Hey Reader!

We have a special guest article today, written by Luke Nelson of Health & High Performance, Melbourne.​

Luke took me through my rehabilitation, and in the process, I learned a great deal about bone health. Because of this, and because one of my goals for this newsletter has always been to add expert guest articles in specialty areas, I asked Luke to write this piece for us.

I hope you enjoy the piece. If you have any questions for Luke, please don't hesitate to ask me, and I'll be happy to pass them on.

The next edition will be out in 2 weeks. While away, I don't have the time for the 3-4 hours of research required for regular articles, and I always want to ensure I produce high-quality pieces.

See you in a couple weeks!

As a health professional working closely with runners, there’s one injury I really don’t like seeing: bone stress injuries.

Why? Because they often mean an extended break from running — the thing we love most — followed by an even longer process of gradually rebuilding fitness.

So, how can we reduce the risk? Like most injuries, bone stress injuries are multifactorial. Training load, running intensity, recovery (think sleep and stress), and nutrition all play important roles.

But here’s something that surprises many runners: Running isn’t actually a great exercise for building strong bones.

Sure, it’s weight-bearing — but that’s not the same as bone-building. Let’s explore why running falls short in this area, and what kinds of training do a better job of building more resilient bones.

Why Running Doesn’t Build Bones as Well as You Think

1. Bones Get Bored of Repetition

Running provides repetitive, low-to-moderate impacts in a single plane. While this is enough to maintain bone mass, it doesn’t create enough novel stimulus to drive further adaptation.

In fact, bone cells can become desensitised to continuous loading. After just 100 loading cycles, bone cells may lose up to 95% of their mechanosensitivity — meaning they stop responding significantly to the mechanical stress (Burr, 2002). So after the first few minutes of your run, the bone-building benefits essentially plateau.

2. Monotonous Loading Limits Adaptation

Running applies stress in a predictable, uniform direction. Bones adapt best when exposed to varied forces and bending moments, which challenge the skeletal system to remodel and strengthen. The lack of multi-directional forces in running means some bones — like the femoral neck, pelvis, and spine — may not receive enough stimulus to adapt robustly.

What Actually Builds Strong Bones?

High-Impact, Multi-Directional Activities

• Jumping, hopping, and bounding (e.g. pogo jumps, single-leg hops, box jumps, drop jumps, bounding)
• For added benefit, incorporate change of direction — lateral hops, zig-zag bounds, and agility drills. These introduce variability and strain in different directions, which encourages bone formation.

Heavy Resistance Training

• Muscular contractions, especially during high-load, low-rep strength training, create bone-bending forces that stimulate adaptation.
• Exercises like squats, calf raises, deadlifts, step-ups, and lunges not only load the bones but also strengthen the muscles that protect them.
• Bonus: Resistance training can target sites like the spine and hips, which are typically underloaded in running.

Takeaway

Running is great for cardiovascular fitness and mental health, but it’s not enough to build robust bones on its own.

Bone thrives on variety and intensity — short bursts of high-impact, multi-directional, and resistance-based loading are key.

If you’re a runner looking to reduce injury risk and support long-term performance, integrating these types of training into your weekly routine is essential!

Content of the week

In the last 2 weeks since edition 44, I've been consuming a lot of post-Western States content, as well as the Prefontaine Classic, a track event in the US.

Although WSER was amazing, this week's content should focus on two key highlights from the Pre Classic: the women's 1500m and 5000m, as both world records were broken. You can watch the highlights below in this quick recap of the event:

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If you've enjoyed this edition, consider sharing this newsletter with a friend or training partner who’s chasing their fastest, strongest, happiest running self. Have a fantastic day! James Sieber Run & Strength Coach ​Website | Email​ Looking for run nutrition? Head over to Bix and use code JSC for 20% off. Head over to 2XU and use code JAMESSIEBER20 for 20% off. Save 20% at forRunners. Unleash your running potential with personalised, physio-designed pilates workouts AND yoga. ​​​

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