[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/bone-strengthening-options-for-seniors-power-hopping\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/bone-strengthening-options-for-seniors-power-hopping\/","headline":"Bone strengthening options for seniors — power hopping","name":"Bone strengthening options for seniors — power hopping","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest Become a Patron! Hopping 100 times a day isn\u2019t for everyone, but I make it part of my routine and have recommended it for years for those who are able. So imagine how enthusiastic I was that British researchers have “powered-up” simple hopping for remarkable hip-building benefits […]","datePublished":"2015-03-02","dateModified":"2026-04-22","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\/01\/osteoporosis-blog.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/osteoporosis-blog.jpg","height":512,"width":1024},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/bone-strengthening-options-for-seniors-power-hopping\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk","name":"Hopping to Strengthen Bones","description":"Dr. Brown talks about exercises that will help to build the strength of the hips and prevent hip fractures.  The more you use bone the stronger it grows, and impact exercises such as the ones shown in this video will increase bone strength.\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\nExercise for bone health: patreon.com\/betterbones\n\nTranscription:\nhi this is dr. Susan brown director of\nthe center for better bones today I want\nto talk to you about a really great type\nof exercise that will help to build the\nstrength of the hips and prevent hip\nfractures bone is very much like muscle\nin that the more you use it the stronger\nit grows the case with bone and hip bone\nin particular is that we like impact\nexercises that put a little extra stress\nsend a message to the bone you need to\ngrow stronger for example if I walk\nthat's one sort of impact but if I stop\nor or better yet if I hop that's a much\ngreater impact and today we're going to\ntalk about hopping hopping is an\nexcellent way to stimulate the growth of\nthe hip bone the strength of the hip\nbone now hopping is not for everyone\nbecause some people have knee injuries\nleg injuries foot injuries but if you\ncan hop and you enjoy it I'm gonna give\nyou suggestions some suggestions first\noff if we do happen for example on two\nlegs the higher up we go the more impact\nwe have and we come down the more force\nwe have for building going if you say\nwell I can't really that's uncomfortable\nthat kind of hopping then we might say\nstomping marching like they do in the\nmilitary that gives a nice impact and\nsome people like to do heel drops where\nyou go up on your toes and down on your\nheels now you can go up and down very\ngently like that or you can go up and\ndrop down that's a nice impact up drop\ndown up down that is a very nice impact\nalso for building bone the most potent\nhapping exercises for building bone\nstrength particularly hip bone strength\nour exercises that involve one-legged\nhopping and that's because we put the\nwhole weight of the body on one leg and\nwe have that extra those extra g-forces\nwhen we jump up and come down in fact a\nvery interesting European study took 70\nyear old men they had them hop 50 times\na day on one leg and it took a few\nmonths to work up to doing that 50 times\na day they didn't just jump into him and\nthey had the men happen different\ndirections\nlike I'm going to show you and they\nfound that in various different parts of\nthe hip bone joint they gained strength\nit's interesting to note with this\nhopping exercise the bone density didn't\nchange a lot but when they were able to\ndo a 3d image of bone strength they saw\nthat bone strength increased and what\nthey did in this study was one-legged\nhappening like this they hopped in one\ndirection then they happen in another\ndirection then they happened in the\nother direction and then the other\ndirection and of course the higher up\nyour hop the better impact you're gonna\nget so you might remember hopscotching\nas a kid if you like that get the kids\nout and try it\nhopping is what we're talking about\none-legged happening is the supreme two\nlegged hopping just simple hopscotching\nall of that so a lot of fun so let us\nknow try some hopping if you can do it\ndon't hurt yourself but have fun if you\ncan do it let me know how it goes\nthis is","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ARz_KIwwmJk\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ARz_KIwwmJk\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ARz_KIwwmJk\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ARz_KIwwmJk\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ARz_KIwwmJk\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2015-05-08T14:49:34+00:00","duration":"PT3M8S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ARz_KIwwmJk","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=ARz_KIwwmJk#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":19857}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ARz_KIwwmJk#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":356}]},"about":["Exercise"],"wordCount":446,"keywords":["hopping"],"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\tBecome a Patron!Hopping 100 times a day isn\u2019t for everyone, but I make it part of my routine and have recommended it for years for those who are able. So imagine how enthusiastic I was that British researchers have “powered-up” simple hopping for remarkable hip-building benefits \u2014 and this was among seniors with the average age of 70.While modest gains were noted by the standard bone density tests, special 3D bone strength mapping revealed remarkable gains:These impressive results were obtained by 70-year-old men who would normally experience aging bone loss each year. The gains were from the impact with each hop delivering 2.7 to 3 times body weight ground resistance force (this indicates a significant enough hop to produce an impact of 2-3 times one\u2019s body weight). While the study was done with men, I seen no reason why women would not achieve the same gains from brief single-legged daily hopping. Furthermore, I suspect one would obtain substantial benefits from one legged hopping even if they did not reach the high impact level used in this study.Here’s their simple hopping program\u2022 Over the course of several weeks, participants worked up to 50 single-legged hops a day\u2022 They hopped on the same leg each day\u2022 As they gained strength, the hops became multidirectional (10 up and down vertical, 10 to the front, 10 back, 10 each to right and left sides)\u2022 At the year’s end hip cortical mass and trabecular density had increase substantially in both legs with greatest gains accrued in the hopping leg.Granted, these powered-up hops are not for everyone, but if you are feeling fit and decide to dial up your daily hopping routine, keep in mind these guidelines from the study:\u2022 Warm up before each session\u2022 Begin with very low hops and jump higher as you can over the weeks\u2022 Start with just a few one-legged hops a day and work up to 5 sets of 10 hops at a time\u2022 Resting between sets at least 15 seconds, walking in place a bit\u2022 Hold a chair for balance if necessary\u2022 As you get stronger make the hops multidirectional. This multi-directionality loads and strengthens different parts of the hip\u2022 As you gain strength, hop as high and as fast as you canLet me know your thoughts and your plan to keep hopping one way or another.References:Alison, Sarah. The influence the Hip-Hop of exercise on 3D distribution of cortical and a trabecular bone across the proximal femur: The Hip-Hop Study. ASBMR Abstract 1013, 2014 Annual Meeting, Houston, Tx Sept. 12, 2104.Allison, Sarah. High impact exercise increased femoral neck bone mineral density in older men: A randomized unilateral intervention. Bone, 53 (2013):321-328. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Exercise","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bone strengthening options for seniors — power hopping","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/exercise\/bone-strengthening-options-for-seniors-power-hopping\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]