Let's Start Jumping! Risk, Fear, and Bone Health in Peri/Menopause
- Sarah Rainey-Smithback
- May 15
- 2 min read
Sometimes I work with clients who are dead set against jumping–especially middle aged and older women. For most of us, we simply haven’t jumped, or hopped, or skipped for decades…maybe even since childhood. It feels silly, we’ve got fat and boobs flying, and maybe not very coordinated.
And, just about everything around says impact hurts your joints and bones. So, doing jump squats, back squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses feel dangerous.
I totally get that. A couple of years ago, I thought the very same thing. And to be real, when I first started jumping again there was a little pain from time to time.
But, what I’ve learned since becoming a personal trainer and a Menopause Movement Coach is that resistance training that includes impact is absolutely crucial for women as we age. Estrogen plays a big role in bo
ne formation, and as we enter perimenopause we start to lose at a much higher rate–between 6-15% of our bone mass. The rate slows down as we settle into menopause, to about .5-1%, but that rapid loss is significant, and many women develop osteopenia, osteoporosis, and other bone and joint problems…
But remember, bone is alive and it is kinda like a bank. It depletes, but you can add and build as well...the goal is to not spend more than you have! And as it turns out, resistance training that includes impact and jumping–or plyometrics as its called–is key—-AND it isn’t really dangerous–even for those that already have developed osteoporosis.
The very, very good news is that we’re learning that resistance training AND impact training is NOT dangerous
In 2017 there was a brilliant Australian randomized control study that enrolled over 100 post-menopausal women with low to very low bone mass, so osteoporotic. It is called the LIFTMOR study, and for 8 months the group participated in a 2 weekly, supervised, high intensity progressive resistance training, and impact weight bearing training. It was supervised, but they didn’t play it on the safe side like we normally do with people with osteoporosis.
The intervention group did deadlifts, overhead press, back squats, jumping chin ups with drop landings. It was high intensity, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, over 85% of their their repetition maximum.
The control group followed a home base program of low intensity training, more focus on mobility and balance. The results showed the high intensity training was safe, only 1 minor adverse event in more than 2600 training sessions, and more importantly the benefit: the women in the intervention group showed improvement in function, bone health and to my surprise, there was an improvement in thoracic kyphosis, not just maintained, even with stress fractures the program reversed some of it.
Starting resistance training and plyometrics is safe. It is terrifying at first, you will probably feel silly. But, I promise your bones will benefit, you’ll feel stronger, you’ll stand taller, and you’ll start to feel the joy of jumping that you did when you were little. And, if you want a little help getting started, reach out!
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