Building A Strong Spine with Strong Bones

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and What you should do

Take Care Of your Bones

There is a visceral response your skeleton has when it’s stressed. We do it all the time, when we carry things on our shoulder, when we do back squats, even gravity creates compression and that’s a constant.

When our spine is loaded too much, too often, we get all types of degenerative disk disease, back pain, and any number of pinches, bulges, or slips that just make life uncomfortable. So let’s avoid that.

ThE Good

When we lift weights, we put pressure on our bones that makes them stronger. It’s incredibly important as we age to become more resilient to falls, breaks, and accidents that could dramatically change your quality of life. Women in particular are pre-disposed to osteoporosis (brittle bones).

When our bones get stronger, things tend to get easier, and far safer.

The Bad

Loading the spine creates “compression” forces. Over time, these forces create disk disease, and increase your chances of a bulging disk. That’s fun for no one.

Gravity is constant, and these forces are unavoidable no matter how much or how little you add load to your skeleton.

What to Do

Counteract gravity and compression with decompression exercises. It’s as simple as that.

Hanging from your hands, and hanging from your hips are the most common ways to do this. Relaxing, breathing into relaxing your spine and letting gravity actually work for you by lengthening your spine. It should feel good and often gives immediate relief.

A common recommendation is 30 seconds from your hands (like a pull-up bar) and 30-60s from your hips (like gravity boots or a GHD machine).

Additionally, there are a multitude of yoga exercises and stretches that naturally decompress your spine through gentle exhales and relaxation. Don’t be afraid to do a quick google search and try them out