The benefits of strength training for one’s general health are gaining more and more recognition. Muscle gain is a side effect of strength training, but this type of exercise also helps you burn fat, sleep better, feel better emotionally, work harder, have stronger bones, and perform more physically demanding tasks in your day-to-day life with ease. Numerous studies have demonstrated that strength training can play a role in preventing bone loss and can even help build stronger bones. This is incredibly useful for counteracting the age-related loss of bone mass. Bone-stressing activities can stimulate bone-forming cells to increase. This strain is caused by the pulling and pressing on the bone that occurs during strength training. The result is stronger, denser bones and muscles.
In this article, we will be taking a look at the benefits of strength training and how it can improve your bone health and prevent any unwanted injuries.
How exactly does strength training improve bone health?
Strength training has been shown in numerous studies to prevent bone loss and even stimulate bone growth. More importantly, having strong bones helps counteract the natural loss of bone mass that occurs with age and lessens the likelihood of illnesses or injuries. Here, we take a look at how strength training helps with improving a person’s bone health:
- Strength training lowers the risk of osteoporosis
The role of strength training in the prevention of osteoporosis is a crucial element emphasizing the need to promote its impact on improved bone health. Osteoporosis is a growing public health issue that imposes serious financial problems and stress in many different communities. Osteoporosis is characterized by reduced bone mass and an increased risk of fractures, particularly of the spine, hip, and wrist. Strength training, particularly high-intensity strength training, has the additional benefit of altering mechanical stimuli to maintain and improve bone health via increased muscle mass, strength, and coordination.
- Strength training reduces bone loss
Strength training is a bone-stimulating activity that is essential for preventing bone loss. In addition, numerous studies indicate that it aids in bone development. This is highly effective in preventing bone mass loss associated with aging— through the activation of bone-forming cells by these workouts that exert stress on our bones. Weight-carrying and resistance training routines place your bones under a healthy mechanical load. This mechanical stress improves bone density, strength, and overall health.
- Strength training increases bone density
A significant advantage of strength training is its positive effect on bone density (also called bone mineral density or BMD) and, by extension, bone health. Regular weight lifting is the most effective way to increase bone density and strength. Whole-body strength training exercises, such as lunges, deadlifts, push-ups, squats, and others, have significantly increased bone density in people of all ages in a short amount of time. In turn, this lessens the likelihood of injury from slips, trips, and falls. This is why weightlifting has gained popularity in maintaining and even enhancing bone density.
- Improves stability and balance
If you want to improve your balance and reduce your risk of falls, consider incorporating balance-based exercises into your strength training routine. This profound learning can happen at any age, but it depends on your participation in appropriate forms of strength training. Your muscles and bones will be fully loaded during strength training performed on a machine, however, this type of exercise has a negative effect on general function, control, and balance. We live and move in a three-dimensional world, and these strength-training programs that rely on machines don’t prepare the body for this reality. Training with free weights and cables is a
great way to boost your strength and stability since it forces you to retrain your brain’s motor pathways. Having better balance boosts self-assurance and decreases the likelihood of slips, trips, and falls, all of which can cause broken bones and hospitalization.
- Promotes improved flexibility in joints
A large body of research indicates that strength training is crucial in fostering more flexibility in bones and joints, particularly those of the limbs, hips, and spine. Strength and balance are enhanced by resistance training, specifically through the incorporation of activities requiring both balance and force. In those with chronic lower back pain, it aids in restoring their ability to perform daily tasks.
Before you start your strength training…
Even if you’re in good shape now, it’s best to ease into strength training gradually if it’s something you’ve never done before. Strength training is unlike any other type of physical activity. It’ll take some time for your body to adjust to this new style of exercise because it requires different adaptations from what it’s used to.
Consult your physician before commencing a strength training or aerobic fitness program if you have a chronic ailment or if you’re over 40 and haven’t been active recently. Consider warming up with five to ten minutes of vigorous walking or another aerobic activity before beginning weight training. Remember that cold muscles are more susceptible to damage than heated ones. Choose a weight or resistance level that causes muscle fatigue after 12 to 15 repetitions. When you can perform additional repetitions of a particular exercise with relative ease, gradually increase the weight or resistance.
To give your muscles time to recuperate, you should give each muscle group a full day of rest between workouts. Also, pay close attention to your body’s cues. Stop exercising if a strength-training exercise causes pain. Consider attempting a lighter weight or attempting again after a few days. To minimize injuries, it is necessary to practice good technique when performing strength training. Work with a personal trainer or another fitness expert to master proper form and technique if you are new to strength training. Remember to breathe while lifting weights.
What exercises are tailored to help strengthen bones?
- Strength training exercises
Of course, we have to start the list with the most effective method in improving bone health, strength training. All the major muscle groups, notably the spinal muscles that aid in good posture, can benefit from strength training with free weights, resistance bands, or even just your own body weight. Likewise, doing resistance exercises can aid in preserving bone mass. Avoid putting unnecessary stress on your spine by twisting it while using weight machines.
If you’re already experiencing pain, you should talk to your doctor before beginning any resistance training program. Consult a physical therapist or personal trainer who specializes in treating persons with osteoporosis to create a strength-training program tailored to your needs. Safe and effective exercise depends on your ability to execute each movement precisely.
- Weight-bearing aerobic exercises
Aerobic exercises that require you to be on your feet and use your bones to support your weight are called weight-bearing. Walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical trainers, stair climbing, and gardening are all great examples of low-impact physical activities. By engaging in these exercises, you can prevent mineral loss in your legs, hips, and lower spine. The benefits they offer to the cardiovascular system also contribute to the general well-being of the heart and blood vessels.
Even though aerobic exercises have many health benefits, it is crucial that they not constitute the entirety of your exercise routine. Strength training, stretching, and balance drills are equally essential. The weight-bearing load your bones need to halt mineral loss is not provided by activities like swimming and cycling, despite their many advantages. But by all means, indulge in them if that’s what makes you happy. Bear in mind that you should incorporate weight-bearing exercises whenever possible.
- Balance and stability exercises
People who have osteoporosis or other physically limiting ailments should take extra care to avoid falling. Perform stability and balance exercises on a regular basis to strengthen your muscles and improve your coordination, making you less prone to falls. Improve your stability and balance with simple workouts like standing on one leg or with movement-based activities like tai chi or yoga.
- Flexibility exercises
Maintaining strong muscles and joints requires using them throughout their complete range of motion. Stay away from any stretches that require you to flex your spine or lean forward at the waist. You should consult your doctor about the finest stretching exercises to perform. The optimal time to stretch is after you’ve warmed up your muscles, either at the end of your workout or after a 10-minute warm-up. They need to be done slowly and softly, with no bouncing.
How can strength training help prevent injuries?
Strength training is a regular practice in gyms nowadays. Its benefits for muscle growth are very evident, however, injury prevention is an advantage of resistance training that is sometimes overlooked. For a multitude of reasons, strength training is an extremely effective tool for injury prevention, and we have listed them down below:
- In sports, muscle imbalances are a leading source of injury. As one muscle or set of muscles becomes stronger than its opposing group, the weaker group experiences rapid exhaustion and increases its risk of injury. Damage to the weaker muscle can result from a powerful contraction, near peak output, from the stronger muscle if the weaker muscle cannot adequately counteract the force.
- Strength training increases the tensile strength of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and even bones. Stronger muscles and tendons contribute to maintaining good body alignment and protect joints and bones during movement or collision. Due to the burden placed on them during training, the bones get denser, and the ligaments become more flexible and better at absorbing shock during dynamic motions.
- Due to an abnormal pull that causes the joint to move unnaturally, muscle imbalances can also have an adverse effect on the bones and joints. The more powerful muscles will cause the joint to pull in that direction, which will result in stretching the ligaments that oppose the movement and a tightening of the ligaments that support it. These conditions can result in ongoing discomfort and an abnormal wearing out of the bone tissue. These effects can be partially mitigated by participating in a well-rounded strength training program, which will focus on strengthening weaker muscles than their counterparts.
- Reduced use of a body part during a given activity can lead to muscle atrophy and generalized weakness. It can become an issue when the affected muscle, ligament, joint, or bone is unexpectedly put under stress during your training. The area sustains damage because it is unable to adapt to the increased demand placed on it immediately. Using a well-rounded strength training program, you may strengthen all the muscles your body needs to perform its daily tasks without causing any harm to other regions.
Bottom Line
Strength training should be a part of everyone’s weekly regimen, regardless of age, because it helps people of all ages build bone mineral density, muscular strength, and lean muscle mass. Among the many benefits of strength training, the positive impact on your bone health must be considered one of the most important for improving your health. There is no disputing the fact that resistance training improves bone health and can have far-reaching health benefits. If you want to reap the benefits of strength training for bone health and osteoporosis, however, you must perform your strength training using free weights and cable equipment. By requiring you to move in three dimensions, these exercises train your nervous system to work more as it does in the actual world, reducing the risk of injury from any falls or physical activities. We hope this article gives you all the insight you need to add strength training to your workout routines.
If you or a friend are interested in joining a strength training gym to help with your overall fitness, then 1Vigor is the team you have been looking for! The number one applies to YOU. 1 Life, 1 Chance, 1 YOU. Believe in yourself and be willing to work relentlessly to become the best version of yourself possible. Vigor signifies both physical and mental strength. Life is won by combining effort, energy, and passion. Performance-based programming aims to improve your health, speed, power, and prevent any further injuries. You can dip in and out, choose the courses you want, or combine this training with other sorts to meet your specific needs. We are here to help you on your fitness journey!