Low-weight, high-repetition exercise can increase bone density by up to 8% in adults, research team discovers
Low-weight, high-repetition resistance training increases bone mineral density in adults, says a small study in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, challenging assumptions that heavy weight-training is needed to build bone mineral density.
A total of 20 untrained adults (people who completed less than 30 minutes of exercise a week for the previous six months) completed a 27-week group exercise programme after being split into groups.
One group focused on building core muscles as well as cardiovascular workouts. The other group completed full-body weight-training workouts, two to three classes a week, using a bar and self-selected weights.
Results:
– People in the weight-training group had an 8% increase in leg bone mineral density, a 7% increase in pelvis bone mineral density, a 4% increase in arm bone mineral density and a 4% increase in spine bone mineral density. The other group’s bone mineral density did not change significantly.
– Postmenopausal women and people with osteopenia had bone mineral density increases of up to 29%.
– There was a positive correlation between squat strength and pelvis bone mineral density, a link that suggests the exercises used in the study could decrease the risk of a hip fracture.
– People in the weight-training group had 25% greater increase in leg strength than those in the core group. Changes in leg strength were strongly correlated with changes in pelvic bone mineral density.
We know that by 2020 about 14 million people over the age of 50 years are expected to have osteoporosis and another 47 million to have low bone mass. After age 40 years, bone mineral density declines more quickly so it is crucial to build a peak bone mass before this rapid decline and to maintain bone mass later in life.
“These findings challenge the traditional thought that high-weight, low-repetition exercise is the ideal way to increase bone mineral density,” explains Jinger Gottschall, who is involved in the work. “This is such a profound finding because low-weight, high-repetition exercise is easily attainable by anybody and everybody. This approach could help at-risk populations minimize the risk of osteoporosis.”
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