Bone strength and cycling

Forum rules
The information / discussion in the Cycling Health Forum is not qualified medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
Calvin27
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:45 pm

Bone strength and cycling

Postby Calvin27 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:27 pm

Interesting article.

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutri ... rkStrength

Apparently over emphasising cycling at the expense of other activities reduces bone strength. Scary stuff seeing that I mainly got into cycling because, my body couldn't hack impact stuff. Looks like back to some heavy lifting at the gym then.
Heavy road bike
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike

lobstermash
Posts: 1426
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:51 pm
Location: Canberra

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby lobstermash » Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:47 pm

On an episode of Stan Lee's Superhumans, there featured a martial arts expert who had hardened his bones by repeatedly hitting them over many years. The bones became thicker in response, to the point where it didn't hurt him at all to break 5 wooden baseball bats at once. Perhaps the answer to thinning bones is to have more stacks?

But seriously, there are so many factors not controlled in that 'study' that it's hard to credit it with much more than a slightly raised eyebrow.
Image

Constantheadwind
Posts: 101
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:19 am

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Constantheadwind » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:57 pm

I think if you sweat a lot, then be sure to have a recovery glass of milk.

User avatar
clackers
Posts: 2065
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 10:48 am
Location: Melbourne

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby clackers » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:48 am

Cycling's not weight bearing so shouldn't be the only form of exercise, especially us more senior/revered folk. :D

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby trailgumby » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:58 am

clackers wrote:Cycling's not weight bearing so shouldn't be the only form of exercise, especially us more senior/revered folk. :D
+1. 52yo here. I have been neglecting this the last 12 months and have paid the price with a few imbalances that have contributed to a knee over-use injury through improper muscle recruitment. A stack a few weeks ago didn't help either, but was not the sole cause.

It doesn't need to be massive weights, nor lots of sessions a week.

A focus on it for a few weeks say twice a year during the transition phase of your training program followed by a once-weekly maintenance session when your base building phase gets underway should be sufficient. Set your weights so you can achieve a minimum number of repetitions of 10-15, and then build the number of reps rather than the weight. I only up my weights when I get to 20.

Joe Friel's book Cycling Past 50 has good material on this. It is getting on a bit now, but there has been no material close to it in quality that I can find published since.

Bone density is certainly a concern, along with loss of muscle mass as testosterone levels decline with age. Weight bearing exercise is a great help for not only maintaining both but improving them.

User avatar
toolonglegs
Posts: 15463
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Somewhere with padded walls and really big hills!

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby toolonglegs » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:48 am

What about teeth?... I have been told today by my dentist that I need to wear a mouth guard when cycling :lol: .

User avatar
kb
Posts: 2570
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:22 pm

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby kb » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:58 am

Probably too much stem chewing.
Image

Calvin27
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Calvin27 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 5:09 pm

I always knew MTBrs are a tougher mob. All those stacks haha.

Seriously though, I avoided impact stuff because my bone was hardening so much that even my tendons decided to join in (not good at all!). Looks like I am going to have to cough up for that gym membership after all.
Heavy road bike
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby trailgumby » Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:42 pm

Calvin27 wrote:I always knew MTBrs are a tougher mob. All those stacks haha.

Seriously though, I avoided impact stuff because my bone was hardening so much that even my tendons decided to join in (not good at all!). Looks like I am going to have to cough up for that gym membership after all.
Spin classes are awesome for bike fitness. If they have a few classes, I reckon a couple of weeks of them in place of midweek road workouts prior to any event you're doing will lift your pace considerably.

Squashed
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:54 am

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Squashed » Wed Apr 16, 2014 3:47 am

If you do weight bearing exercises you won't be doing any major damage to the joints. If you go for a jog then you will damage the joints.
Walking is a good exercise to help increase bone density. It is low impact but causes enough stress on the bones to help them become stronger.

Weight bearing exercises will improve bone density and help reduce osteoporosis. However, you must ingest a lot of calcium, milk, yoghurt, etc, and you must be able to digest and absorb the calcium. Vitamin D is also required to help you absorb the calcium more effectively.

The article in the link suggests 1000mg of calcium per day. Most nutritionists suggest 1400mg of calcium per day for an average adult. If you are exercising or working outdoors or in a hot environment, you should double that amount to replace what you lose due to sweating.

User avatar
Alex Simmons/RST
Expert
Posts: 4997
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 3:51 pm
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:24 am

Best exercise for anyone concerned about their bone mineral density is anything that provides some form of light jarring, like walking, jogging, skipping or similar. Gym weights/lifting are somewhat less effective for this.

Calvin27
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Calvin27 » Thu Apr 17, 2014 9:21 am

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:Best exercise for anyone concerned about their bone mineral density is anything that provides some form of light jarring, like walking, jogging, skipping or similar. Gym weights/lifting are somewhat less effective for this.
Really, I thought weights was the ideal? It's one of the reasons why a lot of people tell growing kids to stay away from weights - because their ones are still growing and soft. Or is that an old wives tale?

I would have thought weights contribute massively to bone density - bloody hell I am sick of changing up my routine.
Heavy road bike
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike

piledhigher
Posts: 483
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 11:10 am
Location: Kew, Victoria

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby piledhigher » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:17 pm

I can honestly say that I have heavy bones, had bone scans for a pre and post marathon study on bone density, over the top of the normal range presumably because of a consistent history of running since 16yrs old.

User avatar
Alex Simmons/RST
Expert
Posts: 4997
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 3:51 pm
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:56 pm

Calvin27 wrote:
Alex Simmons/RST wrote:Best exercise for anyone concerned about their bone mineral density is anything that provides some form of light jarring, like walking, jogging, skipping or similar. Gym weights/lifting are somewhat less effective for this.
Really, I thought weights was the ideal? It's one of the reasons why a lot of people tell growing kids to stay away from weights - because their ones are still growing and soft. Or is that an old wives tale?

I would have thought weights contribute massively to bone density - bloody hell I am sick of changing up my routine.
I'm just basing my statements on the balance of studies assessing the impact to BMD of various forms of exercise in those whom are reasonably fit/healthy (and not the elderly/infirm/children), and exercises which involve some forms of "jarring" or impact that generates short duration higher load stresses on the bones usually come up trumps, somewhat more so than weightlifting which tends to report relatively neutral to positive impact to BMD (it tends to have more impact to muscle strength and size than BMD) and endurance cycling often comes out as not of being much help wrt BMD / similar to sedentary control.

Hence why I suggest people do something that involves a bit of light jarring/impacts if BMD is of concern for them since it has the greatest probability of positive impact, as well as consider their diet. Of course individual responses vary and what's right for you is specific to you.

User avatar
mikesbytes
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 22159
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
Location: Tempe, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby mikesbytes » Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:12 pm

Three things make your bones strong;

1. Good nutrition
- Vitamin A, which stimulates the activity of osteoblasts, the cells that build bones
- Vitamin C, used for the synthesis of collagen the main component of connective tissue
- Vitamin D, increases the absorption of calcium
- Various minerals including calcium and phosphorus which are used in the bone structure

2. Regular exercise, of the right sorts[/b
- Weight bearing activitives, ie impact exercise like walking, running, dancing. Note that extreme levels without adequate recovery may lead to stress factures.
- Resistance training, ie making the muscles work hard to overcome a resistance such has living a heavy weight.

Swimming has no weight bearing and cycling isn't a hell of a long way behind

3. Balanced hormonal environment
Testosterone, Oestrogens, etc etc. This is a topic in itself, it can be influenced by lifestyle choices in particular diet and exercise.

Weight bearing (impact) vs Resistance. There's a lot of information on this out there so its rather confusing. Unless we are modelling our body's specifically for competition, the ideal position for most is to be an all rounder and that means doing a bit of everything. Resistance is more confusing as the body adapts to the stress its put under, I'm of the view that light weights high repetitions has considerably less effect than high weight low repetitions as the bones adapt to the maximum stress
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

Abby
Posts: 470
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 11:41 am

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Abby » Thu May 01, 2014 12:04 pm

If your bone density increases, then logically your bones would weigh more... Is that increased weight something you would actually see on the scale, or is the increased weight trivial?

Just wondering, as I've just started a running program, partially as I'm middle-aged and thinking about my bones... Just o be clear though - I'm not gonna stop it just because it means I may have 'increased bone weight' *lol*, just wondering out loud...

Cheers,
Paul G
Twitter / Instagram: @cgradecyclist
Image

Calvin27
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby Calvin27 » Thu May 01, 2014 1:29 pm

A quick google says 14% of body mass is about the ball park figure. Obviously this is just an average. Bone density variation is about 30% amongst the population. So pretty much we get about 11.9 - 16.1% of body mass. - a variation of 5kgs max. this is probably heaps less given that I'd guess the individual variation is less than total population variation. Maybe 1-2kg would be my guess. that's a lot considering you take about 60mg per day!
Heavy road bike
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike

User avatar
mikesbytes
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 22159
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:42 pm
Location: Tempe, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Bone strength and cycling

Postby mikesbytes » Thu May 01, 2014 2:20 pm

Variations in Muscle, Fat and Hydration would make it too difficult to judge bone weight
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users