Customer Reviews

Exercises for Osteoporosis, Third Edition: A Safe and Effective Way to Build Bone Density and Muscle Strength and Improve Posture and Flexibility

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My main complaint is that the first hundred pages came unglued from the binding the third time I used it. The other pages are barely hanging on. In a way that might be the way to use the book--line up the loose pages in the recommended order for your capability. Otherwise you will have to do a lot of page turning back & forth. I started out with sticky notes on each page to tell me to what page to turn for the next exercise.
The introduction has some good information about the importance exercise can play in rebuilding bone. It says to begin at a level commensurate with, or even below your current strength and progress to the harder ones. Many of the exercises fall way below my current strength, so I don't see how they would build my bones. But a few like the regular pushup is impossible for me. Even though I didn't feel like I had a hard workout, my muscles were sore the next day, so any exercise is more beneficial than my normal routine of sitting at the computer most of the day.
The book explains that technique is important--who wants to take the time and effort to exercise with no benefit. It has two pictures of a person (not a stick figure) to illustrate the exercise movement. The text tells you the starting position, the action to perform, then some details or pointers to do it correctly. For example it will say, "engage your transverse abdominals" and refers you to another page that is supposed to explain how to do that (about 150 words.) I still didn't get it, so I searched the Internet and found out the details I needed to know: an anatomy picture of that muscle group and 356 words about the correct technique to exercise them. Granted twice the words should have twice the information, but compared to the book I'm reviewing here, it seemed more like five times the information. Of course that book cost about five times the price of this one, but it was a hard back and I doubt the pages would fall out.

I recently (last 4 months) took a series of falls (I was 73 at the time--have a birthday today, am now 74) and took a twice a week, 5 week physical threrapy session which has helped tremendously with my balance and strength. It was recomended that I continue to do 10 exercises 3 times a week. I have a copy of the exercises, but this book gave me more detail about each and also offered other exercises I could do the other days of the week. The pictures and explanations are clear and concise. Thank Diane for her contribution.