October 28, 2026 — 7:00pm

When some women first walk into the gym at The Bone Clinic, their bones are thinning, their bodies are stooped, and they’re often leaning on a walking stick.

“They see people lifting heavy weights and say, ‘I could never do that’. But they do, and it’s not long before they’re standing straighter and carrying their own groceries,” says Professor Belinda Beck from the School of Allied Health, Sport Sciences and Social Work at Griffith University, and director of the Brisbane-based clinic which runs an exercise program to strengthen muscle and bone.

Avoiding frailty is more than just lifting weights. Getty Images

“Frailty isn’t inevitable with age, and it can be reversed. Our bread and butter is seeing people become functional again.”

Frailty might seem a long way off in your 40s, but research from Flinders University has found that almost half of 40- to 49-year-olds have what’s known as “pre-frailty”, meaning they already have signs of poor muscle strength and poor balance.…