Strong Bones & Strength Training
Calcium isn’t the only thing you need to keep your frame healthy. Strength training can also hold off, or even reverse, dangerous bone thinning.
Osteopoenia – low bone density – can lead to the more serious bone-thinning disease Osteoporosis, and it isn’t just something that happens to older women. Premature aging of the bones can also occur in younger women. In fact, Osteoporosis is now almost as common as high blood pressure, according to Osteoporosis Australia. One in two women over 60 in Australia will have a bone fracture caused by the condition.
It that seems a long way off when you’re in your 20s, 30s and 40s, remember this – it’s how we live our lives in these earlier decades that determines our future bone strength. Fortunately, strength training can actually restore some lost bone – as if we didn’t already need another reason to strength train.
Bone Strength in your teens and early 20s
This is when your body is producing what’s called your ‘peak bone mass.’ It’s the most bone you’ll ever build, so do every thing you can to increase bone density with calcium-rich food (more low-fat milk, less soft drinks) and regular weight-bearing exercise – weight training, walking, running, dancing, jumping, skipping and netball are all good. The more bone you build now, the better your chances of maintaining a healthy frame as you age.
Bone Density in your 30s and 40s
Bone density starts declining in the mid-30s. Diet and exercise, including strength training, are important in these years to slow down the loss. In general, three serves of dairy products a day provide the recommended amount of calcium for most people, says Osteoporosis Australia.
Bone Strength in your 50s and beyond
Oestrogen levels drop during menopause, causing bones to lose calcium more quickly than ever. But it’s never too late to fight back. When researchers compared a group of 50-to-70 year old women who lifted weights twice a week with a group who did no exercise, guess what they found? After a year, the non-exercisers had lost about two per cent of bone density, while the strength trainers gained one per cent. So the message is clear: strength training works.