Bodypump

BODYPUMP Ž FITNESS PROGRAMME REDUCES THE RISK OF OSTEOPOROSIS

Did you know that after the age of about 30, bone density decreases at the rate of approximately 1% per year, faster in women who have reached the menopause. The BODYPUMP fitness programme can improve your bone density and therefore dramatically reduce the likelihood of the onset of osteoporosis. This debilitating disease, which costs the NHS over Ł940 million each year, will effect one in three women and one in twelve men in the UK. Many factors are responsible for the disease, including diet; lifestyle and exercise - but osteoporosis can be prevented. Research shows that weight bearing exercise like BODYPUMP has a major impact on bone density, and can dramatically reduce your risk of suffering from this distressing condition.

Osteoporosis is not an inevitable part of ageing. Bone is a living tissue, which is constantly being renewed, just like muscle it can be effected by external factors. Physical activity and in particular weight bearing exercise has been shown to be an important factor in increasing bone mass and reducing the rate of age-related bone loss. Many people however do not enjoy the traditional weight training in the gym environment; they feel self-conscious or find it boring to work out alone. Classes are much more fun and enable you to work harder and stick to an exercise routine more easily.

BODYPUMP is a non-impact workout to high-energy music, which uses barbells and adjustable weights. Each class begins with a general warm-up, and then the participants are led through a series of weight bearing exercises targeting all the major muscle groups in the body. Fully qualified BODYPUMP instructors offer guidance on the correct lifting techniques throughout the class, with people of all levels of fitness exercising together, setting their own intensity depending on the amount of weight they add to the barbell. The classes are easy to follow and after a few weeks of regular BODYPUMP participants really notice the difference.

In addition to the long-term benefits of increasing bone density, BODYPUMP will have a dramatic effect on body shape. High repetition with low weights means you tone up your muscles, making them strong and lean, and not bulky, at the same time as burning calories and fat.

Exercise alone cannot increase your bone mass, as it is calcium that the body uses to build bones. It is recommended that, regardless of age, both adequate calcium intake and physical activity be a part of a person's osteoperosis prevention treatment programme.