Exercises for strong bones
Find out the best exercises for building and maintaining strong bones for your age, level of fitness and bone strength.
All forms of physical activity will help keep your bones fit for purpose and reduce the risk of falling.
Check out the government's physical activity recommendations for early childhood, young people, adults and older adults.
Physical activity is only 1 of the building blocks for healthy bones – the others being a healthy, balanced diet and avoiding certain risk factors for osteoporosis.
Children and young adults
Childhood, adolescence and early adulthood up to the mid-20s, when the skeleton is growing, are the time for building strong bones.
Young people aged 5 to 18 are advised to do vigorous-intensity activities that strengthen muscles and bones on at least 3 days a week.
Examples of muscle and bone-strengthening activities include:
Under 5s not walking
- tummy time
- active play
- crawling
Under 5s walking unaided
- climbing
- walking
- jumping
- running games
Children and young adults
- running
- ball games, such as football, basketball, hockey and netball
- trampolining
- racket sports, such as badminton, squash and tennis
- gymnastics
- martial arts, such as karate and taekwondo
- skipping and jumping
- body weight exercises, such as press-ups and squats or lunges
- exercise to music, such as aerobics and boxercise
- rock climbing
- dance-related activities
Adults aged 35 and over
To reduce the rate of natural bone loss that occurs from the age of 35 onwards, aim to do muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week.
Examples of other suitable activities for adults include:
- brisk walking, including Nordic walking
- moderate-resistance weightlifting
- stair climbing
- carrying or moving heavy loads like groceries
- exercising with resistance bands
- heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling
- cross-training machines
Try Strength and Flex, a 5-week exercise plan for beginners, to improve your strength and flexibility.
People with osteoporosis
If you have osteoporosis or fragile bones, regular physical activity can help keep your bones strong and reduce the risk of a fracture in the future.
Depending on your risk of fracture, you may need to avoid some types of high-impact exercises.
But if you're otherwise fit and healthy and already enjoy regular exercise, you should be able to continue.
Check out the exercise resources on the Royal Osteoporosis Society website.
Speak to a GP and ask if there's an exercise referral scheme in your area that caters for people with osteoporosis.
People at high risk of fracture
If you're at high risk of having a fracture or have broken bones already, staying active will help reduce your risk of falls and fractures, improve balance, strength and stamina, and reduce pain.
You may be fearful of falling, but if you stop moving, you'll slowly lose strength and balance, which will make you more prone to falls and fracture.
Avoid high-impact exercises that involve jumping and running, and activities that involve bending forwards and twisting at the waist, such as touching your toes, sit-ups, golf, tennis, bowling, and some yoga poses.
Recommended exercises to reduce your risk of falls involve a combination of strength, balance and endurance training:
- strength training exercises using your body weight
- flexibility exercises
- tai chi
- walking
- low-impact dancing
- low-impact aerobics
- stair climbing
- cross-training machines
Try these gentle exercise routines:
Check out the exercise resources on the Royal Osteoporosis Society website.
Ask a GP about falls prevention services you can be referred to.
For more fall prevention tips, download Get Up and Go: A Guide to Staying Steady (PDF, 2.65Mb).
Page last reviewed: Fri Mar 2018 Next review due: Tue Mar 2021
