A New Fitness Challenge

Since being diagnosed with osteopenia a few months ago I have been doing a lot of research on bone health and specifically fitness and bone health.  I look at my daughter who, although it is a bit early to know for sure, seems to have inherited my small bones and worry that she may have bone health issues later in life.  I would love get her started on the right track to preserving her bone health as an adult.  Inevitably, my reading has pointed in the direction of strength training (AKA, weight training).

Now, those of you who know me know that I am a huge believe in evidence based medicine and reviewing literature on health care topics.  Unlike the literature we grew up reading (books, magazines, Internet articles), the literature to which I am referring is research articles published in peer reviewed journals.  Often you will find that there are popular books about all kinds of medical treatments, diets, and exercise plans; however, very few have actually been studied and shown effective.

I have been delighted to discover that there is a whole body of literature published in peer reviewed journals on strength training which naturally gives it far more credit in my mind.  While I usually don't recommend books on health topics, the below book is an exception in that captures the essence of the literature. 

Anyway, my goal this summer is to dedicate 3 days a week to strength training in the hopes that it not only improves my bone density but leads to overall better muscle balance and strength.  In anticipation of this, I recently renewed my gym membership and scheduled some sessions with a personal trainer to learn how to use the equipment and create a workout. 

Working this into my schedule will be a bit of a challenge because although I work out 5-6 days a week, I do cardio (running, biking, walking, or the elliptical trainer) from home or around the neighborhood for 30 mins to 1 hour and fit it in sometime between the lunch packing, breakfast making, drama managing that accompanies our daily morning routine.  Adding strength training will necessitate me cutting back on the amount of time dedicated to cardio 3 days a week and also setting a standard time to get to the gym even earlier in the morning (I'm anticipating needing to get to the gym by 5AM).

Although strength training introduces some new scheduling challenges, I'm excited to tackle it!