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Build better bones!

Osteoporosis is a condition that affects bone strength (the word osteoporosis literally means “porous bones”).  Bone is made of collagen fibers (tough, elastic fibers) and minerals (gritty, hard material).  It is a living tissue and contains cells that make, shape even and reabsorb (take back up) bone.  Initially, as you grow, bone formation exceeds bone reabsorption.  But, as you get older, this reverses and, after about the age of 30 for women and 45 for men, we start to lose a certain amount of bone material. Your bones become less dense and less strong.  

Osteoporosis alone does not produce any symptoms.  Most people with this condition are unaware that their bones are thinning until they experience a fracture.
One of the best ways to work toward preventing this disease is to weight train and to build of your bone density.  It’s never too late to start recreating or maintaining bone mass.

One of the best ways to mitigate this condition is exercise.  The pulling and tugging on the bones by your muscles during exercise helps to stimulate bone-making weight-bearing exercise throughout life is best, but it is never too late to start.  This means weight bearing exercise such as brisk walking, dancing, weight training, etc. For older people, a regular walk is a good start. However, the more vigorous the exercise, the better.

For most benefit you should exercise regularly aiming for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise or physical activity at least five times per week.  Muscle strengthening exercises are also important.  They help to give strength to the supporting muscles around bones.  This helps to increase tone, improve balance, etc, which may help to prevent you from falling.  Examples of muscle strengthening exercises include weight lifting but you do not necessarily have to lift weights in a gym. There are some simple exercises that you can do at home.

If you are new to exercise or have not been properly trained in weight lifting it’s important to hire a personal trainer or weight trainer to make sure that you are executing the exercises properly to ensure safe training without injury.  Training incorrectly can create a whole another series of problems in your structural health that can affect other areas of your life.

If you are looking for small group training in a private gym or one-on-one training call me, Erin Crawford, to arrange a time to sit down for a free consultation to discuss your goals.

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