50+ Lifestyles

Bolster Your Bone Health

One of the ways we can increase the strength of our bones and bone mineral density is through the use of resistance training.

By Logan Anderson, BA, CPT, CIFT
Owner of All Strong Fitness LLC

One of the many things that older adults have the “pleasure “of dealing with, is bone health. As one ages, the chances of osteoporosis developing increases quite a bit. Osteoporosis is the progressive increase of porosity in your bones. Because of this, if one falls and lands on a part of the body not padded by muscle or body fat, the chances of fracturing bones increases greatly. Now this isn’t all doom and gloom for you. There is actually a small behavior change that you can do in your life to increase your bone strength, and reduce the chances of osteoporosis developing. Let’s discuss what that is.

One of the things that people don’t realize about bones, is that it is a live tissue. Similarly to a muscle, your bone can adapt and get stronger, or also regress and get weaker. This happens by an improvement in bone mineral density which helps to keep your bones strong. One of the ways we can increase the strength of our bones and bone mineral density is through the use of resistance training. Now this isn’t just doing dumbbells or free weights at the gym. This can be resistance bands, machines, or even body weight training. The point is, that placing excess stress on your body in any way, through the use of external resistance, increases not only the stress on your muscles, but the bones as well. By continually challenging your bones, and placing the stress on them, you are giving the osteoblasts, or bone building cells a reason to wake up and stimulate bone growth.

As mentioned, there are numerous different ways to place external resistance, and stress on the bones. I will say, if you are somebody who has already developed osteoporosis, it would be best to talk to your physical therapist, or doctor about certain weight restrictions when lifting. Although resistance training can help reduce the progression of bone disease, you do want to be lifting at a level that isn’t too much for you. With that said, you shouldn’t necessarily be scared about lifting either. The dangers of lifting with osteoporosis are much less than the risks of not strengthening your bones, and becoming much weaker.

At the end of the day, even resistance training two times a week of full body exercises will greatly reduce the chances of developing osteoporosis. Next time you go to the gym, try it out! Your muscles and body will become stronger, in addition to your bones (even though you can’t see them.)

Logan Anderson is the owner of All Strong Fitness LLC. For more information, please visit allstrongfitness.org.