. Guess I won't have to call you big bro for long, huh?"

I hadn't given much thought to my brother growing, let alone catching me in height, but now it seemed like an unfortunate reality. I could only pray that perhaps he'd stop growing. His interest in height, however, began to take a disturbing focus in his life in the week or so after Thanksgiving. Yet again, it was his medical school education that was feeding this interest. The class brought in a pedatric doctor who specialized in height research. My brother cornered him after the class and mentioned his recent spurt. The doctor, curious, asked if my brother would allow him to run an x-ray to see if he'd potentially be growing for some time to come. My brother, who called me after the x-ray to share his news, readily
agreed. The x-ray revealed my worst fears: my brother was going to grow for some time to come! The doctor said it was unusual for a guy of my brother's age to be growing, but he commented that it was like a "second puberty" for my brother, who had health problems as a child and through his teens. Now that he was healthier, the doctor surmised, he was ungoing the growth that he should have had early. Delayed puberty, essentially. Damn lucky for him. Absolutely terrifying for me.

Every week after the class, my brother would call me with a "height" update. He had his roommate - who is around 5'9" - measure him to see if he'd grown. Every time, the measurement confirmed he had. He was literally inching closer and closer to my height. In the first week, he measured 6'0.3". The second 6'0.4". The third, 6'0.5" he said. A tenth of an inch a week. That's a good growth spurt for anyone. For a 22 year old, it's unheard of. Plus, It sounded like he was holding back, though, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. Until, that is, I saw him several days ago when I arrived him for Christmas. This wasn't a holiday surprise I was wholly prepared for. He had definitely been holding back!

When I opened the door and kicked off my shoes, my brother was standing there. Looking DOWN into my eyes. No longer was he shorter. No longer were we the same height, as I had heard from his last update. He was taller -- obviously taller than me. Upon confirming what he suspected, he let out a huge laugh and said, "Little brother, this is the best day of my life." I knew that no matter what I did - barring some additional growth from inversion - I may never catch up, especially if he continued to grow at that pace. I went to sit down in the kitchen, but my brother kept me standing. He was enjoying too much the spectacle of looking down on me. He goaded our mother to measure our heights. I measured in at around 6'0.5". My brother measured in at a comfortable 6'1". He was taller by a half inch now and still growing!!

Pretty soon, he'll be needing new clothes to fit his longer body. It's strange quick of mine, but people who are taller - even as marginal as a half inch - seem gigantic to me. My brother on that occasion was no exception. His eyes ever-so-slightly above mine looked down but in my frame of vision, all I could see was his
bigger body. It was official: no longer was I the "big" brother. That title now belongs to my former "little" brother who continues his great growth spurt taller and taller and taller. For the first time in his life, my relatives all called HIM "tall" instead of me. A very painful Christmas indeed.

This afternoon he confided in me that the doctor who made his x-ray told him that he had some definite growth left. He predicted my brother could grow to 6'3" or 6'4"! Knowing my brother's luck, he will get the upper end of that range and be staring down at me from a very very comfortable margin.

I'm still trying to process the whole affair, but I'm pretty confident I'll have updates for many months to come!

[rextorres]

Gosh, your "little" brother's name wouldn't happen to be "Davey" or "Nick", would it? LOL!

I don't have any brothers at all, just one sister, who is 7 years younger than me, and she still is shorter than me by an inch or 2.

Honestly, I'd kill to have a "big little bro" or any bro for that matter, as long as we'd get along, no matter how big he'd be. It sounds like your bro is pretty cool about being taller than you. He's your bro and he looks after you because he loves you, and that's all that matters!

Again, I don't have a brother at all, so I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat, even if your little bro were 7 feet tall. Just for fun, start calling him "big bro". He'll love it... I wish I could say that!

[Notbigenuff]

My "little" brother outgrew me, heightwise, when he and I were still in high school. He's two years younger and the growth occured when one would normally expect puberty so though I was a little disappointed that I was no longer taller he did only beat me by about a half inch (my 5'10.5 - though I claim 5'11" in the morning - to his 5'11" even). However, I've consoled myself with the fact that I beat him in terms of muscle and, though not gigantic by any stretch, I do beat him by more than an inch in the one area that really counts...

If he had started growing again in college I think I would have gone crazy wtih jealousy as I always wanted to be 6'2" - but it didn't happen so in that sense I was lucky.

I do have a friend though who claims to have grown about two inches in college (I didn't know him then) so your brother's growth though at the extreme upper range isn't unheard of (as you know).

Do your best to enjoy his experience - you can't change it so you might as well try to imagine what it would be like and live your fantasy through him.

I'll be curious to hear how tall he gets, and of course, if you could somehow find out about his other measurements during this growth spurt I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be interested in that too!

Hang in there!

[Jonah]

I know a guy who is 6'7" and he is 35. He was 6'2" when he was 19 and didn't stop growing until his mid to late 20's.

You better watch out, your brother might be one of those special cases!

[MAZIVKAROLY]

Wonderful tale of woe, personally, but also inspiring for all who have lil bros.

[collegebud]

the real question is, where do i sign up for a second puberty; i'm 22, too.

or at the very least.. what's the deal with inversion.


you have a very lucky little brother.

[Mdlftr]

JSmith,

Interesting story you have here, but not all that uncommon.

I'm the youngest of four (2 boys, 2 girls) and I'm 6'3.25" to my brother's 5'11 3/4". I grew at least 1.25 inches in my freshman and sophmore years of college, so extended growth isn't that unusual.

My brother was always the bigger, stronger one (he's 6 years older) so he never had any hang ups about our respective heights, particularly. I was always "the skinny" one, but "the girls always liked your brother," so it more than evened out.

You and your brother each have your respective strengths and weaknesses, so I would focus on what you have and not obsess over height. You should focus on your respective accomplishments. For instance, if you continued working out like a fiend and ended up weighing, say, 250# with 19" arms and a 52" chest a less than 8% bodyfat, that would an accomplishment that few men, including your brother, could claim. [If you want to get started, chances are, while he's in medical school, he won't have any time to do anything other than study!]

I personally worked out since high school and have gained over 70# of muscle, so I'm not complaining!

Happy Holidays!

Mdlftr

[Maverick0095875]

i have a nice lil twist im an only child but when i was 17 i injured my knees playing soccer and had to go to a sport medicine docter for x-rays. After the x-rays the doctor showed me my growth plate which was prominate white and according to him double the size it should be. i asked him why he brought those two issues up and he said for sumone my age (17 @ the time) to have a growth plate that white meant that my growth wouldnt slow down and the fact that it was double the normal size wasnt helpfull either. i was 5' 9 at the time and when i graduated i was 5'11. well its it been 2 yrs since graduation (im 20 now) and im 6'4. now my parents are not tall at all my mom is 5'7 and my dad is 5'9. so thats my lil twist the docs say ill prob stop around 6'6 or 6'8 which will be sweet but its sucks cause as of last week i had to special order my vans cause they only send one pair of 13's to the stores per box and apparently i wear a 14 now

[viamanmax]

I wish I suffered of the inconvenience of having to special order my shoes.

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

JSmith,

...I personally worked out since high school and have gained over 70# of muscle, so I'm not complaining...

Mdlftr

So Mdlftr, does that mean you are now the bigger brother as well as the taller brother? Or does your older brother workout too? You give some good advice though - we should all focus on what we like about ourselves as opposed to what we wish we had that others have. There will always be someone bigger, taller, faster, stronger, younger, etc. and we seem to do alright around them for the most part. It just gets a little harder for a while when we happen to be related to the person!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all get that late growth spurt you're wishing for now that this thread has started.

[jerseyflex]

two stories....

i grew up going to the same church for years. we always sat in roughly the same spot at the same service for years. a family in front of us had two sons that i literally watched GROW up. (emphasis on "up" ...and up...and up!!!)

by the time they were seniors in highschool they were about 6'1" or so. then they go off to college and i move out of state. two years later i was home for a summer visit and went to that service. as if it was not enough that they had grown to at least 6'6" maybe even 6'-7 or 8" they were built. and they knew it. had that cocky air about them. but wait, best part....

i was a row behind them and a lady in the row in front of them was also a long time "regular". these studs were dressed in tight polo shirts with elastic short sleeves with lean rock hard guns screaming out of them. she turns to shake hands ("sign of peace"....catholic mass) and here eyes nearly pop out of her head. "Oh my - LOOK at you two"

understatement of the century.

story 2 - Im in college. I was an athlete so I lived in a jock dorm. the unit across the hall was all ridiculously tall hoops players. the one guy had his "little" brother come to campus for a recruiting visit. 17 years old and Im not b.s.-ing: a towering 7' 1" and he loved getting in his not-so-big brother's face (he was a mere 6' 4") - it was so effin hot watching little bro press up against his little big brother and bully / initmidate him with comments like "whats that down there - I couldnt hear you"

[musclegod300]

My Friend Andrew is 6"4 and his Little bro grew taller by a Good 3 or 4 inches, over the summer one year. But The most amazing was my Friend Skyular. Last time I checked Him and his Little Bro were the same height. But Skyular looked like a fucking twig next to his little bro Drew. Drew was ripped with muscle, packing on an 8 pack, and huge pecs. The most impressive was his arms though, that exploded with size every time he flexed them. I Always felt bad when we were all in the same weight lifting class as his little brother was lifting almost twice as much as he could. But at the same time, It was insanely hot!!

[Notbigenuff]

Even though it hasn't been quite a month, I'm curious - has your little brother grown more since Christmas, jsmith2300?

[jsmith2300]

Originally Posted by Notbigenuff

Even though it hasn't been quite a month, I'm curious - has your little brother grown more since Christmas, jsmith2300?

Ha ha. Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm pretty curious myself. I haven't seen my brother since I returned back to my place and he went back to school. I think - now that it's been a month - I could give him a call and see if he will measure for me. His roommate has done it for him in the past, so I'm sure he'd be willing to oblige me.

I'll give him a call this weekend and report back. ..... though I'm almost nervous to do so!

--JSmith

[giantw]

Sorry you're brother is outgrowing you...but it's pretty damn exciting too. Imagine how amazed your brother's roomate feels. He is much shorter than your brother!

[mike100]

i just found this thread its like somebody wrote it about me xcept i outgrew my big bro. Tell you man its fkin SWEET. And I want to keep growing.

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by mike100

i just found this thread its like somebody wrote it about me xcept i outgrew my big bro. Tell you man its fkin SWEET. And I want to keep growing.

Don't keep us in suspense Mike - tell us how and when you outgrew your big bro and by how much!

I for one will be anxiously awaiting your reply...

[mike100]

Ok well its just cool bcause i could never catch up to him all the time we were growing up. He was always taller than me by 3 inches or then I caught up a little, so like 2 inches. Plus, we all lift but I couldn't build buik, maybe my metabolism is too high but it always burned off. And he liked being the older bro AND bigger bro and it fucking pissed me off all the time. Beginning of the summer I finally hooked up with a new trainer a bud of mine introduced me to and man I finally got gains and was buiking up (I'm still skinny compared to alot of you huge dudes but I'm at least not like a swimmer size anymore) I was feeling a lot of growing pains which is wierd because I havent had those since I was in jr high but I started measuring and I was getting taller not just bulk. I didnt say anything in case I was measuring wrong or something but then I had to get new jeans because mine were like too short. Then I knew. And around a month ago I was definitely taller than him, by like an inch now. Its so fucking cool. Waited a long fucking time man.

[MAZIVKAROLY]

Isn't it f****ng fantastic to grow like that!

I know you'll think I'm just fantasizing and dreaming, but at 62, I'm still adding mass and poundage as well as definition. Recent lifts include 1070 leg presses on reclining hacksquat machine of 3-4 reps, after previous sets beginning in the 400's, movin' on through the 500's, 600's, 700's and 800's, with about 15-20 reps for each of those sets. I have also done overhead triceps press on a machine of 250 for 2-3 reps, after prior sets, starting at 180, then 210 and 225 for about 5-6 reps each set. What a rush! I'm lovin' the pump and all the admiring glances I am getting from guys 1/2 or 1/3 my age, as well as the femme fatales training in my local Gold's.

Grrr-------------reat growlin' growth!

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by MAZIVKAROLY

Isn't it f****ng fantastic to grow like that!

I know you'll think I'm just fantasizing and dreaming, but at 62, I'm still adding mass and poundage as well as definition. Recent lifts include 1070 leg presses on reclining hacksquat machine of 3-4 reps, after previous sets beginning in the 400's, movin' on through the 500's, 600's, 700's and 800's, with about 15-20 reps for each of those sets. I have also done overhead triceps press on a machine of 250 for 2-3 reps, after prior sets, starting at 180, then 210 and 225 for about 5-6 reps each set. What a rush! I'm lovin' the pump and all the admiring glances I am getting from guys 1/2 or 1/3 my age, as well as the femme fatales training in my local Gold's.

Grrr-------------reat growlin' growth!

I know that you're not fantasizing or dreaming - I'm also gaining and growing in my late forties. You're never too old to build muscle. I don't know about you, but I'm having some trouble with getting taller though...

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by mike100

Ok well its just cool bcause i could never catch up to him all the time we were growing up. He was always taller than me by 3 inches or then I caught up a little, so like 2 inches. Plus, we all lift but I couldn't build buik, maybe my metabolism is too high but it always burned off. And he liked being the older bro AND bigger bro and it fucking pissed me off all the time. Beginning of the summer I finally hooked up with a new trainer a bud of mine introduced me to and man I finally got gains and was buiking up (I'm still skinny compared to alot of you huge dudes but I'm at least not like a swimmer size anymore) I was feeling a lot of growing pains which is wierd because I havent had those since I was in jr high but I started measuring and I was getting taller not just bulk. I didnt say anything in case I was measuring wrong or something but then I had to get new jeans because mine were like too short. Then I knew. And around a month ago I was definitely taller than him, by like an inch now. Its so fucking cool. Waited a long fucking time man.

That's great for you bud, though as an older brother myself who watched his little brother get taller (only by a half-inch - I tell him it's all in his neck) I do empathize with your brother. Here's hoping this is jus the start of many "big" things for you (tall things, too!).

[psu3doreal]

My brother outgrew me WAAAAY back when we were in elementary school; so, he's basically always been an inch or two taller than me. It made my teenage years a bit painful since I was the older brother, but people always thought he was. :/ It didn't help that I was overall pretty short (still am; hoping for one of those miraculous spurts, but at 24, doesn't seem like it's going to happen. :P). The worst was when I got back from a summer abroad one year and he'd shot up 3 or 4 inches... He just smiled when my mother (redundantly) mentioned it in passing, and I just wanted to punch his face in... Yeah, I have a few unresolved issues. :P

I always figured, though, that it wasn't not TOO big a deal, because however much taller got, I was still able to take him rather easily since I did a season of wrestling. >

[Notbigenuff]

So jsmith - talk to your brother this month yet?

[jsmith2300]

All,

Thanks for all the stories and the words of support. It's always good to hear that I'm not the only one who's been outgrown. I've been contacted by a few people though the forum with whom we've been able to share stories about being outgrown. It's really helped through the whole affair, so - again - I thank you!

As for an update, I do have one: as of this week, my brother now measures at 6'2" flat. Which means he's grown an inch in the last month, reaching my dream height while I remain just over 6'. So he's got a comfortable margin (more so than even during the holidays) with which to look down at me from. Grr.

I haven't seen him, and given that I'm moving cross country, I won't see him until potentially April or May at the earliest. My fear is by that point, he may well be a towering 6'3" or 6'4". I pale at the thought, but - as many of you pointed out - there's little I can do except listen and enjoy the "little brother" story so close to home. At least he's kind and hasn't been teasing me too much about my size.

I'll continue to post, probbaly once a month with updates. Anyone else have any stories to share?

--JSmith

[Notbigenuff]

Thanks for the update jsmith - an inch in one month. Sounds like your former "little" brother is actually growing faster now! At this rate he may end up exceeding the doctor's prediction. I'm glad you've come to terms with his growth as he might get to 6'5" or 6'6" if this keeps up. Plus, who knows what else is growing, too.

Sorry that you are on the wrong side of this real life story - but try to be happy for him! And who knows, maybe you're recent height increase wasn't because of the inversion exercise...

[giantw]

Your "little" bro is really taking off, man. I'm afraid you won't be able to catch up to him at this point. You're always going to find yourself looking UP at him. Oh well, he sounds pretty cool though. I would just get used to the idea of being smaller than him. Maybe even encourage him on...I am sure he would love to hear encouragement from you.

Take care.

[rextorres]

I totally agree with giantw. I wish I had a "big" little brother...

[jsmith2300]

Haha. Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy. I don't think there's any way I'm going to catch him. A part of me (the main part of me) is so jealous that he's managed to trigger this growth spurt that's propelling him to these towering heights. The other part of me is impressed and thrilled that someone in my family managed to end up tall. He's my brother, and I love him dearly so I'm very conflicted to be honest.

--JSmith

[Notbigenuff]

Originally Posted by jsmith2300

Haha. Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy. I don't think there's any way I'm going to catch him. A part of me (the main part of me) is so jealous that he's managed to trigger this growth spurt that's propelling him to these towering heights. The other part of me is impressed and thrilled that someone in my family managed to end up tall. He's my brother, and I love him dearly so I'm very conflicted to be honest.

--JSmith

It might help to remind yourself that he didn't actually do anything intentional to trigger this spurt. Except in the stories we all love so much, growth spurts and final height are pretty much involuntary. Granted that good nutrition, genes, and exercise certainly set the stage to make each of us as tall as possible - but it's still pretty much luck of the draw.

I certainly empathize with your situation - I experienced it to a much lesser degree recently when my 18 year old nephew recently reached a height of 6'2" (though it didn't bother me as much as my 6'1" brother-in-law - his father ).

[mike100]

Originally Posted by Notbigenuff

It might help to remind yourself that he didn't actually do anything intentional to trigger this spurt.

Yea u don't know if he did, or if he didn't. I know I did.

[Notbigenuff]

I know it hasn't been quite a month since the last update, but I thought I'd "bump" this thread up as a little reminder...

[photoguy]

any news?!

[Notbigenuff]

So, any news on your former "little" brother...

[mike100]

Got bigger than my big brother (way bigger) and man it is so fucking grreat. It's total payback.

[mlbjock]

So how much bigger are you now, man?

Originally Posted by mike100

Got bigger than my big brother (way bigger) and man it is so fucking grreat. It's total payback.

[hoosierlifter]

My older brother is 3 years my senior and he's 5'6".. I'm 6'2" 235#. We've always gotten along though, never had any fights with him over anything. My sister is another story, she and I used to fight like cats and dogs. Used to.

[rextorres]

Wow! You're a real-life "big little bro!" How does it feel when you're standing before your bro and talking to him, and looking down on him? Isn't it weird? You're eight inches taller than him! How does he handle it? Does he call you "big bro"? I wish I had a brother, because I only have a little sister and boy, we always fought like cat and dog! Well, good for you! Do you ever have to reach over and grab something that is out of reach for your "little brother"?

[hoosierlifter]

Nah, I don't reach over him for things. His apt is so small he can almost touch the ceiling. lol. It's not weird for me, but it might be for him when it comes to talking to me standing. He's really let himself go over the years too. He weighs probably as much as me now and he doesn't workout. When we were kids, he was thick and strong as a bull. He got that from out grandpa, he was around 5'8" and had a muscular build. My mom says she only remembers seeing him once without a shirt and he had a 6 pack. I wish I had that gene, I have abs but you can't see them. lol.

[Notbigenuff]

Just thought I'd bump this thread back to the top in hopes of an update!

[F_R_Eaky]

deleted as it was an accidental reposting of above.