How to Increase Bone Density With Exercise
Bone density is important if you are a slender, small and lightweight woman between the ages of 50 and older. This group of women are more likely to develop osteoporosis which is a disease where the osetoblasts in the bone have reduced to dangerously low levels.Women of all ages can benefit from weight-bearing exercises that can prevent osteoporosis. If you have already been diagnosed by your doctor as having osteoporosis, ask for detailed guidance on what is appropriate for you.Light resistance training (lifting weight), walking, hiking and even yard work can qualify as weight-bearing exercises if you follow basic guidelines. Get a medical clearance from your doctor if you have any serious health issues before starting a new exercise program.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Identify what weight-bearing exercises are. By definition, these exercises literally bear weight in your spine. Walking is the most obvious one: the weight of your body is adequately being placed on your boney structure. Running, jogging are also weight-bearing, but they are also high-impact on the joints and may not be appropriate for you if you already have osteoporosis. Opt for swimming or biking instead.
-
2
Start with a modest walking routine of 15 to 20 minutes daily. This is easily done by walking for 5 to 10 minutes after lunch or dinner. You can sneak this walking time in to do errands or simply take an extra lap around your office building before returning to work after lunch.
-
-
3
Join a gym. If you have never lifted free weights (resistance training) or used the other exercise machines, sign up with a certified personal trainer to show you how. Most health clubs offer a complimentary training session with a trainer with your membership. If your club does not, hire a trainer for 2 or 3 sessions.
-
4
Doing light resistance training is highly effective in building bone density. In studies with even sedentary adults in their 70s and 80s, lifting very light hand weights while sitting in a chair resulted in increased bone density. Learning how to properly lift weights is especially important if you have osteoporosis. Work with a trainer who has specific training in this area.
-
5
Use yard work as a way to do weight-bearing exercise. Lifting relatively light plastic bags filled with leaves or moving a compost load safely from one place to another are examples of weight-bearing. Do not shovel heavy snow, however. This requires someone with a healthy heart and not a sufferer of osteoporosis. Hire “muscle” for such tasks.
-
6
Track your progress. A simple notebook to record your daily exercise will give you important feedback. Record the activity, amount of time spent doing it and how you felt doing it, noting any physical discomfort or gains in strength or endurance. If you are maintaining a resistance training regimen, get a small notebook to record what exercises you are doing and the amount of weight you are lifting.
-
7
See your doctor as needed to get re-tested for bone density and for further guidance on exercise, especially if you already have osteoporosis. Don’t give up. This writer has a 68-year-old mother who weighs under 110-pounds and she was able to reverse her osteoporosis with a healthy diet, weight-bearing exercise and dietary supplementation as directed by her physician.
-
8
In people over the age of 50, 40 percent of women and six percent of men are at risk for a bone fracture from bone loss. Post-menopausal women suffer an increased bone density loss from a decrease in estrogen levels. By the age of 65 to 70, men and women lose bone density at the same rate.See your doctor for specific direction if you have any chronic diseases or if you have osteoporosis.
-
1
