[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/better-body-exercise-principles\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/better-body-exercise-principles\/","headline":"Osteoporosis and Exercise: The Better Bones, Better Body\u00ae Exercise Principles","name":"Osteoporosis and Exercise: The Better Bones, Better Body\u00ae Exercise Principles","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest It\u2019s no secret that exercise helps strengthen thin, weak bones, even in people with osteoporosis. Explaining why it works can be a bit of a challenge \u2014 unless you understand the five principles that we at Better Bones use as the basis for our program. Table of […]","datePublished":"2019-04-09","dateModified":"2026-04-06","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/osteoporosis-and-exercise-BB-Blog-6-20-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/osteoporosis-and-exercise-BB-Blog-6-20-1.jpg","height":1109,"width":2120},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/better-body-exercise-principles\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w","name":"How & Why Exercise is Great for Bone Health","description":"Dr. Brown discusses the Better Bones, Better Body Exercise Principles, which explain some of the science behind exercising for bone health. \n\nLearn more about bone health: www.betterbones.com\nCheck us out on facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\/\nExercise for bone health: patreon.com\/betterbones\n\n\u2192 Want to learn everything you need to manage & reverse your osteoporosis\/osteopenia naturally in one inspiring weekend with Dr. Brown? Join our bone health retreat & workshop! Learn more here: https:\/\/shop.betterbones.com\/pages\/love-your-bones-love-your-life-virtual-retreat\n\n\u2192 If you are interested in working with Dr. Brown to develop a personalized natural bone health program, read more about consultations here: https:\/\/www.betterbones.com\/consultations\/help-osteoporosis-osteopenia-fracture-healing-bone-health-concerns\/\n\n\u2192 Would you like your questions answered by Dr. Brown?  Comment below and she may address them in a future video!\n\nCheck out our website! \u2192 http:\/\/ www.betterbones.com\n\nWant to connect with Better Bones on social media?\nLike on Facebook \u2192 http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bFollow on Twitter \u2192 http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/drsusanbrown\n\u200bFollow our Instagram \u2192 http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bCheck out our Pinterest \u2192 http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\n#osteoporosis #osteopenia #bonemass #bonehealth #weightandbonemass #womenshealth #drsusanbrown #betterbonesbetterbody #preventosteoporosis\n\nTranscription:\nhi everyone I'm dr. Susan brown director\nof the Center for better bones today I'm\ngoing to talk a little bit about the\nprinciples of exercise these are\nactually principles I developed over the\nyears looking at all the terrific\nStudies on exercise and bone health as\nyou will remember Gina this week spoke\nabout these exercise principles and in\nher section the exercise evolution in\nour exercise evolution Channel\nshe discussed some types of you can\nexercises you can do that really apply\nthese principles we're going to speak\nabout today I hope you're all enjoying\nexercise evolution by the way I think\nit's a great offering so the first\nprinciple is that bones and muscles can\nbe seen as forming one single unit and\nthat is frequently referred to as the\nbone muscle unit the important thing\nhere is that you have chronically weak\nbones they will be associated with\nchronically weak muscles and just the\nopposite if you have nice strong muscles\nit's very likely that they're going to\nbe associated with strong bones we think\nof the muscle bone unit they change\ntogether the second principle is that\nbone adapts to the load put upon it\nso in other words if I lift very heavy\nweights or I work in a job that causes\nme to put a lot of load on my bones I'm\ngonna have stronger bones and it's like\nnature said I'm not gonna waste energy\nand resources building strong bones if\nthe person is not going to use these\nbones so when we're very active when we\nwhen we walk a lot stomp a lot dance a\nlot put a lot of load on the bone or\nmuch less if we work in a physical job\nwhere we have to lift move things about\nwe're gonna have stronger bones bone\nadapts to the load put upon it the third\npoint is the the load effect on bone is\nsite-specific so for example if I play\ntennis a lot my right arms gonna get\nvery strong my left bone arm is not\ngonna get so strong my muscles not gonna\nget so strong in my bones not gonna get\nso strong so if I want to build a hip I\nreally should do exercises that put\nimpact on the hip hopping jumping\nskipping walking and when I walk I'm\nlike March a little stop a little when I\ncome down the stairs I pay attention\nbecause that that heavy impact going\ndown that builds foam so the loading of\nbone is site-specific if I want to\nstrengthen my bone in my wrist I do\nexercises to strengthen the wrist\nperfect the Third Point is a no matter\nwhat kind of exercise you do rest is\nrequired to build mock bone and to build\nmuscle so when you talk about very\nintense training intense effort to build\nmuscle or bone what you do is you\nexhaust the muscle but you have to rest\nseveral days in order for that to\nrecover so there's a balance of rest and\nactivity and you can tell like for\nexample I'm doing this little training\nnow with a trainer and if I go one day\nand I come back in three days and I\nstill don't and I'm not - I can't lift\nthis heavy weights as before it's\nbecause I haven't had enough recovery\ntime so be sure to realize the principle\nof rest and activity you must rest\nenough we always say the work gets done\nduring the rest it doesn't get done when\nyou're lifting those weights when you're\nexercising because that actually breaks\ndown tissue it's in the rest that you\nbuild new tissue and fibers both in bone\nand in muscle the fifth point is that\nthe impact of exercise on bone\nstrengthens a direct dose response\nrelationship in other words the more\nimpact you put the bigger the impact is\non the growth of bone for example\nwalking is one thing that gives a\ncertain impact like","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/lu5fF1C7c1w\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/lu5fF1C7c1w\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/lu5fF1C7c1w\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/lu5fF1C7c1w\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/lu5fF1C7c1w\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2019-02-27T15:45:48+00:00","duration":"PT8M45S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lu5fF1C7c1w","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown","description":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, is a medical anthropologist, a New York State Certified Nutritionist, and the author of Better Bones, Better Body -- the first comprehensive look at natural bone health. Dr. Brown specializes in osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone health regeneration, and auto-immune disease. She is also famous for her natural approach to bone health; check out her Better Bones programs and products.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_m0l08uY9k8RO1FbN8-VsYIOa8fiq9BtocNNM_k3xw7a7s=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":7786}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lu5fF1C7c1w#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":187}]},"about":["Exercise"],"wordCount":733,"keywords":["exercises for osteoporosis"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s no secret that exercise helps strengthen thin, weak bones, even in people with osteoporosis. Explaining why it works can be a bit of a challenge \u2014 unless you understand the five principles that we at Better Bones use as the basis for our program.Table of ContentsToggle#1 Bones and muscles form interconnected muscle\u2013bone units#2 Bone adapts to the load put upon it\u00a0#3 The loading of bone has a site-specific effect#4 Rest is required to build bone (and muscle)#5 The impact of exercise on bone strength follows a direct dose-response relationship\u00a0#6 Age is no barrier to bone strengthHear Dr. Brown talk in her own words about these bone building exercise principles#1 Bones and muscles form interconnected muscle\u2013bone unitsThe very idea that exercise can help strengthen bones makes no sense at all unless you understand the close relationship between the bones and the muscles. They work together in supporting and moving the body, but can\u2019t do much separately. Remove the bones from an arm or leg, and the muscles have nothing to attach to; eliminate the muscles, and the bones hang uselessly, unable to move or function.Once you view them as a unit, it makes intuitive sense that lean muscle mass predicts bone mass (rather than total body weight). It also makes sense that chronically strong muscles are associated with strong bones, and by the same token, chronically weak muscles are associated with weaker bones. Both bone mass and muscle mass are lost with aging, but we can do a great deal to limit this loss through modifications of lifestyle (including exercise) and nutrition.#2 Bone adapts to the load put upon it\u00a0In all her wisdom, Mother Nature is economical. Energy and resources are spent to build the amount of bone and muscle that an individual\u2019s activity patterns shows they need. That is, bone acclimates itself to the load put upon it: More activity tells the body that more muscle and bone are required; less causes muscle and bone to decrease.\u00a0 Intermittent spurts of higher-impact loading, in particular, stimulate the strengthening of bone.#3 The loading of bone has a site-specific effectYou don\u2019t, unfortunately, get a full-body effect for a partial-body workout. The muscles pulling on the tendons that in turn pull on the bone send an important signal to build bone strength, but that signal is localized \u2014 meaning, if we exercise in such a way as to work the hip and\u00a0 leg, such as in jumping or hopping, we will build bone strength in the hip and leg, but not necessarily in the arms, wrists, or upper skeleton. Similarly, a right-handed tennis player will have stronger bone in their right arm, which moves more, than in their left arm. So if overall bone strength is your goal, you need to exercise in ways that work all (or most) of the major muscle groups.\u00a0#4 Rest is required to build bone (and muscle)Building bone is not all about working the muscles, though. Rest is very important for both the bone and muscle renewal process. We show the bone and muscle we need them to be stronger by the stress we put upon them during our activities, but it is in the recovery period, when we\u2019re at rest, that bone and muscle renewal take place.#5 The impact of exercise on bone strength follows a direct dose-response relationship\u00a0Even small amounts of exercise benefit bones, but the bone-strengthening benefits of exercise are increased with a higher dose of exercise. The more frequent your exercise sessions are, and greater the intensity per session, the greater the strength you\u2019ll impart to your bones.#6 Age is no barrier to bone strengthThere are plenty of people in their later years who are worried about osteoporosis. They sometimes say, \u201cI wish I\u2019d started exercising when I was still young enough!\u201d But if I were to add a sixth principle to this list, it would be this: It is never too late to build bone strength with exercise. Studies have shown that even wheelchair-bound 90-year-old seniors can build bone with weight bearing exercises, and even a little bit helps a lot.\u00a0 Hear Dr. Brown talk in her own words about these bone building exercise principles  Exercise works best alongside proper nutrition \u2014 learn about the nutrients that support bone building."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Exercise","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Osteoporosis and Exercise: The Better Bones, Better Body\u00ae Exercise Principles","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/better-body-exercise-principles\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]