Gardening, particularly allotment gardening,

I hope they recommend, careful lifting of bags of compost!!!! Don't want to do more damage!!

Too right Paul, lifting anything of weight should be approached with caution. I think the mantra on the whole should be 'just keep going, don't give in'...well it's working for me, so far..touch wood :)!

I think it's a case of being careful with lifting. Whilst some lifting and carrying can be good exercise, it's very easy to overdo it in the garden, with compost and heavy pots etc. You can do damage if you try to lift things you shouldn't!

I'm afraid that I am always guilty of struggling with heavy things that years ago didn't bother me then I wonder afterwards why I ache, my mind refuses to accept my age when in gardening mode...

I know exactly where you're coming from Lincslass :)

Let's hope it continues to work for you Waddy...just don't try to touch wood whilst lifting heavy compost bags or you might drop it on your foot!, ;@))

LOL....we are fools to ourselves but so enjoyable at the time, its like my knee problem, I'm more concerned about my garden than anything else which is so stupid of me cos it won't really suffer and I do know that.....

I think we all do things in the garden we should'nt but when we are on a roll about moving pots etc we forget everything because we are enjoying ourself's the times I have have been aching the next day and dare not mention why to OH lol

The medical instruction I have to learn is 'Weight bearing exercises help stimulate bone making cells.'
Plan to use a bag of grit, as that seems about the right
weight for me.
Then formulate exercises on a twice daily routine indoors.
The lifting described in comments above is alright if done in the right way, by bending the knees holding the article firmly, then straightening them without straining the back. Its remembering to do it !
Its the calcium defect that concerns me, because we are never told that if over 65 we should drink a pint of milk a day. If I had done this I think my bones would have been stronger to resist the Osteoporosis - sometimes called Brittle Bone Disease, which used to be preventable.
Seems now it is, only nobody bothers to tell us.

Have now found the correct weight bearing exercises on the Internet under National Osteoporisis Foundation heading. Others recommend Yoga and Tai-Chai.
Brisk walking, and digging, seem to be the best option, start gradually and build up.
Will look for Yoga and Tai Chai when classes start again in the autumn.
After the misery of the muscle invasive Virus together with this bone trouble, I feel happier now I have work programmes in place to deal with both.
Enjoyed the Tour de France finale and the helicopter pictures of the gardens at the Palace of Versaille, hope others did too.

Not sure where you got the information about calcium and drinking a pint of milk for the over 65's from.
The actual information should say drink a pint of milk, or whatever else you eat containing calcium, eg chesse, bread, so that total daily intake is about 1000mg and this should be every day during adolescence and up to the menopause in women. Bone density naturally reduces from the mid thirties, so you need to do everything you can to maintain calcium in your bones whilst you still can. This is especially true for women because after the menopause, lack of oestrogen affects calcium absorption into the bones.
Once the levels have decreased and osteoporosis is present, calcium on it's own can be a waste of time as no matter how much you eat of it, it doesn't get absorbed.
That's when you go onto biphosphanates, that increase bone density, in conjunction with calcium and the other thing you forgot to mention about gardening and that is vitamin d. That is essential for absorbtion of Calcium and your body gets it from sunlight, and as gardeners are outside a lot they get more sunlight, more vitamin d, thus more calcium absorbtion.

I am having a biphosphanate, an Alendronic acid tablet once a week, together with an Adcal-D tablet twice daily
for extra Calcium, drinking milk must be right. Information on this subject must have been updated.
The point I wanted to make is that gardening throughout life is important, as it is a weight bearing exercise which pulls and tugs on the muscles which increase the bone making cells in the body, therefore strengthening the bones throughout life. Vigorous exercise is hard, I am starting gradually.
Forgot to mention cycling is no good, as the bike supports the body weight.
Keeping allotment land is therefore important from a health point of view.
Some information is from National Osteoporisis Foundation.
Will carry on drinking milk, anything to increase calcium can only be good.

I think the key is exercise full stop. Plus of course diet.

By the way, swimming is also good for stamina as well as strength. Water makes it easier to exercise because of it's buoyancy, but also strengthens because of the resistance of water to movement.