Imagine being able to strengthen and maintain your bone health, gain strength, improve power, and reduce your risk of falls, all by making one small tweak to your workout routine.
Maintaining, and possibly improving, bone health is crucial for women who are postmenopausal to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis or fractures. Everyone knows they should be strength training regardless, but there’s some evidence out there showing that focusing on lifting not only heavy, but FAST, may be more effective when your goal is to work on bone strength. This approach not only helps work the bones, but it can be a new and exciting way to workout as well. It helps work your muscles in a more non-traditional way and can transfer well into sports, and it’s also a key component for staying active and maintaining independence!
First off, what does power training mean? Well, think of it as being explosive. Think of moving something heavy as fast as you can. That’s power.Â
This study that we’re looking at by Stengel et al. divided 53 osteopenic postmenopausal women into two groups: a strength training group, and a power training group. The two groups did the same workouts, except the strength training group performed exercises a bit slower than the power group. More specifically, the strength training group took 4s on the lifting (concentric) portion, and 4s on the lowering (eccentric) portion of the exercise. The power group on the other hand lifted up fast and explosively (not specified, but probably ≤1s), and 4s on the way down (eccentric).
Everything else between the groups stayed the same. Both groups had 2 weight lifting sessions (60min), one gymnastics workout (60min), and one at-home workout (25min) each week. All but the at-home workouts were supervised by trainers.
Both groups trained with high intensities (70-90% 1 rep max (RM) weights) for periods of 12 weeks, followed by 4-5 weeks of lower intensity (50% 1 RM). They repeated this cycle for a total of 1 year.
They both performed the same exercises - machine leg press, curls, extensions, abd/adduction, bench press, rowing, lat pull downs, hip flexion, abdominal flexion & extension, hyperextensions, and shoulder raises, and multi-directional jumps.
The gymnastics workouts were meant to help improve fall related abilities, working on coordination, strength, endurance, and flexibility.Â
The at-home workouts consisted of stretching, jump rope, isometrics, and resistance band exercises.Â
So what happened? Well, the power training group saw better results when it came to maintaining bone density.Â
After a year, the power group was able to maintain (and even improve, but not by a significant amount) bone mineral density at both the lumbar spine and the total hip.Â
On the other hand, the strength training group actually lost a significant amount of bone mineral density at both sites!Â
Remember, the only difference between the groups was how fast they lifted up the weights.
That’s it!Â
This suggests that power training (focusing on lifting up fast) is more effective than strength training (going slower) in reducing bone loss in postmenopausal women.
Power training results in more explosive muscle contractions but also produces higher stresses on both tendons and joints compared to slower, more strength-focused training. So the balance of the 12 weeks of high-intensity power training followed by the 4-5 weeks of lower intensity training allowed the body to recover and for bone regeneration before starting the next 12 week cycle.Â
Here are some other additional notes about this study that you might care about:Â
With the fast and heavy lifting done, you’d think maybe some people would experience more pain, but the opposite was actually found. There was a trend in both groups for less pain in the big joints, with a more significant reduction in the power group. So with a balanced and adequate training program, you’re actually more likely to experience less intense and less frequent pain in the large joints according to this paper.Â
Another note is that these women didn’t start from scratch. All the women who participated in this study also completed a 3 year training regimen that involved moderate lifting (2s concentric, 1s static, 2s eccentric). So all the women already had a good training background and were well adapted to heavy loading. It would be interesting to see the results in women who were sedentary to begin with.Â
None of the women in the study had any other disease or condition other than osteopenia, or used medication affecting bone metabolism. They also supplemented with calcium and vitamin D.
If you’re looking to add a bit more power into your workouts, try making the lifting portion of the exercise faster. Lifting with intent can really change how the exercise feels and what results you'll get out of it!
Here are some cues that might help you:
Squat: Think you’re trying to jump up
Pushup: Push the surface away from you
Deadlift: Dig your feet in the ground as if you’re trying to make a hole in the floor
Row: Rev up the lawn mower
Bench Press: Throw the bar up in the air
Lat Pull Down: Think of driving your elbows down and into your thighs
Leg Extension: Kick up like you’re kicking a ball
Leg Curl: Think of trying to kick your butt hard
Now, we’re not saying that lifting more slowly like the strength training group is useless. It’s still a great method for building strength and gaining muscle as muscle building relies on time under tension (aka how long the muscle is being stressed for).
If you’re new to strength training and exercise in general, it may even be a better place to start as it allows you to work on form and get used to the new movements. After all, even the participants in this study went through a 3 year moderate intensity training program.Â
All in all, this paper shows that power training is superior to strength training when looking to maintain bone mineral density at the main sites of the lumbar spine and upper thigh in osteopenic postmenopausal women.
Final Remarks
If you’re a woman who is postmenopausal or have osteopenia or osteoporosis, or maybe you fall into both categories, give us a call! Not only are we BoneFit certified - Canada’s leading osteoporosis training certification - we also specialise in working with women with osteopenia and osteoporosis.Â
We offer a free initial consult where we discuss your goals and start developing a plan tailored to you!Â
Our goal at Delta Kinesiology is to help women reach their health and fitness goals regardless of age, ability, or experience level. We tailor each session using evidence-based principles and methods to help you reach your goals. Whether that be going about your day pain-free, building muscle, improving stamina, or feeling better about yourself, we are here to help.
Get in touch with us today to schedule a free consult by clicking the link below.
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References
Stengel, S. V., Kemmler, W., Pintag, R., Beeskow, C., Weineck, J., Lauber, D., Kalender, W. A., & Engelke, K. (2005). Power training is more effective than strength training for maintaining bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 99(1), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01260.2004
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