strength exercise to help make your bones stronger

Strength exercise involves moving your muscles against resistance to make them stronger. Resistance comes from your own body weight, a resistance band or weights, like dumbbells. As your muscles work, they pull on your bones. This maintains or improves your bone strength.

Strength exercise also helps to build muscle strength. This helps to improve your balance, making you less likely to fall over and break a bone. Find out more about movements to help your balance.

Examples of strength exercises include press-ups, squats and lunges. Carrying bags of shopping, rowing and gardening are also examples of activities that help make your muscles and bones stronger.

Strength training involves gradually building up the work that your muscles do over time, by using the weight of your body, resistance bands and weights.

You can start by using your own body weight, then introduce resistance bands and weights when you feel ready.

With weights, begin with a weight you can lift easily and gradually increase the weight over time. You can use household items like filled water bottles and tins of food. Or you can use weights, like dumbbells. Make sure to lift the weight in a slow and controlled way.

The more you practice strength exercises, the easier they will become as your muscles get stronger.

The movements you do are called repetitions. For example, each time you pull a resistance band or lift a weight is one repetition. Each series of repetitions is called a set.

Try to do 8 to 12 repetitions of each activity. This counts as 1 set.

You need to work your muscles to the point where you may need a short rest before you do another set. For example, you may find your muscles get too tired to do another repetition with good technique.

If you are not able to do 8 repetitions with good technique, try a lighter weight. If you are able to do 12 repetitions of the exercise and feel you can keep going, try a heavier weight.

It is important to build up gradually based on your fitness level and muscle strength.

Everyone should do strength exercise if they are able to. We recommend you do strength exercise:

• on 2 to 3 days of the week - leave at least a day's rest in between

• for 20 to 30 minutes - work on your legs, arms, back and stomach muscles.

Try to build up to 3 sets of each exercise. Aim to do 8 to 12 repetitions in each set.

Make sure you are using a good technique when moving and lifting. If you are not sure of the technique, talk to a physiotherapist or qualified exercise instructor before you get started.

Visit the NHS website to learn more about physical activity guidelines for adults.

We have developed a plan to help you build up strength exercise for you bones. These videos are for everyone, including if you have osteoporosis.

It is normal to feel worried, especially if you have had spinal fractures or many broken bones. But you can still build up your strength after broken bones.

We show you seven groups of strength exercises:

• There are four groups of strength exercises that can help with bone strength. The groups are: hinge, push, pull and squat. We recommend you do one exercise from each of these groups every time you do strength training. This will help strengthen all your main muscles in your body, and your bones too.

• We also show you three groups of extra exercises. These are called brace, lunge and step. These exercises can help you to move confidently and be strong enough to complete all the other exercises safely. Add a brace and either a lunge or step into your routine, once or twice a week.

It is important to keep active at a level that is right for you. If you do not usually do strength training, start at Level 1 and gradually build up to Level 2 and Level 3 when you are ready. If strength training is already a part of your routine, keep building up this type of exercise.

You may feel ready to move on to the next level when you feel confident with the movements and techniques.

If you do not have weights or resistance bands, you can use filled water bottles or tins of food.

You may want to start strength training with a qualified exercise instructor at a gym. It is very important to use good technique when you are lifting something.

If these exercises are not suitable for you, take a look at these gentle sitting exercises you can do at home.

Now that you have tried our plan, it is important to continue to make strength exercise a part of your weekly routine. Doing these exercises on two to three days of the week can make a difference as they can improve your muscle and bone strength.

It is important to find a combination of exercises and activities you enjoy and work for you. You do not need to do all the different strength exercises we have shown you, if they are not suitable for you.

You could do a combination of your favourite exercises from our strength exercise plan that are suitable for you. You could also replace some of these exercises with activities such as carrying bags of shopping or gardening.

The best way to help your bones is to do both strength and impact exercises. Take a look at our plan to help you build up impact exercise for your bones.