Identifying bone mass and muscular changes

The aim of this investigation was to examine the impact of a six-month high intensity strength-training program on lumbar bone mineral density (BMD), trunk and lower limb strength in a population of Australian women aged 50 years and over. A subject pool of 44 women were recruited and randomly allocated into either strength training (n = 19) or active control (n = 25) groups. All subjects trained twice weekly in either a 50 minute supervised strength training session that progressed from 60% one repetition maximum (1RM) to 90% 1RM or a 50 minute group walk session. Measurements included a lumbar (L2-L4) BMD scan: peak isokinetic trunk strength and a dynamic 1RM squat as a measure of lower body strength. No significant group differences in lumbar BMD were evident at the completion of training. However, a significant (p < 0.05) within group change was apparent for the active control group as lumbar BMD decreased 1.7% below baseline testing. A significant (p < 0.05) group difference was evident with the strength trained group increasing peak isokinetic trunk strength (19.3%) and 1RM squat strength (34.4%) above that of the active controls. It was concluded that strength training provides an effective means for increasing trunk and lower limb strength in women over 50 years. The impact of strength training on lumbar BMD was not conclusive in the present study.