Sebastian Oreb | Online Coach & Mentor for Personal Trainers

Do you really need to lift heavy weights to improve bone density?

Firstly, thank you to @drvondawright Wright for spreading such an important message about bone health and the importance of prevention.

I also want to acknowledge Professor Belinda Beck and her groundbreaking LIFTMOR research.

One of the important questions behind this research was whether women with low bone density, including osteoporosis, could safely perform heavy resistance training above 80% of their one-repetition maximum.

And the findings were incredibly important.

The study demonstrated that appropriately supervised heavy resistance and impact training could be performed safely by these women and significantly improve bone mineral density compared with a low-intensity home exercise program.

This challenged the idea that women with osteoporosis should avoid lifting heavy weights and rely exclusively on gentle exercise.

But there’s another important question.

Just because women CAN lift heavy weights to improve bone density, does that mean they HAVE to? And should they start there?

More recent research has shown that lighter resistance training can also provide meaningful benefits for bone health.

But that doesn’t mean heavy lifting isn’t valuable.

Heavier loads are particularly effective for developing maximal strength, which is another important predictor of long-term health.

My approach has always been to develop the skill of lifting weights progressively.

Even the strongest athletes in the world don’t train exclusively above 80% of their maximum.

We start by learning the movements, building muscle, developing work capacity and gradually increasing the loads as our ability improves.

The message isn’t to avoid lifting heavy. It’s to learn how to lift heavy properly.

And most importantly, resistance training isn’t something we should only be doing when we’re young.

It’s something we should be doing for life.

Strong bones. Strong muscles. A stronger body for life.