ABSTRACT
Since the effect of the submaximal aerobic exercise on bone had been controversial, the aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of the bench step (BS), that seemed to deliver higher mechanical load on bone than any other aerobic exercises, on the total bone mineral content (BMC) and the bone metabolism of menopausal women. Sixteen menopausal women (65 ± 9 years old) as the exercise group (ExG) and 28 pre-menopausal women (43 ± 3 years old) as the control group (CG) were studied. ExG carried out BS training with the exercise intensity at lactate threshold (LT) for 21 weeks. In ExG, BMC was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at one year before the intervention (A year before), pre-intervention (Pre) and post-intervention (Post). Serum osteocalcin (OC) as the marker of bone formation and serum type I collagen cross-linked N-telopeptide (NTx) as the marker of bone absorption at Pre, 11th week of the intervention and Post. In CG, BMC was measured annually without the intervention. In ExG, OC was not changed, but NTx was significantly decreased by intervention (<i>p</i><0.05). The decreased amount of annual change in BMC between a year before and Pre (T1) was significantly higher compared to that between Pre and Post (T2) (<i>p</i><0.01) and CG (<i>p</i><0.001). There was no significant difference between T2 and CG. In conclusion, BS with LT could prevent decreasing BMC in menopausal women, and maintain the same level of BMC in pre-menopausal women by suppressing the bone absorption.