In comparison to women, men had significantly greater increases in BMD at the lateral spine and femoral neck. Male exercisers were found to increase BMD by 2.7-7.7%, whereas percent change in women ranged from -0.8 to 1.5%, depending on the bone site. Both male and female controls demonstrated about 1% change at any bone site. Results indicate that 24 weeks of resistance training, including squat and deadlift exercises, is effective in increasing BMD in young healthy men. Similar benefits were not derived by women who followed the same protocol