HEALTH INFORMATION

WHY WEIGHT LIFTING?

Everyone can exercise in one form or another and we can help! Start small, make some goals, and surprise yourself!

If you spend your life avoiding anything that makes you uncomfortable, you steer yourself directly to the very thing you seek to avoid...a lifetime of discomfort and regret!"

Fitness Translation: The short-term "pains" of daily exercise and healthy eating (which quickly turn into pleasures) are the only things that will give you what you really want: a fit, healthy body and the ability to get more out of life. If you avoid all discomfort and frustration in life, after awhile you'll end up a thousand times more uncomfortable, frustrated, and full of regrets that you didn't make the small sacrifices when you had the chance!

Recent studies have shown that the risk of osteoporosis is lower for people who are active, and especially those who do load-bearing, or weight-bearing activities at least three times a week. How can exercise prevent osteoporosis? Muscle pulling on bone builds bone, so weight-bearing exercise builds denser, stronger bones. The more bone mass you build before age 25 or 30, the better off you will be during the years of gradual bone loss. Exercise can also help you maintain bone density later in life.

The best exercises for building bone are weight- or load-bearing exercises. These include weight-lifting, jogging, hiking, stair-climbing, dancing, and other activities that require your muscles to work against gravity. Swimming, biking, and simply walking, although good for cardiovascular fitness, are not the best exercises for building bone. Thirty minutes of weight-bearing exercise daily benefits not only your bones, but improves heart health, muscle strength, coordination, and balance. Those 30 minutes don't need to be done all at once; it's just as good for you to do 10 minutes at a time.

If you already have osteoporosis, you might wonder whether you should exercise at all. The answer for most people is YES. You should speak to your doctor to learn what types of exercises you can safely do to preserve bone and to strengthen your back and hips. Keep in mind, however, that exercise alone can't prevent or cure osteoporosis.


Exercise Tips

• Start out with a check-up by your health care provider before you start an exercise program.
• Remember to warm up before starting and cool down at the end of each exercise session.
  
• For the best benefit to your bone health, combine several different weight-bearing exercises.
  
• As you build strength, increase resistance, or weights, rather than repetitions and decrease rest time between sets.
  
• Remember to drink plenty of water whenever exercising, especially here in dry Wyoming.
  
• Combine weight bearing and resistance exercise with aerobic exercises to help improve your overall health.
  
• Bring your friend along to help you keep going or better yet, bring your family and encourage them to be healthy.
• Commit to exercising long term and make some realistic goals such as inches or endurance vs. a weight number on the scale.
• Schedule exercise into your day the way you would an appointment or dinner date so you will be less likely to forget, as well as be detered from your workout by someone wanting your time. If someone does want something respectfully decline and ask to schedule another time you can get together or give them some help. Most people will understand and sooner or later get used to your scheduled workouts. This works great for those with hectic schedules or high demands on their time!
  
• Add more physical activity to your day; take the stairs vs. the elevator, park further way, and walk to your co-worker's office rather than emailing.

Put LIVE into action!

L - Load or weight-bearing exercises make a difference to your bones.
I - Intensity builds stronger bones.
V - Vary the types of exercise and your routine to keep interested.
E - Enjoy your exercises. Make exercise fun so you will continue into the future!


Athletes and Bone Density

A study conducted by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASMBR) measured the bone density of athletes, showing that BMD is higher across all sports, particularly weightlifting, gymnastics, and soccer. These athletes' legs, hips, spines, and arms demonstrated bone density that was on average 13% higher than non-athletes.

Initial /Beginner	Moderate	Advanced
Walking Square Dancing Yoga Weight Lifting Low Impact Aerobics Dance Tai Chi Gardening Elastic Band Exercises House Cleaning Activities Carrying Groceries Bowling Baseball/Softball	Walking Uphill Race Walking Jogging Weight Lifting Step Aerobics Dance Downhill Skiing Cross Country Skiing Soccer Basketball Volleyball Hiking Tennis Interval Running	Walking with Weighted Vest Walking wth Backpack Race Walking Jogging Running Soccer Weight Lifting High Impact Aerobics Stair Climbing Basketball Interval Running Hiking Backpacking Jumping Rope Gymnastics
Initial /Beginner = Start one or more of these activities on a regular basis. Get up and get moving! Moderate = Increase your load, intensity and time of physical activity. Do more, more often Advanced = Challenge yourself to keep increasing your load, intensity and time of physical activities. Put effort into Building Bone!

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