Push-ups

[candy morales]

Hi everybody! I hope everyone had a nice long weekend and refused to eat too much just because it was a holiday. Anyway, I was wondering do I share my weakspot with anyone else? I CANNOT do a push-up if my life depended on it. I can do it bent knees ofcourse, but even still I feel my alignment weakening. If I tried to do it like Cathe in one of her PS Series tapes I would fall flat on my stomach!!!!!!!! Any suggestions? Thanks.

Also, did anyone watch Dateline on Sunday? They had a special on people who work out too much. One lady had a bone density scan done and the results showed that she had the bone density of a 70yr. old woman. Her exercise routine is the same as mine and many of yous from what I've read. This syndrome is called the Female Athlete Triads. For more info you could log on to Datline.msnbc.com. This was a true tear jerker for me. I just wanted to let everyone know. The more you know, the better.

 

[Jane P]

Push-ups and bones.

It took me almost five years to be able to do a full body push-up. The problem wasn't my arm strength, it was lack of strength in the abdominal area to hold my body in that rigid position.
I would suggest that you just try and hold your body in push-up position starting for 30 seconds and working up to 90 or 120 seconds. Also do core stabilization exercises for the abs and back. This will increase the strength in that area. Meanwhile do bench presses to work the chest and arms. They work very well.

BTW I have been a regular exerciser for seven years and I just had a bone scan done. The technician said that mine was one of the most dense scans he'd ever seen. I eat lots of dairy and don't try to diet too much. I think that's the secret.

 

[kimz]

bone density

While I have not had a chance to check out the dateline story, I have to think that example on the show did not eat properly, and in fact, must be very calcium and nutrient starved. I agree with Jane, proper nutrition is the key.

Kim

 

[honeybunch]

Along with an exercise disorder...

....goes the eating disorder, hand in hand! Speaking from experience!

 

[Brigid]

Female Athlete Triad

Candy, I too saw part of that show on Dateline and it was a tearjerker but I didn't see myself or most who post on these bulletin boards. The female athlete triad refers to a combination of disordered eating (usually not enough calories for the amount of activity), loss of period and bone loss. The first woman profiled actually let her weight drop from a healthy 130 pounds down to a low of 81. If you read the article on the website the doctor whom they interviewed did say there was a very real difference between women suffering from the triad and women athletes who are mentally and physically healthy - they eat enough for the level of activity that they are working out at.
The article is on dateline's website and they have a short and nifty quiz you can take to see if you are at risk for osteoporosis. It's a good reminder though because there is so much pressure to be too thin - maybe we all need those 5 extra pounds we keep saying we should lose

 

[shnikes17]

I saw this article

on MSN homepage today, and printed it out to share with the girls in the youth volunteer group I oversee. It sounded all too familiar because I suffered from this disorder. You could have told me I had a disorder until you were blue in the face, and I wouldn't have believed it because I KNEW I didn't have anorexia or bulimia. After about 3 years with no period and about a 40 pound weight loss in two years (40 pounds that I didn't need to lose), size 4 pants were falling off of me. I lived on cereal, vegetables and fruit. It took a serious hip injury to make me stop working out the 3 or 4 intense hours each day and realize that I was killing myself. Even now, I'm scared about difficulty conceiving and getting osteoperosis. Can my regular family doctor do a bone density test? Is it expensive?

Emily

 

[DW]

bone density and diet

I have wondered about the diet of these people too. I have had a bone scan a couple of months ago as part of my physical. I have osteopena but do not think my diet has had anything to do with it. I have never given up dairy. I do exercise 6 days a week, 5 days are usually 3 hrs and one of which is usually just 1 hr of moderate aerobics. Since seeing the Dr. I have started alternating between weight training days with less intense aerobics and doing three intense aerobic days. Several years ago though it was nothing for me to do 4 hr workouts and workout 7 days a week. I still ate well though. I am taking calcium and hormones now also. I have also always taken a multi-vitanmin supplement.