Exercises for Bone Health

Bone health is important for every age group. Both diet and exercise play vital roles in keeping your bones healthy. Both help to increase your bone mineral density (BMD) and maintain this density as you age.

Both men and women who exercise achieve a higher peak BMD than those who don’t. For most people, maximum BMD is reached in the late 20s or early 30s. After this point, BMD naturally decreases as you grow older. This is why your risk of bone fractures increases with age, and it’s why most fractures occur in the elderly population.

Any form of exercise can be helpful to increase and maintain your bone health. It can strengthen the joints and help maintain great BMD even as you grow older. This can reduce the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis, which are bone conditions that cause reduced BMD and an increased risk of fractures.

However, some are better than others. Weight-bearing exercises are key to increasing your BMD and supporting your bone health.

Weight-bearing exercises are key to increasing your BMD and supporting your bone health.  These are exercises that require you to work against gravity and put stress on your bones.  Some great weight-bearing forms of movement include:

• Running or jogging
• Walking
• Jump rope
• Sports
• Dancing
• Hiking
• Gardening

If you are brand-new to exercise, you may need to start slowly with just a few short sessions each week. When you are comfortable, you can increase your exercise frequency and intensity.  Always speak to your doctor before beginning high-intensity exercise.

Resistance training is also a great way to improve your BMD. Lifting weights can strengthen the muscles that surround your bones and support your joints. In turn, your bones will also get stronger.

Lifting weights also improves your balance and coordination, which reduces your risk of falling and breaking a bone. Add strength training into your exercise regime three times a week, and make sure you train both your upper and lower body muscles.