Today, we’re celebrating a milestone together. This is episode 400! While this podcast has taken on several different forms over years, it has stayed true to its mission — how to help you get strong. So let’s take a look back on where we’ve been, while also looking forward to what’s to come.
To improve the narrative around fitness we need to:
Educate clients that fitness is not an aesthetic goal
Acknowledge those who have been positive influences
Understand that points of view can change
Incorporate new research while acknowledging the existing gaps in knowledge
Gauging Strength and Fitness Outside of Weight-Loss
Longtime listeners know that I want to shift the conversation away from simply weight loss and towards other markers for fitness and health. Changing the culture around this is not a simple task. I still don’t think I have the answer. However, I feel that if coaches focus on educating their clients on why this is important to expand the conversation, changes for the better will come.
I also know it’s tempting to speak the industry lingo. That’s what many clients expect to hear. Yet, if we don’t speak the truth about this, the culture and narrative will never change.
Changing the Culture Moving Forward
As you can see, there are some things that I really wish would change in the fitness industry. I’d like to see women included more in exercise science and sports research. And I have seen this shift lately. This is a good thing, but there are caveats. Since much of the research is still new, it’s important to really understand the data and its limitations to make an informed decision.
How can you help shift and improve the conversation around strength? What changes do you see happening in this industry? Leave a comment on the episode page!
In This Episode
Educating clients on the importance of different approaches to nutrition and strength [4:30]
Some of the most influential women who have inspired me [18:40]
Recognizing and embracing change [23:00]
Looking ahead at the changing landscape of nutrition and strength [28:15]
“We as coaches have to be willing to do the education piece and constantly talk about why we’re not going to do things in this other way and why we’re doing things in this different way.” [4:50]
“Fitness is not a specific look. Fitness is how well you can perform a task; how well-suited to the task are you.” [12:08]
“If you need to make adjustments to your training because you’re not feeling it, that’s okay. But a lot of the things that we hear people talking about are just not grounded in what the collective body of research says.” [32:17]
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 399: Are You Overtraining?
FYS 380: From Endurance To Lifting: Top Sports Nutrition & Training Lessons
FYS 3771: Why The Fitness Industry Needs Quality Coaches
Having a good training plan is key to helping you achieve your goals, but it's not everything. Overtraining can happen for a large number of reasons that have nothing to do with your training plan, which is why it is so important, especially for us athletes over 40. If you are concerned about overtraining but not sure if your training plan is to blame, this episode is for you.
If You Want to Prevent Over Training, You Should:
Make sure that you are fueling appropriately for the level of activity you are doing
Learn how to fluctuate your intensity in your training to promote active recovery
Dont forget the importance of viewing sleep as a non-negotiable
The #1 Problem I See
If you want to have a high energy output when it comes to your training, you need to have a high energy input; it is as simple as that. Not fueling properly for the activity level you are engaging in results in an energy mismatch that can have a serious effect on your results.
Not eating enough is the biggest problem I see in my clients and community. Undereating for the level of activity you are doing will put you in a state of low energy availability, and it will be impossible or even dangerous for you to push to the level you want in your training.
The good news is an athlete over 40, you don't need to do less of the things that you love; you just have to be clever about it. Allowing your body to properly and actively rest is another major key to gaining better adaptation through your training.
Fluctuating your intensity to allow for proper rest is the only way that you are going to make progress in a sustainable way. By blending your active recovery with your intensity and learning to listen to what your body is telling you, you can avoid overtraining and get better at the things you love to do.
Have you ever considered that your overtraining might have to do with something other than your movement program? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
“I have made all of these mistakes. I have taken the long ass way to figure them out. And luckily for you, I have been able to condense all of that learning, all of the education, from both formal education to the school of hard knocks, and put it in the resources, the podcast, the private podcast, the courses, the coaching that I do.” (7:26)
“I’m doing this episode for you because I want you to be able to look outside of just the training plan itself and figure out if you are really overtraining or if there are other things at play.” (10:02)
“Your eating has to support your training.” (20:29)
“You can do it! You can do it all! You just have got to fluctuate the intensity of those things.” (24:17)
“Yes, having a smart training plan matters. But being able to adjust the plan is just as important.” (28:20)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 394: Within-Day Energy Deficit
FYS 392: Understanding Total Daily Energy Expenditure
FYS 391: What is Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)?
Today we are capping off my series on protein by going into your questions surrounding protein and your training. We're going to dive into what the research says and some of the best practices you can implement when it comes to your protein intake around your training.
If You Want to Improve Your Protein Game, You Should:
Understand your total daily protein intake
Work to distribute that protein intake across all of your meals
Ensure you are getting high-quality protein
Consider specific timing when it comes to your protein and your training
Feeling strong is a catalyst for expansion in all areas of your life. In order to feel strong, you need to make sure that you are getting enough high-quality protein, spreading it throughout the day, and understanding how it is working with your training to get you the results you are looking for.
Protein is essential to moving from muscle breakdown to muscle synthesis, so you must have the knowledge, guidance, and practical skills to implement this information into your routine.
It doesn't matter if you consider yourself a recreational exerciser or an elite athlete; protein is really important for your training, recovery, and overall health and longevity. This is especially true for active women over 40, as we need to create and implement new habits that will support our body's needs as it changes.
Nobody is going to come out of the shadows and start feeding you the right things. But it doesn't have to be scary. You must find a way to set aside time to make the big changes. By starting with just one meal a day and working your way up from there, you can make sure you are getting the high-quality protein that you need, spread out throughout the day and consumed in a way that will support your training and goals.
Are you ready to improve your protein intake in a way that will deliver you undeniable results? Share your thoughts about protein with me in the comments on the episode page.
“We can't keep doing the things we were doing when we were in our 20s. We need a different approach. And we have to understand what that approach is based on our changing physiology in our 40s and as we go through life.” (5:04)
“You feel so much better when you have a small snack on board if you are training first thing in the morning.” (12:22)
“You need to stop the process of muscle protein breakdown, and you need to get the process of muscle protein synthesis going! For repair and recovery and building and all of those wonderful things.” (14:31)
“Once we are over 40, time becomes more and more of the essence when we are talking about building muscle and adding strength and quality life and our energy levels; this stuff ramps up in terms of its importance.” (20:59)
“You've got to start with one meal, dial that in first, then go to the other meals in the day. Because if you are just trying to be perfect at everything all at once, it is not going to work.” (25:45)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 376: Peri-Menopause, Fasting, and Low Carb in Athletic Women with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 395: How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Needs
FYS 396: Should Protein Intake Be Spread Throughout the Day?
In the next installment in our series on protein, we are tackling the topic I am most hesitant to tackle, and that is high-quality protein. When looking at protein from a purely nutritional standpoint, what makes something high-quality protein? And what's the difference between plant-based and animal-based protein when it comes to your daily energy intake?
If You Are Concerned About Eating High-Quality Protein, You Should:
Remember the two key components of high-quality protein
Don't forget about the digestibility aspect of protein consumption
Assess and apply this information as you can, given your accessibility
If you want to maximize muscle tissue and get the most out of your training, you need to get the best quality proteins while also prioritizing how those proteins are built and the digestibility of them. But what does eating high-quality protein really mean?
Protein quality is more than just what it says on the label. High-quality protein is a complex topic, especially when it comes to the world of plant-based and animal-based proteins. However, if you can find the sweet spot of your energy balance consumption, optimizing your protein intake is possible.
For the most part, plant-based proteins are going to rank lower on their protein quality scale than animal-based proteins in terms of complete amino acid profiles and digestibility. While this doesn't mean you can't consume and enjoy the benefits of plant-based protein, you need to be creative about how you increase the amount of protein you are getting from plant-based servings. My goal is to provide you with scientific facts based on a purely nutritional standpoint so that you can understand what you are consuming and how it is impacting your body.
What do you consider high-quality protein? How does the plant-based versus animal-based nutritional aspect play into your decision-making? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section of the episode page.
“I am not going to be making moral, ethical, or sustainable arguments for one versus the other. I am simply trying to present you with the nutritional information that you need to be able to assess and then integrate into your own practice.” (4:58)
“We know as we are going through our 30s, we are starting to lose, year on year, a decade on decade, we are losing muscle mass, unless we do something to offset that. And those things to offset that are mechanical tension through resistance training and eating enough protein.” (13:25)
“Energy balance is, of course, one of the most important things we need to consider in terms of our fueling, getting enough energy to meet our needs, in terms of our activity and total energy expenditure.” (18:14)
“You may have to be a little bit clever about how you are going to introduce enough of those in our diet so that we don't tip too far over our energy balance.” (21:44)
“We are really looking at what protein quality means, and trying to get within our power and our availability and our accessibility and our purchasing power, the best quality proteins that we can.” (27:04)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Legion Workout Supplements - Use Code steph for 20% off your first order
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 395: How to Calculate Your Daily Protein Needs
FYS 396: Should Protein Be Spread Throughout the Day?
By now, you have probably heard me talking about the importance of protein intake, especially for female athletes over 40. But it is much more nuanced than just hitting your protein numbers. Spreading your protein intake throughout the day will help you trigger protein synthesis and avoid operating in a state of protein breakdown.
If You Want to Spread Your Protein Out Throughout the Day, You Should:
When it comes to triggering the process of muscle protein synthesis, ending with a positive muscle protein balance, or being in an anabolic building state, how you spread out your protein throughout the day does really matter.
When there is not enough energy available to your body, the overall net balance of your system is shifted towards protein breakdown and puts you in a negative balance state. As female athletes over 40, we are already more susceptible to struggling with losing muscle mass over time, which is why it is key to align our fueling, nutrition, and training for optimal results.
Understanding the science behind this matters, but it is also equally important to know how to navigate all of this information. I want to help you think about your own daily habits and patterns so that you can make the changes in real life, which is not always so easy to do.
The point is not to be perfect or to be stressed out about every single gram of protein. I understand the technical pieces, performance nutrition pieces, and mindset pieces around eating more, fueling differently, and rethinking the way you view your training and nutrition. My goal is to equip you with the knowledge and know-how to implement these systems into your life and build habits and processes around them.
Are you ready to rethink the way you view protein intake and include more opportunities in your daily life to get your muscle synthesis going? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“It is important that we understand, especially as women over 40, that we need to strength training, and we need to eat enough, particularly enough protein so that we keep ourselves in as much of a positive protein state or an anabolic state as possible.” (9:12)
“When it comes to the muscle protein synthesis process, we really need to think about getting enough of a very specific and very special amino acid.” (13:40)
“Protein distribution here is a close second to total protein in terms of how important it is when it comes to protein energy balance.” (17:39)
“This isn't just about vanity muscles yall. Okay, it's like cool to feel strong and badass and lift heavy shit and have muscles and flex your biceps, that's all great. But it's also about the quality of life, independence, longevity, metabolism, metabolic health; this is so so critical.” (21:42)
“The best time to make a change, if it wasn't 10 years ago, if it wasn't six months ago, the best time to make change is now.” (33:08)
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
International Society of Sports Nutrition
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Get 10% off GORUCK with code FYS10
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 375: Strength Training Changes for Peri-Menopause and Post-Menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 376: Post-Menopause, Fasting, and Low Carb in Athletic Women with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 393: 3 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism as an Athlete
FYS 394: Within-Day Energy Deficit
Have you ever thought seriously about how much protein you need as a woman athlete? Based on my experience, the answer is probably more than you are currently getting. Your protein intake really does matter when it comes to building muscle and recovering better, and by understanding how much protein you should be shooting for throughout the day, you can easily turn your thoughts into habits.
If You Are Looking to Increase Your Protein Intake, You Should:
You Are Not Eating Enough Protein
It is not uncommon for me to see female athletes getting only half or slightly more than half of the protein they actually need, based on their training. Cutting calories, limiting protein intake, and then training hard on top of that is a recipe for disaster and will result in you not experiencing the results you want to see from your training but also resulting in potential harm to your body. Using a straight-up percentage does not account for the necessary amount of protein you need if you are training hard and trying to get stronger, which is why it is crucial to understand your unique protein intake range.
Protein is the Macro-Molecule of Building
Your protein intake is a truly important part of muscle-building activity, recovery, nutrition, and longevity. By taking small steps over time, you can create systems, structures, and habits so that you can slowly nudge yourself in a way that is sustainable.
Protein is the macro-molecule of building, and it is only by eating enough protein on a regular basis that you can keep the process of muscle synthesis going. When you start taking your protein intake throughout the day seriously, you will see the results you are looking for and start to feel more confident in applying what you are learning to your routine.
Are you ready to start taking your daily protein intake seriously? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“If there was something I could talk about all day long within the realm of sports and performance nutrition, it is why protein is so damn important and how to work on increasing your protein intake.” (1:57)
“It does take time to learn how to translate quantities into real-life habits.” (7:15)
“It is not uncommon for female athletes who are trying to build strength and muscle to be eating less than half or a little bit more than half of the recommended amount of protein that you need each day.” (12:35)
“You are athletic, you are active, you are not sedentary, you need more energy!” (16:01)
“The worst thing you can do is cut your calories drastically, keep your protein low, and fail to strength train. We do not want you to do that.” (20:40)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
Nutrition is complicated, even for athletic women over 40. You need to find the sweet spot for your body and the amount of training when it comes to fueling yourself properly. Despite what you may have been told in the past, going for long stretches of time living in a within-day energy deficit can have a massive impact on your training. The good news is that by reframing how you fuel throughout the day, you can avoid these mistakes and take your training and nutrition to the next level.
If You Want to Avoid Within-Day Energy Deficits, You Should:
Understanding Within-Day Energy Deficiency
Avoiding long stretches of time where your body goes without food, especially when it is in a prime state to recover, is a mistake that could be impacting your progress, metabolism, training, energy, and so much more.
Adequate energy intake is necessary, especially as a female athlete over 40 who is training hard. While the last thing you need to do is obsess over being perfect, understanding why, how, and when you fuel is a key ingredient in building strength and longevity.
Finding The Sweet Spot For You
Even if you feel like you ‘eat a lot’, it is a complex nuance of timing, types of calories, training, and more that can impact your likelihood of existing in a within-day energy deficit. Experimenting by listening to your body, going into your training with fuel, and refueling in a timely manner afterward will help you avoid a state of low energy availability.
Eating regularly throughout the day to support your training and recovery is a necessary key to your training and recovery. Implementing the principles I discuss on today's show will help you move forward with the confidence to do so.
Are you ready to fuel, train and recover smarter so that you can use your strength as a catalyst for more? Share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“When it comes to the nuance and the context, those things need to be teased apart. And that's really what we do here on the podcast, to give you the rationale to go into depth, to explain why this stuff matters for us.” (4:24)
“Many athletic women just don't have a good enough concept of what ‘enough’ energy is.” (9:44)
“If you are doing intense training and not refueling until hours afterward, you are continuing to stay in a breakdown state, I don't know how else to tell you that!” (18:38)
“I used to do this. I get it. I get the whole situation. This is why I am kind of nudging you to reconsider. Because I know what it is like, and I know how much better things are on the other side.” (26:38)
“You are going to train so much better when you are properly fueled and doing it in a timely fashion.” (32:23)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Within-Day Energy Balance in Mexican Female Soccer (Football) Players Research Article
Within-Day Energy Deficiency and Reproductive Function in Female Endurance Athletes Research Article
Find the full show notes here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 391: What is Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)?
FYS 392: Understanding Total Daily Energy Expenditure
FYS 376: Peri-Menopause, Fasting and Low Carb in Athletic Women with Dr. Stacy Sims
One thing I hear women athletes over 40 complaining about a lot is their metabolism. I promise you that your metabolism is not broken; it may just be adapting in a downward direction based on the inputs you are putting in. While metabolism is complex, there are some simple and practical things you can start to implement today that will help you improve your metabolism as an athletic woman over 40.
If You Want to Increase Your Metabolism as an Athlete, You Should:
The Success Trifecta
The amount of energy going into your system versus what is going out, or your energy flux, is something we have discussed a lot on this podcast. Maintaining a higher energy flux is a key factor in the successful trifecta of training hard, having enough energy, and providing your body with what it needs to succeed.
Understanding how to get more adaptations out of your training by increasing your energy flux is the best way to see the positive impacts of your training that you are looking for. It doesn't take anything complicated or extreme, just a simple set of behaviors and habits that you can actually implement.
Three Simple Habits for an Imposter Metabolism
If you are tired from your training, bunking your workouts, or don't feel like training for weeks and weeks at a time, it is going to be hard to have the consistency that you need to have positive outcomes in your training. Increasing your energy flux over time will help you spend more energy through movement, exercise better, and improve your digestion, all while simultaneously building muscle.
I wish that I knew these three positive habits that can have a huge benefit on your metabolism and so much more. The positive impacts you will see from eating more protein energy, prioritizing muscle building, and incorporating more non-exercise activity into your day, will get you back into good standing with your metabolism.
How has your metabolism changed over time? Share your thoughts on my easy-to-implement metabolism habits with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“I hear so often from athletic women over 40 who are very concerned about metabolism.” (3:20)
“We never want to lose muscle mass. Muscle mass is so incredibly important, and we know that muscle is an organ of longevity.” (9:21)
“What are the benefits of increasing your energy flux? What that really means is slowly over time increasing the amount that you are eating, and of course, being able to expend then slightly more energy through your training.” (16:02)
“These are really filed under the idea of lifestyle, nutrition and training, and things that we can do to improve our health and wellbeing and focusing on the behaviors themselves. That's what we are really trying to move the needle on here.” (18:04)
“Think about how to actually put some metabolism friendly into play in your life so that you are not stressing about the metabolism, but rather you are thinking about the positive, health-promoting changes that you can make.” (25:48)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 352: Energy Flux and Fueling for Athletes with Jamie Scott
FYS 353: Fueling Best Practices for Active People with Jamie Scott
In general, we have an oversimplified understanding of our energy intake and our energy expenditure. Only thinking about calories in and calories out does not assess your daily energy needs from a complete point of view. There are many nuances that go into the energy balance discussion for athletic women, and this episode is the place to start.
If You Want to Understand Your Daily Energy Expenditure Better, You Should:
Where Women Athletes Go Wrong
Often times athletic women get into trouble by trying to match a low daily energy calorie intake with a high energy output of training. This approach to fueling is where athletic women tend to go wrong and see negative outcomes.
Your metabolism and your energy consumption need to work together in order to find the energy balance that is right for you and your training. Understanding how your energy is influenced when you are at rest when you are breaking down your food, and when you are engaging in non-exercise and exercise activity is the key to getting into balance and moving past oversimplification.
The 4 Pieces of Total Daily Energy Expenditure
There are four key pieces that affect your total daily energy expenditure. How your body processes energy during these four phases is the key to being in energy balance and avoiding an energy deficit. Your resting energy expenditure, the thermic effect of food, your non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, and your exercise activity thermogenesis, or purposeful activity, all play a role in how your metabolism works together with your body.
Maintaining an appropriate energy balance is the only way to see the improvements you are looking for in a sustainable and healthy way.
Do you feel as though your energy is in balance? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“Of course, you are a biological system, and when we strip biological models of all of their complexity and nuance and strip them down to pithy one-liners like ‘eat less move more,’ this simplicity at best can lead you astray as an athletic person, and even at worst, do some harm to your health and wellbeing.” (9:03)
“Saying a calorie is a calorie is like saying an inch is an inch or a pound is a pound. It quantifies things, but it doesn't qualify things.” (11:29)
“It is important to understand how metabolism and energy balance and so on work together, specifically when we are talking about why building muscle is so freaking important, and how does that affect our basal metabolic rate.” (20:44)
“I am not here to teach you intentional fat loss. What I am here to highlight is some of the ways we go astray in our thinking.” (22:01)
“I think it is important for you to understand how some of these factors are going to affect your training and why my primary goal here is to get you to understand that eating enough food is so incredibly important to your training and your health and well-being.” (30:42)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 388: Why You’re Struggling with Motivation to Workout
FYS 391: What is Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)?
Properly fueling yourself as an athlete, especially if you are an athletic woman over 40, can have a huge impact on your training, strength, and overall health and well-being. Understanding RED-S, or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports, is a key piece of educational information I think every athlete needs to know about.
If You are Concerned About RED-S, You Should:
Understanding RED-S
You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to deal with RED-S or the implications of low energy availability. RED-S transcends different populations and athletic individuals. This is why it is so important to gain a clearer picture of how RED-S is defined, the signs and symptoms of low energy availability, how it impacts your performance and health, and what you can do to fuel yourself for the best success and performance possible.
Fueling Properly Is Not Optional
I want to challenge you to think about the amount you are fueling yourself in comparison to your training schedule. By the time you account for the energy you have spent through exercise and how much you are eating, there are a lot of cases where we don't provide our bodies enough energy to facilitate even basic bodily functions.
Fueling your body with enough energy to recover from training is incredibly important to basically every system you have in your body, from hormones to metabolism to menstruation. Low energy availability, or RED-S, doesn't just affect what is going on in the gym; it also has serious implications for your overall health and well-being.
What did you think about this topic? Have you ever struggled with low energy availability? Let me know your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“We are trying to fuel, we are trying to eat better and fuel our performance. And at the at the same time, it is revolutionary, talking about actually eating enough as female athletes.” (2:53)
“RED-S is more inclusive in terms of what the physiological implications of low energy availability happen to be. It is more expansive in terms of how this could potentially be affecting someone's performance and also their health and wellbeing.” (9:18)
“The physiological impacts when it comes to under eating, especially if we have a high amount of physical activity and exercise, can accumulate quite quickly.” (17:00)
“We just need enough energy in order for us to get the output in our training so that we will see the beneficial adaptations.” (23:57)
“You need to eat enough to cover your training and also your basic bodily needs. And that includes both protein and non-protein energy.” (28:41)
Featured on the Show
Schedule A Call About Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
IOC consensus statement on relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S)
National Eating Disorders Association Website
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 388: Why You’re Struggling with Motivation to Workout
FYS 367: 5 Strength Nutrition Lessons I Wish I Learned a Decade Ago
FYS 350: Are You Eating Enough? Low Energy Availability in Sport
Strength conditioning as an over-40 athlete can be challenging enough on its own, but when you add in the dimension of being a postpartum athlete on top of everything else, special attention is warranted. Bridging the gap between rehab and performance requires an undefined timeline that is unique for you but will ultimately get you back to doing the things that you want to do.
If You Are Thinking About Your Postpartum Training Needs, You Should:
Returning to the Sport You Love
Brianna Battles is the Founder of Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism and CEO of Everyday Battles LLC. She is a relentless advocate and relatable resource for women who want training during pregnancy and to make a sustainable return to performance, lifestyle, function, career, and activity postpartum because postpartum is forever!
You Are an Athlete
Many women disqualify themselves as athletes. Brianna believes that if you are consistently dedicating yourself to movement, whether you are running, doing yoga, dancing, swimming, or anything that requires physical output, you are an athlete. While you can be an athlete in all seasons of your lifetime, how you interact with your athletic ability will change over time based on your body's needs. As a female athlete, especially if you are going through pregnancy or postpartum, you are not fragile, but you are also not invincible, and the way you train needs to reflect that.
Bridging the Gap Between Rehab and Performance
Because of the common male-dominated approach to training, birth is not given the same considerations when it comes to rehab and recovery as other events. Postpartum women are not a special or unique group of the population, and postpartum women deserve a more hands-on and substantial approach to their training.
Like in jiu-jitsu, you need to be a white belt before becoming a blue belt. The same can be said for training postpartum. While pregnancy and postpartum can act as an incredible catalyst for learning about your body, it can bring out many of your vulnerabilities. If you can give yourself patience, rest, and grace, you can learn how to work with your postpartum symptoms and get to the point that you want to be.
Are you showing yourself grace while you battle postpartum? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“There are so many things about our body that changes during that season [of pregnancy and postpartum], and exercise has to adapt to meet the body where it is at.” (13:50)
“Fitness is a great baseline in general, but it is not a guarantee for anything.” (15:56)
“If you are consistently participating in fitness, you are an athlete. Its not about being a size or an ability, its honestly just an expression of dedicated physical output.” (19:35)
“Postpartum requires a rehabilitation period, a rebuilding period, and then an undefined timeline of what is that going to look like for you getting back to the things you want to do.” (23:29)
“If you can give yourself those seasons, and take it slow, take it gradually, get the support and resources that you need and not push boundaries, you are going to get what you want a hell of a lot faster than if you tried to push boundaries before your body or your brain or your lifestyle was ready for it.” (25:56)
“I think that it is a very real possibility when we are talking about women's core and pelvic health needs across all sports. It is becoming anticipatory and being able to react where you are not able to think about it or worry about it.” (42:58)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coaching Certification
Follow Brianna on Instagram
Follow Pregnant Postpartum Athlete on Instagram
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 281: How To Exercise Intuitively w/ Steph Ondrusek
LTYB 345: How To Give Yourself Radical Permission w/ Hayden Dawes
FYS 372: Recovery Trackers, Training, and The Menstrual Cycle w/ Emily Capodilupo
Introducing a strength training element into your walking can have major benefits, especially as a woman athlete. A way to make your walking a bit more challenging is through rucking. Rucking is a great opportunity to take the foundational movement pattern of carrying and incorporate it into your training routine easily.
If You Want to Start Rucking, You Should:
Understanding the Comfort Crisis with Michael Easter
Michael Easter is an author, professor, and adventurer. He approaches movement and training from a scientific perspective, helping others to integrate modern science and evolutionary wisdom into their lives to expand their potential. He is the author of The Comfort Crisis and is personally a big fan of rucking and all of its benefits.
Controlled Discomfort is a Good Thing
Often we think about exercise as a 30 or 60-minute period of our day when we go hard. But being stagnant for the other 23 hours of the day has no benefit. Michael wants to challenge you to find ways in your daily routine to introduce some controlled discomfort into your life.
As the world has become more comfortable over time, we have lost certain things that help to make us healthy. Lifting heavy things while in motion can have huge benefits, especially for women. Walking with weight on your body, or rucking, is usually the best option if you want to see big results.
The Benefits of Rucking
Scientific research shows that strength training is crucial to longevity, especially in women. Rucking works to put your spine in a better position while lifting, avoid intense pressure on your joints, and is uniquely good at improving bone density.
If you struggle to integrate carrying into your fitness routine, which is an essential part of the seven functional movement patterns for building strength, rucking is a great option for you. Getting started is easy and incredibly simple.
Are you ready to get started with rucking today? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“[Carrying] is kind of like the thing that most people aren't doing that would help them the most. Strength wise, fitness wise, cardio wise, and also just being protective against injuries.” (10:46)
“I think that rucking is a great way to add a strength stimulus for women.” (20:22)
“Women really were the people, as we have evolved, that kept us alive.” (22:48)
“Only 2 percent of people, when they have the option of stairs or an escalator, will take the stairs. Now, if you back up, it's actually those very small decisions that we make every day, whether to take the stairs, parking farther away in the parking lot, picking your kid up and moving them, carrying your groceries. All these little ways of adding activity back into your life, those add up over the course of the day to a greater calorie burn and stimulus than a workout.” (28:01)
“You know what is more risky than exercising? Not exercising at all.” (33:25)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
Follow Michael on Instagram
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 281: How To Exercise Intuitively w/ Steph Ondrusek
FYS 385: How To Build An Athlete Mindset Over 40
FYS 384: Making Mobility Practical w/ Coach RT3
Are you lacking the motivation or energy to train? I often hear this from women athletes, and it often stems from a lack of fueling or being in a low energy availability state. If you are feeling more tired during your workouts or during daily activities, have to go to sleep hours earlier than normal, or find yourself taking the elevator instead of the stairs because you are just so tired, there is a good chance you are not fueling yourself enough.
If You Want To Increase Your Motivation to Train, You Should:
Stop Calling Yourself Lazy
Sometimes we think that low motivation is a character flaw, that we aren't working hard enough, are feeling lazy, and just need to power through. But so often, we forget to look at what could be the underlying causes behind our lack of energy. Not fueling yourself enough, especially if you are an athletic person, is something you need to consider.
I want you to stop blaming yourself and start looking at what, how, and when you are fueling yourself. You may find that your lack of motivation is really just a low energy availability issue by checking in with yourself regarding if you are getting enough daily energy intake.
Getting Real About the Energy Your Body Needs
Your energy levels impact your entire life, not just your intentionally structured physical activity. Low energy intake, or living in a low energy availability state, has psychological, mental, and physical impacts that you might not realize are linked. Not eating enough can play a huge role in determining your relationships, mood, goals, and so much more. This is why ensuring you are fueling enough for your unique body and training schedule is crucial. While the characteristics of low energy availability have a wide range, the impact they have on your body and mind is far-reaching.
Are you ready to stop beating yourself up for being ‘lazy’ or ‘unmotivated’ and start fueling yourself the way your body needs? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
In This Episode
Quotes
“The inspiration for this podcast really comes from many, many years of working with many of you and clients out in the world, other athletic women. Especially athletic women over 40 who come to me with frustrations about low motivation.” (2:00)
“You know why you love to train. You have goals, and yet, sometimes it just seems like that motivation has gone ‘poof’ and is nowhere to be found.” (2:13)
“It's not just the energy or the ‘motivation’ to go train; we are talking about your energy levels impacting your entire life.” (13:29)
“When you get dragged down into the busyness of life, you can lose sight of how important your energy levels are and what it takes to stay fueled and recharged.” (14:52)
“It is important to note that low energy intake, or low energy availability state, can manifest itself in different ways for different people.” (22:16)
Featured on the Show
Join Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here
Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 350: Are You Eating Enough? Low Energy Availability in Sport
LTYB 352: Energy Flux and Fueling for Athletes with Jamie Scott
FYS 382: Making Strength Gains in Your Late 40’s with Allison Fitzpatrick
Diversity and inclusion belong in all areas of the fitness industry. By accepting all body types and sizes, we can help foster a sense of community and inclusion in an industry ravaged by toxic diet culture. I’m joined by Damali Fraiser, a Canadian kettlebell instructor, to talk about her mission of body acceptance in the industry, along with systemic racism and her non-diet approach to fitness.
About Damali Fraiser
Damali Fraiser (she/her/hers) is a Canadian Kettlebell Instructor, Nutrition Coach, and author passionate about exploring fitness from an intersectional lens. Founder of Lift Off Strength & Wellness, Damali is a compassionate coach and student of strength who teaches hardstyle kettlebell technique, inclusive fitness, and sustainable nutrition that supports you in meeting you wherever you are and confidently moving forward to where you want to be.
Dismantling Diet Culture in Kettlebell Coaching
The fitness industry is toxic regarding diet and weight loss culture. Damali Fraiser explains why her mission to de-center weight loss is so important and how her experience growing up in the Slim Fast era initially shaped her beliefs. She makes she educates her children on the dangers of the diet industry.
Damali shares the story of how an injury led her to seek out functional fitness in the form of kettlebells. Though she’s now healed, she has an improved and better quality of life thanks to her continued use of kettlebells, and her goal is to help other people feel that same sense of strength and vitality.
Inclusion and Diversity in the Fitness Industry
The kettlebell industry still has a way to go before it’s fully inclusive and diverse, but Damali is passionate about changing the narrative. She explains some of the steps coaches can take to dismantle toxic diet and fitness culture – it really is about decentering weight loss in their conversations.
Damali also talks about the racist roots of diet culture. It takes all of us working together to dismantle systemic racism to move forward collectively and help heal the damage caused.
How have you used functional fitness to overcome an injury or help your clients overcome injuries? What do you think of a non-diet approach to fitness? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.
“I started to explore functional strength training for my recovery, and that was where kettlebells helped me to reconnect with myself and my body and my identity outside of Muay Thai. I appreciated how kettlebells make you feel unstable, yet that feeling is empowering, and you can now re-envision stability throughout your life.” [10:20]
“With kettlebells, I can have an improved and better quality of life. I feel like I’m fully living when I’m strong in my body and moving well.”[13:25]
“It’s multi-faceted. It’s a challenge just to be there and be present. Wanting to do a good job and have people see my expertise but also to see my humanity and know that I’m just alongside them, dealing with the same things they are.” [32:38]
Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked
Join the Coaches Corner Kettlebell Training Course
Find Damali Fraiser on Instagram | Facebook
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Women are starting to fuel better, lift heavier, recover smarter; they have fewer aches and pains, but yet we still collectively place huge importance on the number we see on the bathroom scale. This can be problematic for women athletes, as that number is not an accurate representation of the gains you are working towards.
If You Want to Change Your Relationship with the Bathroom Scale, You Should:
The bathroom scale has a collective power over many of us when it comes to being an athletic woman who wants to train and be strong. We can make an entire list of things that have been improving since we started training, but if the scale isn't going down, we have been conditioned to think it is not successful. But the truth is, there are so many gains we get from taking care of ourselves that have nothing to do with counting calories, eating less and moving more, or weighing ourselves every day. The scale can get in the way of your ability to feel at ease with things and fully embrace your identity as an athletic woman.
Focusing on What Matters
Weighing yourself less, removing the scale from your environment, and keeping things in perspective when it comes to gaining muscle mass and bone strength are all ways that you can work on your health rather than the number on the scale. This is not just an aesthetics game anymore; we need to move past being ‘toned’ or ‘skinny’ and focus on what really matters.
When you are fueling yourself better, lifting heavier, and recovering smarter, you begin to have more energy, see more muscle definition and size, see improvements in your recovery and your energy, and so much more. These habits might not lower our body weight to what society idealizes, but they will help you stay strong and healthy for as long as possible.
How does the bathroom scale factor into your relationship with your body, your weight, and your training? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“I want to help you move past the bathroom scale as having so much power over you as a woman athlete.” (2:21)
“Especially as athletic women, who constantly have the message drilled into us that we need to just eat less and move more, eat less and move more, we deserve a little bit more of a sophisticated conversation than that.” (13:33)
“There can be a lot of reasons why we still continue to put so much emphasis and importance on the scale, even when everything else is better!” (26:06)
“As an athletic woman, relying on weighing yourself less as a metric of your strength, as a metric of your improvements in the way that you are taking care of yourself and the things that you are prioritizing, is a smart way to move eventually.” (30:01)
“There are lots of different things that you can think about, instead of just keeping track of your body weight on the scale.” (39:36)
Apply for the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 314: How To Set Health Goals Beyond the Scale with Steph Dodier
LTYB 350: Are You Eating Enough? Low Energy Availability in Sport
FYS 373: The Problem with Tiny Pink Dumbells with Nikki Naab-Levy
One area that I see athletic women over 40 consistently struggling with is the implementation of the high-quality information, techniques, and strategies they know would benefit them to include. Making change can be hard, and there is a mental and emotional challenge to adapting your training as you get older. However, with the right tools and mindset, the rewards of your training and longevity will amaze you.
If you want to effectively implement new training, nutrition, and recovery techniques as you age, you should:
Information and the implementation of that information are two very different things. You could have high-quality information and tools to help you make a change in your training, but if you get stuck when implementing it into your routine, all that great information isn't serving you in the way it should.
You don't need to do more just for the sake of doing more. Training more efficiently, or getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to your training, is only possible by changing the way you are thinking and adapting your training routine to your changing physiology.
The Unsung Hero of Implementation
We all have been conditioned by society to fear being lazy and that if there is no pain, there is no gain. This limiting belief is a perfect example of how powerful our belief systems are and the role they play in our training, nutrition, and recovery. If you are having a hard time getting started or implementing changes, it could be because of the beliefs you are holding onto about how you train and see results.
Your beliefs affect your ability to follow through with implementing new habits that you know will be good for you. Your identity and belief system hold the key to adjusting how you can train more efficiently.
Are you ready to implement effective training techniques as you age? Share your thoughts about the connection between beliefs and identity with me in the comments on the episode page.
“If you are an athletic woman over 40 and you are someone who likes to challenge yourself, you know that you might have to do things differently as you continue to get older.” (3:52)
“It's hard sometimes to recognize that you are in a different place, and to make peace with that, and then to implement the new strategies that you know are going to be better for you.” (8:18)
“Beliefs are a big factor in us as we are approaching our changing physiology, and training and doing fitness and nutrition in different ways. But beliefs are going to get in our way.” (21:29)
“Coach is how we help you implement habits and behaviors to create new outcomes for yourself now and in the future. And it is very interesting to observe here how beliefs intersect with changing our habits around training and fueling and recovery.” (27:19)
“As were approaching our 40s and beyond as women athletes, we are trying to make a change based on our old identities, the previous versions of ourselves. (29:03)
Apply for the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Acute effect of HIIT on testosterone and cortisol levels in healthy individuals study
Laziness Does Not Exist by Dr. Devon Price
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 367: 5 Strength Nutrition Lessons I Wish I Learned a Decade Ago
FYS 381: 6 Reasons To Hire a Nutrition Coach
FYS 375: Strength Training Changes for Peri-Menopause and Post-Menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims
Often we forget what an important part of strength training mobility work is. Mobility work has the reputation of being something that you just tack on or do during a warm-up. But the reality is that mobility work is incredibly important and dictates how you move, how you feel, and the gains that you see in and out of the gym.
If You Want to Make Mobility More of a Priority, You Should:
Rich Thurman, better known as Coach RT3, is a mobility specialist who is passionate about sharing his experiences as a black man in the fitness industry and advocating for coaching in a way that takes care of your body, mind, and spirit as one whole person.
Mobility is Not an Afterthought
Let's be real, does every part of your body function optimally? The chances are probably pretty low. Incorporating mobility into your strength training as the main objective will help you see the benefits you are looking for and improve your overall performance as you age.
In general, we tend to overlook and neglect important health things until it is too late. This is why Coach RT3 is so passionate about helping others understand the why behind their workouts and get specific about how mobility work can help them. Mobility work is not an afterthought; it is a key component to achieving your goals.
Knowledge is Power
Coach RT3 really understands the importance of educating people on how their body works. You need to access the full capability of your mobility to ensure your training is going to succeed. Coach RT3 believes in the power of sharing information, which can be challenging on social media. But, through his passion and tenacity for the power of mobility, he helps people move better, feels better, and do more while still recovering in a way that is essential for longevity.
The more you have access to your mobility, the better your life is going to be. What are you waiting for?
Are you ready to dedicate yourself to mobility? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“I am a firm believer in the way I communicate and the way I put out information; it is in a sharing way. I don't hold any information back. And if you want to work with me and if you want to train with me, then you are working with me and training with me because you like the way in which I coach.” (26:18)
“I want you all to be better and to understand and to learn and to grow. Because if you all learn and grow, then everyone is better.” (27:40)
“Mobility should be the throughline for everything that you are doing in life because it is life.” (33:19)
“If you really want mobility to be something that impacts your longevity and life, you have to slot it in as the thing, and everything else has to be the 20.” (44:53)
“If you move better, you feel better… and if you feel good you do more. And if you do more, you get more of what you want overall anyways.” (51:37)
Follow Coach RT3 on Instagram | TikTok
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 338: Mobility, Justice, and Representation in the Fitness Industry with Rich Thurman
You can still be a strong badass who can lift heavy as you journey through peri-menopause and post-menopause. But, you have to do it in a way that is a bit different than you did in your 20s. If you are a 40+ woman and not seeing the results you want, holding back on adjusting the way you train as your body transitions is probably the reason.
If You Want To Level Up Your CrossFit Training Through Peri-Menopause, You Should:
Shawna Norton is an L1 Certified Nutrition Coach through Precision Nutrition, with a B.S in Kinesiology. She holds an L1 with Crossfit and actively coaches athletes through her women’s only coaching program- Competitive Female Training. She is passionate about serving the needs of women in her community and loves helping them fuel their training and focus on what their bodies can do in peri-menopause and beyond.
Why You Need to Lift Heavy Things
As we get older, sometimes we can forget about the importance of hard things. Society tells us to focus on the scale and not get ‘too bulky’. But building muscle as you age, especially as a woman, is so important to your overall health, longevity, mindset, and happiness.
This new stage of life is an opportunity for you to reassess what your body needs and create a strength training program that is going to meet your unique needs as a woman. Strength training isn't just about what you look like. It is a way to ensure your quality of life throughout peri-menopause, post-menopause, and beyond.
Giving Women a Voice and a Program
Women make up 50% of the sport of CrossFit, and yet most of the programs out there are designed for men. That's where Shawna comes in. She is all about empowering women with the right tools and knowledge to be given a voice in the CrossFit world and feel confident in their training.
Shawna is dedicated to answering the question, ‘what about us?’. By helping women understand the power of muscle and how to achieve their CrossFit goals in a way that is adapted to a woman's physiology as she ages, Shawna provides programming tailored specifically to the needs of women. A conversation that is not had enough, in this episode, Shawna smashes CrossFit misconceptions and provides a unique perspective on strength training in peri-menopause and on.
How have you adjusted your strength training to suit the needs of your changing body? Share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments on the episode page.
“I got into CrossFit, and all of a sudden I had a barbell in my hands, and it was like, this is where I am supposed to be. I want to take up space, I want to lift heavy.” (6:17)
“I am still a beautiful woman, but I am beautiful because of how I am made, not because of how society says I need to be.” (12:54)
“Our programming is designed only for women. But we also communicate in a way that our female athletes can actually understand what they are supposed to do.” (29:10)
“Women are 50% of the sport, and we have the right to have our weaknesses addressed to the same level that you are programming for men. Think about that when you are programming.” (32:16)
“If you are not happy where you are at, you have to do something different. If you keep doing the same thing, you are going to keep getting the same results. Try it! What's the worst that can happen? You’re going to get stronger?” (42:43)
“Having muscle is so much more than if you can fit into your jeans.” (48:23)
Join the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Competitive Female Training Website
Follow Competitive Female Training on Instagram
Follow Shawna on Instagram
Pull-Ups Resource
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 382: Making Strength Gains in Your Late 40’s with Allison Fitzpatrick
FYS 378: Powerlifting and Recovery Tips for the 40+ Athlete with Laura Phelps
FYS 375: Strength Training Changes for Peri-Menopause and Post-Menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims
The idea of gaining strength in your 40s and beyond can seem daunting. But with the right tools, nutrition, and support, it is much easier than you might think. Often we think we know best when it comes to how we can achieve our goals, but in reality, it takes an outside perspective to help you reach a level of health and happiness that you never thought possible.
If You Want to Make Strength Gains in Your 40’s, You Should:
Allison Fitzpatrick found strength training in her late 30s and is now a 10+ year veteran in the world of fitness. Coming to strength training as a non-athletic person, Allison had her fair share of skepticism and fear. After completing my Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program, Allison is here to give a first-hand account of what it is like to go through the program and the amazing gains she has made on the other side.
By the time Allison hit her 30s, she knew that she wanted to get stronger but didn't want her body to change. Like many of us, she struggled with the tug-of-war mentality between the things we can't control about getting older. She started to feel out of control of her body and was dealing with a toxic relationship with the scale.
Finally, she was ready to try something new. Allison entered the world of Strength Training through Crossfit. What surprised her the most was how she started feeling happy in the gym. However, the real progress came when Allison realized she not only needed to change the way she trained but also the way she fueled herself.
Take Control of How You Age
Strength Nutrition Unlocked is all about embracing your ability to make a change. While we cannot control getting older, we can control how we treat our bodies, fuel our bodies, and think about our bodies. You are not a spreadsheet, and your body is not a calculator. It takes a personalized and nuanced understanding of your body needs to see the results you are searching for.
Allison is keeping it real with a first-hand account of what it is like to be a student in Strength Nutrition Unlocked, embracing her highs and lows, and why nutrition was the key to making strides in strength as a woman in her late 40s.
Are you ready to make a change when it comes to how you train and fuel your body? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“It's like this crazy adrenaline rush. You have more power than you think you have. It was amazing to see that my body was capable of doing things I never knew possible.” (10:03)
“For me, the biggest changes were increasing my protein and increasing my carbs and just overall food intake. And just being more mindful of what is actually on my plate.” (32:24)
“I was making my feelings about myself and how I felt about myself contingent on this number on the scale… It really did become a toxic relationship.” (36:30)
“I can’t control that I get older and older. I can’t control perimenopause. I can’t control that my body is going to change. There are all these things that are out of my control. But I can control what I put into my body, how I fuel my body, how I move my body, and how I think about my body.” (39:27)
“I know I wanted to be happier. I know I wanted to feel better. I know I wanted all of these feelings, and I thought that losing weight was going to give me those feelings. And it wasn't that. As soon as I started to feel that increase in weight and eat more and feel better and notice that I am actually fueling my body for what I am doing, and fueling my body for strength and for health and for longevity and all of that, that's what is making me happy and making me feel good.” (48:56)
Join the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 381: 6 Reasons to Hire a Nutrition Coach
FYS 378: Powerlifting and Recovery Tips for the 40+ Athlete with Laura Phelps
FYS 375: Strength Training Changes for Peri-Menopause and Post-Menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims
FYS 350: Are You Eating Enough? Low Energy Availability in Sport
If you want to build muscle, get stronger, see better results and gains in the gym, have more energy, and improve your performance, hiring a nutrition coach could be the best investment you have ever made in yourself. A coach can help you accomplish your goals quicker, focus on a doable way to reach those goals, and provide you with the emotional and social support you need to get there.
If You Want to Get Serious About Your Nutrition, You Should:
Many people out there think they can do it themselves when it comes to nutrition and fitness. While the internet is full of advice, that doesn't mean it's necessarily good advice. A meal plan or chatting with a bot does not help you change the things that are in your way, and will cost you your time, effort, and mistakes in return.
If you are ready to make serious progress in your fitness and nutrition goals, a coach is the best way to create a plan that is doable in your life, and that fits your unique needs, likes, and dislikes. You shouldn't have to be an expert in order to feel good in your body and supported in your dreams; that's what coaches are for!
Being able to assess a situation objectively is hard to do, especially when it comes to our own lives. If you want to progress and gain strength and endurance, it will take more of a sophisticated approach that helps you build sustainable and addictive habits.
When you get focused, get serious, invest in yourself, and put some money where your mouth is, it is incredible what you can accomplish. Don't keep putting off your goals, today is the best day to start, and it is never too late. With the right focus and support, I know you can do this.
Are you ready to hire a nutrition coach? Share your thoughts with me about my top 6 reasons in the comments on the episode page.
“Hiring my first sports nutrition coach was a key decision that I made that really changed the trajectory of not only my fitness but my personal life and my career.” (2:19)
“You might think that you are eating really ‘healthy,’ but that doesn't mean that you are adequately fueling, or eating enough of the right things, for example, to get you the fitness results that you want.” (7:52)
“I wasn't just paying a coach. I am investing in my own growth and in actually having a plan to get me to my goals quicker and help me figure out why what I was doing wasn't working.” (11:07)
“I want you to think about hiring someone to help you assess what needs to change, look at and identify the things you are willing to change, and how to do it in a way that is going to be doable in your life.” (19:10)
“Meal plans don't teach you about long-term habit change, and they don't help you address the underlying challenges that might be getting in your way.” (24:24)
Join the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
1-1 Strength Nutrition Coaching
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 380: From Endurance to Lifting: Top Sports Nutrition & Training Lessons
FYS 367: 5 Strength Nutrition Lessons I Wish I Learned a Decade Ago
I have been on a journey through fitness, movement, and nutrition my whole life. I rarely take a moment to reflect on my past and all of the ups and downs it took to get to this point. So, what better way to start the new season than share my story with you and the lessons I have learned along the way.
If You Are Ready to Start Taking Care Of Yourself Better, You Should:
When I started on my fitness journey, I had no idea about the importance of fueling for your training, recovery, the importance of muscle mass, and so much more. All I cared about was getting smaller and performing harder. It took me years to learn how to change my mindset and approach to training so that I could finally achieve the results that I was searching for.
Luckily the gift of hindsight has shown me that when it comes to the idea of women athletes, an understanding of where you are and the struggles you are having is key to getting to the bottom of your issues and overcoming them.
It has taken me ten years of experience, learning, and education to get to the place where I know what works. This is why I am passionate about sharing this information with you so that you can take my past mistakes and use them to help guide you on your strength and nutrition journey.
Don’t just rely on the wilds of Tik Tok and Instagram for information because not everybody out there is doing it the right way. I understand what it is like to be at the beginning, and I want to help you get past those challenges so that you can experience the expansive power that taking care of your body can give you, just like it's given me.
What are some lessons you have learned throughout your fitness and nutrition journey? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section of the episode page.
“If you are a woman athlete, especially if you are 40 and beyond like me, there are just some things that we need to do differently. And I am really passionate about helping you perform better, build muscle, feel stronger, get those strength numbers up, hit new PRs, and feel even more capable in your life outside of training.” (4:13)
“When I tell you I’ve done a lot of stuff, I've done a lot of different stuff!” (10:55)
“Learning how to lift weights and the empowerment that I felt, the idea, the concept that never fucking occurred to me. That I could focus on getting stronger, and that my body was not a problem to fix, my weight wasn't a problem, just that concept alone changed literally the entire trajectory of my life.” (20:49)
“It was just gradually through that process, of seeing what I was capable of and how lifting made me feel, that I found this freedom.” (23:42)
“It took effort. It took consistency. It took awareness. It took challenging some of the certain beliefs I had had. It took learning new things, with the point being, how can I fuel myself better? (33:28)
Join the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Stuck to Strong Private Podcast
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 369: Introducing the Fuel Your Strength Podcast
LTYB 350: Are You Eating Enough? Low Energy Availability in Sport
LTYB 364: Nutrition & Strength Training for Cyclists with Marissa Axell
LTYB 378: Powerlifting and Recovery Tips for the 40+ Athlete with Laura Phelps
FYS 377: Overtraining, Injury, and Burnout with Dr. A’Naja Newsome
If there is one macronutrient that I receive pushback on, it’s protein. That is because it can be hard to increase your protein intake, but that doesn't mean it is without merit to do. If you want to feel good in your body and go throughout the day feeling strong and capable, you need protein, and that's a fact.
If You Want to Enjoy the Benefits of Protein, You Should:
Victoria LaFont is an opera singer turned scientist. Her nutrition-focused copywriting and coaching have helped hundreds of clinicians go from burnout to career bliss. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Western States with a master’s degree in human nutrition and functional medicine and is passionate about helping women build strength through balanced nutrition and strength training.
Protein is incredibly important when it comes to preventing age-related muscle loss, overall health, and longevity. The Latin root of the word protein even means primary, as it is essential to your body's ability to build muscle and function throughout the day.
Victoria is passionate about letting the research speak for itself. She has seen firsthand how eating a balanced, protein-rich diet, and lifting heavy stuff, has helped women thrive for longer and avoid sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss. If you want to protect your muscles for as long as possible, protein is the key you have been looking for.
Victoria's hope is that one day, balance becomes trendy. Women being afraid of their bodies changing is a billion-dollar industry, and the way society projects the way a woman is supposed to look prevents us from having perspective about our own body autonomy.
Don’t let protein scare you. Instead, work to understand the science, research, and benefits behind protein so that you can bring your body to a place of balance and make decisions about your health based on what is right for your body.
Are you ready to embrace the power of protein? Share your thoughts on this episode with me in the comments on the episode page.
"If we are going through those actions, we have to fuel that, or else we have detrimental outcomes. Not just in the gym but in our life." (16:09)
"I want my feet to stay healthy and I want to put on as much muscle mass as possible before I hit menopause because I want to stay functional as I age." (22:21)
"I hope and pray that balance becomes trendy and sexy and sells a lot of products. Because really that is what we need. And part of that balance is we have to intake enough protein for physiological function." (29:41)
"Most women who are after this formula of increasing dietary protein and picking up some heavy stuff, weight gain, that's the thing you want to see on the scale, but it's so much different than what we have been taught." (48:46)
"My job is to present a balanced point of view to people and support other practitioners who are doing that." (55:56)
Join the Group Strength Nutrition Unlocked Program Here
Follow Victoria on Instagram
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 352: Energy Flux and Fueling for Athletes with Jamie Scott
LTYB 367: 5 Strength Nutrition Lessons I Wish I Learned a Decade Ago
If You Want to Stay Strong in your 40’s and Beyond, You Should:
Laura Phelps has been an athlete her entire life and started powerlifting at age 23. She currently holds 8 All-Time World Records in the sport of powerlifting and was personally coached by Louie Simmons. Since 2017 Laura has used her knowledge and expertise to help train others through her coaching company, Queen Bee Power. She finds pride in helping athletes both old and new succeed and reach goals that otherwise would have been unattainable.
Laura’s greatest hope is for everyone to stay healthy and be strong. Strength and power work to our benefit, especially as we get older, which is why we have to be wise and intentional about how we train in every stage of our life. Powerlifting is proof that you can be strong for a very long time, you just have to do it in a way that can adapt to your needs as you get older.
Adapting your training based on where you are now is nothing to be scared of. Powerlifting can be incredibly beneficial to your overall health and longevity, and Laura’s adapted version of the conjugate method can help you feel empowered while taking care of your body's needs.
By building strength through supportive exercises, taking time for recovery, and introducing variation into your training routine, you can experience the restorative impact of conjugate-style programming.
How are you adjusting your training program to the needs of your body at different stages of life? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“I just had this supreme confidence, not arrogance, but I had this unbelievable confidence in what I was doing because I loved it so much.” (12:37)
“If you are doing everything right, following these principles and the right percentages and whatnot, and the recovery, it is set up for longevity.” (23:50)
“Any time your body is imbalanced, you are putting yourself at risk for injury. So if we can make everything more balanced, I just think it is more functional.” (27:36)
“If you don't bench press now as much as you did 10 years ago, it's okay. It's all relative at this point.” (32:03)
“Powerlifting is proof that you can be strong for a long time, a really long time. You are just pushing yourself to your limit at that time and whatever your circumstances are.” (33:00)
Join the Strength Nutrition Unlocked Group Coaching Program Here
Follow Queen Bee Power on Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
FYS 371: The Fitness Industry Needs Quality Coaches with Jasmine Braxton
If you have ever been injured in your sport as an athletic person, you know how challenging it can be to get back into it. Not just for your body, but also for your mind. Movement, exercise, mental health, mindset, self-efficacy, and burnout are all connected, which is why it can be extra difficult to come to terms with a change or adaptation in your training routine. This is why it is so important to find harmony in your training, and recovery, as an athletic person.
If You Want To Overcome Injury and Avoid Burnout, You Should:
Dr. A’Naja Newsome is an exercise scientist, coach, and educator who is passionate about helping people like you to optimize your strength, mental health, mindset, self-efficacy, and balance training with recovery. She knows firsthand the struggles that adapting your training and understanding how your body is healing can take on an athlete. If you have ever been injured and noticed it took a toll on your mental health or identity, this episode is for you.
Often when people think about the benefits of exercise, they focus on the physical benefits without realizing all of the amazing mental benefits movement and exercise can have. Improved mood, cognitive function, memory, and overall happiness are just a few of the ways that exercise and physical activity can benefit your life.
However, when we have to change the way in which we train, it can feel like an overwhelming task. This is where your mindset, lifestyle, and goals come into play.
Dr. A’Naja is an advocate of adjusting your training to where you are right now. Instead of trying to compete against others or an old version of yourself, she recommends taking a step back and re-evaluating your training goals. By building goals against yourself, you can align the things that matter most to you so that you can improve your ability and performance while avoiding burnout, overtraining, and poor motivation.
By adjusting your mindset, you can adjust your training and recovery to your lifestyle. Because life is always going to happen, and as athletes, we need to find ways to improve our self-efficacy while taking a step back and checking that our actions are moving us towards our real goals.
Are you struggling with overcoming an injury or changing your training routine? How do your lifestyle, mindset, and goals play into your recovery? Share your thoughts with me in the comments on the episode page.
“Enjoyment, happiness, those are all things we have seen a connection with increased physical activity.” (11:15)
“It is really important to understand that physical activity and exercise is not just about physical improvement. There are mental and psychological improvements as well that can be had.” (13:02)
“[Overtraining] is not worth it in the long run. For your physical health, but also your mental health. It is not good in the long run for the longevity of being an athlete to overtrain.” (20:18)
“Your lifestyle is going to constantly change. Your mindset is going to constantly change… you have to fully align your training goals to your nutrition, to your mindset, and to your lifestyle.” (26:16)
“I don't care what your one rep max is. I want to see if you can hit 85% six times, and look sexy doing it.” (31:15)
“Self-efficacy is not about it being easy, it's not about choosing easy tasks, it is simply about believing that you have the tools to overcome whatever obstacle is going to come.” (34:24)
Join the Strength Nutrition Unlocked Group Coaching Program Here
Follow Dr. A’Naja on Instagram
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
Rate and review on Apple Podcasts
LTYB 362: Sports Injury Rehab & Returning to Lifting with Dr. Leada Malek
It is so easy to fall into common nutrition traps or trends that we think are serving us but that are really stopping us from reaching our fullest potential. Common diet and nutrition trends like intermittent fasting, keto, and low carb are not designed for everyone, especially women entering perimenopause or menopause that are athletic.
If You Are Ready to Adjust Your Nutrition in a Way That Will Actually Serve Your Body, You Should:
In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Stacy Sims, she is breaking down the science behind why these common nutrition and diet trends are not working for your female physiology. Stacy T. Sims, Ph.D., is an applied researcher, innovator, and entrepreneur in human performance, specifically sex differences in training, nutrition, and environmental conditions. She is passionate about teaching the world why women are not just small men and empowering women to make choices that are supporting their bodies through every phase of life.
If you have ever thought to yourself ‘why is this diet working for my male partner but not for me?’, you are not alone. The truth is most of the diets out there like intermittent fasting and keto do not take into account our unique female physiology. This is only amplified even more when our hormones start to change as we approach our 40’s and beyond. There is a reason that these common diet and nutrition trends are not working for you, and it is not your fault.
Females have a different threshold for calorie intake, oxidative stress, and countless other biological responses than men do. This is why we need to take a deep dive into what is going on with our bodies at every phase of our life so that we can mitigate the symptoms and see the results from our training that we are hoping for.
How are you fueling your body to ensure that you are supporting it in every way possible? Share your thoughts about this episode with me in the comments on the episode page.
“If you look at the longevity data of exercise, it is more stimulating and more robust than intermittent fasting or time restricted eating.” (6:16)
“When we look at ketogenic and the lack of diversity and a huge overgrowth of the fila that promotes obesity, then it is definitely not a win for women, especially when we start hitting this change over of our hormones.” (16:25)
“If you don't have carbohydrates, you are not going to hit your training measures. You can't hit high intensity, you can't lift well, your body needs carbohydrates.” (20:11)
“I don't want people to think that I say all this stuff and I do it all the time and it is easy for me. Because it's not. It's hard for everyone, you just have to be very cognitive.” (27:05)
“The weight on the scale is not representative of what is actually happening. So we have to live through that little bit of transition and freak out in our minds that something negative is happening. But know that weight on the scale is not representative of what is happening inside the cell, what is happening with inflammation going down, or increasing the stuff that is in the muscle. So just be patient, just be patient, don't freak out.” (30:18)
Join the Strength Nutrition Unlocked Group Coaching Program Here
Check out the full show notes here!
Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest
I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts!
Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative
Get 20% off Legion Supplements with code STEPH
FYS 375: Peri-Menopause, Fasting and Low Carb in Athletic Women