Bone health and Exercise Science Lab

🎧 New podcast conversation!
I recently had the pleasure of joining The Proof podcast to talk about osteoporosis, bone health, and the role of exercise in reducing fracture risk — including what the science actually tells us (and what it doesn’t).
If you’re living with osteoporosis, concerned about bone loss, or wondering what types of exercise are safe and helpful, this conversation is for you.
👉 Listen here: https://theproof.com/the-exercise-that-builds-strong-bones-and-better-balance-dr-lora-giangregorio/
💬 I’d love to hear what stood out to you — feel free to share or comment below!
— Lora
BonES Lab | University of Waterloo

The exercise that builds strong bones and better balance | Dr Lora Giangregorio In this episode, I sit down with Dr Lora Giangregorio to unpack what actually works when it comes to building bone strength, preventing fractures, and maintaining independence as we age. We explore how exercise can be used strategically to support bone health, and where common advice often falls sho...

People talk about “impact exercise” as if it’s all or nothing - like you MUST do high impact exercise.
But bone‑loading exists on a continuum — and where you start matters.
Research suggests that impact exercise can improve bone strength, and that higher magnitude forces may be effective.
BUT you should prepare your bones, muscles, and joints by increasing the forces gradually.
If you wanted to try running, you wouldn't run a marathon on day 1. If you have never done exercises involving high muscle or ground reaction forces, you shouldn't start with high impact.
Some people may never progress to the far right (to high impact) — and that’s OK.
💬 Where would you place yourself on this continuum right now?

🆕🗞️New overview of systematic reviews published by the American College of Sports Medicine, about resistance training for muscle size and function in healthy adults, with key conclusions in infographic. Bottom line: Train consistently with high effort. Progress the difficulty over time. If you want to get stronger, lean towards higher difficulty and lower reps. If you want to get bigger, volume of sets and a focus on eccentric loading (controlled, slower lowering of weight) may be more important. To build power, you need a balance between effort/difficulty and speed.
For the research article look here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12965823/

👿There is SO much misinformation out there. We recently asked an influencer to provide the research study they were talking about in their post. They provide a link to a study that did not support the claims in their post. When asked about it, they said something like "I actually got this from Dr. So and So's post, you should ask them". Dr. So and So didn't respond. Neither were making claims that were substantiated by the available research on the topic. Look for credentials BUT even so called experts spread misinformation. Compare with guidelines and what other experts are saying. Ask for references. Consider if conflict of interest is present.

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines are now available in 10 additional languages:
Arabic, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Punjabi, Tagalog, Simplified Chinese, and
Traditional Chinese.
The guidelines include age-specific recommendations for:
Children 0–4 years
Children & youth 5–17 years
Adults 18–64 years
Adults 65+
This means more families, caregivers, educators, and community organizations can access trusted
guidance on moving more, sitting less, and sleeping well — in the language most comfortable to them.
More info here: https://csepguidelines.ca/
Help spread the word and support healthy movement for everyone!

Excellent deadbug reel by Meghan Calloway! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUtKH2pAn_n/?igsh=N2E1bmltdHNiYnhk

An educational and I think super helpful video, but this type of content generally does VERY poorly on here 🙄! So I don’t expect many people to see this 😑. Dead bugs are an absolutely fantastic exercise for the core, and there are countless variations you can do! Most people do not do dead bugs correctly, so they only obtain a fraction of the benefits. While there will be individual variation for how I coach and cue this exercise, here are some points that should be helpful for many. To be clear, if you have any unique considerations you might need to do the breathing and bracing differently. So this is not a one size fits all guideline. Two more helpful points: 1️⃣ When you are newer to doing dead bugs, rather than keeping your legs fully extended, I recommend keeping your knees bent at 90° or so the entire time. This shorter lever generally makes it easier for people to do the exercise properly AND feel the right muscles working. 2️⃣ You can also lightly touch your heel to the floor. I like to tell people to imagine there is a shelled uncooked egg on the floor, and you want to touch the floor so softly that you will not crack the egg. ➡️➡️ Do you enjoy this type of content? If so, let me know! 🔥🔥 Build STRONG legs, glutes, and core muscles, and improve your mobility and athleticism with mostly dumbbells and some bands! For “experienced beginners” to advanced trainees, and also coaches. Great for home AND gym workouts! ➡️➡️ Comment ‘’LOWER’’ to learn more/access my program! #deadbug #deadbugs #coreworkouts #coreexercises #abexercises

A resource for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis who want physical activity tips and ideas. https://justonemove.ca/

🙋‍♂️Males can have osteoporosis too.

Worldwide, fragility fractures affect 1 in 5 men aged over 50 and the risk of experiencing an osteoporotic fracture is higher than the risk of developing prostate cancer. We urge all men to be alert to their risk factors, which can include, among others:
⛔ height loss of more than 4 cm/1 ½ inches
⛔smoking and excessive alcohol intake
⛔low testosterone
⛔Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer
Learn more by taking the IOF Risk Check -> https://bit.ly/2L9GHSK

👉Article on What's New in Osteoporosis in Good Times featuring Dr. G from BonES lab. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wendy-haaf-freelance-writer-content-creator-health-medicine-medical-london-ontario_whats-new-in-osteoporosis-activity-7431734933355900928-Q689?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAltP2wBihpdIwz6FgVP2sMaRtr-QPdxZy0

Hey physios! Seniors' Health Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association is hosting Dr Lora Giangregorio for an interactive webinar for physical therapists on Tuesday February 24 from 12-1pm EST to discuss Osteoporosis Canada’s clinical practice guidelines to prevent falls and fractures.

Dr Giangregorio is a Professor and Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Bone Health and Exercise Science in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo.

Register for the session using this link or click the webinar registration link in our bio: https://physiotherapy.ca/event/shd-osteoporosis-canadas-clinical-practice-guideline-exercise-recommendations-for-fall-and-fracture-prevention/

👉Can I do yoga, Pilates, walking - will it improve my bone mineral density? 🧎‍♀️🚶‍♀️‍➡️🏋️BonES lab gets these questions all the time. If your goal is truly increasing bone mineral density, or preventing falls, the evidence supporting balance and strength training combined with moderate-high impact exercise is stronger than for other types of activity. In fact, a recent study showed that yoga might actually increase the risk of falls! (more on that soon!). You should definitely do physical activities you enjoy for fun and fitness if you can do them safely BUT do them in addition to, and not instead of, balance and muscle strengthening exercises. If you really want to target bone mineral density, you might want to add impact exercise too, if you can do it safely. We are planning posts on impact exercise soon! Stay tuned.

New research! BonES lab collaborated with an Australian team on consumer consensus on recommendations related to remote/virtual assessment and exercise among older adults. A total of 654 consumers (75.7% female) with a mean age of 69.0 (SD 6.0) years from 15 countries (5 continents) contributed their opinions! https://aging.jmir.org/2026/1/e75791