20/09/2023
This week marked week 2 of my new Pilates for bone health class. We were discussing how exercise and more specifically what type of exercise helps to increase bone density and promote good bone health.
You might think this isn’t relevant to you, as you’re not 50 plus, a women going through menopause and don’t knowingly have any bone health issues, but think again!
Ensuring you are doing the right amount and type of exercise and ‘banking’ bone in your younger years will positively influence your bone density as it inevitably begins to fall as you get older.
Here are a few tips to help you build strong bones through exercise, whatever stage of life you are in…
🔹 Exercising aerobically approximately 150 mins a week (which equates to 30 mins, 5 days a week) plus incorporating 2 strength training sessions, are the general exercise guidelines for adults.
🔹 Exercise should be ‘weight bearing’ (i.e in standing), as the weight of the whole body pulling down on your skeleton will promote those bone building cells (osteoblasts) to produce more bone.
🔹 Exercise which involves ‘impact’, adds an additional ‘force’ or ‘jolt’ (i.e low impact heel striking when brisk walking, moderate impact when dancing, skipping/hopping/jumping, or high impact when running) stimulates the osteoblasts to produce more bone.
🔹 Exercise which involves ‘resistance’ from your own body weight (i.e squats, lunges, press-ups), free weights, machine weights and resistance bands, and the resultant contraction of your muscles which tugs on the muscle tendons which in turn tugs on the bone, stimulates osteoblasts to produce more bone.
🔹 Try to involve exercise which focuses on posture and balance, as poor posture can impact your balance negatively and having good balance (especially if bones are more fragile) becomes vitally important to avoid being more susceptible to fractures caused by falls!
🔹 Look after your back and try to use good lifting and handling techniques when exercising and during normal activities of daily living!
It is important to note, that if you do have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis there are some very specific additional guidelines when exercising to keep you safe. If being instructed to exercise as a client with osteopenia/osteoporosis when attending a group class (like Pilates) or other group exercise sessions, always check what contraindications apply to you, as your instructor (if offering sessions to everyone), should be trained in the management of bone health!!
If you have any concerns regarding your bone health or perhaps would like to know if you are at higher risk of developing bone health issues, check out The Royal Osteoporosis Society’s ‘risk checker’.
Let’s get informed 💪🏻
If you’d like some help making the right exercise choices, do get in touch, I’d love to help 😊
