What do you need for your joints to be healthy?
Too often, we see people easily identify what healthy joints are NOT–painful, swollen, immobile, creaky, crackly, etc.–but not be able to identify what healthy joints ARE.
More importantly, people have no idea how to get healthy joints, even if they are able to say, “That’s what I’m going for.”
First things first–joint health typically implies that the cartilage of the joint, i.e. the spongy material living between the two bones, is healthy and intact. When the cartilage starts to degrade, that’s when joint issues such as pain and cracking become more noticeable.
So what does your cartilage need to stay healthy?
There are two things.
First, it needs force going through it. This allows the cartilage to excrete its waste products and to soak up the nutrient rich fluid around it. When there is force going through the cartilage, it gets squished. The squish pushes out anything unwanted within the cartilage.
Then, when the force gets removed or lessened, the cartilage gets un-squished, allowing it to soak up the fluid around it. This fluid has the nutrients the cartilage needs to stay healthy and intact.
The second thing cartilage needs to be healthy is motion of the joint it is in. The cartilage lines the two bones that make up the joint. When these bones move, part of the cartilage gets squished and part gets un-squished. Then, when the bones move again, other parts of the cartilage get squished and un-squished.
This squish and un-squish process happening over and over again keeps the cartilage healthy, strong, and low-friction (so your bones can move smoothly).
So, if you want healthy joints, you need to make sure to have healthy cartilage, and the two things your cartilage needs is to be squished and un-squished, both of which happen with force going through your joints and your joints moving.
Which leads us to the main question of, “What can you do about this?”
Within your body there is one tissue that is specifically designed to help keep your cartilage and joints healthy by putting force through your joints and moving your joints.
Do you know what it is?
It is your muscles!
When your muscles contract, they put force through your joints. They also move your joints.
Muscle contraction is the key to making sure your joints stay healthy and strong. The better your muscles contract, the healthier your joints can be.
When it comes to muscle contraction, making sure you are doing exercise that is focused on promoting muscle contraction is of the utmost importance. In other words, you need to be doing strength training, and you need to make sure you are focused on contracting your muscles while you do it.
Within The Exercise For Life Membership, we have a program that is specifically designed to help you do just that, called “Healthy Muscles, Healthy Joints”.
By prioritizing muscle contraction during every workout, you can give yourself the best chance possible of building strong, healthy, and mobile joints that feel and function great for years to come, and in the Healthy Muscles, Healthy Joints program, we show you how to do exactly that.
You can get full access to the Healthy Muscles, Healthy Joints program for free for the next 30 days when you join The Exercise For Life Membership.
All you have to do to get started is click here to sign up and you will have full access to everything within this program and all the programs within the membership.
Your joint health 100% depends on the health and function of your muscles, and within the Healthy Muscles, Healthy Joints program we show you exactly what to do to promote both.
Join us in The Exercise For Life Membership to experience it for yourself!
We can’t wait to see you there!
In strength and health,
Julie & Charlie