Break a Sweat, Not Your Bones

Happy 2014! With the arrival of the new year, your local gym is about to get a lot more crowded. If you are resolving to begin or maintain a fitness regimen, here's some motivation to break a sweat ...

While there are plenty of benefits to routine exercise, it's easy to forget that exercise is more than skin - and muscle - deep. Hey, I'll be the first to admit that my greatest motivations for heading to the gym are: 1) visions of Michelle Obama's arms and 2) grand ambitions for a firm bodonkadonk.

An often overlooked benefit of exercise is the tremendous impact it can have on your skeleton. You may feel like you have old bones, but in reality your bone cells are constantly removing old tissue and creating new bone through a process called remodeling (yes, much like home remodeling but without the steep prices) . In fact, bone remodeling occurs at such a rate that the majority of the adult skeleton is replaced every 10 years! Are you feeling younger yet?

It's easy to see how exercise affects your muscles - the more you use them the stronger they get. It may not be as obvious, but your bones respond in a similar way. Engaging in weight-bearing exercise tells your bone cells, "these bones are in high demand, let's build them up and make them stronger so they can withstand all this activity".

Though you can't flex your strong bones to show them off, just remember this: your strong bones can prevent you from developing a hunchback. Now that's a reason to keep your gym membership.