COD Nursing student Samantha Brezinski shares that weight bearing exercises are important for building and maintaining bone density. Weight bearing exercise also helps prevent osteoporosis which is a big issue for older women. Talk to your doctor before beginning to work out if you haven’t in a while or have any concerns. It is recommended to get about 30 minutes of weight bearing exercise in on most days of the week. You can do more or less depending on how you feel. An area that most women want to work on is their lower body. There are 4 great exercises that I am going to list that will help improve strength and increase muscle mass.

1. Squats- Squats are a really good way to help strengthen your legs and butt. You can do them almost anywhere; whether you’re at home cleaning or at the gym squats are a great workout. According to bodybuilding.com, stand with your feet shoulder width apart with your feet facing forward. You can extend your hands straight out in front of you for balance or you can hold some weight for extra resistance. You want to make sure to keep your back straight and you begin to lower down to when your thighs are parallel to the floor. In this position you want to make sure your knees don’t extend out past your feet and to make sure your back is straight. Repeat this exercise as much as you can without hurting yourself. As your body gets use to this workout over time it is a good idea to gradually increase the weight to help strength your lower body.
2. Lunges-Lunges are another good way to help strength your legs and butt. According to bodybuilding.com, stand upright with a straight back. Take one foot and step forward; both toes should be facing forward. Begin to lower your back knee towards the floor but do not touch the floor. In this position make sure you’re back is straight
   and your knee is not past your toes. Push back up to a standing position and repeat with the other leg. These can be repeated as many times as you can handle.
3. Leg press- is a great exercise for working your quadriceps! This is an exercise that must be done at the gym because it requires a machine. According to bodybuilding.com, once you get to the machine sit down and place your legs securely on the platform which is located directly in front of you. Choose a weight that you think you can push up against without injuring yourself. Begin to push up against the platform and extend your legs as much as you can without locking your knees! It is important not to lock your knees! Once you fully extended your legs outward slowly lower the platform back into place and then repeat as many times as your body can handle.
4. Leg extension-is also a good exercise for working your quadriceps. This exercise must also be done at the gym because it requires the use of a machine. According to bodybuilding.com, once you’re at the leg extension machine sit down and select the weight that you think your legs can lift without injuring yourself. You need to place your legs under the pad with your feet pointing forward. For extra support you can place your hands on the side bars next to the seat while performing these exercises. You want to make sure the pad is located just above your feet; adjust the pad so it is in the proper place. Then extend your legs lifting the weight, you want to make sure the rest of your body stays in its seated position. If you can’t stay seated while performing this exercise chances are the weight you’re using is too heavy so try reducing the weight. Then slowly lower your legs back down and repeat as many times as your body can handle.

Those are some weight bearing exercises to help improve bone strength in your lower body. If they are performed correctly there shouldn’t be any injuries. Make sure to go as much as you can handle, don’t push yourself to much because you can injure yourself. If you want to try other exercises for your lower body or for anything else you want to work on, bodybuilding.com is a great site to go to where you can find good exercises. They include step-by-step ways to properly perform different exercises. Once you get more comfortable it is good to include more exercises in your workouts to help improve muscle mass.

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