Quick answer: Bone adapts to fast, high-impact loads, so short bouts of jumping are one of the most efficient ways to protect it in perimenopause and menopause. UK bone-health guidance suggests building up to about 50 moderate impacts, such as small jumps, hops, or skips, on most days, alongside strength training two to three times a week. Start small, land softly, and progress over weeks.
Bone is living tissue that remodels itself around the loads it gets. In the years around your final period, falling estrogen speeds up the breakdown side of that process, and bone density drops faster than at any other point in adult life. Medication can help, and for some women it is the right call. But the signal that tells bone to rebuild comes from load, and some of the most efficient load you can give it comes from jumping.
This article is informational and not medical advice. If you have osteoporosis, a fracture history, or a pelvic floor problem, get advice from your clinician or a physiotherapist before adding impact.
Why impact works for bone
Bone responds to strain that is large, fast, and unusual. A jump lands with several times your body weight in a fraction of a second, which is a stronger signal than walking and a more varied one than steady running. Bone also seems to respond to short bouts better than long ones: the first few impacts carry most of the benefit, and responsiveness drops off as a session goes on. That is why jump training for bone uses small numbers of jumps, often split across the day, rather than long plyometric workouts.
Muscle pull loads bone too, which is why lifting matters. Impact and heavy strength work stimulate bone in different ways and are best done together.
How fast bone changes in perimenopause
Bone loss accelerates during late perimenopause and continues into the first years after menopause. The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), which followed women through the transition, found lumbar spine bone density falling at roughly 1.8 to 2.3 percent a year in that window, compared with about 1 to 1.4 percent at the hip. Loss before the transition was close to zero.
| Stage | What happens to bone |
|---|---|
| Before the transition | Little change |
| Late perimenopause to early postmenopause | Fastest loss, about 2% a year at the spine (SWAN) |
| Later postmenopause | Loss continues, more slowly |
Those few years are the window where training has the most to protect.
What the trial evidence shows
The best-known trial in this population is LIFTMOR (Watson and colleagues, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018). It randomized 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass to eight months of either a supervised 30-minute program twice a week or a low-intensity home program. The supervised program combined heavy deadlifts, squats, and overhead presses with jumping chin-ups and drop landings.
Lumbar spine density rose about 2.9 percent in the supervised group and fell about 1.2 percent in the home group. Femoral neck density held steady in the supervised group (up 0.3 percent) while it fell 1.9 percent in the home group. Height and physical function improved too, and the trial reported only one adverse event.
LIFTMOR does not separate the effect of jumping from the effect of lifting. It shows that the combination, done under supervision and built up gradually, is both effective and safe for women who already have low bone mass.
How much to do
UK consensus guidance on exercise and bone, summarized by the Royal Osteoporosis Society in its Strong, Steady and Straight recommendations, suggests building up to around 50 moderate impacts on most days, alongside strength training two to three days a week. One jump, hop, or skip counts as one impact.
A practical way to get there:
- Week 1 to 2: 3 sets of 5 small two-footed jumps (heels just leaving the floor), with a minute of rest between sets.
- Week 3 to 4: 5 sets of 5 to 8, adding side-to-side jumps.
- Week 5 to 8: 5 sets of 10, mixing two-footed jumps, hops on each leg, and skips.
- Later: add variety (forward and backward hops, small drop landings from a low step) rather than more jumps.
Split sets across the day if that is easier. Bone does not need them in one block.
How to land
Landing quality is where both the benefit and the risk sit:
- Land softly on the balls of your feet, then let your heels touch down.
- Bend your knees and hips to absorb the landing, knees tracking over toes.
- Stop the set when landings get noisy or sloppy. Fatigued landings load joints rather than bone.
- Use a firm, non-slip surface. Very soft mats blunt the impact you are trying to get.
When to hold back or modify
Impact is not right for everyone on day one:
- Osteoporosis with spinal or multiple fractures: UK guidance suggests lower-impact options such as brisk walking or marching for these women, and a physiotherapist-led start.
- Leaking when you jump: common, and fixable. Address it with pelvic floor training and, ideally, a pelvic health physiotherapist. See pelvic floor and perimenopause. Marching and step-ups can carry your impact work meanwhile.
- Joint pain or a current injury: reduce to lower impacts and see a clinician if it persists. Why injuries increase in perimenopause covers the warning signs.
For runners
Running already gives you more bone loading than most women get, but it repeats one moderate load in one direction. Short jump sets add a faster, multi-directional stimulus that running does not. Do them before a strength session, or after an easy run, and keep them away from the day before a long run or race. Pair them with two to three strength sessions a week and you cover both halves of the bone prescription.
Where Phaes fits
Phaes builds impact and strength into your plan rather than leaving them as homework. Its HIIT sessions use short plyometric circuits, and strength progression waves with your cycle so heavier blocks land when you are likely to recover well. The daily check-in scales the session to how you slept and how you feel. We do not just tell you to jump. We fit it into the week you actually have.
The bottom line
Bone responds to fast, varied impact, and the years around menopause are when it needs that signal most. Build up to about 50 moderate impacts on most days, land well, pair it with heavy lifting two to three times a week, and get advice first if you have osteoporosis, a fracture history, or pelvic floor symptoms. For more on the bigger picture, see exercise for bone density in menopause.
Frequently asked questions
Does jumping increase bone density?
Impact exercise, including jumping, is one of the main ways to load bone, and bone adapts to the loads it is given. The strongest trial evidence in postmenopausal women combines impact with heavy lifting: in the LIFTMOR trial, a program of heavy lifting plus jumping chin-ups with drop landings improved spine and hip bone density over eight months. Impact and strength work are best treated as a pair.
How many jumps a day for bone density?
UK bone-health guidance from the Royal Osteoporosis Society and its partners suggests building up to around 50 moderate impacts on most days. That can be small jumps, hops, skips, or jogging steps, split into short sets with rest between them. Start with far fewer and build up over several weeks.
Is running enough impact for bone?
Running loads bone more than cycling or swimming, which is why runners generally have healthier bone than non-impact athletes. But steady running repeats the same moderate load in the same direction. Short bouts of jumping and hopping, especially in different directions, add a faster and more varied stimulus. Lifting adds load through the muscles. Runners benefit from all three.
Is jumping safe if I have osteoporosis?
Many people with osteoporosis can do moderate impact exercise safely, and UK consensus guidance says the risk of fracture from impact built up gradually is low. People with spinal fractures, multiple fractures, or who are less steady are usually advised to start with lower-impact options such as brisk walking or marching. Talk to your clinician or a physiotherapist first if you have a diagnosis or fracture history.
What if I leak when I jump?
Leaking when jumping is common in perimenopause and after childbirth, but it is a sign to address, not something to put up with. Pelvic floor training helps many women, and a pelvic health physiotherapist can assess you properly. Lower-impact options like marching or step-ups can carry your impact work while you build pelvic floor strength.
Should I do plyometrics on the same day as lifting?
Yes, that often works well. Do the jumps first, while you are fresh, then lift. Keep jump sets short and stop before landings get sloppy, because landing quality is where both the benefit and the injury risk sit. Avoid hard jump sessions the day before a long run or race.