Let's build some bone

ruchitandon
Jun 13, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Add a little jump and balance into your routine.

Goals

The goal here is to maximise your peak bone density in your 30s, counteract bone loss through exercise, and maintain enough strength and agility so that if you do trip, you don’t fall.

A little background on bone production

Bone is living tissue that continuously remodels in response to internal and external factors, including genetics, hormones, mechanical load, and the availability of key nutrients (calcium and vitamin D).

Two key cell types are responsible for this remodelling:

Osteoblasts lay down new bone
Osteoclasts resorb old bone

The Role of Hormones

Oestrogen (in all sexes) protects bone by suppressing osteoclast activity, slowing bone breakdown.
Oestrogen and progesterone together stimulate osteoblast activity, encouraging new bone formation.
Testosterone also supports bone by directly activating osteoblasts and, via conversion to oestrogen, reducing osteoclast activity.

Play around with the effects of gravity and impact to stimulate bone formation

Bones respond to the forces we place on them, a principle known as Wolff’s law; they grow stronger when subjected to regular, targeted stress.

There are a few effective ways to apply this stress:

Ground Reaction Forces

Impact from ground reaction forces, such as during jumping, skipping or bounding, is particularly potent for stimulating new bone formation
Moderate load-bearing activities like uphill hiking or walking with a weighted backpack also generate useful mechanical forces

Muscle Tension

Muscles pull on bone during contractions, creating mechanical stress that promotes bone growth.
Lifting progressively heavier weights is effective.
So is isometric exercise, such as holding a plank or wall sit, where muscles contract without moving joints.

Balance and agility to side-step the falls

Strong bones are only part of the picture; maintaining muscle strength, balance and flexibility reduces your risk of falling and injuring yourself in the first place.

Yoga and Pilates improve core strength, joint stability, and flexibility.
Dancing builds agility and dynamic balance.
Even something as simple as standing on one foot for 30 seconds builds balance and lower-body strength.

Eating to support bone mineralisation

Calcium

While most bone mineralisation happens during growth, calcium levels are actively maintained in adulthood. If blood calcium is low, parathyroid hormone can trigger bone resorption to keep levels stable.

This is why ensuring you get enough dietary calcium is still important.

Use this calcium calculator to check your intake.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D has multiple roles, including supporting calcium absorption and directly influencing osteoblast activity.

Most people in the UK are deficient, especially in winter. Supplementing is safe and effective.

Two main sources:

Sunlight (UVB rays): dependent on time of day, skin tone, latitude, and season (ideally midday between April and September).
Food: oily fish (e.g. cod liver oil, salmon) and fortified products.
Supplements: safe up to 4000 IU/day. Taking vitamin D with vitamin K2 and dietary fat improves absorption.

Addressing hormones and bone loss

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the only licensed medical treatment that promotes the formation of new bone. This makes it a valuable option in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, particularly those at risk of early bone loss.

Other medications, like bisphosphonates, work by reducing bone resorption, but they do not stimulate new bone formation and often come with side effects that limit their use beyond a year or two.

The Lowdown

Bone is a dynamic, responsive tissue that reflects how we live; how we move, what we eat, and what our hormone levels are doing. In your 30s, you’re in a strong position to build a solid foundation. After that, it’s about maintaining strength and resilience.

Use resistance and impact to stimulate bone growth
Build strength, balance and agility to prevent falls
Eat to support bone health, especially calcium and vitamin D
Consider HRT if you’re navigating hormone changes and want to actively protect your bones

Bone loss isn’t inevitable. With the right strategies, you can protect and even improve your bone health well into later life.