Bone Density

Okay, I just received this month's issue of "Bicycling" and I'm worried/perplexed.

There is an extensive article about bone loss and it appears that the only people who suffer more osteoperosis than cyclists are couch potatoes and astronauts! Does anybody on this list have any more information on this?

Cycling has brought my blood pressure down and my resting heart beat to 54bpm, but what good is that if my BONES are going to rot!?

This is a great topic for discussion because the ramifications for all cyclists, particularly long distance cyclists, is significant. For those who dismiss Bicycling magazine as a tool for corporate advertising, please understand that there is real science proving that calcium loss is correlated with a number of factors including age and sweat.

Some generalizations can be made about exercise programs that appear to be the most effective for bone health:

1. Exercises involving faster movements, as opposed to slow, static movements;

2. Exercise, be it resistance or aerobic in nature, that exceeds 70% of maximal capacity;

3. Movements that involve some impact, such as walking, jogging, or heel drops; and,

4. Programs involving a wide variety of muscle groups and movement direction.

Although cycling meets the first two criteria, it fails on the last two. It is reasonable to conclude that cycling is not enough to slow or reverse bone loss, although there is very little science to back this up. But you have to ask: Is it worth the risk?

The following link provides a general overview of the impact of nutrition, exercise and hormones on bone loss. It is not cycling specific, and there is very little science directly related to bone loss and cycling (from my internet search). This link does have some excellent references, and at the very bottom there is a program for improving bone health.

http://www.gssiweb.com/reflib/refs/2...TOKEN=45780957

FWIW, I started jogging again 3 times per week at the beginning of the year. I stopped several years ago as cycling became my exercise of choice (200-400 miles/wk), but I can no longer ignore the risk of bone loss. The article in Bicycling just confirmed what I had already been thinking.

Hey! I crash a lot; does that count as impact? Seriously though, I guess I'll start lifting weights again. I quit because it wasn't doing enough cardio vascularly. That can be boring also, but at least I can do it in front of a TV!

__________________
Murphy was an optimist!

LMAO! Good luck with the weights, but from the (limited) research I have done it looks like some sort of activity involving heel strikes provides the best stimulus for bone regeneration (e.g., jogging, racquet sports, basketball, volleyball). Still, weight lifting will be better than cycling alone.

I found your post on a goggle search. I just had back x rays, post crash and they noted on the report that I had mild bone density loss. I am 50, RR cat 3. Last 3 years of training 200+mile weeks for 9 months of the year.

Any other research out there? I am going for a bone scan test as soon as I can.

Any additional feedback would be helpful.