Finding Your Right Way To Exercise

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I have so many clients who wrinkle their noses at the idea of weight training, even though they know it’s good for them. Ditto yoga, ditto t’ai chi. It only makes sense — what one person finds invigorating and fun is a boring chore to someone else.

That’s why figuring out what to put in the Better Bones exercise video I’ve told you about was a bit of a dilemma for me. Plus, there are so many good exercises out there that help with bone strength and flexibility that I didn’t want to just pick one and say “This is IT for bones.”

In the end, I decided to demonstrate a variety of exercises and explain how to do them

That way, people watching the video could try out different exercise methods and say, hey, this seems like something I could do (or, Not on your life! as the case may be). This video, when it’s finished, will be a collection of segments that feature moves from Pilates, yoga, t’ai chi, isometric exercises using a Theraband (but you can use an ordinary towel, too), assisted activities for those who cannot stand for long periods of time, and exercises using an Osteo Ball.

And really, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to exercise for bone health. Certainly, there are some exercise methods that provide greater effectiveness in building and strengthening bone than others, but every form of exercise offers benefits to bone health. I’ll just show you some good choices!

I also decided to choose exercise that everyone can do

After working with clients for over 25 years, I understand that even exercising to a video can be a little intimidating at first for someone who hasn’t exercised in a while. So I made a point of including real people, not models, in the video segments. The instructor who explains the moves in the video is a professional Pilates trainer, but the women who perform with her are ordinary women who volunteered — in other words, none of them is a professional dancer who can twist herself into a pretzel at the drop of a yoga mat. Because starting an exercise program is not about how well you can perform the moves or how perfectly you do a particular set, but rather it’s about getting to a place where you find an exercise method that you really enjoy and feel comfortable doing.

My hope is that if you feel hesitant to join a class or seek out instruction in various styles of exercise, this video will help you to take the plunge. It was designed to be used as both a sampler of methods you can try, or as a full half-hour workout composed of moves that specifically benefit bone without being too difficult or high-level for a beginner. I couldn’t resist adding an educational component about why exercise benefits bone, but the beauty of video is you can skip over the parts you don’t want to watch (though obviously I hope viewers don’t do that on the first time through!).

Although it will be a little while before all the editing is done, I’m excited to see how it comes out — and I hope you will be, too.