What Are The Health Benefits Of Weight-bearing Exercises For Bones?

Weight-bearing exercises include all activities that require you to move your body against gravity while in an upright position. Common weight-bearing exercises include dancing, hiking, jumping rope, yoga, Pilates, aerobics, stair climbing and walking. Include at least 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercises on most days of the week to achieve the most bone and health benefits.

Prevent Bone Loss

Weight-bearing exercises cause you to place extra strain on your bones. Each time your muscles work against gravity, they place strain on your bones and initiate osteoblast activity, explains Dr. David Caruso, a family physician for Elk Regional Health Center in St. Marys, Pa. Osteoblasts are specialized bone cells that form a mesh-like layer of proteins within your bones and combat bone loss. Regular weight-bearing exercise prevents the normal bone loss associated with aging and decreases your risk of osteoporosis.

Build Bone Mass

With enough strain, weight-bearing exercises can increase osteoblast activity enough to increase your bone density. The protein meshwork build by the osteoblasts mineralizes and strengthens your bones when you continue regular weight-bearing exercise over an extended time period. The more intense the weight-bearing activity, the more osteoblast activity you can initiate and the more bone mass you can build. Consider including interval training in your workout where you exercise at an increased intensity for three to five minutes several times throughout your workout.

Reduce Risk Of Injury

Your muscle health improves along with the health of your bones when you perform regular weight-bearing activities. With improved muscle health, you experience, improved coordination, strength and balance. Increased muscle strength helps protect your joints from the strain placed on them during exercise. Increased muscle mass caused by increased muscle strength also helps you control your weight. Improved coordination and balance help decrease your risk of fractures and injuries caused by falls.

Importance of Nutrition

Proper nutrition increases the health benefits you receive from regular weight-bearing exercise. A well-balanced diet consisting mostly of unprocessed fruits and vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy and whole grains helps improve the general health benefits of weight-bearing exercise including lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, decreased risk of heart disease and decreased risk of diabetes. A diet rich in vitamin D and calcium, often found in dairy products, green leafy vegetables and fish, provides your body with the proper nutrients for your bone health. A multivitamin, calcium supplement or vitamin D supplement may be necessary if your diet prevents you from consuming enough vital nutrients for your health.