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Today we’re answering a big question that many readers and clients ask: how much weight should I lift to increase bone density?
Whether you’re loading your bones walking and running or lifting weights, or doing bodyweight exercises like pushups, I’m going to break down exactly what you need to know.
Before we go too far, let me explain how lifting weights increases bone density.
How Does Lifting Weights Increase Bone Density?
Weight training plays a crucial role in maintaining and improving bone density through a fascinating biological process. While traditional weight lifting forms the foundation of strength training, the benefits extend to various resistance exercises, including bodyweight movements, isometric holds, and plyometric drills.
Bone Remodeling Basics
During strength training, your muscular system creates a powerful cascade of biological responses. As your muscles contract against resistance, they generate mechanical forces that travel through your musculoskeletal system. These forces trigger a sophisticated cellular response: bone-building cells (osteoblasts) increase their activity, while bone-removing cells (osteoclasts) become less active. This cellular ballet is called the bone remodeling process and orchestrates the strengthening of your skeletal structure.
Stem Cells and Bone Building
The impact of resistance training extends beyond basic bone remodeling. Physical stress activates specialized mesenchymal stem cells within your body. These remarkable cells possess the ability to develop into multiple tissue types – from muscle and bone to cartilage and ligaments. The mechanical forces generated during strength training particularly stimulate these cells, enhancing their bone-building potential [1] (Rubin & Styner, 2022).
Aging, Mechanical Stress, Exercise and Bone Density
Age brings natural challenges to bone health, especially for postmenopausal women. Your body experiences a gradual decline in muscle mass, while the neuromuscular connections that enable muscle activation become less efficient. This dual effect can lead to muscle weakness, which directly leads to bone loss.
Yet research offers an empowering message: your skeletal system maintains its adaptability throughout your lifetime. Your bones never lose their ability to respond positively to physical stress, regardless of your age [2] (National Cancer Institute, n.d.). Whether you begin strength training in your twenties or your sixties, your skeleton will respond to the beneficial stress of resistance exercise.
This adaptability underscores the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle across your lifespan to prevent osteoporosis. Regular strength training serves as a powerful tool for protecting and enhancing your bone density at any age.
To learn more about how strength training improves bone health and density, look at my video below.
Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis
Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.
But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?
A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.
I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:
- Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
- Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
- Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
- Key principles of bone building.
- Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
- Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
- Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?
Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.
How Much Weight Can You Lift with Osteoporosis?
Let’s discuss two key activities that build stronger bones: weight-bearing exercises and strength training exercises.
Weight-Bearing Exercise and Strength Training
We need weight-bearing for our heart and bones, and strength training for our muscles and bones.
That’s why both are critical for your overall health. However, safety and injury avoidance are very important when strength training. You need to consider your age in order to determine how much weight you need to lift to increase bone density.
Younger Athletes: One Rep Max
In young healthy individuals, calculating how much to lift is based on the one rep max.
Under skilled supervision, the athlete attempts to lift the heaviest they can, one time. The calculation of how much they should lift to get stronger is based on a percentage of this load. This is the one rep max.
Here is a video on how to calculate a one rep max:
Older Athletes and Bone Strength: Establish a Baseline
In older adults, especially with osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and other health issues, doing a one rep max test will likely lead to injury and is not recommended.
Over my 40 years as a Physical Therapist, I have seen many clients succeed with a slow, steady progressive approach to building up. I call it building from a baseline.
Let’s establish your baseline.
How Much Weight Should I Lift to Increase Bone Density?
Before we dive into the numbers and determine how much weight you should lift to increase bone density, I need you to do something important: be completely honest with yourself and follow these steps:
- Write down how far and how fast you’ve walked, run, or climbed stairs – consistently. When I say consistently, I mean more than three times a week over the past six months.
- Pause and take a moment to reflect and write.
- Next, write down the weights you’ve been lifting consistently. Think about overhead presses, bicep curls, cable pulls at the gym – whatever resistance exercises you do regularly. Write down those amounts for each exercise type.
This is your baseline and now you are going to build from that baseline.
Remember everyone builds at a different pace. During this process, you will find the pace that is right for you.
How Fast Should You Increase the Amount of Weight During Your Exercise Program?
Let’s talk about adding weight to the following activities.
Walking
For weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, moving a little faster will increase the forces that occur when your foot hits the ground. This increased demand requires more from your heart, your muscles and your bones.
Weighted Vests
Another option for increasing the weight in weight-bearing activities is to use a weighted vest. Start by adding just one pound a week to your vest. If that feels good, add a second pound. You can gradually work up to about 15% of your body weight. Your posture will tell you if the weight is too heavy – if you can’t maintain good form while walking, scale back.
Strength Training
For strength training, your breathing and form are your guides. Whether you’re adding two pounds or twenty, your body will let you know if it’s too much.
Here’s a simple rule: If you can repeat a lift more than 12 times consecutively, consider it a good warm-up exercise.
To build muscle and bone you want the load to be great enough that you cannot lift more than 8 to 10 slow controlled repetitions.
If you’ve been lifting five pounds, a 10% increase means adding half a pound. If you’ve been lifting twenty pounds, look at a two-pound increase.
3 Secrets to Boost Muscle Strength After Fifty
If you want to explore this topic further, please look at the video below. I discuss how you can increase muscle strength.
Should You Use Free Weights or Machine Weights?
A number of clients ask me whether I recommend free weights or machine weights. I answer that question in this video.
Exercise for Osteoporosis
Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.
But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?
A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.
I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:
- Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
- Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
- Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
- Key principles of bone building.
- Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
- Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
- Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?
Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.
Conclusion: Get Stronger Gradually, Reduce Bone Loss and Improve Bone Health
Remember, gradual progression is key. This careful approach helps prevent stress fractures during weight-bearing exercises and avoids unnecessary sprains and strains when lifting weights.
Your baseline is your starting point – there is no shortcut around this. Some of you might start with two pounds, others with twenty pounds.
Remember these guidelines:
- What matters is that you build up from your baseline.
- Progress safely and you will be successful.
- Listen to your body and progress at a pace that is right for you.
Further Readings
Margaret Martin
References
- Rubin J, Styner M. The skeleton in a physical world. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2022;247(24):2213-2222. doi: 10.1177/15353702221113861
- National Cancer Institute. SEER Training Modules. Anatomy & Physiology. Skeletal System. https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/skeletal/growth.htm
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