On Tue, 09 Jan 2001, you wrote:

>
> exercise strengthened all the bones in the body. If this is not true, then
> would we not have to do weight bearing exercise on each and every bone in
> the body, to prevent bone loss in every bone?
>

Yes. Only the parts of the body which get stressed will respond. With some of
the big exercises, like squats, you can hit pretty much the whole skeleton
with one exercise. With back trouble, there are a variety of exercises you
can do whilst lying on a bench which should stress the upper body bones.
Likewise for lower body, most gyms will have leg machines which allow you to
stress the legs without risking your back. Failing this, I have always found
hill walking to be an excellant exercise. If you are in a city, you may be
able to utilise the stairs in tall buildings.

>
> and more each week. It feels to me like walking slower at a steeper incline
> becomes more weight bearing and less aerobic, as the incline increases. I
> am wondering if this is true, and also, if adding ankle weights as I get in
> better shape would also increase the weight bearing effect of this
> exercise.
>

As the incline increases, the exercise becomes less aerobic, but I think the
weight bearing aspect remains fairly constant. The increased muscular
exertion may provide some additional stress to the bones ,though.
For increasing bone density, I think the effect of ankle weights are likely
to be minimal.

Andy.