By now you're probably aware of how important exercise is to your overall health. Not only does exercise strengthen the cardiovascular system and enhance strength and endurance, it also has an important impact on building bone density. This aspect of exercise is of particular importance to women over the age of thirty, a time when bone mass starts to gradually decline.
Although exercise has been shown to be beneficial for building bone density, it may be confusing as to what type of exercise is best for bone building and preservation. Is aerobic exercise or resistance exercise better? Is light exercise or more rigorous exercise superior for building bone density?
The good news is that a study published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2005 showed that it may never be too late to build bone density. A team at John Hopkins looked at a group of women between the ages of fifty-five to seventy-five years. These women were started on a moderate exercise program consisting of aerobics and weight lifting for a period of six months. At the end of six months, the women who participated in the exercise program had increases in bone mass ranging from one to three percent.
Most researchers believe that more intense exercise is the most beneficial for building bone density. This was supported by a study which showed that high intensity resistance exercise is best for preserving bone mass. Seniors who lifted to eighty percent of their maximal capacity experienced more significant increases in bone density than those who did less intense forms of exercise.
That more intense exercise would be the most effective in building bone density would seem to be logical. In order to stimulate bone growth, the bone needs to be stressed and subjected to a mechanical load. This would be accomplished by higher impact activities such as running or jumping rope rather than lower impact exercises such as walking. Weight training and resistance exercises using weights and resistance bands are an effective way to increase the mechanical load on the bones and successfully build bone density.
The bottom line? If you want to focus on building bone density, walking, swimming, biking, and other low impact exercises may not be enough. The best course of action would be to start a program consisting of high impact aerobics, running, jogging, or jumping rope. This should be alternated with resistance exercise using weights to increase the load placed on the bones. Some studies have shown that short bursts of very intense exercise are more effective than longer sessions, although this hasn't been conclusively proven.
Of course you should check with your doctor before starting an intense exercise program and start slowly, gradually building up to higher intensities. The reward? Stronger bones and overall better health which is something we all can use.
