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27 May 2008 09:15 AM

Bones - They Do A Body Good

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

Regular exercise isn't about building muscle and staying in shape, it's also about building strong bones. Our skeletal structure, though buried amidst our muscles and soft tissue, is a critical part about living healthy and healthy living.

Bone density is increased with regular exercise. Dense bones are good because they help support our overall body frame and structure. As we age, our bone density lessens unless we maintain our exercise and keep our bones strong. The exercises that are designed to do this are called weight bearing. Weight bearing exercises include golf, walking, jogging, dancing, swimming and stair climbing. These cardio workouts also stimulate bone formation, improve balance, strengthen muscles and help you prevent future injuries.

Targeted Bone Support

It makes sense that specific exercises that strengthen specific areas of the body, strengthen the associated bones. Walking, for example, really focuses on leg muscles so it strengthens leg bones. Swimming works upper and lower body, thus it strengthens upper and lower body bone mass. A workout that gives you a full body workout will also give you a full bone workout.

Calcium is important to the development and maintenance of healthy bone mass, but so is vitamin D, exercise and a healthy diet. Exercise is good for you in so many ways, from improving your digestion to building muscle strength to burning excess fat and reducing stress, why not takes care of your bones?

My husband's grandfather will be 98 this year and he walks every day, he's taken phenomenal care of himself. A week or so ago, he took a fall due to getting lightheaded. He hit the ground pretty hard, but he didn't break any bones. At his age, one might expect the bones to be more fragile due to reduced bone density, but his regular exercise, healthy diet and conscientious care of himself is something his doctors always comment on. I hope my bones are half as strong as his when I'm his age.

Do you take care of your bones?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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