Fair Oaks Fitness Coach Peggy Perez on Bone Health: Why the Choices You Make Today Matter Decades Later

Recently, I stopped by Retro-Fit Studio in Fair Oaks and sat down with owner and fitness coach Peggy Perez to talk about a topic that affects many adults as they age: bone health.

What surprised me most wasn’t what she said about osteoporosis. It was her belief that bone health actually begins in childhood.

Most of us don’t think about our bones until a doctor mentions words like osteopenia or osteoporosis. By then, we’re often focused on preventing further bone loss or trying to improve bone density. But according to Peggy, the foundation for healthy bones is built decades earlier.

From birth through our early twenties, our bodies are actively building bone. Activities like running, jumping, playing sports, and participating in resistance training help create stronger, denser bones that support us throughout our lives. She describes bone health as something that starts early and may not reveal its importance until much later.

“Think of it this way,” Peggy explained. “Bone health is potentially a childhood disease that manifests as we age.”

Of course, most of us can’t go back and change what we did as children. The good news is that there are still many things we can do to support stronger bones at any age.

As our population ages, this becomes an increasingly important conversation. Hip fractures account for hundreds of thousands of injuries each year in the United States, and women are significantly more likely than men to experience them. For many older adults, a serious fracture can impact mobility, independence, and quality of life.

One of the biggest misconceptions Peggy encounters is the belief that osteoporosis is simply a calcium deficiency.

While calcium is important, healthy bones require much more than that. Bones rely on a combination of nutrients including magnesium, zinc, manganese, boron, vitamin D, vitamin C, and adequate protein. She also emphasized the importance of collagen, which makes up a significant portion of bone structure and naturally declines as we age.

This is one reason nutrition plays such a critical role in bone health.

Peggy encourages people to focus on whole foods first and supplements second whenever possible. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and nutrient-dense foods helps provide the building blocks bones need to stay strong. Even foods many people overlook, such as prunes and radishes, contain nutrients that contribute to bone health.

Protein was another area she highlighted, especially for women after menopause. As collagen production decreases, maintaining muscle and bone becomes increasingly important. Without enough protein, the body doesn’t have the raw materials it needs to rebuild and repair itself.

When it comes to exercise, Peggy wants people to understand that walking, while beneficial, is often not enough by itself to improve bone density.

She has noticed more people wearing weighted vests while walking around Fair Oaks, and she thinks that’s a positive trend. However, she cautions that adding a small amount of weight to a walk isn’t the same as progressive strength training.

“If you’re moving from the couch to walking with a weighted vest, that’s a fantastic improvement,” she said. “But if you’ve been diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, you’ll likely need resistance training and impact exercises too.”

Impact exercises don’t necessarily mean intense workouts. Depending on a person’s abilities, they can include hiking, marching, stepping, or other forms of controlled impact. The goal is to challenge the body safely and consistently.

Peggy shared a personal story that illustrates the body’s ability to adapt.

After spending nearly two years as a caregiver, she found herself exercising less and putting her own health last. A bone density test revealed osteopenia. Around the same time, she began training for a fundraising hike in Yosemite that required carrying a progressively heavier backpack. Over several months she built strength, increased muscle mass, and challenged her body with uphill terrain.

When she later repeated her bone density test, the osteopenia was gone.

While every person is different and results vary, her experience demonstrates how responsive the body can be when given the right combination of movement, nutrition, and consistency. That kind of progress is also a reminder of why the choices we make every day add up over time.

We also talked about yoga and Pilates, two forms of exercise that are extremely popular with adults seeking to stay active. Peggy believes both offer tremendous benefits for flexibility, mobility, posture, and balance. However, she doesn’t recommend relying on them alone if improving bone density is the goal.

Instead, she encourages people to combine those activities with strength training and impact exercises for a more complete approach to overall health.

Another piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked is recovery.

Exercise creates the stimulus for change, but sleep, nutrition, and recovery are where much of the rebuilding actually occurs. Without adequate rest, the body struggles to repair muscle and maintain healthy bone tissue.

Peggy also encourages people to have open conversations with their healthcare providers. Questions about medications, hormone changes, vitamin deficiencies, protein intake, and exercise recommendations can all play a role in developing a personalized plan for maintaining bone health.

The biggest takeaway from our conversation is that bone health isn’t something we should only think about after receiving a diagnosis.

It is something that develops throughout our lives and is influenced by the choices we make every day.

Whether you’re in your 30s, 50s, 70s, or beyond, it may be worth taking a closer look at how you’re supporting your body through nutrition, movement, and recovery. Strong bones help support an active, independent life, and that’s something most of us would like to maintain for as long as possible.

If you’d like to hear the full conversation, I sat down with Peggy on The Chrysti Tovani Podcast and we covered all of this and more. You can watch the full episode right here.

If you’d like to learn more about Peggy Perez and the programs she offers, Retro-Fit Studio provides personalized fitness coaching designed to meet people where they are, whether they’re just getting started, returning to exercise after a long break, or looking to build strength and confidence as they age.

Disclosure: Peggy Perez and Retro-Fit Studio are Local Legends Partners with I Love Fair Oaks. Local Legends is a visibility partnership that supports the creation of community-focused articles, interviews, videos, and local storytelling.