Bones

Fat lot of good muscles will do you without the bones to back them up. Bones—in the form of your skeleton—are the support structure for your whole body, of course, but they''re also the surface upon which muscles rely.

When you do something physical, your muscles dig in their heels and pull, using whatever bones they''re attached to as a means of support. The stronger those bones are, the stronger you''ll be, because you''re giving your muscles a more solid platform to do their thing.

Growing up, you were probably told that drinking lots of milk was the one thing you could do to make sure your bones would be strong and healthy. But, fortunately, you can do better than that.

"I don''t think that most men really think much about their bones—if they''re exercising, they''re really concentrating more on their muscles," explains Todd Ellenbecker, P.T., clinical director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Arizona.

That''s because we can see our muscles. Bones are more of an out-of-sight-out-of-mind proposition. Nevertheless, you''d do well to start boning up on your bones. And you should realize that the sooner you start, the stronger your bones will be—and the stronger you''ll be for the rest of your life.

Bone Meals

Although we recognize the idea of equality between men and women, when it comes to bones, guys have a tactical advantage in the battle of the sexes—our skeletons tend to be bigger, stronger and less likely to deteriorate as we get older. The reason can be summed up in one word: testosterone.

"Testosterone keeps bones strong," says Michael Bemben, Ph.D., assistant professor of health and sport sciences at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. And studies have shown that men who suffered serious fractures, such as breaking a hip bone, had extremely low levels of testosterone.

"But there''s more to strong bones than hormones," says Dr. Bemben. All the testosterone in the world isn''t going to keep your bones firm unless you''re getting plenty of the raw material you need to make bones in the first place. Nutrition is vital for keeping your skeleton in top shape, he says. Without the proper elements getting to your bones, they''ll become brittle and soft. You won''t be able to lift as much weight or take much punishment in sports. So here are a few nutrition tips to keep your bones healthy.

Call for calcium. Bones do not live on sunshine alone. You also need calcium, an important tool your body uses to make more bone tissue. Nutrition experts recommend about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day.

As a kid, you probably got plenty of calcium from drinking milk; that''s a strategy that will still work for you as an adult—one eight-ounce glass will give you more than 300 milligrams. If you can''t or don''t drink milk, try salmon, sardines, low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese or pinto beans—not all at the same time, of course.

Worship the sun. Although you''ve heard plenty about the dangers of staying out in the sun, some exposure is absolutely necessary for stronger bones. Sunlight helps our bodies produce vitamin D, one of the most essential factors for good calcium absorption, says Dr. Bemben. Don''t go overboard—too much sunlight is the leading cause of skin cancer. Instead, stay out of direct sunlight, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun''s rays are most harmful.

Boning Up with Weights

When physical trainers tell you weight training is a great body-builder, they''re not just talking about muscle, they''re also talking about bone.

"Just like muscle, bones are living tissue. They have an ongoing metabolism, and weight training can affect them," says Dr. Bemben. "When you do any kind of activity where your bones have to bear weight, they''re going to be stimulated, and newer, stronger bone cells are formed."

Although a regular weight-training regimen will give your bones plenty of exercise, there are some areas of the skeleton that could use more attention than others. Here are some specific ways to work those areas.

Get your back up. Your back has to support a lot of weight. So to strengthen your back properly, you''ll need to focus on exercises that put weight on your back in a controlled manner, Dr. Bemben says. "You don''t want to put so much weight on that you''ll injure your back, certainly, but you can focus on exercises where your back has to support a lot of your body weight, such as walking or jogging." Some overhead weight-training exercises will also strengthen the back bones, including lat pull-downs, overhead triceps extensions and military presses.

Put your wrists through the wringer. The ulna, an area just above the wrist, is often susceptible to damage and weakness, says Dr. Bemben. You can help combat that tendency with wrist exercises like wrist rolls (see page 56). "More important, be careful how you land when you fall," says Ellenbecker. "If you land on your hand or wrist abruptly, you can snap it." When you fall, try to tuck in your chin and roll over your shoulder—this distributes the force of the impact so it''s not all in the wrist.

Put your hips into it. As you get older, your hips become an increasingly common area for breaks, says Dr. Bemben. You can nip hip weakness in the bud by doing plenty of leg exercises that work the hips, such as seated leg presses.

Pull your own weight. Finally, doing an exercise that lets your skeleton carry your own body weight is often all you need to keep bones strong.

"For example, swimming may be a great aerobic exercise, but it''s not so good for your bones, because they don''t have to bear any weight," points out Dr. Bemben. Instead, do some running, or even walking. "Your bones will have to carry your whole body weight, and that''s good exercise for them."