Bone Density
The Connection Between Bone Health and Strength Training
Bone health is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of women's health as they age. While many people associate strength training with building muscle or changing body composition, resistance training plays an important role in maintaining the strength and function of the musculoskeletal system.
Women build most of their bone mass during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. with rapid development occurring during puberty. Most people reach peak bone mass by their mid-to-late 20s (roughly ages 25–30), after which maintaining bone density becomes increasingly important.
This is important because the amount of bone a woman builds earlier in life provides part of the foundation she carries into adulthood. Once peak bone mass is reached, the goal shifts from primarily building bone to maintaining bone strength and minimizing bone loss. As we age, bone remodeling continues. The body is constantly breaking down old bone and replacing it with new bone. However, when the bones are not regularly exposed to enough mechanical loading, the body has less stimulus to maintain bone strength and density. This is especially important for the spine and other weight-bearing areas of the skeleton.
Over time, reduced bone density can cause your bones to become more vulnerable to fractures and other injuries. This becomes particularly important for women as they enter and move through menopause, when changes in estrogen levels can accelerate bone loss. Maintaining regular weight-bearing and resistance exercise throughout adulthood can provide the mechanical stimulus needed to help maintain bone strength and support the spine as we age.
What Happens as Women Get Older?
Bone density naturally changes with age. One of the most important periods for women is the transition through perimenopause and menopause.
Estrogen plays an important role in maintaining bone tissue. As estrogen levels decline during menopause, bone loss can accelerate.
This doesn't mean that every woman will develop osteoporosis. However, the menopausal transition is an important time to pay attention to bone health and lifestyle factors that support skeletal strength.
The statistics demonstrate why this becomes increasingly important with age.
According to CDC data from 2017–2018, approximately 13.1% of women ages 50–64 had osteoporosis, compared with 27.1% of women age 65 and older.
That's roughly a doubling in the prevalence of osteoporosis between those two age groups.
Low bone mass is even more common. Approximately 50.3% of women ages 50–64 and 52.9% of women age 65 and older had low bone mass at either the femoral neck or lumbar spine.
In other words, by the time women reach their 50s and 60s, having some degree of reduced bone mass is not uncommon.
Osteopenia vs. Osteoporosis
It's important to understand that osteopenia and osteoporosis are not the same thing.
Osteopenia refers to mild to moderate bone loss. It is typically viewed as a warning stage of lower than normal bone mineral density than the young-adult reference range but not low enough to meet the diagnostic threshold for osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis represents more significant loss of bone density and strength and is associated with an increased risk of fractures.
Having osteopenia does not mean that osteoporosis is inevitable. It is better viewed as an opportunity to pay closer attention to bone health and address modifiable risk factors.
Why strength training matters
Bones respond to mechanical loading. When muscles contract and place force on the skeleton, the body receives a stimulus that can help support bone strength.
This is one reason progressive resistance training becomes particularly valuable as women age.
Exercises such as:
Squats
Deadlift variations
Lunges
Step-ups
Rows
Presses
Loaded carries
can provide resistance against which the muscles and skeletal system must work.
Strength training also addresses another major issue associated with aging: Muscle Atrophy, the loss of muscle mass and strength. Maintaining strong, healthy muscles supports mobility, physical function, and independence, helping women continue doing the things they enjoy as they age.
The American Heart Association specifically notes that strength and resistance training can help maintain bone and muscle strength during and after menopause.
Bone health isn't just about preventing fractures
Strong bones provide the foundation for staying active, capable, and independent as we age.
A woman who maintains muscle strength, balance, coordination, and bone health is better positioned to continue doing the activities she enjoys. Whether that's hiking, traveling, playing with her grandchildren, lifting weights, or simply getting up and down from the floor.
Aging is inevitable, but losing strength and physical ability doesn't have to happen at the same rate. Training helps you maintain the physical capacity to live an active life for years to come.
All in all…
Strength training is only one component of bone health. Adequate nutrition, calcium and vitamin D, regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding smoking, and appropriate medical screening all matter.
For women entering midlife and beyond, resistance training should be viewed as an investment in long-term health, helping support strong bones, healthy muscles, mobility, and independence throughout the years ahead.
