Want To Feel Stronger? It’s All In Your Bones (And These Great Exercises)
When most people embark upon an exercise plan, it is usually for one of two reasons: to improve general fitness, or for weight loss. There are hundreds of different diet and exercise plans that exist, written by various health professionals, which claim to give you great results. But as we are so focused on losing fat or gaining muscle, we often forget one other very important part of our bodies, and that is our bones. When you choose to invest time and effort into taking care of your bones, you are making a lifelong investment. We only have one set of bones to last us a lifetime, after all. Plus, what with many bone disorders being related to old age, keeping strong bones in your younger years can lower the risk of you being affected in the future. So if fitness is your thing, how can you switch up your workouts so that you focus more on building up bone strength?
Muscle-building activities
If you love lifting weights, you will be pleased to know that this is an easy way to help promote bone strength and development. Any resistance caused by the lifting of weights strengthens the muscles and the tendons. As all our bones are surrounded by muscles and tendons which help our bones to work normally, this can help support them. However, be aware that lifting weights that are too heavy could cause damage to your bones, especially if you are not trained in how to lift correctly. Always speak to a professional before attempting any kind of weight training.
Weight exercises
In order to build strong bones, it is best to engage in any activity that requires you to stand on your own two feet. This could be something such as running, or you may choose to take part in a fitness-based class such as Zumba. When you are supporting your own bodyweight, your feet and your legs have to work harder, in turn making them stronger. You should be able to do these exercises for a fairly long period of time providing that the impact of them is not too high. For example, running for a long time on a very hard surface can put you at risk of shin splints, so be mindful of where you are exercising. Taking some time out and learning the bones can help you understand what is good for your body and what isn’t.
Low-impact exercises
Sometimes, our bones can come into difficulty, or perhaps we have an accident that causes a fracture. If this is something that has happened to you, you may think that you need to avoid exercise for the foreseeable future. Whilst it is advisable to let your body rest and recover after an injury, there are still some workouts you can do that will keep your bones healthy even in ‘time off’. These are low intensity exercises such as swimming and cycling – basically anything that doesn’t ‘jolt’ the skeleton too much. Stick with these until you are fully recovered and then you can go back to your usual routine.
Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
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