By Callie Trolson, Missoula OsteoStrong Head Session Coach
This month, we would like to refresh you on the why and the how, and provide you with important best practices for your sessions so that YOU can get the most out of your weekly sessions! In this blog you will…
Get a reminder of why weight-bearing is sooo important!
Review what a growth trigger is and why we care about them
Understand how to read the Spectrum screen
Learn session best practices
Remind me… Why is weight bearing exercise so important for Bone Health?
Have you ever been told by a friend, medical provider, or fitness professional that you need to do weight bearing activities to maintain strong bones? Many of us have heard this at some point in our lives, so we believed strength training, running, and even walking was enough to strengthen our bones. It wasn’t until a study published in 2012 that we understood how much weight bearing our bones require to maintain and build bone strength. This study identified that the lower body, where our largest bones are located, requires 4.2 multiples of body weight (MOB) to trigger bone growth. Imagine trying to accomplish this safely through other exercises, without getting injured. It is not something we recommend trying! This is where our Spectrum technology (the machines in our center), come into play.
What is the Growth Trigger and Why Should I Care about them?
Our Spectrum machines at OsteoStrong enable us to safely apply significant force to our skeleton. This is achieved by harnessing our muscles to generate self-applied force, while leveraging our joints to create the Multiples of Body Weight (MOB) needed to strengthen bone. Each area of the body requires a different MOB to trigger bone growth, and these are understood as the “growth trigger (GT)” or “rapid growth trigger (RGT)”. For example, the lower growth trigger (LGT) machine requires 4.2 MOB, and the upper growth trigger (UGT) machine requires 2.5 MOB to trigger bone growth. However, this is not the only goal to achieve during your sessions. To create the best opportunity to build bone on these machines, it is important to pay attention to a few other bone strengthening factors.
Understanding the Spectrum Screen
Here are some key terms you should know:
· GT – Growth Trigger (only shown on the LGT machine, this is the minimum MOB requirement)
· RGT – Rapid Growth Trigger
· Best – The highest pressure you have achieved
· Peak – 85% of the average pressure of your best 10 sessions
· MOB – Multiples of body weight
· Force – How many pounds you are placing on the machine, based the position of the body + how much pressure you are pushing
Below is a quick tutorial on the layout of the screen content.
An important component of the Spectrum screen is biofeedback. Biofeedback with OsteoStrong Spectrum machines provides real-time data on metrics like force and muscle engagement during your session to enhance performance. This immediate feedback allows you to adjust your technique and intensity, leading to more effective training. By seeing your efforts in real time and integrating all physiological systems, you’re motivated to push harder, ultimately resulting in greater gains in strength and bone health.
Session Best Practices
Here are some best practices that we want you to strive for at each session.
Hold your Push
To capitalize on our opportunity to strengthen bone, not only do we need to produce enough pressure to reach the growth trigger, but we also need to pay attention to how long we maintain this pressure. During your sessions, you may have heard your coach tell you to “HOLD!” your push. This is a very important part of your session. During this hold, we are trying to create what’s called kinetic fatigue, meaning we have engaged the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments to their fullest degree. This cannot happen in 1-2 seconds, so it is important to maintain the pressure for at least 5 seconds, ideally above the growth trigger. This is how we create an adaptive response in the body, triggering it to build new tissues in the entire musculoskeletal system.
Ease In, Ease Out Technique to Prevent Falls
Another significant part of your session is the technique we use when applying and releasing the pressure we push onto the machines. When we begin to apply our pressure on the machines, it is important we do this slowly to safely maintain control of our position. When we begin to release this pressure, it is critical to do this slowly as well. This is called eccentric control; we are enhancing our ability to control our body. This means we are improving our reaction time, being able to slow our body down and catch ourselves before we fall, and improving our ability to remain balanced, to help avoid falls all together. The slow start and release technique provides many benefits of injury protection and fall prevention.
What to do and What Not to do During your Session
Here is a quick review of what to do, and what not to do during your sessions. The goal of your session is not to exceed what you did last session or to hit your best numbers, it is to achieve a hold at or above the growth trigger, while easing in and out of your push. Let’s show what you’re looking at on the screen during your OsteoStrong sessions so you can better understand how to do what you're supposed to do.
Now that we have reviewed what to do, and what not to do during your sessions, it is time to put these techniques to use! During your next OsteoStrong session, pay extra close attention to the cues your coaches give you. As you have just learned, they are providing these ques so that you get the MOST out of your session and have the greatest opportunity to not only stimulate bone growth but prevent fracture. Also, remember to use the graph portion on the screen to help visually guide you to:
1-Slowly hitting the growth trigger,
2-Maintaining your hold for 5 seconds above the growth trigger, and
3-Releasing your pressure slowly. Practicing these techniques is going to give you the greatest chance at efficiently strengthening your bones.
A question that often comes up in sessions is about plateaus, when you have reached a max for an extended period of time. If you want to learn more about plateaus, please re-visit our article on Plateaus where we explain why plateaus happen and how to handle them.
It is always good to review our OsteoStrong educational video to help cement all of this information in! And as always, please ask your Session Coach if you have questions!