How to lift weights to stimulate osteoblasts to build new bone

The following ideas about how to use weight lifting to build new bone come from a website created by a woman who is not a medical professional, but is a professor.  She learned from her own experience that it is possible to reverse bone loss in a year or two.  Her website is a good resource for learning about the variety of causes of bone loss and the many ways that it can be dealt with.

Considerations for Bone Density Exercises
http://www.osteopenia3.com/bone-density-exercises.html

1. Our osteoblasts [the bone cells that make new bone] respond to increased stress on our bones. Different exercises tend to stress different parts of our body so it is a good idea to change off from one type of exercise to another every few weeks.  

Example: ride a resistance recumbent bike for two weeks as your warm up for weight lifting at the gym. Then stop using the bike and use the stair climbing machine for two weeks. Or if you are working out at home, do some dancing for your warm up for a couple weeks. Then switch to walking up and down the stairs as your warm up. 

2. If you are lifting weights, doing strength training, be sure to rest one or two days between sessions. If you do these exercises everyday, your muscles will not have time to recover.  

3. Remember it is stress on the bone that stimulates the osteoblasts. When lifting weights, the best bone density exercise is to lift a weight heavy enough that you can only do 7-8 repetitions. When you can do 15 repetitions of a weight, go to the next higher weight. 

4. Lift SLOWLY. Try to lift each weight to a slow count of eight up and then down to a count of eight down. Slow lifting is the key to stronger bones. 

5. It is normal to feel a bit sore the next day...or even on the third day. But you should not feel real pain either when you lift or after your exercises. If you are feeling pain, go back down to a lower weight and lift slowly until your muscles strengthen.

Check out what an 81yo can do with a heavy kettlebell

Pilates for a strong core

The first time I tried Pilates, it made sense.  More sense than yoga because you keep moving.  For me, that means I stay interested.  All that is needed to strengthen the core is mat Pilates.  No need for the fancier variations that require equipment.

Here is a short set of Pilates exercises for skiing.  Can you guess how old this ski instructor is?  She's been teaching at Vail full-time for 30 years.  Started teaching Pilates ten years ago.