Cycling and Bone Density

[Zen]

A very short but informative article from the L.A.Times (http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-bones22oct22,1,6983755.story?ctrack=1&cset=true)

[mimitabby]

thanks

i will continue with my weight training and jump rope and walking!

[Zen]

thanks

i will continue with my weight training and jump rope and walking!

I wish I could walk far and long enough for it to be of any benefit.
I'm working on it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

here are exercises recommended to prevent bone loss:

http://bone-muscle.health-cares.net/osteoporosis-exercises.php

[coyote]

My family has a genetic predisposition to Ostoporosis. I've just had my second bone density scan and it was a little worse then the one before. My Dr. told me to increase the walking and to weight lift 3x per week, cut down the biking and swimming. I love the weight lifting but I just could not cut out the biking. I just got a road bike and I commute with it. I ended up cutting the swimming completely. I miss it and I've been thinking about adding it back in at the end of the weight routine. I must say, I do not ride much on the weekends because I'm using that time to walk. So, the information has effected my life. I take it very seriously. I'm only 44 and I've got bone loss in my hips. I wish I could find a way to get paid to exercise but maybe then it would not be as much fun :)

[sbctwin]

Thank you for the link. I have a twin sister, who has not lost 'height' as I have. I have always enjoyed cycling as my choice of exercise. My twin has enjoyed jogging and does some light weight lifting at home. When I saw her a couple of weeks ago, she was definitely 'taller' than me:cool: . I have always been shorter than her, but I was noticeably at least an inch shorter. I am 54, in menopause and know that I have gotten shorter. I am afraid to get a bone density test, but I think I probably should. It concerns me. I know my mom, before she died, lost a lot of height as she got older. I am 4'10" (I hope) and I know she was probably only 4'6". I tend to do more walking in the winter when I walk to the bus stops but I don't think I do enough. Maybe I should try to 'jog', but I always suffer from shin splints....

[mimitabby]

wow, that's tough to have a jogging twin who is not losing bone! you need to start pounding some pavement. We have it in our family too. We also have inactive lifestyles and not enough calcium or vit. d in our diets. WHen people were outside literally running around naked all day they didn't need supplements. but now we're civilized so we need to make adjustments.
keep lifting the weights and pounding your feet!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi does stair climbing. I know a woman who jumps rope in her basement every days for the past 15 years. Brisk walking is good too, weight lifting, jogging. Jumping jacks.
Stair climbing is great for the heart and lungs too!

[VeloVT]

Hmmmm... This is a little scary.

I'm only 27, but I worry about bone density because I've been on Depo Provera for gee, around 4 years now and haven't found anything I want to replace it with yet. Since it depresses estrogen levels, it can allow bone loss to accelerate. Some docs are more concerned about this than others, but every now and then someone tries to persuade me to change birth control methods.

I take 1,200 mg calcium supplement daily. I also try -- usually successfully -- to get 2-3 servings of dairy daily. This is a good idea because it's generally thought that calcium in food is absorbed better than calcium in supplements...

I DO run at least a couple of times per week. I'm trying out the idea of running a marathon next May, so once I finish midterms (!!!) (oh yeah, I took serious time away from school working and now I'm finishing my bachelor's as an old lady) hopefully I'll be stepping that up significantly. I guess the message here is I really need to start weight training. I've done it in the past but frankly, not recently...