Strength Training Tips to Support Bone Health

How to Keep Your Bones Strong

Your bones naturally lose strength over time, and by middle age, the risk for bone conditions like osteoporosis increases.

More than 12.6% of Americans over 50 were living with osteoporosis of the femur neck or lumbar spine in 2017-18, a number that jumped to 43.1% when accounting for those with low bone mass.

Fortunately, bones respond well to targeted exercise, and by incorporating a few new exercises into your strength-training routine, you can help keep your bones strong, sturdy and healthy.

Make Gravity Your Exercise Partner

If you’re not already doing weight-bearing exercises, you should start. These are repetitive-impact exercises like running, walking and hiking that put strain on the bones, tendons and muscles, gradually building strength over time.

Other common weight-bearing exercises include:

• Tennis and pickleball
• Jumping rope
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Plyometrics

Most of these exercises require little equipment and they work by acting against the force of gravity. But while weight-bearing exercises can be effective at building strength, be careful not to overdo it; too-frequent high-impact exercises can cause harm the joints. Ensure proper rest and recovery between sessions to reduce the risk of overuse injuries.

Practice Balance to Prevent Falls

Roughly 14 million adults over the age of 65 suffered a fall in 2020. Working on your balance won’t directly affect your bone health, but it will strengthen the muscles and tendons that help keep you upright, preventing a fall that could lead to a broken bone.

Improving your balance is about moving the right way. Consider giving these balance-strengthening exercises a try:

• Single-leg work: Whether it’s spending time standing on one foot or isolating one side during your normal strength routine, working the two halves of your body separately is an effective way to strengthen your stabilizer muscles (the ones that keep you balanced).
• Balance-shifting exercises: Shifting your body position naturally strains the stabilizer muscles, improving your body’s ability to reposition in response to sudden posture shifts and maintain good balance. Chair-based sit-stand exercises are a great, easy way to practice balance.
• Core strengthening: Your core plays a vital role in stabilizing the spine and reducing pressure on the back muscles. Incorporating core work into your weekly strength routine (planks, sit-ups and leg raises are all easy at-home exercises) boosts those muscles’ ability to keep the body upright.

Balance is a complicated body function, so aim to include several of the above techniques into your strength routine to ensure you’re targeting the full range of stabilizing muscles.

Get Your Whole Body Involved

Don’t limit your strength training to weight-bearing and balance work; lifting weights in general has been shown to have a positive impact on bone health and can reduce the risk for osteoporosis.

Most healthy adults will see health benefits with 2-3 strength-training days per week. Aim to exercise for roughly 40-45 minutes per session, and use a combination of body-weight, free-weight and machine exercises to target the widest range of muscles possible. It’s important to use proper form during all training sessions and always stretch before any physical activity to reduce the risk of injury.

Make sure to rest between workout sessions. Don’t work the same muscle group more than one or two days per week (depending on the intensity level), and give yourself a full recovery day after an especially challenging workout.

Make bone health a wellness priority; by incorporating some of the above practices, you can help ensure your bones stay strong and healthy as you age.