If you look up to super freaky athletes like Michael Phelps, the swimming phenom that won 8 Olympic gold medals in a single Olympic Game or Lance Armstrong, the cycling and cancer survivor extraordinaire who won a record 7 Tour De France.  There’s something you need to know…doing too much non-impact long duration exercises can seriously weaken your bones.

Here’s a little excerpt from an article titled The Shatter Proof Skeleton, in the October issue of Outside Magazine:

... a study of six Tour de France riders showed bone-density losses of up to 17 percent over the course of the race. Seven years later, the SDSU study demonstrated that two-thirds of the masters bike racers tested had, on average, 10 percent more bone-density loss when compared with the male control group. The results led the study’s author, exercise-physiology professor Jeanne Nichols, to warn of the risk in those participating exclusively in low-impact sports—like cyclists and swimmers. The latter, according to Scott Going, associate professor of nutritional science at the University of Arizona, are engaged in the sport ranked dead last for bone maintenance.

Now, I’m sure professionals like Lance and Michael have everything all under control with their posse of coaches, therapists and medical doctors monitoring their every move.  But for the rest of us who don’t have the luxury of having such a posse… here’s the deal:

Doing long endurance types of exercises maybe good for your heart and mind, but not on your bones (nor for your lean muscle building and fat burning capabilities for that matter…but I’ll leave that one alone for another article).  Especially when it involves low-impact types of exercises like cycling and swimming.  But fear not you endurance junkies!  There’s a simple solution.

The best the way to “shatter proof” your bones is…weightlifting!

I know it sounds too simple.  But, weightlifting is by far the most effective way to enhance your bone density and strength.  You’ve heard the saying…”what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”.  Well…your bones sort of work the same way.  The more stress you put on them the stronger your bones get.  And the best way to do that is by doing weight bearing exercises.

Even if you’re an endurance junkie and can’t stop riding your bike 100 miles a week, or you’ve been in training for an upcoming long distance triathlon event—putting in a couple of weightlifting sessions a week will not only keep your bones strong, but it’ll also help improve your performance—if you do the RIGHT THING.

THE RIGHT THING…is not body building since you’ll just be building non-functional muscle just for show.  It’ll only bulk you up and make you heavier and slower.

THE RIGHT THING…is to perform functional exercises using challenging weights (think squats, deadlifts, lunges, and press ups)—these full body moves will make you stronger, more powerful and protect you from getting repetitive injuries commonly experienced when doing long endurance training.

If you’re unfamiliar with what functional exercises are or you aren’t sure how to combine them into an effective workout—try out the MAX Workouts program.  The program has over 40 different full body functional exercises all programmed into a short but high intensity workouts to maximize your strength and power while building you a lean, strong body, without gaining any unnecessary bulk—all while keeping your bones strong and healthy.

How often do you add weightlifting to your weekly schedule?  Or, do you tend to focus more on longer duration cardio for fear of gaining back your weight (which is wrong, by the way)? I’d love to hear from you, so please post your comments below.