December 4th, 2007 Milan
Your body contains over two hundred bones, joined by cartilage and ligaments. Together they form your skeleton, the framework that supports and protects your muscles and internal organs.
When you touch your bones through soft skin, they feel as solid and unchanging as rock. But that’s just the outer shell. Underneath, bone tissue is porous and very much alive. Blood vessels run through it and at the center is bone marrow, where blood cells are formed.
Bone is made of calcium and other minerals - that’s why it’s hard. Like muscle, bone tissue constantly repairs and renews itself, though with bone this happens much more slowly. The process is called remodeling.
Remodeling is affected by many factors, but the three most important are:
- Estrogen and other hormones
Osteoblasts, the bone-making cells, are especially responsive to estrogen. So after menopause, when the ovaries produce less, bone formation slows down.
- Calcium supply and demand
Calcium is essential to many of the body’s behind-the-scenes chemical reactions, it’s needed for muscles to contract, to regulate blood pressure, and to control bleeding. If you don’t get enough calcium from your diet, your body is forced to draw on the supply stored in your bones.
Physical impact stimulates bone formation. That’s why walking is a better exercise for bones than swimming: When you float in the water, you barely touch bottom, but when you walk, your feet hit against ground. The tug of muscle against bone works the same way. This is one reason that strength training affects bone density. And the stronger your muscles, the more stimulation they provide.
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December 4th, 2007 Milan
If you want to loose weight, strength training with combination of cardiovascular exercise and flexibility exercises is the right way to do it . It not only helps take off pounds, it also trims and tightens. Here’s how to make it work:
- Adjust your food intake so you lose weight gradually, at a rate of no more than two pounds a week. People who try to speed the process usually lose muscle as well as fat, get fever nutrients, and, what’s more, they feel deprived and risk regaining the weight later on
- Do strength training to boost your metabolism. Of course, you’ll also get other benefits, including increased strength and bone density, and improved balance. This beats the side effects of diet pills
- Add aerobic exercise to burn calories and improve cardiovascular fitness. If you don’t enjoy aerobic activity - and it can be painful and unpleasant if you’re overweight - give it another try after a month or two of strength training. Don’t give up! It’s critically important for your health. You’ll probably find aerobics easier and more enjoyable when you’re stronger.
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December 1st, 2007 Milan
People who are physically active are healthier, happier, more productive, and live longer than people who are sedentary. Kate Lorig, R.N., Dr.P.H. in book “The arthritis help book, A tested self-management program for coping with arthritis and fibromyalgia” notes that this is true for everyone, including people with arthritis.
Arthritis is one of the most common reasons people give up or limit physical activities. We know that inactivity causes weakness, stiffness, increased pain, poor endurance, fatigue, and other problems that we used to blame on arthritis.
If you have arthritis, regular exercise and fitness have special benefits above and beyond the general benefits of improved health.
- Strong muscles that do not tire quickly help protect joints by improving stability and absorbing shock
- Good flexibility lessens pain and reduces the risk of sprains and strains
- Maintaining a good weight helps take stress off weight-bearing joints
- Regular exercise that moves the joints improves joint circulation and nutrition, decreases joint swelling, and keeps cartilage and bone healthy
- Higher energy levels, less depression and pain, and greater comfort doing daily activities are other advantages to regular exercise and fitness
By understanding physical fitness and exercise, you’ll be able to improve your health, feel better, and manage your arthritis, too.
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