Bone is in fact living tissue, just like muscle, which responds to regular exercise by becoming stronger. Typically bone mass is at its highest during a person’s third decade. After the third decade of life, people can begin to lose bone density. Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder where a person has lower than usual bone mass for their age, leading to bone fragility and an increase in fracture risk.
Strength training can provide many health benefits to treat Osteoporosis. Working your muscles builds strength which may help prevent fall-related fractures. Functional strength and balance training should be part of your routine. Add strength training for osteoporosis exercises to your workouts 2 to 3 days per week. Not sure what to do first? Here are some types of Strength Training workouts that can be very beneficial.
Weight Machines
There are a few weight machines that are great to start with. Biceps Curling Machine is great for working on your arms. A Rowing Machine helps target the muscles between your shoulder blades. The Lateral Pulldown Machine has a wide bar that makes it possible to target your back muscles at several angles.
Free Weights
It is important to lift enough weight to stimulate bone growth. Do fewer reps with heavier weights. And make sure they are site-specific, so target the areas that are most prone to fracture which are the spine, hips and wrists. After the proper guidance this can be easy to do at home with free weights rather than going into the gym for machines multiple times a week.
Resistance Bands
Muscle strengthening exercises exert a pull on bones. It does not matter the method- weights, bands, exercise machines, or body weight. Strength training of the legs with elastic resistance bands can not only help build muscle, it can help improve your balance, gait, and mobility. These are important for improvement in your agility and balance. Bands are great for bones! Since most fractures occur from a fall, being more agile and balanced gives you less of a risk of a fall and a fracture.
OsteoStrong specializes in helping those who suffer from osteoporosis through a customized and effective exercise program. There are many benefits to our OsteoStrong program beyond Osteoporosis Exercise Benefits. Here at OsteoStrong we can help with specific exercises and specially designed machines that will track your progress. If you are local to the Seattle, WA area, our OsteoStrong center here on Mercer Island can help evaluate and customize a fitness program tailored to your needs. In as little as 10 minutes per week with one of our coaches, you will be on your way to improving your osteoporosis symptoms through the strengthening of your bone density and muscles.
Claim your free session with us today!