Is ONERO Strength Training Safe? A Strength Coach's Perspective
Heavy resistance training has become one of the most talked about strategies for improving bone density. The research is compelling. But before you walk into the gym and load a barbell onto your back, there's something every strength coach wishes more people understood.
If you've recently been diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis, there's a good chance you've heard about the ONERO Strength Program.
Over the last few years it has become one of the most recognised exercise programs for improving bone density, and for good reason. Research continues to show that resistance training, particularly progressive, high-intensity resistance training, can improve bone mineral density, increase muscle mass, reduce falls risk and help people maintain their independence as they age. [1]
On that point, I completely agree.
In fact, one of the biggest mistakes I see people make as they get older is avoiding strength training altogether.
Some people are afraid they'll hurt themselves.
Others believe they're "too old" to lift weights.
Many simply don't know where to begin.
Ironically, losing muscle is one of the greatest threats to healthy ageing. [2]
As we get older, we naturally lose muscle mass, strength and bone density. If we don't actively challenge our bodies through resistance training, everyday tasks gradually become harder. Carrying groceries becomes more difficult. Getting up from the floor takes more effort. Falls become more likely. Independence slowly begins to disappear.
Strength training isn't simply about building muscle. It's about building a body that's capable of carrying you through the next twenty or thirty years of your life.
So if you've been told resistance training is one of the best things you can do for your bones... You've been given good advice.
Where I see problems isn't with the science. It's with how those principles are sometimes translated into practice.
Why I Decided to Write This Article
Over the past few years I've noticed something happening more and more often. People walk into my gym after being told they need to perform heavy squats, deadlifts and overhead presses to improve their bone density.
I genuinely love seeing people motivated to become stronger. That isn't the problem. The problem is that many have never been taught how to perform these movements safely in the first place.
I've watched people with stiff or injured shoulders trying to press a barbell overhead.
I've seen painful knees and sore backs being loaded into squats.
I've seen rounded backs trying to deadlift weights they simply weren't ready for.
None of these people were doing anything wrong. They were simply following the advice they'd been given.
As a strength coach, that's what concerns me. Not because I think heavy lifting is dangerous. Quite the opposite. I believe heavy resistance training is one of the most valuable things we can do as we age. My concern is that somewhere along the way we've confused the destination with the starting point.
People are being told they need to lift heavy. What they're often not being taught is how to build the foundation that allows them to lift heavy safely. That's the conversation I hope this article starts.
My Concern Isn't Heavy Lifting. It's How People Get There.
I've worked in the health and fitness industry since 2010. During that time I've coached everyone from complete beginners who simply wanted to move without pain through to athletes competing at an elite level.
Despite those very different clients, I've learnt one lesson that has shaped everything I do:
The goal isn't simply to lift heavy.
The goal is to build a body that can lift heavy safely and confidently for decades.
Recently I've seen more and more older adults arrive at the gym after being introduced to the ONERO approach to bone health.
Many have been told that the key exercises for improving bone density are the back squat, deadlift and overhead press performed with relatively heavy loads.
To be clear, I understand why. These are fantastic exercises. I teach all three.
But only when they're appropriate for the individual standing in front of me.
Because here's what concerns me.
Many of these people have never learnt how to move well.
Some have limited shoulder mobility.
Some have painful knees.
Others have stiff hips or persistent lower back pain.
Some haven't strength trained consistently for years.
Yet many feel they should immediately begin performing technically demanding barbell lifts because they've heard these are "the best exercises for bone density."
But best for who?
A barbell doesn't know whether you're twenty-five or seventy-five.
It doesn't know whether you've spent ten years strength training or ten years sitting behind a desk.
It doesn't know whether your hips move well, whether your shoulders are stiff or whether you've recently recovered from an injury.
It simply applies force to whatever body is underneath it.
That's why I believe the first question shouldn't be:
"How much weight should I lift?"
It should be:
"Has my body earned the right to perform this movement and use this load?"
I genuinely believe that's one of the most important questions anyone can ask before beginning a strength program.
You Can't Skip the Foundations
One of the biggest misunderstandings I see around bone health is this:
People hear that heavy lifting improves bone density...
...and immediately conclude that they should start lifting heavy.
That's not what the research tells us. The research tells us that bone responds to progressive loading. [3]
That one word changes everything.
Progressive.
Heavy lifting may be the destination. It shouldn't be the starting point.
Imagine your doctor tells you cardiovascular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your heart.
Would you wake up tomorrow morning and run a marathon?
Of course not.
You'd probably start with a walk.
Then a jog.
Then perhaps a three to five kilometre run.
Week after week you'd gradually build your aerobic fitness, your endurance and your confidence.
Over time your heart adapts.
Your lungs adapt.
Your muscles adapt.
Your joints adapt.
Little by little your body earns the capacity to do more.
Strength training works exactly the same way.
In fact, I'd argue it requires even more patience.
Learning to squat well.
Learning to hinge correctly.
Learning to brace your core.
Learning to stabilise your shoulders.
Learning to move efficiently under load.
These are skills. And like any skill, they take time to develop. You simply can't rush good movement. And you certainly can't rush the process of building the strength required to lift heavy weights safely.
Unfortunately, many people become so focused on lifting heavier weights that they overlook the quality of the movement itself. In my experience, that's where problems begin.
Resistance Training Builds Bone. Not Just Three Exercises.
One of the messages I'd like more people to understand is that bone doesn't recognise exercises. Bone recognises load.
Whether that load comes from a squat, a split squat, a step-up, a carry, a leg press or a deadlift variation is often less important than people realise.
What matters is that the body is exposed to forces that are appropriate, progressive and repeatable.
Resistance training works because bone is living tissue. It adapts to the stress placed upon it. As muscles contract and pull on bone through tendons, the body receives a signal to strengthen and remodel those tissues over time. That adaptation can happen through many different exercises.
The best exercise is rarely the one that looks most impressive. It's the one the individual can perform safely, consistently and progressively.
For one person that might be a barbell back squat.
For another it might be a goblet squat.
For someone else it may be a leg press, a split squat or a weighted step-up.
The goal is not to force everyone into the same movement pattern. The goal is to find the right exercise for the person in front of you and gradually build from there.
The Body Adapts as a System
One of the biggest misconceptions in strength training is that we're only trying to strengthen our bones. We're not.
We're asking the entire body to adapt together.
Bone.
Muscle.
Tendons.
Ligaments.
Cartilage.
Joint capsules.
Even the nervous system.
Every one of these tissues responds to training. The challenge is that they don't all adapt at the same speed.
Muscles often become stronger relatively quickly.
Connective tissue generally takes much longer.
Movement quality may take months or even years to truly master.
Especially for people who have spent years in the gym but have never been taught how to move efficiently. They need to unlearn bad movement patterns and learn new ones
If you increase the load faster than your body can adapt, something eventually becomes the weak link.
Sometimes it's your shoulder.
Sometimes your knee.
Sometimes your lower back.
Sometimes it's your confidence.
And when confidence disappears, people stop training.
When training stops, the stimulus that helps maintain muscle and bone health disappears with it. That's why I've always believed in playing the long game.
I'd rather see someone making steady progress over the next two or three years than rapid progress for six weeks followed by six months on the sidelines with an injury. Because the real goal isn't completing a program. The real goal is still being strong enough to train confidently in your seventies, eighties and beyond.
This Isn't About Fear. It's About Confidence.
I want to be very clear about something. This article isn't intended to scare anyone away from lifting weights.
Quite the opposite.
I want more people strength training.
I want more older adults discovering how empowering it feels to become stronger.
I want more people building muscle.
More people improving their balance.
More people developing confidence in what their bodies are capable of.
But I also believe people deserve good coaching.
They deserve to understand why they're performing each exercise.
They deserve to know when it's appropriate to progress.
And they deserve a program that's built around their body rather than a generic one-size-fits-all approach like ONERO.
Because strength isn't something you chase. It's something you build.
And in my opinion, the safest, smartest and most sustainable way to build it is by respecting the process rather than skipping it.
Heavy lifting isn't the problem. Skipping the steps required to get there is.
In my next article, I'll explain what I believe is the single most important principle in strength training, regardless of age or goal:
You have to earn the right to lift heavy.
