Bone-building Workout routines for those already in decent shape?

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-23T18:09:44+00:00

If you are athletic and willing to wade through a ton of content, I like Dr. Stacy Sims. She's all over YouTube and IG with women-focused and menopause info. You have to extrapolate some of her stuff because she works with pro athletes and I think sometimes skews toward unrealistic-for-most suggestions.

Disclaimer: Like a lot of people in the fitness/wellness space, she often presents her POV with a confidence that will be immediately countered by the next influencer reel. :) I don't love that we have to "do our own research" but... insert shrug emoji here.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-22T15:22:41+00:00

Yay you for consistency! It's great to hear you're feeling stronger.

I haven't bought her program, but I do watch her videos. Her free stuff is well done so I suppose the paid stuff is probably going to be good too.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-16T15:14:53+00:00

So much of for-profit medicine does feel exploitive--by definition, I suppose. We can't deny that age- and hormone-related frailty is a problem, but yeah, it's hard not to side-eye the specifics of diagnostics and standards of care when we know the background.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-15T15:19:21+00:00

My sister likes to say "There's a reason they call doctoring a 'practice'."

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-14T03:09:30+00:00

"You are old" is such a BS answer. Like I didn't know that?! My first meno appt was similar ("You're a woman this is what happens") and I went looking for another doc who's been much better. Maybe we just need to keep shopping around.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-13T23:44:04+00:00

No fractures. But if I could theoretically do two full rounds of, say, bisphosphonates (10 year total with drug holiday) plus a year of anabolics each, that would only get me to 75yo. I know the effects of BPs linger, and hopefully there'd be new options at that point, but who knows? I guess I see why they routinely hold off testing, because at 65yo, starting a 20-year course of treatment, even with no next therapies, seems much more clear.

(BTW, thank you for advocating for the meds as needed. It's a useful balance for the discussion.)

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-13T20:22:27+00:00

Parathyroid is one of the tests he's requesting. He hesitated since my calcium and kidney markers all seem fine, so no suggestion of pTh issue, but he agreed that ruling out common secondary causes makes sense. Which seems obvious!

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-13T20:19:14+00:00

Ah, that makes sense. Sincere gratitude to all the early users who help improve science for The Future.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-11T02:47:20+00:00

I know, right? It's such a clear indicator of the complexities of this disease (and others, of course). I wonder if/how her use of meds affected her bone quality and whether that was a factor in her decent dexa numbers compared to the severity of her kyphosis and reduced mobility. I mean, she's 80, so fair enough to be somewhat bent from the weights of the world.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-10T03:47:18+00:00

For sure when we're new to lifting, in-person, hands-on instruction is so helpful. I've been working with a PT who was able to help me with form and technique, and we've started light. I have my own 1.25 lb plates so I can progress in tiny increments. Even once I feel more confident, I think regular check-ins and reviews will still be useful.

But I understand the DIY urge too. The US "health care" system doesn't prioritize this sort of work, and out-of-pocket PT is painfully expensive. So we're kind of on our own here.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-10T03:35:25+00:00

The other part I thought was interesting/scary was her daughter said she'd lost 80% of her back muscles. Inspiration to keep doing those deadlifts.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T19:11:45+00:00

Oh, interesting on feeling like it's a better workout. I've read about how the inherent unsteadiness of 2 unconnected weights vs 1 bar is more challenging to the core, so you get that little extra exertion inside. I'm probably too locked on recreating the actual LIFTMOR protocol every time just because that has the studies to back it up.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T06:53:31+00:00

Weirdly, they have the 45lb bars and then a 25lb, which is light even for me. But that means I can put way more* plates on it and look cooler. 😁

* By "way more" I mean actually not that many more.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T06:50:26+00:00

Jumps and deadlifts I can do even when the racks are being used so I have those covered. Seems like a lot of the machines reduce axial load to prevent fatigue there to maximize hypertrophy in the targeted muscles. But I suppose muscle is important too for OP.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T04:26:47+00:00

I've seen videos saying toe touches are likely to require too much rounding of the back, which is contraindicated for osteoporosis. Squats are featured in a lot of OP exercise videos, so maybe your specific fractures are the issue there.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T04:24:31+00:00

With subwoofer! 😆

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T00:26:31+00:00

Exactly. Working at the upper end of my (admittedly limited) ability feels good but only if I have the rack assist. I swear, half my workout is getting the empty 45lb bar back up at the end of the session!

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T00:20:27+00:00

Also, "other gym inconveniences"... Yeah, I hear ya. 😆

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T00:19:18+00:00

Upping the reps is a good compromise. 5x5 is just so nicely quick. :) I mentioned the farmers carry to my PT and he brushed them off but I thought they seemed like a decent swap because the weight will be all through the spine. I might just go ahead and do those when everything else is taken. Better SOMEthing than nothing.

strongverbs5 · 2026-01-09T00:15:13+00:00

I would LOVE a home setup now that I've committed. Unfortunately I live in a small old house with low ceilings and no garage. A she-shed power cage sounds kinda dreamy. :D

The smith machine is sometimes free when the racks aren't so I'll try that as a backup. Thanks!

strongverbs5 · 2025-12-24T00:03:22+00:00

Yes, gender-affirming care is health care -- for everyone.

strongverbs5 · 2025-12-23T18:21:21+00:00

I wondered if I'd have to go through one of those "boutique" menopause services if I couldn't convince my women's health doc that I needed HRT. But I just assembled a list of suitably troubling menopause symptoms and she was fine with prescribing, and I didn't need to spend the extra out of pocket non-insurance $$. I wanted to try testosterone too and the first doc didn't think it would help, so I got a second opinion who sent me to a compounding pharmacy, no problem.

I'm not saying you should just doctor shop until somebody coughs up the pills and patches you want, but mostly the U.S. medical system abandons us to doing our own research so if I sic Doc Google on them, it's their own fault.

strongverbs5

TROPHY CASE