To stimulate bone to maintain and grow bone strength, bones need stress. This is where resistance training (or strength training) and weight bearing exercise, is beneficial to provide the pressure, impact and resistance that your skeleton needs to remodel and strengthen bones.
Let’s look at astronauts!
When on earth, we are constantly loading our bones as we stand, walk, run, and lift objects. We know from studying astronauts that they lose bone density more rapidly when up in space for prolonged periods, due to reduced weight-bearing activities.
They are walking less, weight bearing less, and as result, they are not providing the load and stress to the bones enough to maintain their strength. NASA have created programs for their astronauts to reduce their risk of declining bone density, which includes daily resistance training and treadmill running.
For those of us on Earth
While we have the advantage of gravity here on earth, our general day to day activity is still not enough to load the bones enough to maintain and improve strength and to prevent osteoporosis.
We need specific exercise to help with our bone health and we should be thinking of doing this from a young age. We reach our peak bone mineral density in our early 20s, and from here we see decline in bone density over the years.
The earlier we act, the better! However, it is never too late or too early to start exercise programs to improve bone health. Whether you’re in your 20s or your 70s, you can make a positive diference with exercise (and nutrition, so book in to see your dietitian!).
What makes the biggest difference
We’ve outlined below what exercises make the most impact to bone strength, to help avoid osteoporosis and ensure you’re living your best life, from 20 through to 70!
1. Strength training:
Lifting weights is one of the most effective ways to tell bones to grow. When muscles contract against resistance, they pull on the bone. This mechanical stress triggers bone building cells. The result is stronger, denser bones over time.
Current research shows that we need to be lifting heavier weights for 5-8 repetitions, as opposed to lighter weights for 10-12 repetitions. It’s the heavier load that creates greater strain on bone, which stimulates “osteogenesis” or bone formation. It’s not the repetition number that’s the most important factor, but the load and force.
2. High-impact, weight-bearing exercise:
Our bones like weight-bearing and high-impact load. When we engage in exercises such as jumping, stomping, heel drops, landing, hopping, skipping and running, we see a rapid increase in ground reaction force and a healthy strain on the bone, which helps with bone formation and strengthening.
Walking is a really great form of exercise, but on the topic of bone density, higher-impact exercises are more impactful on our bones. Walking up and down hills and stairs is more beneficial for your bones, compared to walking on flat ground, but generally we want to see more impact.
Of course, we also need to be aware of injuries, mobility and pelvic floor. If you experience incontinence, high-impact exercise like jumping will not be appropriate. In these cases, we’ll need to develop a tailored exercise program to suit you.
Same goes for aches and pains. If you have sore knees, we can modify your exercise. You don’t need to experience pain and discomfort to achieve your goals.
3. Progressive overload:
Your bones will not adapt if your program stays the same. To create change, your body needs new challenges. Over time, this means gradually increasing weight, reps, speed or intensity. Progression is the key to real long term bone improvements.
4. Balance and functional strength:
Falls are one of the biggest risk factors for fractures. Improving balance, coordination and stability keeps you confident. Pairing strength with balance is a powerful way to reduce fracture risk and stay independent as you age.
The Bone Lab at Conveniently Active
This is where The Bone Lab at Conveniently Active makes all the difference. The Bone Lab has been designed specifically for people who want to protect or rebuild their bone strength.
Our Accredited Exercise Physiologists assess your current bone health, movement patterns and risk factors. From there, they create a personalised, evidence-based program, which includes the loading your bones respond to.
The Bone Lab focuses on safe progression, functional strength and the right amount of impact so you get real results without fear. For people already living with osteopenia or osteoporosis, this structured and safe approach is essential.
For those who want to prevent age related bone loss, starting now gives you the best chance of long-term independence and mobility.
The Bone Lab can help you build that plan and keep your bones strong for the years ahead. Click here to find out more about The Bone Lab.