You recently got diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia, and it came as a big shock. After all, how could it happen to you? You eat healthy and you’re active. I totally get it. I see it all the time. In the same sentence as your diagnosis, your doctor probably also recommended calcium supplements, walking, and medications. You looked up the side effects of the medications, didn’t want to take them (or maybe, wanted to save them for a last resort), and decided to do things the natural way: exercise and nutrition. So you decided to search for a personal trainer for osteoporosis. Good for you.
Original source: here.
That’s exactly what this article is about.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Can osteoporosis be reversed with strength training?
- What is the best exercise class for osteoporosis?
- What do I think of the famous BoneFit exercise classes?
- Can a personal trainer help with osteoporosis?
- The 5 biggest mistakes that personal trainers make with clients who have osteoporosis.
- The 5 biggest mistakes that people with osteoporosis make when looking for personal trainers.
But before we jump in, who am I to even be writing this article? Allow me to introduce myself.
I’m Igor. Hiya.
I’m the author of the Amazon bestselling book, Osteoporosis Reversal Secrets, and I’ve been a personal trainer since 2006. My team and I specialize in using exercise, nutrition and supplementation to reverse osteoporosis.
Original source: here.
Now that we’re better acquainted, let’s jump in.
Can Osteoporosis Be Reversed with Strength Training?
The answer to this is a definite “yes.” I know it’s a long stretch to think that STRENGTH training can STRENGTHen bones. But that’s exactly what it can do.
A number of studies (study 1, study 2, study 3, study 4) have shown that strength training consistently improves bone density by 1-4%. A 1% improvement in bone density corresponds to an 8% decrease in fracture risk. And that is truly what’s most important.
However, there’s a big “if.” Osteoporosis can be reversed with strength training IF you do it right. What do I mean by that?
When I ask people with osteoporosis if they do strength training, I often hear “yes, I do body pump classes.” Body pump classes are not strength training. They’re cardio with weights. That’s not a bad thing. Cardio is great for your heart – but not for your bones.
You also can’t lump all strength training into one category. It’s like lumping all shoes into one category. Within the broad category of “shoes”, there are running shoes, sandals, dress shoes, stilettos, boots, etc. The same is true for strength training. There’s more than 1 way to strength train. There’s a right way to do strength training for osteoporosis, and a wrong way. Not everything that strengthens muscles also strengthens bones. Likewise, not everything that strengthens bones also strengthens muscles.
This article isn’t specifically about the right exercise prescription for osteoporosis (my book goes into all the details on that), but I just want to drive the point home, that not all strength training programs are created equal.
What is The Best Exercise Class for Osteoporosis?
There are lots of exercise classes that claim to help osteoporosis, from yoga to pilates, to the famous BoneFit. The latter gets its own section in this article, but let’s talk about yoga, pilates and other classes.
There’s not a single exercise class that strengthens bones. Sure, there are lots of exercise classes that are difficult. But let’s not confuse “difficult” with “effective.” There are lots of difficult exercise classes, but none of them are effective for osteoporosis. If you like them, do them, just not with the expectation of strengthening your bones.
Let’s look at yoga first. One meta-analysis (which is a study of many studies) shows no benefit of yoga on osteoporosis. And potential harm – fractures for people/practitioners pushing the end range of spinal flexion or extension.
One study showed a T-score improvement of -2.69 to -2.55 over a 6-month period. Hardly anything to write home about. That’s barely a dent.
As for pilates, in one systematic review, the majority of studies saw no change in bone density. Sure, it’s better to stay stable than continue declining, but it’s far better to increase bone density. Pilates doesn’t do that.
Neither does any other exercise class, unfortunately. Not even the famous…
BoneFit Exercise Classes
This is a fitness class developed by the government of Ontario, and taught to personal trainers and physiotherapists, so that they can implement it with their clients/patients.
Unfortunately, the government has different priorities than individuals with osteoporosis. The government’s priority is “let’s not make it worse.” Individuals with osteoporosis (and hopefully, personal trainers for osteoporosis) have a different priority: “let’s make it better.”
There are also a number of other differences between BoneFit and what I consider to be a truly effective approach to osteoporosis reversal.
| Feature | BoneFit | Optimal Approach |
| Focus | Safe handling, risk management | Aggressive reversal, using evidence-based approach, melding safety and effectiveness |
| Exercise philosophy | Conservative, low-risk activities. Emphasis on balance. | Aggressive (but safe) loading, strength training, fall prevention. Combination of exercise, nutrition and supplementation. |
| Nutrition | Barely addressed | High focus on protein, mild focus on vitamin K2; demystifying calcium myths |
| Supplements | Not addressed at all | Uses effective supplements (not calcium and vitamin D, by the way) |
Why Aren’t Yoga, Pilates and BoneFit Effective for Osteoporosis?
In a nutshell – none of those are what’s scientifically-proven to work. Here’s a comparison between a truly effective approach and fitness classes:
| Effective Approach | Yoga, Pilates, BoneFit and Other Classes | |
| Force of muscular contraction | More than 70% of the maximal force | Not emphasized, but almost always well below 70% |
| Progression | Centrepiece of approach – aggressive (but safe) increases in weight lifted are encouraged | Progression is either not used at all, or is an afterthought |
| Tempo | Explosive on the way up, controlled on the way down | Not emphasized, or deliberately slow |
| Jumping | Included in a safe, progressive way | Avoided |
| Nutrition | Addressed | Not addressed |
| Supplementation | Addressed | Not addressed |
Can a Personal Trainer Help with Osteoporosis?
Just like my answer about whether strength training can help with osteoporosis, the answer to this one is also “yes, but.” The “but” is that it’s extremely rare. Working with clients who have osteoporosis is not part of the core curriculum for anyone. I have a degree in kinesiology, and they certainly don’t teach it in that degree. I have a couple of personal training certifications, and they don’t teach osteoporosis there either.
I’ve had staff members go to different schools, acquire different degrees and diplomas, and none of them teach osteoporosis.
Combine it with the fact that likely over 80% of personal trainers only did a weekend certification course (as opposed to a 2-year-diploma or a 4-year-degree), it’s easy to see why it’s so difficult to find a good personal trainer for osteoporosis.
In my time running a personal training business (since 2010), I’ve interviewed around 350-400 personal trainers (both in-person and virtually). Of those, maybe only 3-4 understood how to train clients with osteoporosis. So it’s extremely rare. So rare, in fact, that not every city has one.
So to answer the question of “can a personal trainer help with osteoporosis”, the answer is “yes”, but it’s extremely rare. My team knows how to do it, but that’s because I’ve trained them extensively on it, since we get so many clients with osteoporosis.
So why are personal trainers so bad at helping people with osteoporosis? That brings us to the next section, about…
The 5 Biggest Mistakes that Personal Trainers Make with Clients Who Have Osteoporosis
Everybody makes mistakes but in most cases, when you’re looking for a personal trainer for osteoporosis, it would probably be best if they didn’t make them… especially these ones. Here are the biggest mistakes that personal trainers make when they work with osteoporosis clients. We would highly suggest avoiding these at all costs.
If you would like to read up on a bunch of other mistakes that personal trainers make with different client groups (not just the elderly), check out my 3-part article series on the biggest mistakes personal trainers make.
Mistake #1: Babying
Some trainers hear the word “osteoporosis”, and think that their clients’ bones will snap like dry spaghetti.
So they keep the exercises too easy. That’s certainly safe. But it’s missing the other important criterion: effectiveness. You don’t want to do something that’s safe, but not effective. Likewise, you don’t want to do something that’s effective, but not safe. You want both – safety AND effectiveness. And you can have both.
Unfortunately, if a personal trainer doesn’t understand osteoporosis, they’ll often err on the side of safety, but at the cost of effectiveness.
Mistake #2: No Progression
Piggybacking on the previous mistake, they don’t increase the amount of weight lifted over time. Yet, that’s the key stimulus for bone strengthening. I wrote an entire article about the single most important factor in an exercise program (no, it’s not the exercises themselves).
Mistake #3: Not Knowing Which Exercises and Movements to Avoid
What’s risky is not heavy weights. What’s truly risky is ignorance. In every situation, yes, it’s important to know what to do (that addresses the “effectiveness” side of the equation), but it’s also important to know what not to do (that addresses the “safety” side of the equation).
There are certain exercises and movements that should be avoided by people with osteoporosis (especially end-range spinal flexion, extension and rotation). But if a personal trainer doesn’t know that, they’re actually increasing your risk of a spinal fracture – not decreasing it.
Mistake #4: Not Understanding the Exercise Prescription for Osteoporosis
As you learned earlier in this article, “strength training” is a very broad category. There’s a right way to strength train for osteoporosis, and a wrong way. The parameters for strength training exercise prescription are:
- Frequency: number of days per week.
- Intensity: how much weight you’re lifting or resistance that you’re using.
- Volume: number of sets and reps.
- Tempo: the speed at which you lift and lower the weight.
It’s about having the right frequency, intensity, volume and tempo that results in effectiveness. While it’s not a particularly complicated concept, most personal trainers have no clue about the right exercise prescription for osteoporosis. It’s unfortunate that most people who read my book know more about exercise for osteoporosis than 99% of personal trainers.
Mistake #5: Not Addressing Nutrition and Supplementation
Nutrition for osteoporosis is extremely simple:
- Get adequate protein.
- Get adequate vitamin K2.
That’s it – nothing else matters. Not calcium, not vitamin D, not the number of meals you eat per day, not whether you drink coffee, etc.
Yet, most personal trainers will reinforce the old calcium myth, and not mention a thing about protein or vitamin K2.
By the way, if the calcium myth is still new to you, I recorded a very thorough video, debunking it. You can check it out here:
The Biggest Mistakes that People with Osteoporosis Make When Looking for A Personal Trainer
Not all mistakes are on the personal trainer though. As a consumer, you also have a part to play when choosing a personal trainer. Here are 4 common mistakes that consumers make when choosing a personal trainer.
Mistake #1: Confusing Likeability and Competence
An understandably common mistake that a lot of consumers tend to make is confusing likeability and competence. Most personal trainers out there are confident, fun, enthusiastic and outgoing people. However, that doesn’t always mean they know what they’re doing. Sure, they can be fun to be around and talk to, but do they have a background in physiology, anatomy, program design, and most importantly for you…
Do they have experience designing programs for clients with osteoporosis?
Just because you like to be around them doesn’t mean they are beneficial to you as a personal trainer. If you make this mistake, it’s not only costing you time, but also money and possibly even health.
Now this isn’t saying that you should find somebody who isn’t likable. That would just be silly, especially considering how much time you would have to spend with them. It’s just a matter of finding that happy middle ground where they know what they’re doing, while also being fun, outgoing, confident, etc.
Mistake #2: Not Hiring a Personal Trainer
This may sound kind of silly, but it’s actually one of the most common mistakes people make with personal training. As they say, “you miss every shot you don’t take.” That’s exactly what this is, if you never hire a personal trainer, you’ll never get the possibly very beneficial help they could provide.
Everybody struggles with finding time, motivation, and most importantly, a routine that works for them. Which is the exact reason you should hire a personal trainer. The reason this mistake is so common is because people think “Hey, I can find the time and perfect routine all by myself. Why spend so much money with a personal trainer?”
In reality, that just doesn’t work for a lot of people. Yes, it can definitely work for some people who do manage to muster up the motivation and time all by themselves. But for most, that winds up being a really difficult task. So take that first step and hire a personal trainer. It will almost automatically fix the struggle of finding time, motivation and routine. After all, you would then be paying somebody, which will motivate you to show up because otherwise you would be losing money if you don’t.
Maybe the reason you haven’t hired a personal trainer is because you think it’s too expensive for something “you can do on your own.” Yes, it can be pretty costly money-wise, but think of it like this: cost isn’t just money, it’s also time and health. If you aren’t spending money, your health may take a toll. So the price in that case isn’t money (which in most cases can be replenished) anymore, it’s health and time (which can’t be replenished).
You may think that you can do it yourself and save those few bucks. But in addition to taking a toll on your health, you would also be wasting time. It’s much harder and time costly to find and create a routine that is beneficial to your situation than if you were to hire a personal trainer who can create it in half the time, if not less. Not only that, they also hopefully have a background in creating effective routines. You probably don’t.
Mistake #3: Hiring Someone Without Experience Working with Osteoporosis
Another common mistake that’s made is hiring somebody without experience working with osteoporosis/osteopenia. Not just experience, but success. Just because they have experience, doesn’t always mean they were able to help.
You need to have the right tools for the job. Sure, everybody starts somewhere, but if you hire a personal trainer who has only ever worked with people who don’t have osteoporosis, they probably don’t have very much knowledge about osteoporosis.
If somebody has never worked with those who have osteoporosis, they aren’t going to know how to handle experimentation with routines and personalizing routines to fit your goals.
You want someone who can directly point to client case studies. In our case, here are just a few examples (of many):
- The EXACT Program that Increased Darlene’s Bone Density
- How Laura Improved Her Bone Density at Age 68
- How Karen Reversed Her Osteoporosis
Mistake #4: Looking for the Cheapest Personal Trainer
One of the more common mistakes is looking for cheap personal trainers. The problem with this is that almost never are personal trainers cheap and good. They’re either one or the other, you just can’t get both.
If you want to dive deeper into why a more expensive personal trainer is usually better check out that article.
Without the proper knowledge, education and experience a personal trainer might accidentally assign things that are actually harmful. Think of it this way: you would never buy cough syrup when you need a painkiller just because it’s cheaper. Exercise is a medicine with a prescription, it’s only good when it’s done right.
Mistake #5: Only Looking for an In-Person Personal Trainer
This is another common mistake. Some people prefer an in-person personal trainer, thinking that it’s more effective. First of all, no it’s not. About 60-65% of our clients are online clients, as you can see in the section of our site about client success stories.
Secondly, even if it is a matter of preference, remember – finding a personal trainer who understands osteoporosis is extremely rare. Because I hire personal trainers to work for me from all over the world, I’ve done hundreds of interviews with personal trainers. Even in big cities like Toronto, New York, London, Sydney, etc. it’s very rare to find a trainer who understands osteoporosis.
Sure, you’ll get the benefit (or what may be a benefit to you) of in-person training, but you’re potentially sacrificing something much more important: effectiveness.
It would be a shame if you hired an in-person personal trainer who doesn’t understand osteoporosis. You spent a lot of time and money training with them. And a year later, your bone density is lower. This is actually exactly what happened to our client, Ann. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis, hired a personal trainer, trained with him for a year, and her bone density declined again.
But I’m not going to leave you hanging. Want to make sure the personal trainer that you’re considering hiring understands osteoporosis? Try quizzing them using these questions:
- What rep range is most effective for osteoporosis? The correct answer is below 12 reps.
- What are the 3 sites typically tested with a bone density scan (AKA DEXA scan)? The correct answers are femoral neck, total hip and lumbar spine.
- What’s the most important nutrient for osteoporosis? The typical answer is calcium, but that’s wrong. The correct answer is protein.
- What do you think about jumping for osteoporosis? The correct answer is that it’s highly effective, and can be made safe if you follow the appropriate progression.
- Which movements should be avoided by someone who has osteoporosis? The correct answer is end-range spinal flexion, extension or rotation.
If they don’t answer these these 5 very basic questions correctly, politely decline, and keep looking.
If you’re looking for a personal trainer for osteoporosis, as you gathered, we offer that, no matter where you live. Most of our clients work with us virtually. If you’d like to see whether this is right for you, just fill out the application form on our home page. If you fill out the application form, it’ll simply set up a quick, 10–15-minute zoom chat. No sales pitch, no obligation, no pressure. Just a conversation to understand your situation, and whether or not we can help you.
