“4 for Life”: The Best Bodyweight Exercises for Bone Health

Contrary to what some may believe, exercise is an essential element for treating and preventing osteoporosis. Even though exercise with osteoporosis only modestly affects your bone mineral density, it has a huge effect on strength, flexibility, and balance — all of which keep you upright and sturdy. This can help prevent falls and potentially life-threatening fractures.

According to the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation, there are two types of exercise that build and maintain strength and bone density: weight-bearing exercises — activities where you move against gravity, such as dancing, hiking, or stair climbing — and muscle-strengthening exercises — when you use your body or a weight as resistance against gravity. In this video, learn more about the four body weight exercises recommended: squats, push-ups, back extensions, and planks.

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Written by:

Brittany Doohan

Brittany Doohan was the Content Director at HealthiNation and is currently the Editorial Director at Medscape. Through her work with Medscape, she won a Silver Telly Award in May 2022 for "Sleepless Nation: A Public Health Epidemic — Episode 2: A Decade Without a Diagnosis." She has worked in health journalism and video production for more than 8 years, and loves the challenge of explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand and creative way.

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Mandy Armitage, MD

Mandy Armitage, MD, has combined clinical medicine with her passion for education and content development for many years. She served as medical director for the health technology companies HealthLoop (now Get Well) and Doximity.

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