@VeryHappy , do you just use free weights, or do you use any weight machines. I’ve read for years that free weights are better. Someone just posted that they think the weight machines are better than squats.
We belong to a gym but I hardly ever went. Now that I’m vaccinated, I can start going back. At home I have a bike, treadmill, weights, band, leg weights, and small home gym. I hate going out to do all this. But I don’t have all the machines,
I’m currently using 5lb. Weights, but definitely need to go up. The nice thing about the gym is they have all the sizes.
I read this article this morning. Good to know for people who have problems with higher weight barbells or hand weights. I’d be interested in your thoughts about this, @VeryHappy .
I would be careful about just accepting low weight, high rep before knowing more about what they did. They only mention number of reps per exercise and say that 100 reps per exercise is considered heavy weight, low volume. 800-1000 reps was low weight, high volume. I’ve been lifting for several deacdes and consider 5 sets of 10 reps to be standard and that’s including 1-2 wam-up sets. That’s only half of the “low rep” range. If I was lifting heavy in my mind, I’d probably do 1/2-2/3 the volume. They do mention Body pump.by Les Miles. I’ve heard of that, but never done it.
But I do thank everyone for this thread. I’ve learned a lot, especially about meds. My grandmother had it bad and my Mom is on the line. I know she took them for awhile. But this was all back in the early 2000s. I has no idea they were not good. I worry about myself since I was never a milk drinker. I’m hoping all my weight training and large bone size will help. ( I don’t take after that Grandma. She was a foot shorter with bird bones. But still…)
I almost always use free weights. There are a few machines I use at the gym that make me pull weights down, rather than lift them up, and I figure that’s a reasonable change of pace for my muscles, but it’s usually the free weights.
Regarding the article – it compares women who used light weights to women who used no weights. So weights are better than no weights. I’d like to see an article that compares light weights to heavier weights; I suspect the heavier weights would be more effective. That said, if one can’t lift heavy weights for whatever reason – a previous fracture, for example – then definitely use the light weights!! IMO, something is always better than nothing.
BTW – let me mention that I’m all of 5’ 0" tall, and I weigh 106. So I’m not very big. That’s another reason why I’m really focused on being as well-prepared against osteoporosis as I can be – I’m a textbook example of The Tiny Woman who – if left alone – will shrink considerably!! So I’m fighting for every quarter inch I can maintain.
Lots of studies on Tai Chi for osteoporosis. That is really the only strength training I have been able to do for 15 years. It definitely helps with balance and slow movements are actually strengthening.
Calmom - that’s what I’m doing. Giving it a year, planning on a lot of weight lifting back at the gym, and reassess with next DEXA. I also stopped the gym for a year and while I walked almost every day and did some sporadic handwieghts at home - not at all the same as doing a circuit of 6 -8 machines and free weights at the gym. This morning I’m re-upping my membership at my old gym!
I agree – and the other issue for me is that I have always been small-boned, and I was quite thin and not particularly athletic as a child – so it’s probable that I was starting out with less bone density in the first place. I think it would be a great idea if all women got a baseline DEXA at age 30 – but I don’t think that DEXA even existed back when I turned 30. A pre-menopause baseline at age 50 would have been nice for me – but I don’t have that either. Just two scans now, at age 65 and 67 and the thing that concerns me isn’t the raw numbers, but the indication of what may or may not be significant loss over the past 2 years.
I forget- did I read an article that said weight-bearing exercise actually didn’t help?
I read something like that too, but at the time I was more worried about my spine than femur, so I’d have to check again. I had bought a weighted vest but didn’t really like it, so that didn’t last long. I have read that walking isn’t much help unless it is a brisk walk - I think the point is that there is a need to add stress to the bones to promote bone growth. So a lot of the things we do for general health don’t really send signals to the body that more bone is needed.
And I agree with you about fall prevention. I’ve been doing yoga now for about 7 years, and for my at-home exercise routine I’ve added in barre – so I feel like my balance is great.
I went to the gym yesterday for the first time in forever to do leg work and I am definitely feeling it today! And I purposely took it easy – I know that I have to ease into the exercising again. But the fact that my thighs and glutes are sore today is just more evidence to me that doing squats or using resistence bands at home are no substitute for the weight circuit at the gym. (I’m now +2 weeks after the second Covid vaccine, so feeling pretty safe now)
I have dumbbells at home, but with the weight machines at the gym I can be doing bicep curls or a shoulder press with 40 lb, leg presses with 200 lb. – or at least that is what I was able to do a year ago. The largest dumbbells I have at home are 8lb – but at home I am more likely to incorporate lighter weights into dance-exercise. Because that is what I’ll do - I just don’t have enough inner discipline to sit by myself and do a weight circuit in my living room, whereas at the gym it just seems natural to move from one station to the next.
I don’t really know what is best overall – I just know that what is best for each of us is what we can do, and what we will do. Home exercise equipment that sits untouched and unused doesn’t help anyone. Years ago my ex-husband had a home elliptical machine of some sort that he didn’t bother taking with him when he moved out. It sat forever in my bonus room until the day I finally got a whole lot of exercise in one burst by dragging the thing out the front door to the curb for pickup by the metal recyclers.
@calmom the Inspire forum for the National Osteoporosis Foundation has a lot of discussion about small women (short, thin, petite) and how the interpretation of DEXA scans may be skewed. I am not saying I agree with it but there were some studies cited. I’m tired or I would link for you!
@calmom - I’m the same - generally pretty thin and very small boned and not very athletic as a kid. I wondered about whether the -2.5 spine was a recent development or maybe something that’s been brewing longer. Maybe my daughter and young women should get baseline DEXAs - that really makes sense.
And SO agree about the home exercising - I’ve been doing circuits (generally the same!) at the gym since my 20s. It was hard for me to transition to the same length of time (even just 30 minutes) at home during COVID. There’s something about being in a building where everyone is weight lifting. I did a portion of my old circuit after signing up for the gym and it felt great!
Well, for one thing, there’s absolutely nothing else to do at the gym but exercise.
Also, with the machines there is a pretty easy structure to follow --set the weights, do x number of reps, move on.
My spine actually improved over the past 2 years – the T-Score went from 2.9 to 2.7. I’d like to think that was because of the exercise that I could continue, but my hunch is that the change is within the margin of error for the machine. I messaged my doctor’s office to find out the “least significant change” value for the facility – I haven’t received an answer.
The T-Score on the spine improved, but the T-Score for the femoral neck was worse.
I went from -2.9 to -2.7 for the spine, and from -2.3 to -2.6 for femoral neck. So not good news overall, and it all has left me terribly confused. I did the math and the actual percentage change based on measured bone density (0 g/cm2) over 2 years was +2.9% spine, -4.8% femur. I’m assuming that the spine measurement is within the margin of error (least significant change) but not so optimistic about the femur.
The “least significant change” is determined by a testing regime at each facility – and to get statistical significance, they multiply their own test-derived precision number by 2.77.
My doctor just responded to my message with this: “Not sure if I understand the least significant change, but we can discuss at your visit.” That is definitely NOT confidence-inspiring – as I wanted that info ahead of the visit.
I realize that a week ago I myself had no clue as to what LSC was, but I know now that it is essential info to compare the scan results.
IMO, there’s nothing wrong with taking meds to improve the bone density. My doctor told me I will not have a fracture because we’re taking all the steps to keep my bones strong.
My mother did everything she should have done, including meds, and she had several fractures. The final fracture, a femur fracture not uncommon with the meds, started a series of events that led to her death. Nothing is 100%, and we all need to research, question, and make the decision most comfortable for us.
The new Harvard health letter mentions that excess calcium intake leads to cardiac issues…dang! I also have osteoporosis and I am in the “no meds” camp. One thing I try to do each day is to shock my bones. I rise onto the balls of my feet then come down onto my heels with legs straight. Big shock and jarring…it kind of reverberates through your body. I also carry my 28 lb grandson in a backpack a mile to his house several times a week. I do take an Osteoben pill daily (supplemental dosage is 4 a day). It has genistein in it which acts like an estrogen and gives me hot flashes if I take the full dose of 4 a day. It can reverse osteoporosis when combined with exercise etc. but then there is the estrogen cancer risk. Anything you take helps in some ways and hurts in others! It is so hard to calculate the risks!
I think the letter you are referencing is behind a paywall, but here is what I could find on the site – unless there is a significant new study I don’t think there’s any clear evidence one way or another:
Evidence about the cardiovascular effects of calcium and vitamin D supplements has been mixed. Although some studies suggest that taking calcium supplements may raise heart disease risk, others do not. Low blood levels of vitamin D have been linked to a higher risk of heart disease. But taking vitamin D supplements does not appear to lower that risk. Some evidence hints that taking calcium and vitamin D together might slightly increase the risk of stroke. However, the largest study to date found no increased stroke risk,