More
of the Best Exercises for Strong Bones
Part Two
Exercise plays an important role in building bone in childhood and adolescence, maintaining bone before fifty, and slowing down bone loss after fifty. But not all exercises are equal.
The best exercises are those with impact (running, sprinting, jumping) or resistance (squats, push-ups, rock climbing).
Current research indicates that non-weight bearing exercises like cycling and swimming and light impact exercise like slow walking are not enough.
Yoga and
Pilates
There are not many yoga or Pilates bone density studies. However, knowing that
resistance exercise is effective, we can logically assume that some aspects
of yoga and Pilates are beneficial.
Standing yoga poses like the warrior and transitional lunges could build leg and hip bones. One-legged poses like tree improve balance. Poses like reverse plank and upward and downward dog should strengthen wrist and forearm bones.
All yoga and Pilates exercises that require lifting of the legs or upper torso in the supine or prone (face up and face down) positions may build bone density in the lumbar spine.
Additionally, Pilates machines that use the resistance of springs are similar to gym machines that use cables.
Tai Chi
This gentle form of exercise improves balance and leg strength. Studies have
found people who do tai chi have a 50% reduced rate of falling. And when they
do fall, their rate of fractures is much less. Do tai chi once or twice a week
for at least 15 minutes.
Jumping
Skipping rope, jumping jacks, and vertical jumps are effective bone builders.
Skip rope at least fifteen minutes three to five times a week. You only need
two minutes a day for jumping jacks and vertical jumps. Do several 15 - 30 second
jumps and rest in between.
Racquet
Sports
A Finnish study found that squash players and weight lifters had the highest
bone mineral densities. Squash, tennis, and badminton are stop-and-go sports
with rapid multi-directional changes – all beneficial factors for bone strengthening.
Gardening
Growing flowers can help build bone but only if you actually shovel, rake and
weed. Telling your gardener what to do doesn’t count. A University of Arkansas
study found that women older than 50 who went to the gym or who gardened had
lower rates of osteoporosis.
Rowing
In an Oregon University study, post-menopausal women who rowed competitively
for one year experienced a 6% greater increase in spine density than women who
did not row but who were physically active.
Aerobic
Dance
Women who did a 45-minute step aerobics class three times a week for six months
experienced a 3% increase in bone density in their spines, legs, and heels.
Researchers at Texas A&M university say that step aerobics adds the extra challenge of changes in direction and speed, which stimulate the bones even better than skipping rope and jogging that offer only impact.
A British study found that high-impact aerobics (aerobics with hops, skips, and jumps) improved the hipbone density of postmenopausal women and men over 50.
Walking
A Johns Hopkins Hospital study found that light intensity walking does not strengthen
bones. Brisk walking delivers a higher impact than slow walking.
Brisk walking (as if you were late for an appointment) for thirty minutes four days a week can help reduce bone loss before and after menopause. A study found that women who regularly walked 7.5 miles a week lost bone at a slower rate (four to seven years longer) than women who didn’t walk.
For people already at risk for falling, lifting weights is a better and safer alternative than walking.
Cycling
Off-road bikers have above average bone density while street cyclists have slightly
below-average bone density, according to a study published in the journal Bone.
The jarring, bouncing, and vibration on rough roads is a form of stimulation
that builds bone.
If street cycling or spinning is your only exercise, add weight training or impact exercise to your regimen. A 2003 study found that male cyclists (ages 40 to 60) who had been cycling 12.2 hours a week for twenty years had bones that were 10% less dense than active non-cycling men their same age. 17 of the 27 cyclists had moderate bone loss or osteopenia while four had severe bone loss or osteoporosis.
The profuse sweating of intense cycling may contribute to bone loss. There is evidence that an hour of intense endurance training can result in a loss of 200 mg of calcium. A 1996 study attributes bone thinning among college basketball players to prolific sweating.
Swimming
Many studies have found that swimmers have lower bone densities than athletes
in weight-bearing sports and lower or similar bone densities as non-athletes.
The results apply to males and females, prepubertal subjects, adolescents, and
adults. That’s why swimming does not have a good reputation for increasing bone
mineral density.
However, most studies used dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which is a two-dimensional measure and is highly influenced by body size.
When male water polo players and weight lifters were assessed using quantitative computed tomography (QCT), both groups had similar bone densities.
Rat studies have found that swimming improves bone elasticity and structural strength- properties that can only be seen with quantitative ultrasound (QUS). Perhaps when more human studies use QUS, swimming will redeem itself and shake off its bad reputation. In the meantime, swimmers should cross train with weights or impact exercise.