You are committed to your health. You exercise regularly and do everything you can to keep your body strong, especially your bones. But what if I told you that some exercises that you think help your bones may actually be of very little benefit, or even be counterproductive?
My goal is to provide you with the right information so you can understand that osteoporosis is often preventable and even reversible. Today, we’re going to dive into a very important topic: exercise. I see a lot of people seriously exercising and thinking it’s good for their bones, but the science doesn’t always back them up. We’re going to count down the top 10 bone health exercises I see people doing that simply aren’t effective for building bones. I’m not talking about obvious things. I’m talking about common and popular exercises that many of you are doing now. The last three on this list will definitely surprise you. (Based on insights from Dr. Doug Lucas)
Key takeaways
- Not all exercises are equal in building bones. The main components are resistance, gravity and impact.
- Low- or no-impact activities like swimming and cycling, although great for cardio, remove the stress needed to stimulate bone growth.
- Even “good” exercise can be harmful if done to extremes, such as long-distance running, which can lead to bone loss.
- Flexibility and balance-focused exercises such as yoga and Pilates are excellent for fall prevention and mobility but do not provide enough resistance or impact to increase bone density.
- The most effective approach to bone health is a combination of high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) and impact training, done safely and gradually.
1. Long distance running
Many people think, “Running creates an impact, so it must be good for my bones.” Unfortunately, according to research, this isn’t necessarily true, especially when it comes to long distances. Think of it this way: If you’re going to design a car to travel very long distances, you’re going to make it as light as possible. You’ll use less frame material and keep everything to a minimum to improve efficiency. Your body is an amazing transformer. If you teach him that his core fatigue extends for miles and miles, he will adapt to become more efficient at this task. It will remove unnecessary weight, which includes not only fat but also muscle and bone mass. The light, repetitive impact of running isn’t enough to stimulate the kind of response you need to build bone. Furthermore, long-distance running can lead to nutritional issues (it’s hard to eat enough to compensate), can be inflammatory, and can disrupt hormonal cycles in women, which has a direct negative impact on bone health.
2. Swimming
This may not be a huge surprise, but it’s important to understand why it’s on the list. To build bones, you need three main stimuli: resistance, gravity and impact. When you get into a pool, you are effectively removing two of them. The buoyancy of the water negates gravity and eliminates the effect. While it uses your muscles against the resistance of the water, and is a great cardiovascular exercise, it’s easy on the joints, and won’t build bones. The problem arises when swimming is the primary or only form of exercise, leaving no time or energy for activities that require it He does Strengthen your skeleton.
3. Cycling
As with swimming, cycling is another popular exercise that doesn’t live up to the bone-building department. Whether you’re on a road bike or a stationary bike, you’ve eliminated the crucial element of sway. While gravity is still effective, the lack of impact is a major drawback. In fact, studies on professional cyclists show a strong association with osteoporosis. This is likely due to a combination of factors: the non-impact nature of their sport, the tendency to be very lean, and potential fueling problems. An additional concern about cycling, especially road and mountain biking, is the high potential for catastrophic injury from a fall or collision, which is a significant risk for anyone, but especially for someone with poor bone density.
4. Rebounders (mini trampoline)
I get this question all the time: “Is bouncing on my rebounder good for my bones?” The answer is yes and no. Bouncing is actually very beneficial for improving balance and proprioception, which can help prevent falls, which is a definite positive for those with osteoporosis. However, it will not help you build bones. Remember our main ingredients? The soft bounce surface is designed to absorb and slow your landing. This dampening effect reduces the force of the impact so much that it is not enough to indicate that your bones are growing stronger. It is a completely different mechanism than a full-body vibration plate, which generates faster and more direct vertical forces.
5. Yoga
Every time I mention yoga, someone mentions Dr. Fishman’s study on yoga for bone density. I read it, and although it is a published study, it has a high potential for bias, was not well controlled for other activities the participants were doing, and has not been replicated by another research group. Let me be clear: I love yoga. It is a great practice for improving flexibility, enhancing balance, preventing falls, and serving as a form of moving meditation. But it doesn’t build bones. It provides some resistance by holding the body weight steady, but it is not enough, and it provides no effect. You can certainly build bones and do yoga too, but you can’t rely on yoga alone to reverse bone loss.
6. Pilates
Pilates is often combined with yoga, which is a completely different discipline. I’m a fan of Pilates, especially reformer-style exercises, because it’s excellent for building core strength and working muscles under sustained tension. However, just like yoga, it is not beneficial for building bones. It has no impact component, and although it can be intense, the resistance level is not high enough to cause a significant increase in bone density. To date, I have never seen a study proving that Pilates can reverse osteoporosis.
7. Walking
Walking is one of the best things you can do for your overall health, longevity, brain and joints. I am a big fan of walking and encourage everyone to do so. But we must be clear about what can and cannot be done. The term “weight exercise” is often used to promote walking for bone health, but this is misleading. While technically bearing your own weight, the impact of a simple walking step is too low to stimulate new bone growth. It’s an essential activity for a healthy life, but if you have osteoporosis, you need to do more than just walk to build bones.
8, 9, 10. “LiftMore” exercises (unsupervised)
The last three on my list will be the most controversial: the barbell back squat, the barbell deadlift, and the barbell overhead press. These are the three core exercises from the pioneering LiftMore trial conducted by Dr Belinda Beck in Australia. This study demonstrated that high-intensity resistance and impact training (HiRIT) can be performed safely and effectively to build bone in individuals with Osteoporosis. So why are they on the “worst” list?
Because of the impact of the study on the general public. The problem is not in the exercises themselves, they are great for loading the spine and hips. The problem is that people with no prior weightlifting experience hear about this study and think they need to go to the gym and start teaching themselves how to do a heavy squat or deadlift. This is a recipe for disaster. They are complex technical lifts that carry a high risk of injury if performed incorrectly. Even Dr. Beck realized this, which is why she created a licensing program to train physical therapists to teach these movements correctly.
Moreover, people mistakenly think so He should Do these three specific exercises. The real takeaway from the LiftMore experience is principle: You need high intensity resistance with impact. Iron lifts were just the tools they used in the study. There are hundreds of other exercises that can accomplish the same goal in a way that may be safer and more appropriate for your individual body and experience level. You can gradually increase the load on your muscles and bones without touching the barbell. The goal is to get strong and avoid injury, not to become a weightlifter (unless you want to, with proper training!).
conclusion
By reviewing this list, the goal is not to tell you to stop biking, swimming, or doing yoga. Many of these activities are great for cardiovascular health, mental clarity, and quality of life. The goal is to help you understand that if your goal is to build bones, these exercises are not the tools for the job. You cannot rely on them alone.
Bone building requires a specific recipe. You need two main things: resistance training, preferably at high intensity, and some form of high-impact exercise. You should do these things gradually, always challenging your body to do more over time, and you should do them without sustaining any injury. Injury is the enemy of progress. Focus on the big picture, work with a professional if you can, and don’t fall into the trap of the idea that there is one magic exercise. Stay strong, and let’s keep moving forward with strength and grace.
source: Dr. Doug Lucas
