There are two specific, well-researched, time-efficient approaches that the research shows support bone health. Which one to prioritize first depends on what decade of life you’re in.
Less than an hour a week of the right thing can substantially shift your trajectory.
The research on how bone responds to training is actually really clear. But what the research says and what most women think it means are not the same thing.
What hasn’t been shown to meaningfully change bone density
This is the part most women don’t get told, so let me say it plainly. The following activities, despite being good for plenty of other reasons, have not been shown to meaningfully improve bone mineral density in the research:
Walking (even brisk walking)
Treadmill walking with a weighted vest
Running
Cycling
Swimming
Light dumbbell work (your 5- to 10-pound weights at home)
Yoga and Pilates as typically practiced
These activities are still worth your time. They support cardiovascular health, mood, balance, and general strength. But if your goal is to train specifically for your bones, they are not the lever.
What has been shown to meaningfully change bone density
Bone responds to two things: heavy load and high-rate impact.
If the exercise isn’t heavy enough or fast enough to challenge the bone, the bone has no reason to adapt. It’s a use-it-or-lose-it tissue, and it specifically responds to forces that exceed what it normally encounters.
The two approaches with the strongest research
Here’s where the recommendations diverge based on where you are in your hormonal life.
If you’re postmenopausal: heavy resistance training is the most well-researched approach. Jumping still has a place, including for the hip, but heavy lifting is doing most of the work.
If you’re premenopausal: you have more options. Both heavy resistance training and a specific style of jumping have research behind them in your decade. This is your window. Bone responds more readily to loading before menopause than after, so getting started now pays compounding dividends.
Let me walk you through both.
For postmenopausal women: heavy resistance training
Here’s a study I love because the protocol is so accessible. Mosti and colleagues took postmenopausal women with osteopenia or osteoporosis and put them through a 12-week heavy lifting protocol on a squat machine.
The hack squat machine is the unsung hero here. Most gyms have it. The load pushes down through your shoulders, which is exactly what your spine and hip need to feel, but the machine controls the bar path for you. No barbell to balance, no spotter required, no years of technique mastery to access the benefit. If you’ve never done heavy strength work before, this is one of the most approachable entry points there is.
The protocol:
4 sets of 5 reps
3 times per week
Lower the weight slowly, drive up as fast as possible
2 to 3 minute rest between sets
The weight should be heavy. By the fifth rep of each set, you should be thinking thank goodness this set is over.
Total time per session, including rest: about 20 minutes. Three sessions a week. That’s an hour a week, total.
A note on the rest periods: these matter. Taking a long rest is what allows you to lift heavy on the next set, which is what creates the bone signal. If you compress the rest, you’ll have to drop the weight, and you’ll get a different (less effective) training stimulus. The rest isn’t wasted time. It’s part of the protocol.
After 12 weeks of this protocol, the women in the training group saw:
2.9% increase in lumbar spine bone mineral content
4.9% increase in femoral neck bone mineral content
154% increase in maximum strength
52% increase in rate of force development (the neuromuscular speed quality that helps you react quickly)
Note: the study measured bone mineral content (the total amount of bone material) rather than bone mineral density (the number on a DEXA scan). Another study, LIFTMOR, combined heavy barbell lifting with impact training (jumping chin-ups with drop landings) over 8 months. Women with low bone mass in that study saw clear bone mineral density (BMD) improvements at the spine and hip. In both studies, the training was supervised, and the women built up to heavy loads over time.
What this means: If you can lift with a barbell, do that. If barbell lifting isn’t accessible or comfortable for you, the hack squat machine is a great option.
If you’ve never lifted heavy before, don’t start at “as heavy as possible.” Start with light weight your first session, just to learn the machine. Then progress over the next two to three weeks until you’re at a load where five reps genuinely feels hard. That’s the working weight.
This is one of the best-studied ways a postmenopausal woman can train for her bones in an hour a week.
For premenopausal women: a specific style of jumping
If you’re premenopausal, you have another option. Bone tends to respond more readily to impact before menopause, and you can get a real training signal with very little equipment and very little time.
In a study by Bassey and colleagues (1998), premenopausal women did 50 small, two-footed jumps a day at home. The jumps averaged only about 3 inches high, but because the landings were quick, they produced about 3 times body weight of force. After 5 months, the jumping group gained 2.8% in hip bone density compared with the control group.
An earlier study by Bassey and Ramsdale (1994) found something similar. Premenopausal women did a high-impact class plus daily home exercise, and after 6 months their trochanteric (hip) bone density was up 3.4%. When the control group switched to the high-impact program, they gained 4.1% over the next 6 months.
Important details:
Jumps are small. Not max effort, not box jumps. A few inches off the floor is enough.
Land quick, not cushioned. Bone responds to how fast the force arrives, not just how big it is. Let your knees bend naturally, but don’t sink into a slow, squishy landing.
Rest between sets. Bone cells tune out nonstop impact. Sets of 10 with 10 to 20 seconds of rest work better than 50 in a row.
Most days of the week. A 2024 review of jumping studies found benefits around 50 jumps, 4 days a week.
Build up gradually. These landings are about 3 times your body weight, compared with about 1.2 for walking. Start with fewer reps and add over a few weeks.
Two to three minutes a day. That’s what the study used.
You can stack this onto an existing strength routine or do it as a standalone.
What about perimenopausal women?
Honestly? The research is thin here. Most studies separate women into pre- and postmenopausal categories, and the messy in-between window doesn’t get its own dedicated literature.
My read: if you’re early in perimenopause and still cycling regularly, the premenopausal data probably still applies. As estrogen shifts more dramatically, the postmenopausal research becomes more relevant. The smartest move during the transition is to add the heavy lifting before you need it, so your body is already adapted by the time the hormonal landscape changes more dramatically.
Don’t wait for a scan to tell you it’s time to start. Build the foundation now.
What about jumping after menopause?
The evidence for jumping after menopause is more mixed than before menopause, but it’s not zero.
Some studies found no change. In Bassey’s 1998 study, the same jumping routine that helped premenopausal women didn’t change hip density in postmenopausal women. A 1995 trial of daily heel drops also found no gains at 12 months, though women more than 6 years past menopause appeared to maintain their bone.
Others are more encouraging. In a 2020 study by Hartley and colleagues, postmenopausal women did progressive single-leg hops on one leg only, so the other leg served as a comparison. After 6 months, femoral neck density rose 0.81% in the hopping leg and fell 0.57% in the other. A 2024 review of jumping studies also found small femoral neck gains in adults over 50, though not at the spine or total hip.
The strongest results come from combining the two. LIFTMOR paired heavy lifting with jumping chin-ups and drop landings, and women with low bone mass saw improvements at both the spine and hip.
So if you’re postmenopausal, heavy lifting is your foundation, and jumping (especially single-leg hops, built up gradually) earns its place too. It also trains power and speed, which matter for reacting quickly.
Before you start
Talk with your doctor before beginning heavy lifting or jumping, especially if you’ve had a recent fracture, spine or joint surgery, or been told to limit lifting or impact. Start where you are and progress gradually.
Where to start this week
If you read this far and want to actually do something with it, here’s the simplest possible starting point:
If you’re postmenopausal, cleared by your doctor, and have access to a gym: find the hack squat machine. Spend a session getting comfortable with it at a light weight. Build up over two to three weeks to a load where 5 reps feels hard. Three sessions a week, 20 minutes each.
If you’re premenopausal: start with small two-legged jumps in the morning, in sets of 10 with a short rest in between, and build toward 50. Add heavy strength work over time.
If you’re not sure where to start: hit reply on the email or send me a message and tell me what’s gotten in the way of starting. I read everything.
You don’t need to figure this out alone.
Cheering you on,
Chelsea
This post is for education and general fitness information. It isn’t physical therapy, medical care, or individual advice. Medication decisions are between you and your doctor.
References
Bassey EJ, Ramsdale SJ. Increase in femoral bone density in young women following high-impact exercise. Osteoporos Int. 1994;4(2):72-75.
Bassey EJ, Ramsdale SJ. Weight-bearing exercise and ground reaction forces: a 12-month randomized controlled trial of effects on bone mineral density in healthy postmenopausal women. Bone. 1995;16(4):469-476.
Bassey EJ, Rothwell MC, Littlewood JJ, Pye DW. Pre- and postmenopausal women have different bone mineral density responses to the same high-impact exercise. J Bone Miner Res. 1998;13(12):1805-1813.
Florence GE, et al. Efficacy of jumping exercise in improving bone mineral density in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2024.
Hartley C, et al. High-impact exercise increased femoral neck bone density with no adverse effects on imaging markers of knee osteoarthritis in postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Res. 2020;35(1):53-63.
Mosti MP, Kaehler N, Stunes AK, Hoff J, Syversen U. Maximal strength training in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or osteopenia. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(10):2879-2886.
Watson SL, Weeks BK, Weis LJ, Harding AT, Horan SA, Beck BR. High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial. J Bone Miner Res. 2018;33(2):211-220.
Chelsea Matthews - Doctor of Physical Therapy
