Getting the Jump On Healthy Bones!

JUMPING CAN
SAVE YOU FROM AGE-RELATED DISEASES

START JUMPING NOW
SO YOU CAN BE MOBILE LATER!

Jumping is one of the best ways to increase bone mineral density, especially in your hips. Sounds weird, but here’s what happens…

Jumping involves creating impact with the ground. The impacts create a micro bend in the bone that stimulates a series of physiological reactions which strengthen the bone, increasing bone mineral density.

Your bone mineral density is a key measure for predicting osteoporosis and consequential bone fractures. Bone density increases most rapidly during adolescence, the process naturally slows with age: Peak bone mass happens around age 25 and then declines. Five to seven years after menopause women may lose up to 20% or more bone density.

To make matters worse, as we age we’re less likely to perform high-impact, bone-building activities. In the United States alone, low bone mass impairs over 43 million people each year.

The less bone density you have, the more likely you are to fall or break bones. One of the best ways to improve bone density loss now so you don’t trip and fall later, is to jump…or to partake in any impact activity.

When was the last time you hopped, skipped, or jumped? If it was back in the last century you wouldn’t be alone – these are the movements that often vanish from our lives when we leave childhood and school sports behind.

Yet they’re also the kind of high impact activities that grown up bones really thrive on – and they do a better job of boosting bone density than walking or jogging, according to exercise physiologist Dr Belinda Beck. “Walking doesn’t give the bones the stimulation they need to adapt and improve – bone cells need the ‘loading’ that comes with high impact exercise done quickly. Even running up and down stairs will load bone much better than just walking, but not as much as jumping.”

Take the advice of Van Halen and House of Pain: JUMP (AROUND)! Jumping from side to side or backwards and forwards is great– bone loves to be surprised. Skipping is good too, and so is hopping on alternate legs. Other ways to give bones a healthy jolt include sports like volleyball, basketball, tennis, and squash. Or, there are jumping exercises such as jump rope, box jumps, jump squats, and jumping jacks.

Get a jump on healthy bones now! If you are looking for some great jumping exercises, or more information about osteoporosis and bone density, click the button below for a complimentary assessment with a Success Studio trainer.