Protect Your Bones as You Age with These Exercises

It may not be something that you think about now, but knowing how to protect your bones as you age is extremely important. If you suffer from any sort of family history of bone health problems, then it may be even more vital. The fact is that as you age your bone health is compromised. Many people find that as they age, their bones become weaker.

Eating the right foods and working to protect your bones, including strengthening them through proper exercise, can be crucial. If you work to protect your bones now, it will help you immediately and as you age, when you most need the support. Below we review some of the best exercises to help you to be your strongest and best.

Strength Training

By far, strength training is one of the most important ways to protect your bones and stay your strongest. You may find this counterintuitive because you think of lifting weights as unduly stressing and weakening your bones, but this isn’t true. The more often you lift weights and strength train, the more that you are working to protect your bones and contribute to overall better health. So be sure to lift weights and work on your overall fitness to maintain your bones and a strong body.

Yoga and Pilates

Even if you have never considered a yoga or pilates class or DVD, it’s well worth it. You will find that this helps to protect your bones as you work on strength, balance, and flexibility. Each of these components helps you to be stronger and to protect you into the future, when your bones may become weaker naturally. If you make this a regular part of your workout routine, you will experience the benefits now and as you age.

Swimming

Swimming is gentle enough that you can do it when you get older, yet it can help you now, too. Swimming is a great form of exercise that can protect your bones and still add to your cardio and strength training. You will find that you can glide through the water with ease yet get a really great workout. Your bones will be stronger, your body will be leaner, and overall this will contribute to improved health as you age. You can also stick with swimming exercises as you age to ensure that the bones continue to be strong and protected.