The Role of Weight-Bearing Exercise in Building Bone Strength

From the time we are young, our bodies are continuously working to increase our bone strength and mass. During this time, we are building a "bone bank" of bone tissue and calcium that we will draw on for the rest of our lives. This constant building and withdrawal of bone mass is known as remodeling.

The process of building bone strength and remodeling begins before we are born. As fetuses, most of our skeleton is made of cartilage. After we are born and begin to truly develop, cells called osteoblasts build a network of calcium that is used to form bones. Cells called osteoclasts begin to draw the calcium away, reducing bone mass. As long as we take in enough calcium, including a supplement if we cannot get what we need through diet alone, and get plenty of weight-bearing exercise, we are able to keep a positive balance in our bone bank.

What is Weight-Bearing Exercise, and Why is it Important to Bone Strength?

Weight-bearing exercises are the best type of activity for improving bone strength, as they cause the muscles to work against gravity, pulling on the bone. Comparable to a tree that is subjected to high winds while it grows is stronger than one that is coddled, bones that are put under stress are also stronger than those that are not. Very similar to the process of building muscle, the strain of weight-bearing exercise prompts the body to add mass to the bones to meet the high demand. The increased mass leads to stronger bones.

Jogging, tennis, and yoga are all good exercises for building bone strength. The trick with weight-bearing exercise is that it only helps the bones that are directly under strain. For example, dancing or hiking puts strain on the legs and hips. Therefore, hiking strengthens your leg bones, but does nothing for your arms. Because of this, it is important to vary the types of exercise you get in order to improve the strength of all your body’s bones. Weight lifting is an excellent way to add strength to the arms.

It is best to get at least 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercise per day, and those 30 minutes do not need to be consecutive. Find ways to fit in five to ten minutes at a time throughout the day to improve your bone strength.