It’s easy to appreciate strong, toned muscles. You can not only see the difference exercise makes, but feel a difference as well. While you’re admiring your quads, biceps, and abs, you should realize that something else is going on inside your body. While not as noticeable as strong muscles, your bones are also strengthened when you work out.
Keep reading to learn from the Pittsburg Boot Camp about how exercise affects the health of your bones and what exercises you can do to give your bones a heaping helping of strength.
Bone Growth and Loss
New bone is continually being added to your bone structure, while old bone is constantly being removed throughout life. When you’re young, new bone is added faster than it’s removed. But starting around age 30, new bone growth slows and bone loss increases. If bone is lost faster than it can be replaced, osteoporosis develops.
Osteoporosis is a disease that makes your bones weak, thin, and brittle. Since weak bones break more easily, keeping this condition under wraps is essential for optimal overall health. The most common bones that break with osteoporosis include the wrist, spine, or hip. Anyone at any age can develop osteoporosis, but older women are most susceptible.
Thankfully, there’s good news. In most cases, osteoporosis is both preventable and treatable. Great steps to keep your bones strong and healthy include eating a diet high in calcium and vitamin D, not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, and getting regular exercise. Certain medical conditions and menopause often lead to bone loss, so speak with your doctor if you are concerned.
Effect of Exercise on Bones
Just like muscle, bones are living tissue. Do the right type of exercise and you’ll help your body grow new bone tissue. As your bones grow, they get stronger. So as you exercise, you strengthen both your bones and your muscles.
Exercise leads to muscle and bone strength, as well as improved coordination, balance, and stamina, which benefit folks of all ages. These benefits are especially important for older adults, who are at greater risk for osteoporosis and suffering accidents that lead to broken bones.
A boot camp in Pittsburg says the best way to incorporate safe exercise into everyday life for older individuals is to join a workout program. A boot camp can offer healthier formats for exercising that will not harm your body, like machines at the average gym can. Resistance training uses your own body weight to strengthen muscles as well as bone, but does not strain or injure you in the process. Not only will this boot camp in Pittsburg help you build strong bones through unique and challenging resistance routines, but it will help you lose weight and overall lead a healthier lifestyle.
But don’t think only elderly individuals should perform bone-growing exercises. Exercises that improve bone growth and strength are equally important for kids and teenagers, as bones grow the fastest right before and during puberty, with bone mass at its peak during the teen years. At least three days of the week should include bone-strengthening exercises. Younger kids should participate in active play several times throughout the day to help strengthen and grow their bones. The boot camp in Pittsburg is open to all ages and uses exercise strategies that will grow bones and meet the fitness level needs of every participant.
Building Bone
While there are perks to all sorts of exercises, not all physical activity builds bones. To do that, you’ll need to go with weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises. Weight-bearing exercises work against gravity and force you to carry your own weight while standing up.
Muscle-strengthening activities, also called resistance exercises, use your body or some other type of resistance (weights) against gravity. Examples include push-ups, calf raises, pull-ups, weight lifting, elastic bands exercises, and use of other bodyweight exercises.
Beefing Up Your Bone Protection
If your bones are brittle or you’re prone to falls, non-impact exercises are best for you. Such activities will help to improve your mobility, balance, and posture, while increasing muscle strength and decreasing your risk of falling and breaking a bone. Additionally, it’s a good idea to void movements that could increase your risk of falling if your bones aren’t strong and healthy.
