🦴 Bones in Q4: How to Future-Proof Your Frame
🦴 Do you know what your bone health is?
Ladies, we’re watching our bones age—and while we can't stop time, we can influence how well our skeleton holds up through the decades. The question is whether our bones will become brittle and broken or stay resilient enough to carry us confidently into our fourth quarter of life.
Here is why bone health should be one of the most important items on your wellness dashboard.
· After age 30, we naturally begin to lose bone mass.
· By menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density due to hormonal shifts—particularly estrogen decline.
· Osteoporosis and osteopenia increase fracture risk, which is a major predictor of long-term disability and even mortality in older adults.
🦴 How Deadly Is a Broken Hip?
Spoiler: Deadlier than most cancers.
“A hip fracture in an older woman isn’t just an injury—it’s a potential death sentence.”
— Dr. Vonda Wright, orthopedic surgeon
· 1 in 3 women over 50 will suffer an osteoporotic fractur
· Up to 30% die within one year of a hip fracture
· Loss of mobility → infections, depression, systemic decline
🦴 What is the number one thing you can do to improve bone health?
Lift heavy weights. 🏋️♀️
Resistance training is the single most effective strategy for improving bone density and reducing fracture risk, especially in postmenopausal women. Here's why:
🦴 Why Lifting Matters:
Bones are living tissue that respond to stress—just like muscles.
Weight-bearing and resistance exercises trigger bone remodeling, making bones stronger and denser.
Strength training also builds muscle mass, which:
Improves balance
Reduces fall risk (the leading cause of fractures)
If you don’t know what your bone density is, have your health practitioner order a DEXA scan:
What a DEXA Scan Measures:
Bone Mineral Density (BMD) (It tells you how strong your bones are and whether you have):
Normal bone density
Osteopenia (early bone loss)
Osteoporosis (more severe bone thinning)
True Story! I have two postmenopausal clients who have been lifting with me for less than two years, and have demonstrated positive changes in their BMD results! One had readings of osteoporosis that are now are in the osteopenia range. The other went from osteopenia results to low/normal bone loss results.
It’s not too late to bone up your bone mineral density!!
