Our bones provide structure for our bodies, fine boned, big boned or somewhere in the middle we don’t pay them nearly as much attention as we should.

Collagen? It’s in face cream isn’t it?  Not something that also keeps our bones healthy.  As everyone I teach knows I am not a fan of statistics, other than the fact that they rarely prove anything except that someone has collected statistics. I’m a passionate believer in curiosity, a willingness to learn and hard work and effort and to me age, body type, experience etc are never a reason not to try something new.  However, there is one major exception to the rule which is Osteoporosis (weakening bones) and Osteopenia (the precursor to Osteoporosis) When clients declare they have either, the exercise guidelines are clear and unequivocal.  A general Pilates/fitness class is rarely a safe place (unless it’s a very small group with a very experienced teacher).  Options do become limited.  So as you can see preventing this disease is a much better idea than trying to work with it.  I appreciate at this point most of you may now be thinking this article doesn’t apply to you because you’re: 1. Active 2. Eat well and 3. It happens to old people.

So here’s the reality check for keeping healthy bones:  being active must include weight bearing exercises, and these have to be interchanged every ten minutes for the bone building benefits to be sustained, swimming and cycling won’t do it, though they are great forms of exercise for keeping the heart and lungs healthy.  Your diet needs to be high in calcium rich foods, not just dairy but Almonds, Brazil nuts, tofu, sesame seeds, flax seeds or Herring.  A calorie restricted and limited diet may shrink your waist but it will also weaken your bones as can high amounts of Tannins (tea) and high protein diets and  highly processed foods, these all cost your body calcium . Smoking and drinking more than 3 units daily also increase your risk.  As for your age, bone density starts to diminish after 35 and increasingly so after menopause.

But here comes the good news we can improve our odds at not developing it to start with and even better we can also halt it when we show the early signs.  There’s not a great deal we can do about genetics but we can definitely all move more and start to include resistance or weight training into our exercise routines.  Whether that’s in your Pilates session with bands, circles or weights or in the Studio on the Pilates Equipment or in an exercise class using weights, heavy enough for you to feel the effort but not so heavy you lose form. It can be press ups (yes ladies you can do press-ups and you can do them well) in the park using a bench or taking out a skipping rope and remembering how to use it!  *Its all a question of paying as much attention to the inside of the body as we do the outside, after all even the most beautifully decorated house will eventually collapse if solid foundations are not in place to keep it standing tall, and really, wouldn’t you rather be a listed beauty than a condemned wreck?!

Keep moving all; I’m off to teach my first Pilates Retreat of the year in Italy with Seraphina Pilates, lots of walking, Pilates, great food and fabulous company!

* Always take appropriate advice from a doctor/qualified exercise professional before starting a new exercise regime.