Bone Up on Reality, Ladies
February 24th 2007 12:48
The tentative relationship of women to resistance training is nowhere more obvious than in the whole calcium spectacle that has been going on in the United States for the past 15 years. The amount of osteoporosis in women has been exploding over those years. To compound matters the average woman has apparently failed to make the connection between a sedentary lifestyle where actual physical labor is rarely a part of daily life and declining bone density.
I remember some puzzlement at the advent of the little plastic sack at my grocery. Why would anyone want all those little bags with which to jumble when one or two paper bags could contain everything bought escaped me. Part of it is the cost of the paper bags, but someone pointed out to me that the average older women struggles to carry a paper bag of groceries. In the grocery business, I suspect, irritating dowagers is the road to bankruptcy. So, we got the dilemma of "paper or plastic".
"Paper or Plastic" typifies the plight of the modern female. Labor saving devices abound in her life and she suffers from osteoporosis. A brief survey of daily life 50 or 100 years ago reveals an array of lifting,bending over,chopping, rolling,hauling,lifting,pound ing,pulling,and pushing in the life of the average women that simply isn't there anymore. That is something to be happy about to an extent and worried over to a similar extent.
All those activities I mentioned above are a nuisance except for the fact that they build and maintain muscle and flexibility. When they are removed, so is their stimulative effect. Further, when muscles are used against resistance,they send signals to the bones that spur them to make adaptation to this weight bearing. How a bone does this is to add to its density.
When your grandmother was working around the house or at the jobs of her time there was simple more work for her body. (Even driving to and fro required more-she didn't have power steering, automatic transmission, or power breaks!) Grandmother thus had ample muscular stimulus that granddaughter doesn't. She also had thicker bones. (I won't mention that grandmother was not loaded up with estrogen to avoid pregnancy. Give men testosterone and watch the carnage,but we can give women estrogen?).
Enter the "pills will solve it" crowd. They have a solution for osteoporosis. Take a wad of calcium pills. If you do, the decalcification of your bones will be impaired and all will be at least better. I don't buy it. Its the same phenomenon that we see in miracle diet drugs. Live like a lazy slob and just take this pill. My prophecy is that calcium alone will not stem the tide.
I'll be really honest today. I don't think that the preferred exercises of women will help either. Aerobics and cardio machines are one way to further decalcify bones from what I read. Tell your body that you are going to be hopping,jumping, and running for an hour and its response is to jettison all unnecessary weight-like muscle and bone.
You have guessed what will help, haven't you? Ask for paper? No, but you are getting warmer. Get into the weight room and lift weights and be serious about heavier weights. Leave the "girly" machines once in awhile. Go do something with a barbell, try weight bearing exercises like chins and dips. You'll get stronger bones and a bonus: muscles to add contour to your body. Next time: an absolutely crucial weight movement that I have almost never seen a woman do. Your servant, as always.
Needs Your help. Will lift for density.
"Paper or Plastic" typifies the plight of the modern female. Labor saving devices abound in her life and she suffers from osteoporosis. A brief survey of daily life 50 or 100 years ago reveals an array of lifting,bending over,chopping, rolling,hauling,lifting,pound ing,pulling,and pushing in the life of the average women that simply isn't there anymore. That is something to be happy about to an extent and worried over to a similar extent.
All those activities I mentioned above are a nuisance except for the fact that they build and maintain muscle and flexibility. When they are removed, so is their stimulative effect. Further, when muscles are used against resistance,they send signals to the bones that spur them to make adaptation to this weight bearing. How a bone does this is to add to its density.
When your grandmother was working around the house or at the jobs of her time there was simple more work for her body. (Even driving to and fro required more-she didn't have power steering, automatic transmission, or power breaks!) Grandmother thus had ample muscular stimulus that granddaughter doesn't. She also had thicker bones. (I won't mention that grandmother was not loaded up with estrogen to avoid pregnancy. Give men testosterone and watch the carnage,but we can give women estrogen?).
Enter the "pills will solve it" crowd. They have a solution for osteoporosis. Take a wad of calcium pills. If you do, the decalcification of your bones will be impaired and all will be at least better. I don't buy it. Its the same phenomenon that we see in miracle diet drugs. Live like a lazy slob and just take this pill. My prophecy is that calcium alone will not stem the tide.
I'll be really honest today. I don't think that the preferred exercises of women will help either. Aerobics and cardio machines are one way to further decalcify bones from what I read. Tell your body that you are going to be hopping,jumping, and running for an hour and its response is to jettison all unnecessary weight-like muscle and bone.
You have guessed what will help, haven't you? Ask for paper? No, but you are getting warmer. Get into the weight room and lift weights and be serious about heavier weights. Leave the "girly" machines once in awhile. Go do something with a barbell, try weight bearing exercises like chins and dips. You'll get stronger bones and a bonus: muscles to add contour to your body. Next time: an absolutely crucial weight movement that I have almost never seen a woman do. Your servant, as always.
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Comment by katyzzz
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Do you have any comments to offer concerning the benefits of swimming in the prevention of Osteoporosis?
Incidentally, this well written post does not address every aspect of Osteoporosis but it does create awareness and points out some thought provoking factors as, I feel sure,is the intention of its writer.
katyzzz