General Health Feel It In Your BonesYou may not need any more stress in your life, but your bones do. All 206 of them need the stress of weight bearing exercise to remodel. Even though bones are the second hardest substance in our bodies, beneath their hard surface is a spongy, latticed matrix of tiny holes for flexibility and shock absorption. Cells called Osteoclasts dissolve old bone, creating small holes and cavities. At the same time, Osteoblasts build new bone by filling in these holes and cavities with calcium and other minerals. The balance of the blasts and clasts keep bones remodeled, refreshed and strong. A bone with too many holes in its porous center is a brittle and weak bone.
The harsh reality is that bones get to maximum mass and density when we’re in our twenties. After that, declines in estrogen or testosterone cause gradual but continual bone loss. Male bones lose mass at a steady rate of ½ percent per year. Women lose at that same rate for a while, and then the rate women lose the spongy center jumps to 2-5% per year, while her loss of the hard bone surface jumps to 1-2% for the first five years of menopause. Later, her rates will drop to equal men’s steady loss of ½ percent.
Time may be cruel, but weight training to the point where there’s muscle fatigue or jumping rope are two efficient ways to put bones under the kind of stress they need to stimulate remodeling, and prevent bone loss and weakness. Combine exercise with a steady flow of protein, calcium, and vitamins, and your bones will stay remodeled, young and strong longer than anything.
The fix is simple. Push your muscles ‘til you feel it in your bones, and you’ll always be refreshed, remodeled and standing tall.
The harsh reality is that bones get to maximum mass and density when we’re in our twenties. After that, declines in estrogen or testosterone cause gradual but continual bone loss. Male bones lose mass at a steady rate of ½ percent per year. Women lose at that same rate for a while, and then the rate women lose the spongy center jumps to 2-5% per year, while her loss of the hard bone surface jumps to 1-2% for the first five years of menopause. Later, her rates will drop to equal men’s steady loss of ½ percent.
Time may be cruel, but weight training to the point where there’s muscle fatigue or jumping rope are two efficient ways to put bones under the kind of stress they need to stimulate remodeling, and prevent bone loss and weakness. Combine exercise with a steady flow of protein, calcium, and vitamins, and your bones will stay remodeled, young and strong longer than anything.
The fix is simple. Push your muscles ‘til you feel it in your bones, and you’ll always be refreshed, remodeled and standing tall.
