Belinda Beck

At a glance

• Belinda Beck is a professor at the School of Allied Health Sciences at Griffith University on the Gold Coast, Australia, and is linked to The Bone Clinic in Brisbane.
• She studies how loading through exercise makes bones stronger, especially in people with low bone density (osteopenia) or osteoporosis.
• She is best known for the LIFTMOR trial (J Bone Miner Res, 2018). In it, 101 postmenopausal women with low bone mass, average age 65, did either 30 minutes of supervised heavy strength and jumping training twice a week for eight months, or a light home programme.
• In the heavy training group, lower back bone density rose by 2.9 percent on average, while it fell by 1.2 percent in the control group. Strength and physical tests also improved. With LIFTMOR-M (2020) her team tested a similar approach in men.
• What the science says: the results show that heavy, well supervised training can be feasible in this group, contrary to the old advice to mainly be careful. The trials are small, though, and measure bone density and strength rather than fewer fractures.
• What you can do with it: strength training with gradually heavier weights plus some jumping or stamping is good for your bones. If you have osteoporosis, start under the guidance of a physiotherapist or experienced trainer.