How to Strengthen Your Bones With Exercise

When Barbara Hannah Grufferman was in her early 50s, a bone density scan showed that she was on a path to developing osteoporosis. If she didn’t change her lifestyle, her bones would become increasingly brittle, putting her at high risk for spine, hip and other life-altering fractures.

Ms. Grufferman had always been active, chasing after her two daughters and walking her dog around Manhattan. But she hadn’t done much formal exercise since “the Jane Fonda days” of her 20s, she said.

Once she learned about her low bone density, she began training to run-walk the New York City Marathon and started doing daily planks and squats. She practiced standing on one foot whenever she could, to improve her balance. Today, more than 15 years later, her bone density has held steady and she’s training for her 18th marathon.

“I’m a walking, talking, breathing example that it’s never too late to take action,” Ms. Grufferman, 67, said.

But you don’t have to run marathons to protect your bones. Simply adding a few strategic exercises to your routine can support them — now and in the future.

“People think of bone as this static thing,” said Dr. Andrea Singer, the chief medical officer of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. But “it’s a living, dynamic organ that is constantly remodeling.”