Muscle and Bone 101: Rebuilding Lost Muscle and Bone
What is Muscle Loss?

“Believe it or not, you can start losing significant muscle mass in just five days of inactivity,” fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin told The Epoch Times. She noted that athletes can see the effects of reduced activity within about three weeks if they don’t maintain their workout routines.
Everson A. Nunes, a postdoctoral fellow at McMaster University, noted the variability in muscle loss during inactivity. In an email to The Epoch Times, he said that healthy young individuals can lose about 0.8 percent of muscle per day during a week of leg immobilization.
Aging and Atrophy
Aging is a significant contributor to muscle atrophy. Our bodies naturally lose muscle mass and strength as we age, a process known as sarcopenia. This decline begins as early as age 30, with muscle mass decreasing by 3 percent to 8 percent per decade, and the rate of loss doubling at about age 60, making it even more challenging to maintain muscle health, according to Virgin.Rebuilding Strength at Any Age
“This simply isn’t true,” Virgin said. “Muscle plasticity, the ability of muscles to regenerate and grow, persists throughout life. With the right training and nutrition, you can rebuild muscle at any age.”
Recovery for older adults often requires more time and a more focused approach than it does for younger people. In young, healthy adults, muscle mass recovery following disuse atrophy is usually complete, but in older people, it is often delayed and sometimes incomplete.
Practical Exercises for Rebuilding Muscle After Inactivity
After a prolonged period of inactivity or illness, rebuilding muscle should be approached gradually and safely.“Ideally, you want to get up and moving as quickly as possible,” Virgin said.
Virgin advises starting with simple isometric exercises involving holding a contraction without movement, such as planks. These exercises are beneficial for those with limited mobility, as they help rebuild strength with minimal injury risk and require no equipment. This approach allows muscles to engage even if walking is not possible.
As recovery progresses, incorporating resistance training becomes essential. Virgin recommends exercises that mimic daily activities, such as squats, bent-over rows, and dips. Starting with body weight or light resistance bands helps focus on proper technique before gradually increasing the resistance. Using a full range of motion and engaging the core are crucial for effective muscle rebuilding.
For individuals unable to handle significant resistance due to injury, blood flow restriction training (BFRT) offers an effective alternative. This involves exercising while wearing bands or other devices that restrict blood flow. For example, while lifting a weight with the arm, a person may have a band tied around the arm similar to the tourniquet applied when giving a blood sample.
Once a basic fitness level is established, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can be introduced. HIIT involves short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods or lower-intensity exercise. This method aids muscle building and growth hormone release, while improving cardiovascular health and boosting metabolism.
Nutrition’s Role in Muscle Recovery
Nutrition plays a pivotal role in muscle recovery and overall health during and after injury or illness. A 2020 review in Nutrients emphasizes that periods of disuse combined with poor dietary intake can accelerate muscle loss and weaken strength, especially in older adults.“Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth,” Virgin said. Ensuring an optimal protein intake is critical, with a minimum of 100 grams per day, and ideally 1 gram or more per pound of ideal body weight.
However, Nunes noted that merely increasing protein intake does not prevent muscle loss. “Muscles need to be put to work in order to decrease the level of loss during inactivity or disease,” he wrote.
Virgin also recommends incorporating 15 grams of essential amino acids with one to two meals a day to provide the necessary nutrients for healing and preventing muscle breakdown. Additionally, extra collagen, either as a supplement or through bone broth or bone broth protein powder, can be beneficial at an intake of 15 grams to 30 grams daily.
The Mental Grit Behind Physical Recovery
Nunes noted that the mental factor directly affects nutrition, sleep, and overall activity levels.“Mental resilience is absolutely crucial in physical recovery,” Virgin said. It greatly affects the speed and completeness of recovery from illness, injury, or prolonged inactivity.
When physical strength is weakened, mental grit is essential for maintaining focus, discipline, and positivity, enabling adherence to recovery protocols and coping with the often slow and frustrating healing process.
“It’s like armor for your psyche, protecting and propelling you forward even when the going gets tough,” Virgin said, underscoring the importance of a strong mindset.
- Embrace a positive outlook. It’s not just about thinking happy thoughts but strategically viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
- Visualize. Picture yourself healed, strong, and thriving, which can help steer your subconscious toward those outcomes.
- Practice resilience-building techniques. Gratitude journaling and mindfulness meditation are beneficial. These practices reduce stress and improve overall mental well-being.
- Build Your Community. Being surrounded by people who uplift and encourage provides emotional comfort and practical help, motivating adherence to recovery goals.
Ozempic and Muscle Loss
“GLP-1 agonists have been celebrated for their potency in reducing body mass, but lean mass accounts for an alarming proportion of this weight loss,” Dr. Attia wrote.
Dr. Attia also said that while GLP-1 agonists such as Ozempic can offer health benefits for obese individuals, they come with risks, especially for those with minimal weight to lose. He added that even obese patients can’t always afford significant lean mass loss, particularly those with sarcopenic obesity—a condition marked by excess fat and low skeletal muscle, common in older adults.
“Further reductions in lean mass among those with too little to begin with could pose a greater threat to health and longevity than the presence of excess fat,” Dr. Attia warned.
The amount of muscle lost during a caloric deficit depends on factors such as protein intake, resistance training, hormonal status, sleep quality, and many other variables, Dr. Bakri told The Epoch Times in an email.
“Muscle loss is the Achilles’s heel of most conventional weight loss efforts, including GLP-1 agonists, that virtually guarantees that weight is regained as fat,” Dr. William Davis, cardiologist and author of the book “Super Gut,” told The Epoch Times.
Muscles and Immunity
Muscles are often viewed primarily as contributors to movement and metabolism, but recent studies show that muscles also enhance immune function.How Exercise Can Help Promote Stronger Bones
According to Dr. Michael Greger, bone health follows a "use it or lose it" approach.3 That's because like our muscles, bones are living, breathing organisms that constantly break themselves down to be replaced anew. And just like your muscles get stronger through exercise, the same occurs with your bones.
For example, a study4 published in 2021 noted that exercise — especially during your youth — is a crucial factor in determining bone strength in adulthood. According to published research, the impact our bodies absorb during exercise stimulates bone growth, thereby leading to increased bone mineral density:5
"From a mechanically centric point of view, activities that generate higher intensity or quicker loads (such as resistance training and leaping) are excellent for promoting bone health because they stimulate existing bone cells in a significant way …Mechanical forces applied to bone tissue induce the movement of interstitial fluid along tubules and bone cell pores, thereby causing cell-level shear stress and deformation of bone cell plasma membrane. These changes lead to the beginning of the bone remodeling process and stimulate bone resorption and formation cycles."
In this regard, resistance training as well as engaging in higher-impact activities are ideal for boosting bone mineral density. However, don't discount aerobic exercise just yet — it may still exert a positive effect.
According to the same study,6 aerobic exercise can positively influence bone density by boosting nutrient transport as well as creating hormonal interactions that promote bone formation. Moreover, aerobic exercise plays a role in mitochondrial repair that may influence bone health.
Up the Intensity to Magnify the Benefits
Going deeper into how exercise promotes healthy bones, intensity is a crucial factor — not just the fact you need to exercise. It's been observed that adding intensity and weight "have a strong and consistent positive effect on bone development."7 In other words, your bones become more resilient when subjected to greater (but controlled) amounts of force.
This hypothesis is supported by other published research. In a meta-analysis published in 2023 involving postmenopausal women,8 researchers explained the crucial role of intensity in helping boost bone mineral density:
"We established that high-intensity and high-impact exercises are effective in improving, or at the very least maintaining, bone density in the lumbar spine and femur in postmenopausal women. An exercise protocol including high-intensity resistance exercises and high-impact training is shown to be most effective in improving bone density and other parameters of bone health."Similar observations were made by another study.9 Out of 100 trials reviewed, researchers noted that low-intensity exercises were not effective in stimulating the skeletal system to increase bone density. But, as expected, studies that used moderate- to high-level intensity impact and resistance protocols showed notable benefits for bone density.
While upping the exercise intensity has its benefits, take care not to overdo it for the sake of increasing bone density. According to a study published in Aging and Disease, doing high-intensity exercises can eventually backfire on your health, as explained by the authors:
"Excessive high-intensity exercise does not benefit bone health but induces a high level of oxidative stress in the body, which has a negative impact on bone tissue.Regular moderate exercise can improve the body's antioxidant defense ability, inhibit an excessive oxidative stress response, promote the positive balance of bone metabolism, delay age-related bone loss and deterioration of bone microstructures and have a prevention and treatment effect on osteoporosis caused by many factors."
Five Exercises That Can Help Promote Bone Density
Now that you know the importance of moderate-intensity exercise for promoting bone health, what are exercises that fall under this category? Hinge Health10 recommends these five examples, which were chosen by licensed physical therapists.
Before trying these exercises, make sure to consult with your primary care physician. According to Greger,11 weight-bearing workouts may be detrimental to certain groups of people, such as those already diagnosed with severe osteoporosis or those who recently had fractures.
•Banded squat — According to board-certified physical therapist Mary Kimbrough, this exercise can help strengthen your hips and lower back, which are common areas affected with low bone density.
- Place a looped resistance band just above your knees.
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge at the hips, lowering them into a squat until they're parallel with your knees. Stand tall again. Press your knees into the band, and pull your abdominal muscles for support.
- As you do each repetition, you'll feel the muscles in your legs, glutes and hips working.
•Wall pushup — Try this exercise to help strengthen the bones in your torso, particularly the shoulders, arms and upper back.
- Stand with your hands placed on a wall at chest height. Keep your arms straight and your feet a few steps away from the wall. Some of your weight will be supported through your arms.
- Bend through your arms to move your chest toward the wall. Stop when your head and chest get close to the wall.
- Focus on keeping your hips from dipping toward the wall as you hold this position.
- Push through your hands to straighten your arms and return to the starting position. As you do each repetition, you'll feel your arms, chest and shoulder muscles working.
•Side planks — Targeting your core, hip and shoulders, side planks are an effective full-body exercise, according to Kimbrough.
- Lie down on a gym or yoga mat on your side with your legs straight and feet together.
- Place a forearm on the floor, under your shoulder. Push through your feet and forearm to lift your hip toward the ceiling.
- Focus on squeezing your core muscles as you hold this position.
- Lower your hips back to the floor. As you do each repetition, you'll feel your hips, back, core and shoulder muscles working.
•Tandem balance — This exercise can help improve overall lower leg strength and balance, which can reduce your risk of falls.
- On a yoga mat, stand with your feet apart and your hands on your hips.
- Place one foot in front of the other. Position your heel directly in front of the toes of the other foot, like you're standing on a balance beam.
- Focus on keeping your hands on your hips. You'll notice that your body is moving a lot as it tries to maintain this position.
- Spread your feet apart to return to the starting position. As you do each repetition, you'll feel your lower leg, ankle and foot muscles activating.
•Flamingo — This exercise is an advanced version of Tandem Balance, since you'll be standing on one leg only.
- Stand next to a table but without touching it. It's there for support (if you need it), but try to do the exercise without using it.
- Bend one knee to lift your foot off the floor, balancing on the other foot. Then, return your foot to the floor. Don't worry if you're wobbling — pull in your abdominal muscles to support your balance.
- As you do each repetition, you might feel the muscles in your feet and ankles working.
In addition to these exercises, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases recommends the following activities that can help boost bone health:12
- Weight-bearing exercises — Brisk walking, jogging, tennis, badminton and dancing
- Resistance training — Free weights, bodyweight exercises and gym machines
- Balance training — Tai chi, stepping on a wobble board and walking backward
Consider Using a Vibration Plate
Whole-body vibration (WBV) therapy is an exercise wherein you stand on a vibrating plate. As the energy transfers through your body, you're constantly balancing yourself even while in a stationary position. This physical exertion may produce benefits, according to researchers, including increased bone mineral density.
For example, a 2022 review13 of 14 randomized controlled trials noted that WBV therapy has a positive effect on patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis (OA). According to the research findings:
"Meta-analysis showed that low-frequency and high-frequency whole-body vibration had additional positive effects compared with strengthening exercises alone on pain, knee extensor muscle strength, and physical function in individuals with knee OA. Whole-body vibration with strengthening exercises can be incorporated into treatment protocols."In another meta-analysis,14 researchers discovered that WBV therapy helped boost the bone mineral density of postmenopausal women, as well as reducing the risk of fractures in generally healthy adults. Moreover, WBV therapy may help in other aspects of health, such as helping boost cognitive function.15
For a deeper dive into the science behind WBV therapy, as well as exercises that you can do on a vibration plate, I recommend reading my article "Utilize the Power of Vibrations to Promote Wellness."
Sources and References
- https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2024/08/16/exercise-stronger-bones.aspx
- 1 J Sport Health Sci. 2023 Jan; 12(1): 8–35, Abstract
- 2 Mayo Clinic, Bone Health: Tips to Keep Your Bones Healthy
- 3, 11 Youtube, NutritionFacts.org, The Best Exercise Type and Frequency for Bone Density
- 4, 7 Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021; 12: 704647, The Influence of Physical Activity on Bone Health
- 5, 6 Front Immunol. 2022; 13: 1005665, Mechanisms of Exercise in Alleviating OP
- 8 Cureus. 2023 Feb; 15(2): e34644, Abstract
- 9 Bone. 2021 Feb:143:115696, Abstract
- 10 Hinge Health, July 2, 2024
- 12 NIAMSD, Exercise for Your Bone Health
- 13 J Rehabil Med. 2022; 54: 2032, Abstract
- 14 Complementary Therapies in Medicine Volume 65, May 2022, 102811, Abstract
- 15 AIMS Neurosci. 2023; 10(2): 130–143, Abstract
- 16 Front Physiol. 2022; 13: 837631, Abstract
- 17 J Birjand Univ Med Sci. 2021; 28(1):24-31, Abstract
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