Daily activity helps build bone mass
November is Osteoporosis Month and studies show that regular load-bearing activities or weight-bearing exercise can significantly lower the risk of this crippling disease. Most physical exercise is beneficial for the body – including housework and gardening, but here’s the reason why targeted, weight-bearing
activities work so well to strengthen our skeletal mass. When muscle pulls on bone, it builds bone, so if you build your muscles you also build denser, stronger bones. The more bone mass you build before age 25 or 30, the better off you will be later, during the years of gradual density loss. Continued regular exercise throughout life will keep help them that way.
The best exercises for building bones include weight lifting, jogging, hiking, stair climbing, step aerobics, dancing, racquet sports, and other activities that require your muscles to work against gravity. Swimming and walking, although good for cardiovascular fitness, are not the best exercises for building bone.
Thirty minutes of weight-bearing exercise daily benefits not only your bones, but improves heart health, muscle strength, coordination, and balance. Those 30 minutes don’t need to be done all at once. It’s just as good for you to do 10 minutes at a time.
Here are some exercise tips from HealthyOntario.com:
. Before you start an exercise program, check with your health care provider, especially if you have osteoporosis.
. Warm up before an activity and cool down at the end of it.
. Combine several different weight-bearing exercises for maximum benefit.
. As you build strength, increase resistance, or weights. Increased resistance is more important than increased repetitions.
. Drink plenty of water when exercising.
. Combine weight-bearing and resistance exercise with aerobic exercises to help improve your overall health.
. Add more physical activity to your day, indoors or out. Consider clearing away household clutter at this time of year, just before the holidays.
. Instead of sitting on the couch at night, put a mat in front of TV and do stretches or toning exercises from the beginning of your favourite program, to the end.
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