This weekend’s challenge is a dynamic plyometric exercise that’s highly effective at building bones and muscles in the pelvis, core, and legs. It’s also a lot of fun – it practically begs for upbeat music to accompany it!

Along with giving you all the details of the Plyometric Hip, Core, And Leg Toner, we’re going to take an in-depth look at what plyometric exercise is all about, including an informative study that underscores how it benefits the bones and joints of the legs and pelvis (including the hips), protecting against fracture.

Why:

While avoiding all fractures is at the heart of the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, hip fractures are of particular concern because recovery is slow, and can be very painful. So it’s is highly recommended to pay attention to strengthening this area of the body.

There are multiple factors involved in building your hip bones to resist breakage, especially balance, joint mobility, and tensile strength. This weekend’s exercise addresses all these factors, and recent research confirms that plyometric exercise is just what you need to accomplish these goals.

Plyometric Exercise: What It Is And What It Does

Plyometrics are all about packing the most force and motion into the least time. In fact, the term “plyometric” is a a combination of two Greek words, plio and metric, meaning “more” and “to measure,” respectively.

Plyometric exercises cause the muscles to stretch quickly before contracting.This stretch/countermovement process is called the stretch-shortening cycle, or SSC. It combines lengthening-shortening contractions in three phases: the eccentric (landing/lengthening), amortization (transition), and concentric (take-off/contraction) phase. The concentric phase is shortened and therefore strengthened if the eccentric, or lengthening phase, immediately follows. This is why and how plyometric exercise intensifies the effects and benefits of muscular contraction.

Some of those benefits include stronger bones, as per Wolff’s Law, which states the now confirmed fact that bones respond to stimulation from muscle and gravity by increasing strength and density. Given that law, plyometrics are a particularly effective form of exercise for generating new bone and subsequently increasing strength and density.

Research supports plyometric moves as a form of exercise that provides specific benefits. In a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training, 20 female athletes performed plyometric exercises twice a week for six weeks. The athletes experienced “neuromuscular adaptations in the hip adductor muscles”¹ that may in fact enhance knee joint stability and reduce risk of knee injury.¹

“Neuromuscular adaptations” are evidenced by increased strength and size of muscles; so in plain terms, the plyometric exercises made the participants’ hip and leg muscles larger and stronger. That means that their bones were stimulated to increase in density, too.

You don’t have to be an athlete to reap the rewards of plyometric exercise. The following move can provide excellent bone health benefits for everyone.

How:

You’ll be moving back and forth for this exercise, so you’ll need a little room to your side.

1. Begin with your feet shoulder-width apart and your elbows slightly bent.
2. Hop six steps to one side – let’s say the right side for clarity – by lifting your right knee and pushing off to the right with your left foot. This is one hop.
3. When you land on your right foot, immediately lift it again while pushing off with your left foot for the second hop.
4. Repeat this for five hops to the right, bounce once on your left foot while holding your right knee high, and then reverse directions and do five hops to the left. If five is too difficult, go with three instead.
5. Your elbows should remain bent while you pump your arms in rhythm with your hops as if you were jogging.
6. Keep hopping from right to left until you’ve completed four sets in either direction, or eight total.

For more plyometric moves, try following up the Plyometric Hip, Core, And Leg Toner with the Plyometric Full Body Exercise
.
Don’t worry if you can’t perform exercises that involve hopping or jumping due to certain physical limitations. There are other forms of exercise that also build your bones, as you already know if you got Densercise™.

Densercise™ Is A Complete, Bone Density-Building System

The Densercise™ Epidensity Training System is built around the principles of Wolff’s Law. Each move in Densercise™ applies this law to help you build stronger, fracture-resistant bones through exercise. Along with the Osteoporosis Reversal Program’s pH-balanced nutrition, your bones can flourish and rejuvenate with targeted, density-building exercise.

Take Exercising For Your Bones to the Next Level!

Learn the 52 exercise moves that jumpstart bone-building – all backed by the latest in epigenetics research.

Learn More Now →

Please share your exercise experience with the community by leaving a comment below.

Have a great weekend!

References:

¹ Chimera, Nicole J., .et al. “Effects of Plyometric Training on Muscle-Activation Strategies and Performance in Female Athletes.” Journal of Athletic Training. 39. 1. (2004): 24-31. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC385258/