Full Circle Fitness News Page Each month you'll find a topic of discussion, news in and around the studio and any current promotional offers we have running so be sure to check back regularly to see whats going on. Knick-Knack, Paddy-whack, give a dog a .....? Old Mother Hubbard, went to the cupboard to give her poor doggy a ......? The knee ....... 's connected to the , shin .....? JUNE IS _ _ _ _ EDUCATION MONTH!!! All About Bones! Why do we have a skeleton? To hold us up, right? Well, yes, but that’s not all. It’s actually much more important than that! Unbeknown to many, bones are actually classified as rigid organs, made up of dense connective tissue, just like that of our muscles and other organs. Each adult has a total of 206 bones which come together to form our skeleton. Our skeletal system is responsible, not only to support our body, helping us remain upright, but also, for movement and for protection of our organs, like our brain, heart and lungs. In addition to that, our bones are responsible for the production of red and white blood cells and the storage of minerals in the body. So, just keeping us in an upright position, is actually one of its easiest jobs. What is Bone Density? Bone Density, or Bone Mineral Density, in its most basic explanation, refers to the health of your bones. The greater your bone density, that is the greater, or thicker your bone matter per square centimetre of bone, the healthier your bones are. Determined through medical testing, bone density is used to establish the risk of Osteoporosis and fracture occurring. The Lowdown on Osteoporosis There is a statistical relationship between poor bone density and Osteoporosis and having a high risk of fracture. As we age, our bones, like the rest of our body, naturally begin to decline in health, and the less we do to help them, the greater the risk. We have all had an experience of knowing someone, or hearing about someone who, regardless of their level of physical activity or apparent health, took a sudden fall with great consequences. Maybe they slipped on tiles when they were wet, maybe they stumbled over a small stone, maybe they just lost their balance while walking from one room to another, and the next thing they know, that tiny fall that would once have resulted in a bit of a red face and a dust off, is now the reason for hip replacement surgery, months, if not years of physiotherapy and a vast drop in the quality of life. So, what to do about it? As mentioned earlier, we have all know someone, or known of someone that has been effected by their bones, and unfortunately, it’s often a common issue that goes hand in hand with the process of ageing. But don’t be fooled into thinking this is an “old person issue”. Its not. BUT, there are things you can do about it. Just like doing a bit of exercise can help your heart and lungs, it also has enormous effect on your bones. Unfortunately going for a walk around your local area each morning is not enough to help you when it comes to osteoporosis, your body demands more when it comes to protecting and strengthening your skeletal system. Here are just a few of the ways you can help yourself when it comes to the health of your bones: - load bearing exercise (which can actually reverse osteoporosis)
- proprioception (balance) improvement exercises
- increasing vitamin D intake through the careful exposure of direct sunlight
- joint mobility exercises to ensure that the correct basic movement patterns are followed.
Walking and running are forms of cardio respiratory, or aerobic exercise. While it is great for improving the health of your heart and lungs it's not a load bearing activity. This form of exercise also contains a lot of low to medium impact, over-loading the joints and bones without the required muscular strength to support them. While going for a run, or a walk, is great for the heart, it must be combined with other forms of exercise for the benefits to outweigh the negative impact taken on your body. Swimming, water aerobics, and other ‘weightless’ forms of exercise are other examples of non-load bearing exercise. Professional divers and astronauts place a high emphasis on load bearing exercise due to the amount of time they spend being ‘weightless’ and the consequences that has on their bodies at a young age due to the prolonged exposure. Load bearing exercise can be a term that scares people. It conjures images of Schwarzenegger type men holding enormous weighted barbells over their heads wearing tiny Speedo’s and sporting a very orange glow! Relax. That’s the extreme. Load bearing exercise, simply put, are exercises that work against the force of gravity, and they are vital for building strong bones, strengthening the muscles which support those bones, and boosting your metabolism much more effectively that aerobic exercise, helping you burn more energy, and therefore fat! The barbell image used before is the extreme example of a load bearing exercise. In a simpler, and much less scary example, standing up from a sitting position, is effectively, a load bearing exercise because your body is pushing against gravity to get upright. So you see, load bearing exercise does not have to be scary, and it doesn’t have to involve heavy weights, or any weights at all for that matter, but it is vitally important for the health of your bones, and the quality of your lifestyle. So, why are we telling you all this? Because time and time again we hear the horror stories and have found that through discussions with people, they knew very little, if anything, about everything you’ve just read. What’s more devastating is that if only they had known, they could have told others, and well, knowledge is power. Knowing this information may have prompted them to tell their wife or their husband or parents or grandparents, that though going for a walk around the block each morning is a great idea, they need to do more to increase their bone strength, minimise the risk’s and avoid having to have those lovely hand rails attached to the wall next to the toilet to help them sit down when they are no longer able to do that on their own. So now that you know, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Don’t just tell people who you think are at risk, TELL EVERYONE, it’s never to early to start planning for the long term health of your body and reducing the risks that face us as we age. To find out more about how you can take action to prevent Osteoporois and help your body before its too late, call us on 9826 8213 and speak to one our our trainers about how we can help you. Navigation: Personal Training South Yarra Personal Training Malvern Personal Training Toorak Locations; South Yarra, Toorak, Malvern, Armadale, Prahran, Richmond, Windsor Happy Clients Contact Us | 
