The human body has about 200 joints (or more depending on who you talk to). Comprised of connective tissue that connects two bones together, every one is responsible for some type of movement. Whether it’s to bend, turn, or rotate, we rely on joints to perform daily functions. But weight gain, weak muscles, aging and many other factors can all contribute to the disintegration of the cartilage and fibrous tissue that make up the joints, leading to the painful and debilitating disease, osteoarthritis. You can prevent getting osteoarthritis by following these 5 tips:

1. Do strength training. Muscles help the joints do their job, and if they’re strong enough, your joints won’t have to work nearly as hard. This prevents the erosion of connective tissue.

2. Improve your balance. This requires more strength and flexibility to a certain extent. By working on your balance, you’ll be adjusting how your joints bear weight and getting it to be more evenly distributed. This will even out the muscles and joints in question, so you don’t have one section of your knee, for example, that must be responsible for bearing all your body weight. Personal Trainer Toronto offers free structural balance testing with most fitness packages.

3. Move more. Joints love to move, so get moving! No matter how old you are, try to remain physically active to prevent the pain and stiffness that can easily result from a sedentary lifestyle. If you’re concerned about over exerting yourself, stick to gentler, less intense exercises such as walking and swimming at a leisurely pace.

4. Stand up straight. Bad posture is terrible for the joints, since it makes the spine contort unnaturally. Sit and stand up straight.

5. Lose weight. Medical research has found that an extra 4 pounds of stress is added to the knees for every pound of weight you gain. Now imagine if you gain 10 pounds – that’s an extra 40 pounds that your knees have to bear! It’s as if you’d be carrying a small child around on your knees alone, all the time. That’s why a common problem with people who are overweight is knee pain. Lose some weight and you’ll find your knees to be less problematic.

Need we write about the benefits of having strong bones? We’re sure we don’t have to convince you that having stronger bones is beneficial for your overall health. Good bone density is vital and although aging can negatively affect the state of our bones, we can eat and do things that help maintain a healthy skeletal structure.

Help reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis and brittle bones susceptible to fractures by following these 3  bone strengthening tips.

1. Stress out your bones!
Putting stress on your bones is the key to building bone density. Applying stress to the bones forces them to resist this stress by becoming stronger and denser thus, becoming less brittle and porous.

Stressing out your bones requires applying weight on the bone, whether it’s from your body or from weights. Strength training and cardio can both help in this department. Some of the best exercises for improving bone density include weight lifting (obviously),  tennis or even just walking at a good pace carrying weights. Swimming can help, but it’s not as effective since your body is supported by buoyancy provided by the water.

2. Don’t neglect areas.
Okay, so we’ve determined that just about any physical activity can apply stress to the bones. Basketball, running, martial arts…what doesn’t put stress on the bones, would be a better question. While this may be true, what’s important to remember is that each time you exercise, you may only be targeting one part of the skeleton and leaving the rest sorely neglected. For example, running really only targets the bones in the lower part of the body, so remember to do something for your upper body, like carrying weights at the same time or supplementing your workout with strength training.

3. Increase intensity.
Walking may put some stress on the bones, but it’s not enough to positively affect bone density for those of us who do it everyday. Your body has become accustomed to this activity, making it less effective than something that requires more effort. Your bones need to be stressed, and that means doing something out of their comfort zone. If you choose to walk, increase your pace and try a hillier terrain. And don’t forget to hold some weights to target your upper body at the same time.

Any fitness enthusiast understands the importance of flexibility. It can improve ability and decrease injuries, not just when playing sports but also when performing daily activities.

However, did you know that there are different types of flexibility that exist?

Dynamic Flexibility

Dynamic flexibility refers to the range of dynamic motion that a limb performs in the joints with the assistance of the muscles. The level of this type of flexibility is affected by any forces that act against it and is required in the development of two vital abilities in sports: speed and power. For this reason, athletes frequently train to improve their dynamic flexibility.

Exercises to increase dynamic flexibility can also lubricate the joints and improve balance, blood circulation, coordination and strength. Stretching exercises to improve this ability include lunges and squats. These not only improve range of motion, but also increase the muscle strength required.

Static Flexibility

Static flexibility refers to the range of motion that a limb performs in the joints, while not moving.

When most of us talk about “stretching”, we usually refer to improving this type of flexibility. It involves assuming a position that stretches the body (to its maximum ability or less) and then holding it for a period of time before releasing.

There are two types of static flexbility: static-passive and static-active. The difference is whether or not the muscles are used to support the range of motion.

Static-passive flexibility is the level of flexibility when the body maintains a position for an extended period of time with the assistance of the limbs, wall, or other object. Here, an external force helps to support the position. An example to demonstrate static-passive flexibility is when performing the splits, as the force of body weight against the floor allows one to maintain the split.

On the other hand, static-active flexibility maintains the position with the assistance of the muscles only. An example to demonstrate this is when the leg is lifted and held up, without holding it by your hand or leaning against the wall. The leg is lifted and held up with just the muscles in the leg.

Whatever you are, whether an elite athlete or someone who simply detests physical exercise, we can all benefit from improving the level of flexibility of our skeletal muscles.

Flexibility is a fundamental aspect of good health. Improving our flexibility through stretching exercises allows us to maintain good posture, prevent injuries, and improve circulation.
Flexibility and Posture
Over time, muscles, ligaments and tendons can permanently shorten in length from restricting their use during our daily activities. Because we don’t allow our muscles to lengthen during repetitive activities such as when we use the computer or watch tv, they shorten. This takes its toll on our posture, since our muscles affect our bones, which in turn causes the whole body to change form. Shoulders round, the spine curves, and even the legs can be affected.

Improving your flexibility can do wonders for your posture. Proper stretching, focusing on the shoulders and back, can slowly lengthen the muscles out again and restore their ability.

Preventing Injuries
As mentioned, muscles, ligaments and tendons shorten over time when they aren’t stretched beyond their “comfort zone” on a regular basis. This restricts our ability to move (range of motion) and prevents us from assuming positions that are too challenging for our body. This may not sound so bad, since most of us are physically capable of avoiding such positions. However, sometimes, it is unavoidable – and that’s when flexibility can help prevent injury, since you have a larger range of movement before injury occurs. For example, you may trip on something and lunge forward, with one foot far ahead than the other to regain stability. If you’re flexible, injury may not result from the distance between your feet. But if you aren’t, a pulled muscle could result.

Preventing injuries is the main reason why you do gentle stretching exercises prior to working out or playing sports as well.

Improving Circulation
Most of us stretch when we first roll out of bed or have spent a long time on the computer – times when feel numb. It’s absolutely normal, considering that stretching improves circulation by increasing the blood flow to the muscles. It can also help the body process waste products.

Simply put, muscles are responsible for movement and to produce force. When stimulated, it allows body parts to move, whether it be to shuffle our legs to walk, expand our lungs to breathe or even to send food through the digestive system so that we can provide sustenance to the body.

Muscle is essentially contractile tissue. As one of the four primary or basic tissue types, muscle tissue is comprised of cells that are dominated by filaments of actin and myosin. When muscle cells are stimulated appropriately they contract by these proteins, which slide past each other and become “engaged”. Once the muscle has completed the contraction, it returns to its original relaxed position with the help of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a molecule that not only separates the two proteins, but also reacts with myosin to provide the energy for a muscle cell to contract. This is the process that occurs every time we move. Muscle tissue can only lengthen when other muscle tissue contracts.

There are three different types of muscle tissue in humans: skeletal, cardiac and smooth.

Skeletal Muscle
Comprised of cells that very long and striated. It is voluntary, meaning it can be consciously controlled by the nervous system and is found attached to the bone structure of the human body (skeleton). Skeletal muscle makes up about 40% of the mass of the average adult body.

Cardiac Muscle
Comprised of tissue that is striated and branched. Found only in the heart and is mainly involuntary.

Smooth Muscle
Comprised of cells that are tapered at the ends. Found in all organ systems, in the larger blood vessels to control the distribution of blood. Because of their location, smooth muscle is also known as visceral muscle. It is involuntary.