Should We LIFTMOR? Or Lift Well?

One of the challenges with training to remove osteoporosis risks and osteopenia risks from the general population is that the individuals who need the most amount of help aren't readily given good solutions. Often what happens is that ladies are given poor options and poor guidance when it comes to strength training and conditioning. So imagine my surprise when I learned about the LIFTMOR study. The study consisted of many different barbell lifting exercises which to my surprise was finally being looked at as a potential solution to the problem at hand. When I looked into the study though I found a lot of problems with the training protocol though.

Here is the exercise protocol.

2X Per Week 30 Minute Sessions for 8 months

1-Deadlifts

2-Overhead Press

3-Back Squats

4-Jumping Movements with Impact Loading

Loading was 5X5 at 80% or higher

Now here is the incredible irony. As a personal trainer I know that starting out novice post menopausal women with a program designed around high intensity doses of the barbell exercises is a recipe for disaster. However, I didn't design the study. The sad reality of this study is that if the subjects were potentially more slowly exposed to these stressors they probably would have had a smoother process. It is what it is though and once again......it wasn't my design.....not my study.

The intentions, I believe, are good here. The problem is the risk/reward equation is a bit upside down. The stressors of training are too hot for a novice to be exposed to and the reality of the program structure is fundamentally unsustainable. So while these ladies might have improved their bone density over a relatively short period of time there was likely a lot of fall out and then the problem repeats itself over and over again. The stress is too much and the individuals who need to be given intelligent doses of stress are still not served well.

Here is what we know about the training of Olympic Lifters from a quadrennial(4 year progression) approach. The reality of this process is that the average relative intensity of loading over 4 years is 72-77%. So these ladies are being asked to lift heavier than professional athletes and unsurprisingly there were problems. However, the ones that could survive the protocol did have bone density improvements. This is not to say that the program is really still a good investment of time, money and energy because the risk/reward equation is still pretty dicey.

Similar to the bulgarian method and many, many, many other training programs out there the people that tolerate the stressors the best receive the most return from their investment. The reality of this is that novice post menopausal women don't need a program this intense in order to see results. In the immortal words of Jim Wendler "It doesn't take an A- Bomb to crack a walnut." The benefits can be achieved with much less stress and much more caution. The biggest adaptation that needs to really occur for this population is becoming comfortable being uncomfortable with training. Anything more than that eventually ends up in a risk/reward scenario that benefits no one.