Exercises to prevent osteoporosis follow right after a discussion on the value of exercise for osteoporosis prevention.
To be clear, osteoporosis exercises are really strewn all over Healthy Exercise World so we feature links, below, to our pages on exercises which are quite good for preventing osteoporosis.
When working out to prevent osteoporosis, the following information must be understood.
* The key to preventing osteoporosis is to be active, at whatever age. Active people have greater bone mass than inactive people regardless of age.
As, both groups age, the difference in bone mass between the two groups widens.
* And much as I love aerobic exercises, fact is, that they are not ideal for building bone mass which prevents osteoporosis. Exercises to prevent osteoporosis must aim at building bone mass or maintaining bone thru weight bearing movements.
* You can use your own bodyweight or other resistance equipment to place weight & stress on bones. For example, doing pushups is a weight bearing movement which helps build bones in upper chest and front shoulders. Using a barbell to bench press does the same via resistance equipment ie weights.
* Another important thing to know is that bone mass is built up in the body area exercised. So, right-handed tennis players have more bone mass in their right arms compared to left arms. Walking rapidly builds hip and thigh bone but does nothing for upper body bones.
* But there’s no need to go out and purchase Universal weight sets for you grandma. Fact is that what is satisfactorily stressful depends on who you are. For young adults, running may be needed to help build lower body bone mass. But for seniors, brisk walking might do the same.
* Another consideration to take into account when settling on osteoporosis exercises is that degree of intensity is more important than frequency of workouts when it comes to building bone (and muscle for that matter). In plain English, that means that it is better to exercise fewer times per week but make the movements harder than it is to simply add exercise sessions.
Bodybuilders are well aware of this which is why they stress quality of workouts over number of sessions for building muscle. Oh, and building muscle, even if just a little muscle goes alongside building bone. Build one, you build the other.
* Another consideration to account for is that the best exercises for osteoporosis are the ones you do when you are still young. Build as much bone when young as you can and try and maintain bone as you age. That is much easier than being inactive as a youngster then trying to build bone in your senior years.
So, the real keys to avoiding osteoporosis are prevention, prevention & prevention.
Fact is that losing bone mass occurs easily and quickly when inactive. Building bone mass requires much longer with much more effort. Maintaining bone mass can be accomplished with moderate exertion.
The best exercises to prevent osteoporosis
Depending on your age and fitness levels, good choices would be strength training, with weights, resistance bands or bodyweight.
Movements should consist of 3 - 6 sets at 6 - 10 reps. Add more resistance when you can. Lower reps, more weight = more muscle & bone.
Don’t forget to do movements for all major body areas.
Also several programs or sports can help build muscle. Running, brisk walking, yoga, basketball, volleyball, soccer or other sports that demand some fairly explosive movements can be very helpful.
If you are older, programs like Tai Chi or power walking can work wonders.
At whatever level you are, be sure to start at a comfortable intensity and progress gradually.
Links for good osteoporosis exercises
Remember that the pages offer non-medical guidelines. Do the exercises you could do, skip ones you can’t do or that cause pain. Modify movements as you need to. For example, you may need to do modified pushups (knees on ground) rather than full pushups.
And, whenever possible don‘t forget to start your exercises to prevent osteoporosis with good warm up exercises
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