The Elements of Osteoporosis Prevention, Part 2
Last time, we discussed CALCIUM, and how to keep it around.
Our second important element: IRON!
No, not to swallow. After menopause, women actually need less iron, not more. If you've stopped menstruating, switch your multivitamin to a silver variety (they go down easier, anyway, since iron is the leading culprit in that nauseous feeling you get after taking your vitamins).
curran.kelleher
Osteoporosis prevention is about keeping your bones strong. To do that, we don't take iron, we PUMP iron.
Weight bearing activity is absolutely required to keep our bones healthy. Walking, playing tennis, anything that keeps you up and moving helps remind your body that it needs to use those bones, so it can't afford to lose them.
But weight-training can actually force your body to make your bones STRONGER!
When a muscle pulls hard on a bone, as it does when you lift a heavy weight, it induces tiny micro-fractures in the bone. That's good, because it forces your body to rush in and lay down NEW BONE. New bone formation is the holy grail of osteoporosis prevention—and you can get it for the price of a gym membership or a set of free weights.
Iwan Gabovitch
Some rules:
1. Start slow and low. Form is very important to prevent joint injuries, which can lay you up for months. Get a book, get a trainer, or stick to machines that keep your range of motion in the safe zone.
2. Gradually increase your weights until you can only do eight to ten reps before your muscle completely fazes out. This is the ideal training zone. Opinions differ on number of sets. Some say three, others say one is enough. Do what you have time for.
3. Work all the muscles of the body, but not all at once. Break your regimen into a few days, with specific muscle groups dedicated to each day.
4. Vary your exercises. Different exercises hit different areas of the muscles—and therefore different points on your bones. Remodel it all!
5. Support your workouts with proper nutrition. You are building muscle and bones. You will need extra calcium, and extra protein. Serious bodybuilders take in 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. There is some evidence that EXCESSIVE protein intake may inhibit calcium absorption, so keep it reasonable. In my experience, it's really hard to OD on protein. You just can't eat that much.
Stephen Cummings
No, you won't become a muscle-bound freak. It takes serious amounts of testosterone for that to happen. But you will look sleek, fit and gorgeous, inside and out.
Extra bonus points: every pound of muscle you put on burns 40 extra calories per day! Put on 10 pounds of muscle, and that's 400 extra calories you can eat every day! Absolutely free!
There's one more element to osteoporosis prevention, and we'll get to that in the next post.
Loading ...
Comments are closed.