Health Care professionals have known for a very long time - since the late 1800s - that muscles and bones grow and remodel in response to loads or resistance placed upon them. It is a medical principle called Wolff's Law.

Essentially, the more of a compressive force or the more resistance there is placed against muscle and bone, the more these tissues will respond by growing stronger.

We've known this for a very very long time and that's why it is so important to be physically active. The more active you are, the stronger you will be. 

The opposite is also true...the more you sit on the couch or the more you do unloaded activities, the weaker you will be physically. 

And the body weakens at an even faster pace the older you get.

It wasn’t until 2012 that a group of researchers set out to discover just how much force is actually necessary to stimulate enough new bone growth to outpace our natural bone loss.

If we know that muscles and bones respond to loads placed upon them, exactly what does that mean when it comes to our bone growth? 

How much force does it actually take? 

Because if all it takes is walking or all it takes is going for a light jog or lifting some five pound weights or doing yoga, why are we having people getting weaker and weaker as they're getting older? 

Even to the point of being diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis? 

What these researchers actually found was shocking, but answered this question perfectly.

To stimulate actual bone growth, it takes a minimum of 4.2 multiples of your body weight in your hips - which is the most common fracture site for those with osteoporosis. 

Let me repeat - it takes a minimum of 4.2 multiples of your own body weight of load or compressive force to stimulate osteogenesis or new bone growth. 

This is especially important as we age because we have to be able build enough new bone to outpace what we are just going to naturally be losing as we get older.

That's a significant amount of weight! 

As an example, if you weigh 150 pounds, it takes a minimum of 630 pounds of pressure in the hip joints and axial compression along the length of the leg bones in order to stimulate osteogenesis or new bone growth!

If you are an OsteoStrong member, you know that's your goal on that first machine. We call it your minimum growth trigger, signaling 4.2 multiples of your body weight necessary to stimulate new bone growth in your hips and lower body.

This is why it is so difficult for people to maintain and build bone density just in everyday life or with traditional exercise approaches. 

About the only conventional types of exercise where you are going to be able to achieve 4+ multiples of body weight in force consistently is with gymnastics or power lifting.

When you're younger, gymnastics and power lifting are reasonable sports - although there is a high rate of injury with both sports and gymnastics is also really hard on your joints.

Of course, as you get older it starts to become much more difficult to do those types of exercises safely.

That's really where the OsteoStrong program and our Spectrum System is unique in so many ways. 

It allows us to safely achieve the appropriate amount of load in every region of the body to be able to stimulate osteogenesis - new bone growth - allowing us to stay strong and healthy, even as we are getting older! 

Hopefully, this training on how to stimulate new bone growth in order to stay strong and healthy, especially as you age, was valuable and you learned something new!

Always remember how important it is to continue stimulating new bone growth and to make bone health a priority at all ages to prevent conditions such as osteoporosis and physical challenges related to aging. 

On that note, don't forget to grab the 6 Surprising Misconceptions of Bone Health (and Why It Matters). 

After going through these Misconceptions, you'll be empowered to make informed decisions about your lifestyle to live the life you deserve & love! 

You can download this FREE resource by clicking the yellow button below