The Link Between Bone And Muscle Strength

connect muscle to bone

Strong Muscles = Strong Bones?

Is there a correlation between strong bones and strong muscles? You bet there is! Is it all about exercising and drinking more milk? Find out as Kate breaks down exactly why there is a crucial health link between strong muscles and strong bones!

Are strong bones and muscles related?

What most weekend sport enthusiasts know is the fact that muscles aren’t the only body part responsible for physical success. Healthy bones and muscles are a requirement for healthy bone growth, defined muscles, and an Adonis-like physique.

Calcium intake influences your bone strength, but there are many other things you should know about. In fact, if you need to boost your bone health, simply drinking large amounts of milk might not be enough be enough to cut it.

In other words, you are probably aware that bones provide structure and stability, but did you know that they can be strengthened and improved?

How Muscles Influence Bones

Strong Bones The Link between Bones and MuscleMuscles don’t exactly hold the bones together, this is a job for the ligaments. What muscles do is even more important – they keep your skeleton in check as it operates.

Having weak muscles naturally means having a harder time moving about, so maintaining a strong musculature is necessary for normal daily functions.

Performing strength training means stronger and denser bone structure, without exception.

When under too much stress, bones will crack or even break, but when supported by strong muscles, strength training brings just about just enough stress to the bones, so they don’t get damaged, but rather strengthen in a gradual manner.

Furthermore, muscles weigh more than fat, so by exchanging fat mass for increased muscle size, you not only make your bones denser, but keep them strong and in-shape even when you’re merely walking.

How Bones Affect Muscles

Although musculature does a huge favor for your bones, you can rest assured that this favor is paid back.

See, without a proper bone structure, muscles wouldn’t have much of a job to do in the first place. The two go together  without exception.

Exercises like leg press, deadlifts – anything that involves lifting your entire body with added weight – need a ton of stability and support – things mostly (if not completely) reliant on bone structure.

Strong bones also provide muscles under stress with a great deal of relief between exercises, helping them recuperate faster and therefore making sure muscle progress is at its fastest pace.

Diet – Just Add More Milk?

Strong Bones MilkYou don’t have to be an expert to know the importance of the link between food and workouts. But for some reason, it is a common misconception that protein is the only crucial compound here.

Serious weightlifters know the importance of carbs, but many casual athletes have yet to discover them, as well as a plethora of other important elements we receive through food. This is where the bones get neglected.

While ingesting appropriate amounts of calcium is important for strong bones, downing 10 glasses of milk probably won’t do the trick (on the contrary, milk is good only in reasonable doses).

Supplements like vitamin D-fortified orange juice or fatty fish like mackerel, tuna and eel are extremely beneficial for strong bones. Even everyday foods like canned tuna fish can keep the necessary levels of vitamin D in check for you. Mushrooms like Portobello are also lined with the vitamin.

Essential for bone health, vitamin D can do wonders for your bones.

Therefore, if you aren’t exposed to healthy direct sunlight each day, for whatever reasons, make sure that you are at least incorporating the mentioned foods into your diet. This practice is relevant for full, dense bones that can provide support for those growing muscles.

Strong Bones ArmBone weakness may also come from low levels of testosterone, especially for postmenopausal women (who make up the majority of osteoporosis cases).

The common misconception that testosterone is subjected to is that it is a “men only” deal. If your estrogen level is too high, your bone structure will become more brittle over time.

This is why testosterone boosters are generally advised for bone structure improvement.

Disclaimer

Although strength training can do wonders for bone structure as well as your muscles, unpleasant situations are always a possibility should you overestimate your strength. Exercises that put large amounts of stress upon your bones might result in serious damage.

What is important is that you keep your progress gradual, and give your bones and muscles the time they need to become stronger and more dense.

While muscle progress can be boosted by using various supplements, bones will take time to improve, regardless of what you eat/take.

Wrap-Up

The link between strong muscles and strong bones is both permanent and important.

Neglecting either is not recommended, and progress of each is highly dependent on the well-being of the other.

Kate Flannery is a fitness blogger and globetrotter, currently based all around the Mediterranean Sea, enjoying the last few sailing days of the year. She is a fan of Body Combat, hydroxy ripped workout proteins, chocolate flavored whey. You can read more of her work on HighStyleLife.
Kate Flannery
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The Link Between Bone And Muscle Strength