Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current workouts:

35 minute strength/HIIT, 2x/week
25 minute interval training (on bike), 1x/week
35 minute swim, 1x/week.

Just a warning. I am older and not at all athletic. However, I did slightly less than this for a number of years and ended up with osteoporosis. Swimming--which I did 3 or 4 times a week for 45 minutes--and cycling do NADA for bone density. They are great aerobic exercise but you need to do weight bearing exercise as well. (Depending on what you do, the HITT might qualify.)

When I got to the osteopenia stage the doctor told me that if I couldn't spend more time exercising I should cut back on swimming and start walking.

If you are white or Asian and on the short side you are generally at higher risk.

I use a Fitbit and it tells me that I am in excellent cardiovascular shape. My bones are a different story.

Walking can help, but for osteoporosis, weightlifting (resistance training) is generally superior to walking for building bone density, as it provides the intense, targeted stress necessary to stimulate bone-forming cells, particularly in the spine and wrists. While walking is excellent for overall health and strengthening lower-body bones, it does not provide enough resistance for significant, systemic bone growth.

This is false.

Brisk walking, with heel striking, helps bone density.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/speed-walking-for-bone-strength
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0002934394901112
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2777437/

Walking can help, but for osteoporosis, weightlifting (resistance training) is generally superior to walking for building bone density, as it provides the intense, targeted stress necessary to stimulate bone-forming cells, particularly in the spine and wrists. While walking is excellent for overall health and strengthening lower-body bones, it does not provide enough resistance for significant, systemic bone growth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Current workouts:

35 minute strength/HIIT, 2x/week
25 minute interval training (on bike), 1x/week
35 minute swim, 1x/week.

Just a warning. I am older and not at all athletic. However, I did slightly less than this for a number of years and ended up with osteoporosis. Swimming--which I did 3 or 4 times a week for 45 minutes--and cycling do NADA for bone density. They are great aerobic exercise but you need to do weight bearing exercise as well. (Depending on what you do, the HITT might qualify.)

When I got to the osteopenia stage the doctor told me that if I couldn't spend more time exercising I should cut back on swimming and start walking.

If you are white or Asian and on the short side you are generally at higher risk.

I use a Fitbit and it tells me that I am in excellent cardiovascular shape. My bones are a different story.

Walking can help, but for osteoporosis, weightlifting (resistance training) is generally superior to walking for building bone density, as it provides the intense, targeted stress necessary to stimulate bone-forming cells, particularly in the spine and wrists. While walking is excellent for overall health and strengthening lower-body bones, it does not provide enough resistance for significant, systemic bone growth.