Anti-aging exercise: Weight bearing activity

When doing Anti-aging exercise, it is important to include some that 'weight bearing'. These exercises are whatstimulate your Osteoblasts to build new bone.

Your bones are living tissues. Like all tissues, bone renews itself. Osteoclasts are the cells that remove old bone andOsteblasts are the cells that build new bone. Up until age 33 or 35 your Osteoblasts are more active than your Osteoclasts. (That is why children's bones grow longer and why the bones of young adults get denser and thicker.) But after age 35, you Osteoblasts slow down and you begin to remove more bone than you make.

If you do not take special care to build more bone, you will soon have Osteopenia [thin bones] or the more serious Osteoporosis (porous bones). And in either condition, you are at risk for fractures.

Hw weight bearing activities help

When you put stress on your bones, your Osteoblasts (bone building) cells are stimulated into greater activity.Various types of weight bearing activities can make for Anti-aging exercise for your bones. And the sooner youstart after reaching your mid-thirties, the better. You can prevent excessive bone loss before it starts!

What sorts of Anti-aging exercise fits the 'weight bearing' definition.

First let's consider what is NOT a weight bearing activity. Two popular one come to mind immediately: swimmingand cycling. Many people feel surprise when they read that. But it is true. In fact, long distance cyclists have been found to have more bone loss that participants in any other sport.

Also, excessive exercise of any type is not good for your bones. Recent research has shown the going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week and working out for an hour or two may interfere with bone building. Here is a situation where MORE is not always better.

If you want weight bearing activity that will have an effect on your bones use anyone of the following:

• Walking. Walking, which is one of the very few activities that fits all three of they Anti-againg exercise types:balance & co-ordination, cardio-vascular AND weight bearing. Research studies show that walking, in itself, canprevent bone loss in adults. That means that walking stimulates your Osteoblasts to make at least 1% of bone - since we know that most adult men and women usually lose about 1% of bone a year (except women lose about 4-5% during and right after menopause). Read more about this at: Walking as an Anti-aging exercise">
• Any exercise where you feel impact: jumping, hopping, jogging, running and even walking downstairs all fit in thiscategory. (Note: Researches have found that walking up stairs provides is a good cardio-vascular activity but walking downstairs stimulates stronger bones. )There is a caution, however,. If you have any bone loss already, the jarring found in jumping, hopping, jogging or running could cause small or regular fractures on impact. If you have any of the risks for Osteopenia it might be a good idea to have a dexa scan screening of your bone density before starting an impact activity program
• Weight lifting. As early as the 1970's researchers at Tuffts University that lifting weights can increase bone density - even in those who already have excessive bone loss....and even among those in their 70's and 80's! This is important news since the older you get, the more difficulty it is to build new bone. So the fact that the elderly could increase bone density through lifting weights, should be very encouraging to all of us.

  Of course the weight lifting has to be done in a special way. If you go to a gym, you will see many body builders liftingweights and they try to use the momentum of the weight itself to do some of the lifting. The lift their weights fast. That sort of lifting will not build stronger bones so much as s-l-o-w lifting and s-l-0-w return to place.

  If you are doing weights as an Anti-aging exercise, you want to lift very slowly - some would say to the count of 8 but the count of 10 is even better. When the weight if fully extended from your body, then bring it back to its original place just as slowly, to the same count.

  How heavy a weight? Start with a weight you find easy to lift. This will help you get into the rhythm of s-l-o-wcount lifting and return. Lift each weight with this slow count 2 or 3 times.

  After you are used to the slow rhythm begin to increase your weight each time you work out until you have one that you can only life for one full count of 10. Ofter time, you will find it easier to lift that weight. When you can lift it with a slow count out and slow count back 3 times, you are ready to go to the next level weight.

  If you are doing this this Anti-aging exercise to build stronger bones, do not rush to get heavier weights too fast. This is not a contest. Your Osteoblasts respond to NEW stress, so each progressive weight increase can stimulate the building of bone. If you rush ahead, skipping weights, you will have cheated yourself of some extra bone building.

• Any heavy manual labor: gardening, carpentry if you carry wood frequently, stacking cord wood, carrying groceries, children, boxes of books etc. are all weight bearing activities and can stimulate your Osteoblaststo build more bone.

  More than one adult has decided to build in 'small' increases in their Anti-aging exercise to build stronger bones by parking a distance from stores in the mall and carrying packages to their car - instead of using a rolling cart or by walking downstairs instead of taking escalators or elevators and by walking as often as possible.

But the choice is yours. You can build weight bearing activities into your day or you can go to they gym or you can buy some weights to use at home. But weight bearing is one of the most important kinds of Anti-Aging exercise activity's for anyone who wants to remain young and vibrant into their 90's.

All other Anti-aging activities will be of little use if you a four pointed cane or a walker or wheel chair because you brokeyour hip or if you have developed a back hump from spontaneousspinal fractures.

You need weight bearing activity and the sooner you begin the better for you.