Adaptation of bone to exercise
Training to increase bone formation
Bone is a connective tissue. When stressed it deforms under the load. Osteoblasts-bone growth cells- migrate to the surface of the bone to counteract the strain caused by this external weight. Because of this activity, bones grow stronger due to the bending, compressive, torsional loads, and the muscular contractions at the tendinous insertion points.
Programs designed to stimulate bone growth, also known as bone mineral density (BMS), will incorporate the following characteristics:
- Specificity of loading
- Proper exercise selection
- Progressive overload
- Variation
Specificity of loading deals with the exercise patterns emphasizing specific areas in need of assistance. New or unusual forces in varying angles of stress will cause your bones to adapt to the greater intensities. Military presses, bench presses, upright shoulder shrugs, push-ups, chin ups, and other similar exercises help to develop stronger upper body bones. Lower body exercises include these types of movement patterns: squats, calf raises, dead lifts, and straight leg dead lifts.
Exercise selection promotesosteogenic stimuli (factors that stimulate new bone formation) and will exhibit these characteristics: Compound exercise muscle movements consisting of multi joint, structural loading and varying force vectors. Such exercises are the squat, dead lift, military press, and the bench press along with the Olympic style moves.
Progressive overload
Greater than normal loads force the body to adapt in a positive manner regarding new bone formation. This response is greater if the load changes are dramatic and repetitive in nature. Younger bones may be more receptive to osteogenic changes in the load variance than older bones.
Variations of exercise selections
The body adapts quickly to imposed loads per the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Loads) principle. In order to prevent accommodation, the exercises have to be varied on a periodic basis. There are numerous individual differences in the same exercise. As an example, the squat has at least seventy variations! And these variations do not include any machine versions.
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