Your genes determine physical features, like height and the strength of your skeleton. However, your diet and how much exercise you do are factors that influence how healthy your bones are. Regular exercise, since you’re young, is essential for keeping your bones strong.
Bone-building exercise
Weight-bearing exercise (feet and legs support your weight) and resistance exercise (muscles work against external resistance) are particularly important for improving bone density and helping to prevent osteoporosis.
High-impact exercise, such as running, dancing, aerobics, help build bones and keep them strong, and are useful to strengthen your muscles, ligaments and joints.
Low-impact exercises (elliptical training machines, low-impact aerobics, fast walking) are a safe alternative if you cannot do high-impact exercises. Weight lifting, and using elastic bands or weight machines, are examples of resistance exercises.
To improve your bone density, however, you should alternate higher- and lower-intensity activities, and lift enough weight to stimulate it.
Yoga and Pilates can also improve strength, balance, and flexibility. But, they include many flexion-based (forward and side bending, rotating the trunk) positions which may be risky for weak bones.
Osteoporosis
When bones lose mass due to the loss of calcium and other minerals more quickly than the body can replace them, they become brittle and are at high risk of fractures and breaks. It is rather common in older people, especially women over 50. However, it is essential that you care for your bones since young, when your body is able to build bone mass.
A well-designed exercise program may help prevent falls and fractures, since exercise makes bones and muscles stronger and develops balance, coordination, and flexibility.
Dancing is one of the most effective activities to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, as it’s highly osteogenic (it has a high capacity to build bone mass); it’s perfect to keep your bones healthy at any age. It’s energizing, excellent for weight control and cognitive improvement, and above all, it’s great fun.
Start enjoying the benefits of dancing! Contact https://unified.dance and choose the perfect class for you, no matter your age or ability! And if you want, invite your friend!
