of workout ideas to reduce weak bones. Approximately 10 million Americans have osteoporosis,

and another 34 million have low bone mass, (osteopenia). A disease without any symptoms,

osteoporosis affects about 20 percent of men and 80 percent of women.

Because bones gradually become weaker, they are more likely to break at a minor fall or,
if left untreated, even from something as simple as a sneeze. The most frequent fracture
sites are hip, wrist and spine, although any bone in your body might be affected.

A diagnosis of osteopenia or osteoporosis could be scary, leading some to quit exercise
because of fear it'll cause fractures. The truth is that those with low bone mass
should make a point to exercise on a regular basis.
Being active is shown to not merely help prevent osteoporosis, but slow bone
loss once it has already begun. Before beginning a training program, you should
check with your doctor for guidelines, as level of bone loss determines exactly
what workout is best.
Physicians can assess density of bone and fracture risk by scanning your body
by using a special type of X-ray machine. Along with exercise, treatment
may include dietary modifications and/or estrogen replacement therapy.
The more you know about this condition, the more you can do to help
prevent its onset.

To make strength and bone mass, both weight-bearing and strength training
workouts are ideal. 

Weight-bearing work outs are those that require the bones to completely
support your weight against gravity. Examples are walking, jogging,
stair climbing, dancing or using an elliptical exercise machine.

Non-weight bearing exercises include biking, swimming, water aerobics and rowing. 

Weight-bearing activities including walking as little as 3 x weekly can benefit the bones.
Resistance training places mechanical force (stress) on the body, which in turn
increases bone density. 

Start by lifting light weights, moving in a slow and controlled manner, increasing
resistance when you become stronger.
It's always strongly suggested that people with osteoporosis avoid the
following kinds of activity:
 * Step aerobics and high-impact activities like running, jumping, tennis.

 * Activities that involve rounding, bending and twisting of the spine.

 * Moving the legs sideways or across the body, especially when performed
against resistance.

 * Rowing machines, trampolines.

 * Any movement that involves pulling on the head and neck.


Exercise Tips:

 * Even if you don't have osteoporosis, you must check with your medical
provider just before you
start a fitness program.

 * Be sure you warm-up prior to starting and cool-down at the end of
each exercise session.

 * For the best profit to your bone health, combine several different
weight-bearing exercises.

 * When you build strength, increase resistance, or weights, instead
of repetitions.

 * Make sure to drink a lot of water whenever exercising.

 * Vary the types of exercise that you do weekly.

 * Combine weight bearing and resistance exercise with aerobic exercises
to help you increase your
general health.

 * Bring your friend along to help you keep going or in addition to
this, bring your family and encourage them to be healthy.
 * Add more work out to your day; take the stairs vs. the elevator, park
further way, and walk to your co-worker's office instead of emailing.

Put LIVE into action!

L - Load or weight-bearing exercises make a difference for your bones

I - Intensity builds stronger bones.

V - Vary the types of exercise as well as your routine to keep interested.

E - Enjoy your exercises. Make exercise fun so you will continue
into the future!
Certain factors boost the probability of developing osteoporosis. 

While a few of these risk factors are controllable, others won't be. 

Risk factors that could be controlled are: Sedentary lifestyle, excess
intake of protein, sodium, 

caffeine and/or alcohol, smoking, calcium and Vitamin D deficiencies and
taking certain medicines.
Body size (small frame), gender, family history and ethnicity are risk
factors that can't be
controlled. Women can lose nearly 20 percent of their bone mass in the
five to seven years after
menopause, causing them to be more susceptible to osteoporosis. 

It is never too early to start thinking about bone mineral density. 

About 85-90 percent of adult bone mass is acquired by age 18 in girls and 20 in boys.

Nutrition and Exercise for Healthy Bones when people are young and Adolescence
Much of the reserve of healthy bone is built in youth and before the age of 30. 

Women might be more susceptible to an inadequate foundation process at
this time than men. 

Sufficient calcium intake,a balanced diet with a lot of vegetables and fruits and

load-bearing exercise will be the recommendations for solid bone growth
when you’re young. 

Then, with continued exercise into old age –- and this goes for men as well
 -- bone density decline
could be kept to a minimum. Although women are the main focus of data about
 osteoporosis and low bone
density (osteopenia), some men are also seriously afflicted by this condition.
Even if you do each of the right things while maturing and into adulthood,
your inherited
characteristics - your genes -  can present you with bones that are
susceptible to osteoporosis.
This is even greater reason to maximize your lifestyle to prevent poor bone health.
About the Author - Michelle Aultman writes for the elliptical workout blog, 
her personal hobby blog 
focused entirely on guidelines to prevent osteoporosis trough fitness at home. 

Writer's note: The information provided on this post are designed to support, 
not replace, 
the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her doctor. 

Michelle Aultman has not professional intent and does not accept direct source 
of advertising coming 
from health or pharmaceutical firms, doctors or clinics and websites.

All content provided by her is based on her editorial opinion and it's not 
driven by an advertising 
and marketing purpose.
 
 



Hi, I’m Michelle and I write ellipticalmachines.net to help you get all 
information you need to raise 
awareness on healthy eating and home fitness and their associated 
benefits to support those living 
with diseases on a daily basis.

I was born in California in ‘61 and I’m a checker. I started ellipticalmachines.net 
in 2009 to help 
other people like me understand how to provide objective and credible 
information on home fitness.

Prior to raising my family, I spent over 5 years as a teacher, corporate trainer 
and workshop leader. 
To contact me, please email at info [at] ellipticalmachines.net

Thank you!
Michelle

Photo by Francesco Pilarri

Seeing the scale go down is a nice feeling when you’re “dieting” but if the weight you are losing is lean muscle it will only pose huge problems for you in the future! Muscle weighs twice as much as fat, so if you are dropping weight quite rapidly and not consuming enough protein in your daily diet you are losing valuable muscle! I have been saying this for years – do not just do cardio exercise, but lift weights too! Stimulating and “tearing” your muscle fibers down during resistance training is only part of the equation. You must ingest amino acids (which are in your proteins) to rebuild and recover from those intense workouts!

Lots of cardio exercise without proper protein intake will only result in one thing – weight loss. That weight loss will be some fat of course, some water weight as well but most importantly lean muscle loss. The goal is to lose as much body fat as possible while retaining lean tissue (muscle). I don’t care who you are, nobody wants to purposely lose muscle from their body. The more muscle you have, the more fat you lose. Having more muscle on your frame allows us to eat more food as well because it takes more energy to sustain that muscle.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the “yo-yo dieting” phenomenon? Losing a lot of weight (muscle included) and then finishing your diet only to start eating like you did before your diet will lead to a rebound of rapid weight gain! The difference is this time it will be ALL fat gain and lots more where that came from. Remember I said losing muscle will only pose huge problems in the future? Losing the muscle during your “weight loss” catches up to you because now you have less muscle to combat the fat you had. Fat cells merely shrink when you “lose” so when they begin to get bigger from eating more, you are not packing around the muscle mass you once had to burn more calories. This in turn will make you even fatter than before you started to lose your weight!

How can you stop this from happening? First thing is to change your thinking. Concentrate on losing “fat” NOT just “weight.” Muscle weight is the most important thing you can try and maintain while dropping down on the scale. Psychologically this will be harder because when you do look at the scale it may not go down much. This is why taking measurements is more important than a weigh scale.

Along with taking measurements and using your mirror image to chart your progress it is crucial to maintain a high protein diet everyday to hold on to muscle. Even if the majority of your exercise is of the cardio type, you must remember to not let your body go too long without protein. You want to stay in what is called an “Anabolic state.” (muscle building/muscle sparing). This will enhance your chances of success. Allowing your body to go into a “Catabolic state” (muscle wasting) is a huge mistake that many make.

This is a rather easy thing to avoid. Simply make sure you are ingesting a protein source every 3-4 hours max throughout the day – everyday. Do not forget about the night time either!  You want to remain in that same anabolic state while you sleep as that is when you recover and/or grow. Drinking a slow release protein containing Casein before bed helps this state to be in effect for up to 8 hours. High protein and very low to no carbohydrates is the key. Breakfast needs a high protein source a well. The word Breakfast means to “break the fast” which makes sense, but what I am saying is DO NOT fast over night!

Any questions regarding this or anything else fitness related please email Darren at askgymjunky@gmail.com Good luck with your training!

About my writing: My writing style is my own and to let my reader’s know ahead of time – I say it like it is! My intention is not to offend, but inform. I welcome any questions or even comments YOU the reader has. If for some reason, I do not know the answer, I will find it for you! Please email your questions to:

askgymjunky@gmail.com

I look forward to working with MuscleSport Online Magazine as it is the best online magazine! – Darren Sorensen

My personalized training programs are: $45 US. Personalized eating plans are: $250 US (for 3 months support, included).

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

Perhaps is is just good karma to finish in the top spot the first time someone does something, especially when it’s a bodybuilding contest that takes months to prepare for. Back in 2005, a newcomer entered the NABBA Junior Nationals and walked away with the trophy that all the other competitors had their eyes on.

Monica M. of Doylestown, Pennsylvania may have begun weight training to prepare for high school cross country and sprint meets, but at the young age of 25, she has become an accomplished natural bodybuilder. She went on to win two more contests in each of the following years and has already qualified for professional status.

Her posing routines in all five of the shows Monica has entered have been lauded and she has also taken home ‘Best Poser’ awards on three separate occasions (2006 NABBA Nationals, 2007 USBF Jersey Shore Natural, 2007 USBF Baltimore Natural). On Bodybuilding.com, it has been described as a “sensational posing routine” and a “great combination of diesel, dance and dynamite gymnastics.”

If Monica had never begun working out, she may not have found her hidden talent. That’s the way things shake out at times, and at age 14, Monica could not envision what was to come.

“The heavier weights and dedication to the gym did not come until I was about 18 years old ,” she said. “Once I began lifting heavier and cleaning up my eating habits, I realized that my body responded quite favorably to resistance training.”

Calling track her “ultimate passion,” Monica has certainly been able to share that with bodybuilding. If she did not sustain numerous injuries, she may have become an Olympic champion, knowing her dedication to her body and being the best. As Monica puts it, “I love to compete.”

When Monica was a child, she became inspired by a vision on the television set, much like many of us. “I was obsessed with ‘American Gladiators,” she remembered. “Ice was my favorite. I always wanted to be on the show.”

It would seem that things are timed for a reason, and the second incarnation of the series is once again a hit show. “I was going to open calls in New York last summer, but I was competing and still in school,” said Monica. “I’m still looking for a way to get on that show.”

Only tweaking her routine and diet has kept Monica in the right shape to compete in more than one contest a year. “Whether or not I’m getting ready for a show, my workouts don’t change a whole lot – I just do a heck of a lot more cardio,” she said. Typically holding true to a six-day split, Monica will generally do one bodypart and cardio each day, while hitting her abs three times per week.

Eating clean all year has made Monica’s occasional indulgence into one of her favorite offseason snacks, ice cream, not become a problem. During contest preparation, she will eliminate all salt, sugar and alcohol.

To get to the top is what makes all of these sacrifices worth it to Monica. “Don’t get me wrong, dieting and training are physically and mentally demanding,” she said. “But being a winner is such a wonderful thing.”

The type of thing a girl could get used to.

By Matthew Sgro

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

The job, I believe, of a Professional Personal Trainer is to educate, motivate and inspire their clients to improve their lives by helping them reach a higher level of fitness. This is accomplished in many ways, one of them being resistance training. Whether it be with free weights, bands or machines, strengthening the muscles makes them leaner and stronger. Holding more muscle pushes the body to burn more fat. While you’re training, especially in a circuit training style, you WILL burn calories. This article is about training, so I won’t delve into nutrition, but it does play a major factor and any quality personal trainer should address it.

A couple exercises that should never be attempted in personal training session are:

Behind the Neck Barbell Presses and Behind the Neck Pulldowns.

If you learn nothing else from me as a Professional Personal Trainer, please take this: Behind the neck with a bar puts the rotator cuff in a bad postition. The rotator cuff is a group of four small muscles that stabilizes the shoulder.

When interviewing or doing a sample session with a personal trainer take mental notes.

Are they more concerned with locking you into a year of personal training? Are they trying to sell you? Do they listen to you? Will they get in contact with your orthopedic, chiropractor and any other professional you’ve worked with to discover your special conditions? If not, buyer beware.

Be safe. Good luck in finding a quality personal trainer that does it for the right reasons (to help people) and enjoy your fitness journey.

Matthew Sgro, in addition to being a MuscleSport Mag staff writer, is the President and Founder of Elite Personal Training Studios, Inc. and Boot Camps with a Purpose, Inc., located in Exton, PA. For details, visit www.TrainAtElite.com.