“I just don’t think lifting weights is safe.”
I sit back in my clinical chair, considering the parent’s comment as her young daughter sits beside her. This daughter is sedentary, experiencing back pain, and the reason for our conversation.
My rationale for strength training is twofold: building strength in her postural support muscles will likely alleviate her chronic back pain and improve her ability to endure long school days. However, an equally pressing concern is the time-sensitive nature of bone development in adolescence. What will become of her bones if they don’t develop adequately now? What would a fall at 50, 60, or 70 mean for her life?
We often think about building muscles when we’re young, maybe for sports, fitness goals, or just feeling strong. But those early strength-training efforts can have a profound impact on your bone health decades down the line, potentially warding off osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis, a condition characterized by weakened and brittle bones, makes you more susceptible to fractures and frailty. While it’s often associated with older age, the foundation for strong bones is laid much earlier in life.
What We Know About Building Bone Strength:
- Younger Years are Key: Childhood and your teen years are when your body builds the most bone. With peak bone mass typically reached by our 20s, it is essential we invest in them when we are young. Think of it as saving for retirement – the more bone you have now, the longer it will carry you later in life.
- Strength Training is Essential: While activities like running and jumping help, exercises that make your muscles work against something (like weights or your own body) are especially good for making bones strong and dense.
- Research Supports This: Studies show that doing strength training when you’re young can really help build strong bones for the future. Moral of the story, don’t be afraid to hit the weights (with proper guidance, of course) !!
How It Works:
- Wolff’s Law in Action: Wolff’s Law says that bones will adapt to the stress (or “mechanical load”) we put on them. When you stress your bones in a healthy way, they get stronger to handle that stress better in the future. Strength training and impact activity stress bones to promote adaptation.
- Laying the Foundation: Because you built a stronger, denser bone structure when you were young by applying this healthy stress, your bones will be better prepared to handle the normal stresses of life as you get older. This means they’ll be less likely to weaken or break.
- Think of It Like Practice: Just like practicing a sport makes you better at it, putting the right kind of stress on your bones when you’re young “trains” them to be strong and resilient for the long run.
How Can You Start?
- Bodyweight Exercises: Exercises using your own body weight, especially those involving jumping (plyometrics) and resistance, help build stronger bones.
- Strength Training: Lifting weights provides the external resistance needed to stimulate bone adaptation and increase bone strength.
- Sports and Activities: Many sports, such as basketball, soccer, gymnastics, and track and field, involve movements and impact that contribute to building strong bones.
In the end, don’t let fear of the weight room, plyometrics, or getting involved in sports hold you back from laying that strong foundation. If you’re looking for guidance on the best path forward for your bone health, sign up for our free consultation today.
Source:
- 1. Nikander R, Sievänen H, Heinonen A, Daly RM, Uusi-Rasi K, Kannus P. Targeted exercise against osteoporosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis for optimising bone strength throughout life. BMC Med. 2010;8:47.
