How often should you lift?

“How often should I lift weights?” This is a question I often hear. Some say every other day and some say every two days. However, many studies suggest training twice a week is the bare minimum that can yield significant results.

Similar to muscles, bones are known to grow weaker and more brittle the older we get. Luckily, weightlifting and resistance exercises can help strengthen our bones in old age as well. This study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, tracked a group of 101 older women (65+) with low bone mass. It took just two 30 minute sessions of high-intensity resistance exercises weekly to improve both bone density and structure, not to mention functional performance, among participants. Even better, not a single woman incurred any adverse side effects or injuries while exercising, suggesting it's never too late to start sweating.

"We believe HiRIT (high-intensity resistance exercises) to be a highly appealing therapeutic option for the management of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women with low to very low bone mass," study authors conclude.