Step up to denser bones
By Janet Raloff
A 6-month fitness-and-health study in college women turned up an unexpected finding that could prove useful in tailoring workout routines to fight osteoporosis.
Bones react to the pull of muscles attached to them by building up density and strength, notes Sara Arnaud, a retired NASA physician and a coauthor of the new study. That’s why trainers routinely recommend that women build bone density in their legs and hips through muscle-strengthening resistance exercises, such as squats, leg presses, leg curls, and calf presses, she says.