Training Blog

Have you thought about the health of your bones lately?

I wanted to share this graph with you. It illustrates how we reach peak bone mass around our late 20s/30. We maintain it for a while before it starts to decline. For women the decline speeds up, once we arrive at menopause due to the loss of estrogen. The type of lifestyle you live also plays a role in how quickly it declines. And it is not just women that are affected. Osteoporosis New Zealand says 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 60 will suffer a fragility fracture due to osteoporosis. This leads to a loss of mobility, independence and fun.

So, what can you do to avoid the crippling effect of fractures late in life? 

1. Strength training with weights. Improves your bone density & lean muscle mass
2. Improve your balance and coordination
3. Eat a nutrient rich diet especially in calcium and Vitamin D (helps absorbs calcium)
4. Get outside in the morning sunshine for some Vitamin D
5.  Limit alcohol, too much makes bones brittle.

It is never too late to start

And finally, if you have children in their teenagers and 20s encourage them to do all they can to build a high peak bone mass now. (It will be the last thing they are thinking about!) Researchers agree that the higher it is to start with the bigger the dividends later in life.

PERSONALISE YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS

Each and every one of us are unique in how our minds and bodies are made up. Your genes plus your lifestyle work together to create YOU. In scientific terms this is call Epigenetics. We each react differently to food, exercise and the environment and we all have our own individual greatness. 

 We are constantly bombarded with information about the latest “best thing” to do, one often contradicting the other. It all gets very confusing as to what you can do to achieve optimum health and to function at your best. This can result in flip flopping from one thing to the other, getting nowhere or taking no action at all. Feel familiar?

Scientific research shows that one size does not fit all when it comes to your optimum diet or type of exercise or even when to sleep. Maybe you have a friend who dropped a dress size or 2 by following a keto diet so you thought you would try, but it didn’t work for you. Don’t despair, it probably means that you are a different health type and hence your diet and exercise needs are different from your friend’s. For example, some people get great results eating 6 small meals a day while others are better skipping breakfast and having 2 good meals. Some need lots of protein, while others very little. Some of us feel great getting up at 6am and doing a high intensity workout, yet for others the best way to lose weight and thrive is doing a weights session later in the day or doing more endurance-based exercise. Do you thrive working in an open plan office or do you do your best work in a quiet place?  It is important to focus on what is right for you, not get caught up in what your friends or Celebrities are doing. 

If you would like to know more about personalising your health and finding out what it right for YOU, please do get in touch. I am passionate about empowering people to improve their overall health and thrive. 

Jane Williams, Personal Trainer and Women’s Health Coach,   #Iamwithyou