One, Two, Three...Jump!

As we get older...and if you ain't dead, you're getting older... we reach a point where we start to worry about having strong bones. We don't want to be the old lady in the commercial who has fallen and can't get up, laying there with a broken hip. But how is the best way to do that? Do you have to join a gym, lift weights, walk for miles? As usual, just when you thing you know, the experts change their mind,. Vigorous walking, load bearing exercise...well maybe, maybe not. Seems some exercise helps and some does not. But according to an article in the NY Times, there is a simple, fast and totally free way that will work.

"...the current state-of-the-science message about exercise and bone building may be that, silly as it sounds, the best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate. In studies in Japan, having mice jump up and land 40 times during a week increased their bone density significantly after 24 weeks, a gain they maintained by hopping up and down only about 20 or 30 times each week after that.

If hopping seems an undignified exercise regimen, bear in mind that it has one additional benefit: It tends to aid in balance, which may be as important as bone strength in keeping fractures at bay. Most of the time, Dr. Barry says, “fragile bones don’t matter, from a clinical standpoint, if you don’t fall down.”"

Free, quick, easy! You can't beat that and maybe you won't end up with a broken hip!
Although I do wonder how they got those mice to jump up and down.
Maybe they used this, the perfect song! "Round and round, up and down...One, two, three, kick... One, two, three, jump!"