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Midlife and menopause can be the perfect time to try something new (like as we talk about this week, mountain biking!...but also surfing, skiing, you name it). It frees you from the endless self comparison that can come after years (even decades) in the same sport and infuses you with the confidence that comes with tackling new challenges. And it’s never too late and you are never too old. With skills training, you can learn from the ground up at whatever pace is comfortable for you. You also don’t have to be a newbie to benefit. Brushing up on the fundamentals of sports like mountain biking can help ease the anxiety that many of us experience as our hormones swing during this time of life. This week’s guest, mountain bike coach Karen Brooks knows all about all of it, as she helps women of all ages and abilities (as well as her perimenopausal self) learn, grow, and conquer physical as well as mental obstacles.Karen Brooks has had a varied career in the bike world: mechanic and manager of bike shops, editor of Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times magazines, bike consultant for Carnegie Mellon University, and professional mountain bike skills coach. She has been helping people find confidence and have fun on two wheels for ten years with PMBIA Level 2 and BICP mountain bike certifications, and teaches street biking skills through the League of American Bicyclists. Karen is also on the board of Bike Pittsburgh and advocates for safer walking and biking conditions. Her bike racing history is not all that distinguished, but she did finish the Trans-Sylvania Epic mountain bike stage race on a singlespeed, didn’t hate it, and went back to do it again the next year. She currently coaches locally through Full Psych Adventure Team and nationally with Ladies AllRide and other organizations. You can learn more about her and her work at Full Psych Adventure Team. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

The conversation around hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms is pretty clear. Hormone therapy is the gold standard for treating hot flashes and night sweats and can help with many other common symptoms that come with the menopause transition. It’s very effective and broadly safe. But recently, the conversation has evolved past symptom management and into preventative health with many experts suggesting that hormone therapy may play a larger role in extending a woman’s healthspan, if not lifespan. That maybe we should all start taking hormones to protect our hearts and cognitive health. And there’s promising research in those areas. Yet none of the medical associations recommend hormones for those purposes. Why? That’s what we dig into this week with Professor Susan Davis, AO, who is a pioneer and leading expert in women's health as a clinical endocrinologist, researcher, and educator. She reflects on her decades of research on various forms of hormone therapy and shares what we know–and still don’t know–today regarding traditional hormone therapy as well as testosterone therapy for women’s health post menopause.Professor Susan R Davis AO, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS is a clinician researcher with expertise in the role of sex hormones in women across the lifespan. She is Head of the Monash University Women’s Health Research Program and holds a Level 3 NHMRC Investigator Grant. Susan is a Consultant Endocrinologist and Head of the Women’s Endocrine Clinic, Alfred Hospital Melbourne and a consultant at Cabrini Medical Centre. She is a Fellow and Council Member of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. She is a past President of the Australasian Menopause Society and the International Menopause Society. She has over 435 peer-reviewed publications and has received numerous national and international prestigious research awards. Susan was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for  distinguished service to medicine, to women's health as a clinical endocrinologist and researcher, and to medical education. You can learn more about her and her work at Monash University.Resources2023 Practitioner’s Toolkit for Managing Menopause hereMenopausal Hormone Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease: The Role of Formulation, Dose, and Route of Delivery hereUse of MHT in women with cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis hereStudying Studies: Part I – relative risk vs. absolute risk by Peter Attia, MD, hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Boy, oh boy, we women can really struggle to find good medical care–especially when we hit the menopause transition. And this week’s guest Erin Ferguson has experienced that firsthand. Erin went through multiple gynecological complications, surgeries, and hormonally-driven symptoms, including panic attacks, anxiety, weight gain, painful periods, severely disrupted sleep, hot flashes, night sweats, and complete lack of mojo for months (and for some symptoms, years) before finally finding a doctor who helped her with hormone therapy. Her message for every woman: If you know something is wrong with you, don't stop looking for help until you find it. Keep searching for help, because there is someone who will help you.Erin Ferguson is a competitive triathlete, who despite suffering through spells of really awful symptoms and some truly terrible medical care, has managed to succeed in her sport with multiple age group podiums and overall wins and has represented Team USA as a competitor six times in Long Course World Championships. Most recently she has earned a slot to compete in The World Triathlon Multisport World Championships, Long Course in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia this August. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Nearly every one of us will go through some mourning with the changes that come with menopause. Even if we go on hormone therapy, which can help a ton, there is some loss that comes at this time. A loss of our reproductive selves. A loss of speed in our sport. A loss of our ability to quickly bounce back after hard workouts. A loss of some aspect of our health, wellness, or appearance. Some are big. Some are small.  But they’re there and they’re real. And that means going through some stages of grief, which is always painful, but also opens us up to a process of discovery and adaptation and transformation, which can take us to some amazing places. This week we explore the process and discuss how to work around the psychological obstacles of menopause with Performance Psychology Consultant, Dr. Kathryn Wilder.  Kathryn C. Wilder, PhD, is a lifelong Human Performance and Wellness Consultant whose work has been featured in Bicycling, Triathlon, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, and hundreds of other morning shows, online articles, and podcasts. She has worked with more than 1000 elite athletes, including some of the most successful cyclists in U.S. history, including Laura Van Gilder and Mandy Marquardt. She herself is a collegiate All-American, former Professional Cyclist, ranked top 20 in the United States, and two-time U.S. National Champion.  She has had a thriving professional performance psychology practice since 1999. You can learn more about her and her work at her profile on LinkedIn. ResourcesDr. Kathryn Wilder’s ride through cancer, hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Gynecological surgeries are extremely common. More 600,000 women get a hysterectomy each year in the US alone, and more than one-third of women will have had one by age 60. And often a woman is told that she’s “good to go” after a few weeks, when in reality, when it comes to her sport, she’s anything but, and she can struggle for months–or longer–because no one properly helped her rehab to return to powerlifting, doing double-unders, running 13 miles, or many of the activities we take for granted as part of regular life. That’s where this week’s guest, Dr. Jocelyn Wallace comes in. Using her professional as well as personal experience, Jocelyn devotes her practice to helping women rebuild strength after surgery and bridge the gap back to their active and athletic lives without prolapse, pain, or peeing themselves. We talk all about her work there as well as dealing with common pelvic health concerns, especially pain and incontinence.Jocelyn Wallace, PT, DPT, CF-L2 is a pelvic health physical therapist who helps women get back to the things they love after gynecological surgeries, specializing in hysterectomy, myomectomy, and excision surgery recovery. She has firsthand experience navigating recovery as an athlete, having her first open myomectomy a few weeks after her first powerlifting meet. After seeing how little support is given to women after major abdominal surgery, she vowed to fill that gap. Since then, she has had 2 more abdominal surgeries, with 54 fibroids removed, and is a Level 2 CrossFit Trainer, combining the skillsets of physio + fitness to help women fully return to their active lives. You can learn more about her and her work at drjocelynwallace.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Supplements get a bad rap. And to be fair, there is a lot of trash out there. But there are some treasures, too, especially for midlife and menopausal women who often can use some extra help building bone, recovering from injuries, and hitting it hard during training and events. This week we break down the best ergogenic aids for active women in and beyond the menopause transition with Kristen Arnold of Sports Nutrition for Women. Kristen Arnold MS, RDN, CSSD is a board-certified sports dietitian, cycling coach, retired professional athlete, and team sport director for USA Cycling and professional cycling teams. Her private practice is centered around empowering women through evidence-based sports nutrition coaching and information, and she has done research on improving postmenopausal women's health through nutrition strategies and counseling. You can learn more about her and her work at sportsnutritionforwomen.com.ResourcesThe JUMPFOOD study: additional effect of hydrolyzed collagen and vitamin C to exercise treatment for patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee) in athletes—study protocol for a double-blind randomized controlled trial hereSpecific Collagen Peptides Improve Bone Mineral Density and Bone Markers in Postmenopausal Women—A Randomized Controlled Study hereHow collagen could help heal your torn rotator cuff, Achilles tendon, meniscus and more hereThe effects of collagen peptide supplementation on body composition, collagen synthesis, and recovery from joint injury and exercise: a systematic review hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Menopause and age raise our cardiovascular disease risk. Athletes and highly active people also tend to have a higher prevalence of coronary artery calcium and atherosclerotic plaque (though it tends to be the benign kind). But what does that all mean? How can we know what’s really going on in those coronary arteries of ours? To find out, host Selene Yeager had a Cleerly-enabled coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), which uses AI-enabled software to help characterize coronary plaque composition and cardiovascular disease risk. This week, she sat down with Anita Vadria, MS, PA-C, who is the Director of Medical Science Liaisons and Clinical Education at Cleerly to go over her results, talk about plaque and heart disease risk, and how technology is helping advance our understanding of our personal risk.  Anita Vadria, MS, PA-C, is the Director of Medical Science Liaisons and Clinical Education at Cleerly. She is a Board Certified Physician Assistant with a focus in Cardiology. She received her undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and received her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Western University of Health Sciences in Los Angeles, CA.ResourcesImpact of atherosclerosis imaging-quantitative computed tomography on diagnostic certainty, downstream testing, coronary revascularization, and medical therapy: the CERTAIN study, hereAtherosclerosis Imaging Quantitative Computed Tomography (AI‐QCT) to guide referral to invasive coronary angiography in the randomized controlled CONSERVE trial, hereCoronary Artery Calcification Among Endurance Athletes “Hearts of Stone”, herePhysical Activity and Progression of Coronary Artery Calcification in Men and Women, hereMost heart attack patients' cholesterol levels did not indicate cardiac risk, here Lipid levels in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease: an analysis of 136,905 hospitalizations in Get With The Guidelines, here2010 ACCF/AHA Guideline for Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk in Asymptomatic AdultsA Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines, hereHeart attacks with no obvious risk factors on the rise, hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

This week we bring you a special live show from UNBOUND Gravel in Emporia, KS, where we sat down with two legends in the sport of gravel cycling, UNBOUND Gravel co-founder Kristi Mohn and seven time world champion Rebecca Rusch to have an open, honest conversation about midlife and menopause, how we view things today, and what we want for the future. Spoiler alert: We’re not hanging it up anytime soon. Kristi Mohn is one of the founders of UNBOUND Gravel and is an integral member of the Life Time offroad team. She is also a Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame inductee, and is the cohost, along with Kathryn Taylor, of the Girls Gone Gravel podcast. Rebecca Rusch is an adventure athlete, seven time World Champion, two time Hall of Fame inductee, keynote speaker, best-selling author of Rusch to Glory, founder of Rebecca’s Private Idaho, and an Emmy award winner for the film Blood Road.Enter to win a Liv Devote - Be Good™ Edition gravel bike and an entry to Rebecca’s Private Idaho gravel event this summer! Head on over to feistygiveaway.com by June 16 for your chance to win. (You must be based in the U.S. to win.)Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As active menopausal women, we get outright bombarded with ads for nutritional supplements. But what do we really need? This week, we take it down to brass tacks and hit the basics with registered dietitian nutritionist Katie Linville. We break it down on what we should know about calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, iron, and the other vitamins and minerals we’re often told to take as a matter of course. While we’re at it, we also venture into cholesterol, blood sugar, and CGMs. You may be surprised to learn that there’s more to these metrics than what you eat.Katie Linville is a registered dietitian with 11+ years of experience, who received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Florida State University. Katie specializes in nutrition for women’s health, and has experience supporting women in menopause to optimize mental health and their relationship with food and their bodies. Additionally, she holds a specialty certification in oncology nutrition (CSO) and has experience working with cancer survivors through treatment and for prevention. In her spare time, Katie enjoys running, hiking, and spending time at the beach with her family. You can learn more about her and her work at www.gennev.com/providers/katie-linvilleResources:https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-iron-vegansSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Sally “Sal” Edwards, now 76, is a pioneer in women’s sports. She qualified for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1983 and is one of the original founders of USA Triathlon. She also brought heart rate and zone training to the mainstream. For 22 years, Sal served as the national spokeswoman for the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series volunteering to finish last as a professional triathlete so that no other woman would have to. This week Sal reflects back on her past and shares her insights into where training technology is taking us in the future. We also talk about menopause, what it means to have a great life, and how we “shouldn’t let the old woman in.”Sally “Sal” Edwards, MA, MBA, an American best-selling author, professional athlete, entrepreneur, teacher and coach is one of America's leading experts in business, exercise science, and lifestyle living. She is the author of 25 books on health, fitness, and weight loss. Her passion is to get America fit. Her company, Heart Zones®  is a fitness and health technology and wearable devices company. Sally is the co-founder of Fleet Feet. She is the developer of the Heart Zones patented group technology used in over 2,500 schools in 10 countries plus health clubs and individual fitness enthusiasts around the world.https://www.heartzones.com/schools/methodology/threshold-training/#1538596814280-1c88a01f-2303Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Be smaller. Be lighter. For our entire lives those messages have been drilled into us from every angle, including very often from those in our sports. We hear we need to be at “race weight.” We’re shown “idealized” images of what female athletes “should” look like. It’s all incredibly damaging, especially as we hit menopause and midlife and our bodies start to change. It’s also based on BS. Women with cellulite and extra body fat win races. Women who are well-fueled outperform those who are not. There is no one magic number on the scale or body fat percentage that makes us a success. All the destructive messages that make us hate our bodies feed the diet culture machine. This week we sat down with coach and sports dietitian Marni Sumbal to dismantle that machine and help us find body peace, so we don’t spend the next chapters of our lives in an endless war with ourselves. Marni Sumbal MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N is the owner of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, a coaching and nutrition company based in Greenville, South Carolina, which she runs with her husband and RETUL bike fit expert, Karel Sumbal. Marni is a 3x author, board certified sports dietitian and holds a master of science in exercise physiology. She is a 19x Ironman finisher, 2x XTRI finisher, and 6x Ironman World Championship finisher. You can learn more about her and her services at trimarnicoach.com. Resources:Marni Sumbal’s latest book: Athlete to Triathlete: The Ultimate Triathlon Training Plan for Sprint and Olympic Races Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s pelvic floor health is a whole lot more than doing Kegel exercises. In fact, sometimes Kegels are the last thing you need. This week we look at pelvic floor health through the lens of Postural Restoration with pelvic floor physical therapist and Postural Restoration Certified (PRC) practitioner Hayley Kava, who talks us through anatomical and structural issues that can contribute to leaking, aches and pains, and even propensity to injuries that become more common in the menopause transition. Hayley Kava PT, MPT, PRC is a pelvic floor physical therapist and Postural Restoration® Certified (PRC) provider. A former collegiate athlete and sports medicine physical therapist, Hayley was shocked at the lack of integrative education, information and support for pelvic floor specific concerns when she became a mother in 2017. In 2018, Hayley started her pelvic floor education to complement her PRI training and in 2020, she started her own business working exclusively with people with pelvic floor disorders, taking an “outside in” approach to pelvic health. Her mission in this work is to ensure that no person feels alone in dealing with pelvic floor problems. You can learn more about her and her work at hayleykavapt.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

At 49, this week’s guest Sarah Max is the oldest rider in the Life Time Grand Prix, the biggest, hardest gravel and mountain bike race series on the planet. That was something Sarah didn’t always want to talk about. She didn’t want to be defined by her age and didn’t always love the attention it attracted. But she’s realized that while her age isn’t her “brand,” it is part of her story–and an important part that inspires others and helps them see their own potential. And it most certainly doesn’t get in her way, as she embraces the challenges and opportunities of the professional cycling life while also working full time as the Managing Editor at Morgan Stanley Research and being the mom of twin college-age girls. Sarah Max’s professional cycling highlights include a 3rd place finish at 2019 Unbound (formerly DK200), 2nd place in the notoriously competitive Belgian Waffle Ride in Southern California in 2019 and 6th in 2023, 4th at Steamboat Gravel in 2022, and 13th overall in the Life Time Grand Prix series last year. She started her editorial career covering investing and personal finance as a staff writer for Money Magazine and, later, as a senior writer for CNNMoney. With the mountains calling, Sarah moved to Bend, Oregon where she worked as a contributing editor to Barron's and contributing writer to publications including Entrepreneur, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal before taking her current job at Morgan Stanley.Resourceshttps://www.lifetimegrandprix.com/Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Women’s brains are finally getting the research attention they deserve! While we sort out the role hormones play in our current and future cognitive health, it’s important to remember that estrogen is just one player in a lifelong host of factors impacting your brain, including education, intellectual engagement, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness, hearing loss, head injuries, sleep, stress levels, community, purpose, and much more! Hormones are part of the picture, but don’t outweigh everything else. There are many actions we can take to improve cognitive function and brain health, whether or not we also use hormone therapy. We dive into it all this week with neuroscientist Dr. Sarah McKay.Dr. Sarah McKay is an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist and educator. She is the director of The Neuroscience Academy and author of The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness. Dr. McKay teaches coaches, therapists, teachers and other professionals how to thoughtfully apply insights and tools from neuroscience to their work. You can learn more about her and buy her book at drsarahmckay.comResourcesMenopause impacts human brain structure, connectivity, energy metabolism, and amyloid‑beta deposition study here.Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia study here. Sex-specific associations of serum cortisol with brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s risk study here.Hormone Replacement Therapy Could Ward off Alzheimer’s Among At-Risk Women research hereTrends in Intracranial and Cerebral Volumes of Framingham Heart Study Participants Born 1930 to 1970 study here. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Cultural messages glorify youth as the best time of our lives. But that’s not what this week’s guest, Caroline Paul found while researching her wonderful book Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. Instead, she found active, adventurous women praising their postmenopausal lives and the enjoyment they found in the now. For this project, Caroline spoke with women around the country about their aging journeys and the activities that have changed their lives – including BASE jumping, wing-walking, flying, swimming, orienteering, walking, scuba diving, boogie boarding and BMX riding – and examined the different ways that activity and the outdoors can help you age better and make you happier as well as improve your spirit, mind, body, and heart. We talked about all that and more this week.Caroline Paul is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure and Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology, which has been translated into fifteen languages. She is also the author of the memoir Fighting Fire, the middle-grade book You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World, and the novel East Wind, Rain. Her TED Talk, “To Raise Brave Girls, Encourage Adventure,” has been viewed over 2 million times. A longtime member of the Writers Grotto, she lives in San Francisco. You can learn all about her and Tough Broad at www.carolinepaul.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Women’s ultrarunning is on fire right now with powerhouses like recent Barkley Marathons finisher Jasmin Paris, 40, and Lululemon FURTHER 6-day record smasher Camille Herron, 42, showing the world what midlife women can do. This week, we sat down with ultrarunning legend Pam Reed, who broke ground for women in the sport decades ago, winning races like Badwater 135 outright in 2002 and 2003, and talking about menopause at a time when athletes rarely uttered the word. Now 63, Pam is still blazing trails, most recently finishing the Hardrock 100, Badwater 135, and Western States Endurance Run–that’s 337.5 miles total–in a span of 22 days. We talk all about how she gets it done, the hurdles she’s faced, and what the future holds.Pam Reed has been a prolific ultrarunner since she entered the sport in 1992. She quickly excelled and won on the track, road, and trails. She is most well-known for her back-to-back Badwater 135 overall wins in 2002 and 2003. Over her career, she has at least 30 ultra wins, including 13 wins in races of 100 miles or more. In 2021, she became the 19th known person in the world to achieve 100 100-mile finishes with at least 45 podiums in those 100-milers. She has finished 65 full Ironmans, including 10 at Kona, Hawaii. In 2005, Pam authored the book, The Extra Mile: One Woman’s Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness. She was also the race director for the Tucson Marathon for 28 years. ResourcesFollow Pam at Tor des GéantsSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Your metabolism is broken. You need to stop eating carbs. All weight gain is bad! If you’re a woman in menopause, you’ve been on the receiving end of a steady stream of overwhelmingly negative messages about your midlife body. Many of them are simply not true. That’s why we wanted to have a more nuanced conversation about the body composition changes many of us experience during this time of life. And this week’s guest, midlife health and nutrition specialist Val Schonberg was just the woman to have it with. This week, Val walks us through a lot of the myths, misunderstandings, and maybe even outright misinformation swirling around menopause metabolism, and much, much more.Val Schonberg RDN, CSSD, is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition science from the University of Minnesota. She is Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Certified Menopause Practitioner with The Menopause Society, and a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Val owns a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia where she specializes in midlife health and menopause, recreational and professional sports nutrition, all types of eating disorders and helping individuals break free from dieting and disordered eating. She is the consulting dietitian for Emory Sports Medicine, Orthopedics, Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Dream Women’s NBA team. Val is passionate about providing nutrition care to populations vulnerable to disordered eating and promoting positive nutrition messages that help people make informed decisions about their health and live a life where they are at peace in their relationship with food and their body. You can learn more about her at valschonberg.com.Resources:Sex Differences in the Association of Body Composition and Cardiovascular Mortality hereThe effect of menopause on the relation between weight gain and mortality among women hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Wear and tear on our active joints is inevitable, and the menopause transition can make them more vulnerable. But there are some simple, and often overlooked, ways to support our joint health that include proper nutrition, recovery, strength and mobility practices, footwear and more, which can help us stay active and pain free through and beyond menopause. This week we break it all down with sports medicine physician Dr. Ashley Austin.Ashley V. Austin, MD, is Assistant Attending Physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She graduated cum laude from the University of Evansville where she played Division I basketball and was an all-conference offensive and defensive player. Dr. Austin completed her family medicine residency at the University of Virginia and completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA). After fellowship, she remained on faculty at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor. She also served as the Co-Director of Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Physiology for the School of Medicine and Faculty Liaison for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Austin has covered sports at all levels including high school, National Ski Patrol, the WNBA and MLB. Her hobbies include high-altitude mountaineering and hiking, playing tennis, basketball, and soccer, snowboarding, and learning to surf. You can learn more about her and her work at www.hss.edu.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Women’s sexuality, especially older women’s, is often overlooked or dismissed by the medical system. When men get procedures that may impact their erections, they’re informed. When women get treatments that may affect their ability to have an orgasm? Crickets. Too few women’s doctors talk about women’s sexual satisfaction, including how well their clitoris is responding or if they’re having orgasms. That’s got to change. It’s normal to want to be sexual and experience sexual pleasure throughout your life. We don’t question it for men. We shouldn’t for women either. This week we dig into all of that and more (including how it’s high time to change how menopause itself is defined) with sexual medicine and menopause expert Dr. Lauren Streicher. Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause, and the current Medical Advisor at Midi Health Care. She is a certified menopause practitioner of The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS), the host of Dr. Streicher’s Inside Information: THE Menopause Podcast, and the author of four best-selling books on women’s health, as well as the upcoming title, Put the O Back in Mojo, available for pre-order now. You can learn more about her and her work at www.drstreicher.comResourcesDr. Streicher’s Inside Information: THE Menopause Podcast hereHit Play Not Pause: Sex Solutions with Dr. Lauren Streicher hereMenopause editorial: Is it time to rethink how menopause is defined? hereThe State of the Union on Sex after 60 Kinsey Institute Survey with Cosmopolitan hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

From being burned as witches to being barred from attending medical school, from being dismissed as hysterical to well, just being dismissed, from being shamed to being sexualized, the medical system has a long, sordid history in how it treats women and women’s health. And those toxic roots still poison the waters we have to navigate to this day. If you’ve ever wondered why we’re so far off the back with regards to our understanding of women’s health and wellness and treatment, this week’s guest Dr. Elizabeth Comen, author of All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today has some answers. Prepare to have your head explode as we dig into it in this episode.Elizabeth Comen, MD, has dedicated her medical career to saving the lives of women. An award-winning, internationally sought-after clinician and physician-scientist, Dr. Comen works as a medical oncologist with a specialty in breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and is an assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. She earned her BA in the history of science from Harvard College and her MD from Harvard Medical School, then completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and her fellowship in oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She lives in New York City with her family. You can learn more about her and her work and buy her book at www.drelizabethcomen.comResourcesAll in Her Head at AmazonCover photo credit: Deborah Feingold PhotographySign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

We wrap up heart health awareness month with one topic that comes up a whole lot in our community–cholesterol. We hear from scores of athletic, active women who have had perfectly fine lipid levels their whole lives only to see them shoot up, often dramatically, at menopause. If you’re one, you’re not alone. This week we take a deep dive into all things lipids, including what they are, what influences them, and what to do about them, with cardiologist and lipid and women’s health specialist Dr. Samia Mora. Samia Mora, MD, MHS, is a cardiologist and molecular epidemiologist conducting translational research in the prevention of cardiometabolic disease, with a focus on lipid and inflammatory mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. She is the Director of the Center for Lipid Metabolomics and Director of the Biorepository, Divisions of Preventive and Cardiovascular Medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Mora is also a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. You can learn more about her and her work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. ResourcesRethinking Menopausal Hormone Therapy: For Whom, What, When, and How Long? hereNAMS 2022 Hormone Therapy Position Statement here7 Countries Study hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

For years, hot flashes and night sweats (aka vasomotor symptoms) were considered just a “bothersome” part of being a menopausal woman: we were to wear layers, buy a fan, and soldier on. Then researchers started making some troubling connections between vasomotor symptoms and chronic disease. This week’s guest, Dr. Rebecca Thurston, is one of those investigators whose work shows that women with severe and/or persistent vasomotor symptoms have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and changes in the brain that are linked to dementia. We dig into those findings and many more during this week’s episode.Rebecca C. Thurston, PhD, FABMR, FAPS, is recognized nationally as a leader in the field of women’s health, particularly in the areas of menopause, trauma, cardiovascular disease, and brain aging in women. Her innovative research focuses on menopause, cardiovascular disease, and dementia risk in women, three prevalent and inter-related health issues that can have a profound impact on women's lives. She is Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Women's Health and Dementia and Professor of Psychiatry, Epidemiology, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science, at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves as Director of Women's Biobehavioral Health Program at the University of Pittsburgh as well as Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh. You can learn more about her and her work at UPMC.com Resources:Trajectories of Sleep Over Midlife and Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation hereTrauma and its implications for women's cardiovascular health during the menopause transition: Lessons from MsHeart/MsBrain and SWAN studies hereMenopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and White Matter Hyperintensities in Midlife Women hereMenopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN hereCognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia hereBrief behavioral treatment for insomnia hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Whether you run, lift, or ride (and especially if you ride), an otherwise great workout can be wrecked by a painful vulva. And lots of issues can crop up during and beyond the menopause transition that can cause pain, discomfort, and even damage to your vulva and vaginal tissues. We address them all this week with Rochelle Bernstein, MD, of Purely Menopause, who focuses her OB/GYN practice on women’s sexual health and menopausal medicine.Dr. Rochelle Bernstein is an expert in menopausal medicine and women's sexual health, as well as an avid skier, hiker, and mountain biker. She is a member of The Menopause Society and the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH). She is board certified and is a fellow of the American Congress of OB/Gyn (ACOG) and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL). She established Purely Menopause to empower women with the knowledge, tools, and confidence necessary to lead healthy, happy lives. You can learn more about her and her work at www.purelymenopause.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Mirna Valerio, aka the Mirnavator, has never shied away from adversity. As a Black woman in a larger body who is also an ultrarunner, she’s endured her share of harassment and ridicule, both online and in real life. But despite some people trying to put her down, she’s devoted her life to lifting others up, showing those like herself what’s possible, which, for her, includes 11 marathons, 15 50K+ ultras, and a best-selling memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. Now, Mirna is facing another challenge we’re all familiar with, perimenopause. This week we talk all about what she’s experiencing, how it’s impacting her running, and what she’s doing to take care of herself through this chapter of her journey.Mirna Valerio is an ultramarathoner, cyclist, skier, DEI professional, and author of the memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. She began running in high school, recommitted to the sport after a health scare in 2008 and started her blog Fatgirlrunning—about her experiences as a plus-sized woman in a world of thinner endurance athletes— while training for her first marathon. Mirna has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, on NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in the viral documentary short, REI Presents The Mirnavator. She’s written for Women’s Running, Self, Outside, and Runner's World. In 2018 she was chosen as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and since then has appeared on the Kelly Clarkson Show, Access Daily, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Mirna is one of the Lululemon ambassadors participating in FURTHER, an initiative to show how far women can go when they’re supported with resources and product innovations typically reserved for men. The initiative will culminate in the six-day FURTHER ultramarathon that begins on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2024. You can learn more about her and her work at themirnavator.comResourcesLearn more about Lululemon’s FURTHER initiative hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As women who’ve grown up steeped in diet culture, we often give away our agency to books, apps, and strict food rules rather than trusting ourselves to know what to eat and what our bodies need. During menopause, when our bodies are changing, we can doubledown on those rules, making life harder. This week we talk about ditching diets and restrictive rules and using our knowledge and intuition to find food freedom and a whole lot more joy with Intuitive Eating Coach Pam Moore. Pam Moore is a journalist and an occupational therapist-turned-award-winning intuitive eating coach. Her writing has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, Runner's World, SELF, and many others. Also a certified personal trainer, six-time marathoner, and two-time Ironman finisher, Pam is the creator of the Real Nourished newsletter, where she shares evidence-based tips to help women detach their weight from their worth, and the Real Fit podcast, featuring conversations with women athletes about body image, "enoughness", and more. Learn more about her and her work at pam-moore.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As active, athletic women, we know ourselves better than anyone. We know our pace, our power, and our mindset for training and competing. Perimenopause can make all of that change out of the blue. It can rob us of our confidence and knock us off our game, just when we feel like we’re really hitting our stride. Elite cyclist and coach Jill Patterson, 42, lived that reality for months, wondering if she had just “aged out” of her sport before discovering that the muscle and power loss, low motivation, mood swings, fatigue, and sudden aches and pains were in fact perimenopause. This week, we talk about her experience going into the menopause transition and how she got her power, mojo, and competitive edge back.After graduating college, Jill Patterson moved to Japan to teach English. She ended up staying 10 years, picked up road cycling, and was recruited to race on a Japanese women’s road racing team. After returning to the US 8 years ago, she continued to explore cycling in all forms, including Gran Fondo, criteriums, gravel, mountain bike, and cyclocross. Today she is a full time cycling coach for athletes from all over the world. Jill continues to race and has achieved many notable wins including the 2018 GFNY World Championship, the 2021 Wedu Segment Challenge, and the 2022 and 2023 USA Cycling Gran Fondo National Championship titles. You can learn more about her at @jillpattersoncycling on Instagram and at jillpattersoncycling.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

The New York Times recently called Ozempic a “new match for menopausal weight gain”. But is it? These drugs can be a godsend for those who need them. But there's a lot we need to understand. How do they work? How well do they work? Who benefits from them? What are their risks? What impact do they have on muscle, bone, and performance? How do they affect training and racing? We dig into all of that and more this week with endocrinologist and Ironman triathlete Dr. Jody Dushay who has been researching these drugs for more than a decade. Jody Dushay, M.D., MMSc, is an endocrinologist at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the founder and director of Well Powered, a comprehensive wellness and weight management program. Dr Dushay has studied the effect of pharmacotherapies and dietary interventions on body weight for years, including a large single-site study examining the effects of a glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist on body weight in obese women without diabetes. As a triathlete, she has qualified for Kona 3 times and came in 2nd in her age group at the 2020 Ironman World Championship in St George. You can learn more about her and her work at wellpowered.org.Resources:Dr. Jody Dushay’s research:Short-term exenatide treatment leads to significant weight loss in a subset of obese women without diabetesWeight Loss Outcomes Among Early High Responders to Exenatide Treatment: A Randomized, Placebo Controlled Study in Overweight and Obese WomenSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Most women don’t expect menopause symptoms to start until age 50. Neither do many of their healthcare providers. That’s a problem because, as this week’s guest Nina Coslov’s research shows, women can actually start experiencing symptoms associated with menopause during their late reproductive years before their periods become noticeably irregular and they’re officially in perimenopause. Yet when they seek care, they’re often told they’re “too young for menopause” because they still have regular cycles. This week, Coslov talks about her research on the late reproductive stage in a woman’s life as well as womenlivingbetter.org, the organization she started to help women get the menopausal information they need before they’re suffering and not knowing where to turn.Nina Coslov created Women Living Better (womenlivingbetter.org) to provide anticipatory guidance about perimenopause. Intent on better characterizing the path to menopause, she focuses on education and research, and along with her partners, has published six papers in peer-reviewed journals. Nina was the lead author on “Symptom experience during the late reproductive stage and the menopause transition: observations from the Women Living Better survey,” published in the journal Menopause. She authored the chapter “Women’s Voices: The Lived Experience of the Path to Menopause” in Each Women’s Menopause: An evidenced Based Resource. Nina received the 2021 Media Award from the North American Menopause Society. Prior to Women Living Better, Nina worked in the biotech industry and before that was a management consultant. Nina has an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA from Williams College. ResourcesMenopause Journal study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34313615/Women Living Better Instagram https://www.instagram.com/womenlivingbetter/Perimenopause care resources: https://womenlivingbetter.org/published-research-health-care-for-perimenopause/https://womenlivingbetter.org/hormonal-changes/Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As we roll into a brand new year filled with goals and aspirations, this week’s guest, fan-favorite Peloton Cycling instructor Christine D’Ercole would like to remind us that we are bigger than a smaller pair of pants, and the most powerful thing anyone can say to us is what we say to ourselves, and we have agency in that conversation. Now 52, Christine has started using her enormous platform to share her experiences with the menopause transition and to defy and rewrite the story that we’ve been told about what menopause means when it comes to what we’re capable of and how we see ourselves. When she’s not putting power into her pedals, she’s helping women empower themselves by changing their self talk and helps guide them with her signature mantra:  I Am  I Can I Will I Do. We cover Christine’s menopause experience, her body image battles, and how she uses self talk in her own life and you can too. You can learn more about her and her work at christinedercole.com.Christine D’Ercole is a speaker, writer, decorated competitive cyclist, and original Peloton Cycling Instructor who inspires thousands daily with her work on and off the bike. She is also the founder of WORDSHOP: a workshop in self-talk that is a practical and profound tool for change, centered on the four prompts that make up the root of all our self-talk: I am... I can... I will... and I do. Over the past ten years she has provided wordshops for major corporations, youth organizations and Employee Resource Groups. When she is not writing or speaking, Christine is racing her bike at Velodromes across the country. She is a Masters World Champion, holds 15 National titles, and is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.Check out her CDE Menopause Playlist here on SpotifySign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

This episode originally dropped on May 24, 2023. I’m too old. Nothing works for me. My best days are behind me. I just have to live with (fill in the blank). I’ll never feel better. When we’re really going through it, it can be easy to slip into a personal cave of limiting beliefs that can conspire to keep us there in the cold and dark. But where do these beliefs come from? Are they even true? What would we do if we didn’t have them? This week we take a deep dive into the menopause mindset with body-mind coach Cara Bradley, who helps us find our strengths to slice through the limiting beliefs that hold us back so we can feel and perform our best.Cara Bradley is a former pro skater and leading authority of mental fitness and menopause mindsets. She shares her signature body-mind training with Fortune 500 companies, pro and college sports teams, and top wellness brands. Cara is the author of On The Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine, the founder of Verge Yoga Center, and the host of the Daily Whispers podcast. In 2020, Cara was named a “Top 12 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement” by Mindful Magazine. You can learn more about Cara and her work at carabradley.net And check her out on TikTok @menopausemindset. 

This episode originally dropped on April 5, 2023.What does it mean to be fit? Deadlifting your body weight? Running a 10K? Doing an Ironman? Most of our notions about fitness spotlight the big thing we want to do while glossing over all the smaller, equally important, but less “sexy” stuff like joint mobility, breathing practices, balance, and nutrition it takes to get you there strong and injury-free. Kind of like wanting to climb Mount Everest without spending any time at Base Camp. This week’s guest, Juliet Starrett, co-author of the new book Built to Move is all about the Base Camp, especially in midlife and menopause. We dive into Juliet’s personal story (including a hippo attack!) as well as the vital signs and foundations menopausal women need to tune into so they can be strong, able, and pain-free for the rest of their active lives.  Juliet Starrett is an entrepreneur, attorney, author, and podcaster. She is the former co-founder and CEO of San Francisco CrossFit, one of the first 50 CrossFit affiliates. Juliet is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Deskbound and co-host of The Ready State Podcast. Before turning her attention to The Ready State and San Francisco CrossFit full time, Juliet was a professional whitewater paddler, winning 3 World Championship and 5 National titles. Her latest book, co-authored with her husband and mobility pioneer, Dr. Kelly Starrett is Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully. You can learn more about her, The Ready State, and Built to Move at thereadystate.com ResourcesBuilt to Move: thereadystate.com/product/built-to-move/Juliet’s blog on preparing for menopause: thereadystate.com/blogs/how-i-am-preparing-for-menopause/Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

As active women, we’re so used to our bodies being considered “other” or “less than” in health and fitness media, we barely notice it. Our bouncing breasts are a problem. Our wide hips are a problem. Our periods, boy oh boy, big problem. And when we hit perimenopause and menopause? Well, until very recently nobody even bothered talking about us…especially exercise physiology researchers, who, as this week’s guest Christine Yu discovered, have largely overlooked athletic and active menopausal women. This week we flip the script and make women’s bodies the norm as we dive in on what we know and the research we need to answer the questions we have. Christine Yu is the author of Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes, in which she explains the latest research and celebrates the researchers, athletes, and advocates pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls. Yu is an award-winning journalist whose work focuses on the intersection of sports science and women athletes. Her writing has appeared in Outside, The Washington Post, Runner’s World, and other publications. She’s a lifelong athlete and yoga teacher who loves running, surfing, and skiing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can learn more about her and her work at christinemyu.comResources:Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes. Pick up a copy here. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Women generally talk about what they see and feel during menopause. Symptoms like hot flashes, joint pain, and vaginal dryness grab our attention while our bone density silently slips away. Women can lose up to 20% of their spinal bone mass through the menopause transition. Thirty-five to 50 percent of women have low bone mass by age 50. Your lifetime risk of having a hip fracture is higher than breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer combined. Thirty percent of women will die within a year of having a hip fracture. Yet, bone health still fails to grab the headlines it deserves. We want to stay strong and active into our older years, and that starts with maintaining healthy bones. This week we dive into all of it with osteoporosis and menopause expert Dr. Kristi DeSapri.Kristi DeSapri, MD, truly believes that women deserve to function at optimal health and are gatekeepers to their families’ and communities’ health. She is a board certified internist specializing in midlife women’s health and is regarded as a national leader in the field of osteoporosis and menopause management. After fellowship training at the Cleveland Clinic, she has worked in private practice and academic medicine including being director of the Northwestern Women’s Bone Health program at the Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. She is the founding physician and owner of Bone and Body Women’s Health, LCC a specialized midlife women’s health practice in Winnetka, IL focused on consultation and management of perimenopause, menopause, osteoporosis, fracture prevention and treatment and sexual health. You can learn more about her and her work at www.boneandbodywh.com.ResourcesOnline fracture risk assessment calculator hereFind a DEXA scan near you hereSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

A few years ago, elite Canadian runner Sasha Gollish started experiencing some symptoms that had her wondering what the hell was up with her body—crime scene (or as she called them firehose) periods, strange memory lapses, times in races when her legs were flailing and her muscles were not responding the way they typically would as she struggled to find her stride. She wondered if she was sick. As you likely guessed by now, she wasn’t sick. She was in perimenopause. After suffering alone for a bit, Sasha decided to open up and share her experiences online, not only for her own mental health, but also so other women wouldn’t feel alone or invisible in their own struggles. This week she talks all about how she is learning to make peace with and tame what she calls her hormonal perimonster.Along with being an elite runner, Sasha Gollish, PhD, 41, is also a high-performance coach, engineer, and researcher in the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre at the University of Toronto where her work focuses on knowledge translation. She has a substantial resume of world and national records, including setting the world record in the women’s 40+ indoor mile in 2022 and setting two Canadian Masters Indoor records earlier this year at the Hal Brown Invitational Indoor meet. Also, this year she competed in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the half marathon at the inaugural World Road Running Champs in Riga, Latvia, and the World Mountain Running Champs in Innsbruck, Austria. You can learn more about her and her work at www.sashagollish.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Women in menopause get a lot of nutrition and fitness advice. Some of it is sound. Some less so. Quite a bit of it is downright predatory. That is why the best nutrition and fitness advice for menopausal women is often not about grams of protein or hours of exercise, but rather a hard look at our own attitudes and beliefs about how we eat (or don’t eat) and move our bodies. What narratives form our nutrition and fitness foundations? Are they even true? This week we dig deep into those narratives–and how to change them–with Meredith Root, co-founder of Tactic Functional Nutrition and Tactic Functional Fitness, both of which are grounded in empathy and behavioral change.Meredith Root has a B.S. in Biological Engineering and 6 years experience in biopharmacetutical process development. She is an active member of the Canadian and American Society for Nutrition and contributing writer for The Morning Chalk Up. She has been a nutrition coach since 2015 and along with her partner, Alex Parker, founded Tactic Functional Nutrition in 2018. Tactic now employees a team of 10 coaches and works with people from all over the globe on health and habits. Together, Meredith and Alex run Tactic's Instagram page which has garnered over 210k followers as well as their podcast, Afternoon Snack, which allows them to amplify their messaging even further. Fundamentally, the Tactic methodology is one that emphasizes consistency with basic nutrition and fitness principles that compound over time; communicated in a way that inspires trust, confidence, and self-determination. Their new business, Tactic Functional Fitness aims to bring uncommonly good fitness to common people. You can learn more at tacticmethod.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

We exercise and train for hours each week (and sometimes each day) to build our physical fitness. We work on our mental toughness. But how much time do we devote to our spiritual fitness? To exercising our soul? For many of us it’s not so much. And we can suffer for it, getting lost, sad, and stuck, especially during menopause and midlife when we can find ourselves looking around going, “Is this it?” “What’s it all about?” This week we plug into our inner selves for a little tune up with longtime yoga practitioner, best-selling health and fitness writer, and now interfaith minister Anne Alexander, as we explore how to expand our purpose and passion in this next chapter of our lives.Anne Alexander is a longtime yogi, writer, and newly ordained interfaith minister with a passion for making the frontiers of health, science, and spirituality irresistibly interesting and surprisingly practical. Author of two New York Times best-sellers, former SVP/Editorial Director at National Geographic, and founder of SoulCandy, Anne brings decades of training in Iyengar, hatha and jnana/wisdom yoga and a deep understanding of ancient spiritual wisdom traditions to helping people find peace, discover their purpose, and experience their power, especially at mid-life. Her latest work, Wake Up to Love, is a practical and profound invitation to let go, lean in, and follow your bliss. You can learn more about her and her work at soulcandy.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Tummy tucks, insomnia, hormonal headaches, training post breast cancer, anxiety-calming supplements…you had some questions! And we have some answers! This week we dig back into the Speakpipe voicemail box and address your questions regarding menopause-related concerns and performance with host Selene Yeager. We are not medical professionals, of course, so this is not a substitute for medical advice. That you need to pursue on your own. Answers are based on medical literature reviews, medical society recommendations, personal and professional experience, and past episodes.Along with being host of the Hit Play Not Pause podcast, Selene Yeager is content manager at Feisty Menopause, a best-selling professional health and fitness writer, including the co-author of Next Level and ROAR with Dr. Stacy Sims. She lives what she writes as an NASM certified personal trainer, cycling coach, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, certified menopause training coach, and lifelong athlete. You can follow her work at Feistymenopause.comResources:When Cancer Enters the Equation with Dr. Corinne Menn (Episode 46)Just Keep Swimming with Sarah Thomas (Episode 127)Calm Your Mind with Dr. Alisha Brosse (Episode 43)Examine.com/supplements/gabaSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Fasting is often recommended as a solution to the metabolic health and weight management challenges menopausal women face. And while it can be an effective health tool when done properly, there are numerous pitfalls that active women can encounter when layering the stress of fuel restriction on top of other stress in their lives. This week we break it all down with autoimmune and precision medicine specialist Erin Faules, DO, who formerly worked with Wild Health before devoting herself to her own practice, Doctor Erin Health full time. Dr. Erin Faules (formerly Donaldson) graduated from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and is board-certified in Family Medicine. Her passion for changing healthcare was sparked when during her second year of medical school, she was diagnosed with lupus, a systemic autoimmune condition. She was told by her specialist she would be on medication to suppress her immune system for the rest of her life, and was literally laughed out of the office when she asked if anything she could do with her diet or lifestyle might change her outcome. Today, thanks to her own persistence and practice, her auto-immune antibodies are non-existent and she has not been on a pharmaceutical medication for over five years. You can learn more about her and her work at thedoctorerin.comSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

When we reach menopause and midlife, we’re sometimes leery of trying new things. We don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We feel afraid. We don’t want to get hurt. Whether hormonal, societal, or a blend of both, we can easily succumb to the urge to stay on the sidelines. But the real magic happens when you jump (maybe literally) into something new, especially an activity that builds skill, confidence, and a community of like-minded women who want to break expectations. For this week’s guests, that activity has been parkour, a practice that involves maneuvering over, under, and through obstacles, which has given them both a newfound sense of power and strength, as well as play and fun. They talk all about their path to parkour and how much it’s improved their lives in this week’s show. Penny Szentkuti, 53, is a teacher librarian at Ascham School in Edgecliff, Sydney, Australia and is a mother of two (which is how she got into parkour in the first place). You can see her parkour in action on Instagram here. Rachel Gray, 48, is an early childhood educator, running Outdoor Playgroups. She is a mother of three active children (which is how she, too, got into parkour). They both practice parkour at AAPES (Australian Academy of Parkour, Exercise and Self-Defence). Resources: Parkour, skydiving, wing foiling — women over 50 are finding freedom in adventure sports, ABC.net.au feature here.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Millions of women will tell you they feel like their muscle disappeared overnight once they hit the menopause transition. It may not technically happen in a 24 hour period, but muscle tissue really does slip away quickly over the perimenopause period. That’s a problem because muscle is our metabolic engine and helps us live, play, and perform our best. This week, we sat down with exercise scientist Sam Moore, who was so moved by her athletic mother’s experience during perimenopause, she devoted herself to learning as much as she could to help others. She presented her research on body composition, activity, and nutrition in menopause at this year’s Female Athlete Conference. We talk all about her research there and much more.Sam Moore is an applied sport scientist and Human Movement Science Doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine, researching endocrinological topics of applied female athlete sport science. Sam completed her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science and Human Biology from Western Oregon University and her master’s degree in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention from California University of Pennsylvania. Prior to Carolina, Sam was with the NC State Wolfpack from 2019-2021 as the Director of Sport Science and Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach. As the first woman to serve as a Director of Sport Science in the NCAA, Sam implemented a revolutionary and evidence-informed framework of women’s specific training design based on the hormonal landscape of the Wolfpack female athletes. You can learn more about her and her work at mooresportscience.comResourcesEvaluation of the relationship between body composition and menopause symptoms across the menopause transition, here.Body Composition, Activity, & Nutrition in Menopause, here.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

We’ve been fed a narrative that you can’t get faster after a certain age. We used to say 40. Definitely not after 50. Could you possibly get faster after 60? This week’s guests say, “Why not?” When it comes to women in midlife and menopause, we’re more active than ever. We also know more, have better coaching, and have more information at our disposal. This week, during a special educational session at the Vinfast Ironman World Championship, we had a panel discussion on all of it with five-time world champion Melanie McQuaid, physical therapist and strength and triathlon coach Dr. Chrissy Davis, and co-founder of FLY Health + Wellness and USAT certified coach Jen Temperley. Together the panel takes on body image, musculoskeletal health and injury prevention, how to adapt through the menopause transition, and training for the long game. Even if you never step foot in the three-sport arena, you’ll get a ton of useful and inspirational information from this incredible conversation.  Melanie McQuaid is a professional triathlete, mountain bike racer, and five-time world champion. She continues to compete at an elite level while focusing her energies on her coaching business, MelRad Coaching. You can check her out there and at melaniemcquaid.com. In 2023, Melanie was 2nd pro female at Ironman Maryland and became the first 50-year-old to podium in the open pro category of an Ironman race and the first ever 50-year-old to qualify for the main pro race with her 3rd place finish at Ironman Coeur d’Alene.  Dr. Chrissy Davis, PT, DPT, ATC, CSCS is a coach with MSM + JHC Coaching, a USAT and Ironman University Certified Coach, a Certified Running Analyst, as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Certified Holistic Health Coach. She is the owner & sports performance physical therapist at Precision Performance Sports in Park Ridge, Illinois. Jen Temperley is co-founder of FLY Health + Wellness. Along with being a USAT Certified coach, she is a Precision Nutrition Coach and female athlete specialist. She’s been in triathlon since doing Ironkids at the age of 8. Her career includes age group wins at Oceanside 70.3, Wildflower Triathlon, and Escape from Alcatraz, and she’s competed in 7 World Championships including the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Menopause is not a monolith. We all experience this stage of life differently and require unique care. So this week we sat down with Dr. Heather Hirsch, author of Unlock Your Menopause Type to talk about the six basic types she sees in her practice, including premature, sudden, full-throttle, mind-altering, seemingly never-ending, and silent and the care they require. We also dig into the controversial topics of hormone testing and menopausal hormone therapy for perimenopause. Heather’s ultimate goal is to give all women the information they need to make fully educated decisions about their care. And we’re happy to support that mission on the show this week.Dr. Heather Hirsch is board certified in internal medicine and completed advanced fellowship training in women’s health at the Cleveland Clinic. Her clinical work and research centers on inequalities and unanswered questions in the field of gynecology and women’s health, specifically in menopause and its role in chronic disease development. Heather was the founder of the Menopause and Midlife Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston Massachusetts. She is also a private telemedicine practitioner at Heather Hirsch MD, PLLC. You can learn more about her and her work at heatherhirschmd.comResources:The ABCs of MHT with Heather Hirsch, MDUnlock Your Menopause Type by Heather Hirsch, MD, MS, NCMP with Stacey ColinoSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Ultra running sensation Camille Herron is currently smashing world records, including a new woman’s 48 hour running world record set earlier this year where she logged a whopping 435 kilometers (270.5 miles) around a 400-meter track(!), which also made her the first female athlete to surpass a Men’s American record, all while managing the hormonal havoc of perimenopause, something she has recently opened up about in a series of posts on Instagram. We talk all about it, as well as her involvement with Lululemon’s groundbreaking FURTHER multi-day ultramarathon and research initiative on this week’s show.Camille Herron is an ultra running phenom. She is the first and only athlete to win all three of the road IAU World Championships for 50K, 100K, and 24 Hours, where she clocked 270 kilometers (nearly 168 mi), more than any woman in history. Last year, just after turning 40, she won the Jackpot 100, outright beating all of the men by almost 30 minutes. At age 41 she set a new woman’s 48 hour running world record. And she holds a Guinness Book of World Records record for the fastest marathon by a female in a superhero costume—running 2:48 dressed head to toe as Spiderwoman. You can learn more about her at camilleherron.comResourcesLululemon FURTHER initiative Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Nina McGowan didn't begin freediving until she was in her late 40s and sliding into the menopause transition. With the help of her background in meditation, yoga, dance, the arts, and eventually hormone therapy, she’s reached depths she would have only dreamed imaginable, setting multiple Irish National Records as well as securing a World Record in the 50-54 age division with a dive of 43 meters (141 feet) that involved holding her breath for 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Just last month, Nina set three new National Records including 46 meters (151 feet) in the Constant weight No Fins (CNF) division and 58 meters (190 feet) in the Free Immersion (FIM) division. We talk all about it, along with her history and work as a visual artist this week.Nina McGowan is a visual artist who is primarily concerned with the human body, and considers it a tool for understanding, mediating, and perceiving the world. She uses freediving as a research tool to inform and direct her artwork. Her current themes address the overwhelm that people cite when they think about the scale of the climate crises. Her work attempts to re-scale and re-map aspects of the crises to the human body. She performs on stage, makes sculpture, and speaks publicly on these topics. You can learn more about her and her artwork at nina_mcgowan_artist and her diving at marinina_freediver. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

The conversation around menopause is moving at lightspeed these days, with a wave of misinformation following quickly in its wake. So this week we sat down with the medical director of The Menopause Society (formerly the North American Menopause Society), Dr. Stephanie Faubion, author of The New Rules of Menopause to catch up on where we are with our understanding of menopause, menopause therapies, hormone testing, and much more.Stephanie S. Faubion, M.D., M.B.A., is the Penny and Bill George Director of Mayo Clinic’s Center for Women’s Health and is chair of the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Faubion has practiced as a physician in the Women’s Health Clinic at Mayo Clinic for over 18 years. She also serves as medical director for The Menopause Society. She has a broad interest in women’s health and has evaluated and treated women with menopausal, hormonal, and sexual health concerns. Her research encompasses sex and gender-based differences in disease, menopause, hormone therapy, healthy aging, and sexual health and dysfunction in women — addressing questions that come directly from the clinical dilemmas faced every day in medical practice. A leader in women’s health, Dr. Faubion, frequently lends her expertise to the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News, and other national media.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Amanda Thebe was so frustrated by her two-year odyssey to find out what was behind her bone-crushing fatigue, vertigo, incontinence, rage, migraines, depression, and other symptoms that were outright derailing her life (spoiler: it was perimenopause), she wrote what would become an Amazon best-selling book, Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! to help other women avoid the same fate. Now, three years later and “post menopocalyptic,” Amanda is on a mission to help menopausal women have better access to care and a more supportive workplace. We talk all about that and much more this week.Amanda Thebe has nearly 30 years of experience in the fitness industry and is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! She is the co-founder and Chief Wellness and Branding Officer at Nyah Health, a complete healthcare solution for menopausal women in Canada. As Canada’s first menopause workplace educator, Amanda provides on-site or virtual educational presentations in the workplace to improve productivity, retention and attendance for female employees through menopause. Amanda has been featured in media outlets like Oprah, Shape, Prevention, Health Line, CBC Radio, Global News Canada, The Doctors, and many more. You can learn more about her and her work at amandathebe.comResourcesMenopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too! - all buying options listed here.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Menopause is all over mainstream media these days. But too many women are still missing the message that they don’t have to needlessly suffer, especially Black women who on average go into menopause earlier and have worse symptoms such as hot flashes, depression and sleep disturbances than White women, but are less likely to receive hormone therapy, as well as medical and mental health services. This week’s guest health and wellness coach Diesta Goldsmith is grateful for the people who helped her when she needed it and is now on a mission to help others who are suffering get their lives back. The former bodybuilder, figure competitor, and system engineering consultant is also a fun, funny, and positive force in the menopause space.Diesta Goldsmith is the founder of Vision Up Health & Wellness Coaching. She has been in the fitness industry for more than 30 years and now specializes in helping women navigate through menopause and live with vision and vitality through her coaching programs. You can learn more about her and her work at visionupwellness.com.Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

Of all our hormones, cortisol might be the most misunderstood and maligned. We’re told this stress hormone is the culprit behind excess belly fat, high blood sugar, accelerated aging, and a host of menopausal and midlife woes. Menopausal and midlife women sometimes are afraid to exercise too much because they’ve been told it will raise their cortisol, which can already be elevated during this time of life. The problem with this narrative is that it’s one-sided. It paints cortisol as a demon to be avoided at all costs, when actually cortisol is essential to maintain and improve fitness, and frankly for human life. This week we sat down with endocrinologist Dr. Carla DiGirolamo to dive into what cortisol is, what it does, and how menopausal women can manage–even befriend it–to optimize their health, performance, and well-being.Carla DiGirolamo, MD, PhD, is a Double Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Obstetrician/Gynecologist specializing in infertility and menopausal medicine. She is also a Crossfit Level 1 trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, and member of CrossFit Health. She is a MedFit Care provider and provides weekly workouts and medical updates at her Substack Athletic Aging. She has most recently become an Endocrine Consultant for Wild Health. Dr. Carla DiGirolamo’s Athletic Aging blog post on cortisolSign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

At this point, you may have been doing your sport for a decade, maybe two…or more. It’s easy to fall into a rut or lose your spark. The hormonal changes that come with the menopause transition also can make training more challenging and put a dent in your motivation. Trying a new challenge and/or working with a new coach can help you find your why and feel fired up again. This week, we pull back the curtain and talk about what that coaching process looks like as host Selene Yeager sits down with triathlon coach Marni Sumbal to talk through how they got Selene Ironman 70.3 ready after a 15-year hiatus from triathlon. Marni Sumbal is co-owner of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, a coaching and nutrition company based in Greenville, South Carolina, which she runs with her husband and RETUL bike fit expert, Karel Sumbal. Marni is a 3x author, board-certified sports dietitian, master of science in exercise physiology, 19x Ironman finisher, and 5x Ironman World Championship finisher. She was 5th in her age group at the 2021 Ironman World Championships in St. George and was 2017 Ironman Chattanooga First Place Overall Female Amateur. You can learn more about her and her work at trimarnicoach.com. Resources:Marni Sumbal’s latest book: Athlete to Triathlete: The Ultimate Triathlon Training Plan for Sprint and Olympic Races Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr

When we’re in our 20s and 30s, we see ourselves everywhere in sports marketing and branding. Then, somewhere along the way, we vanish, as though women past 40 or 50 don’t run, ride, hit the weights, or live active, vibrant lives. This week’s guest, Velocio Cycling Apparel ambassador Joan Swain, is on a mission to change that. As she says, “We are athletic. We are beautiful. We are intelligent. We live full lives and we wear your clothes, your shoes, your accessories and ride your bikes. I challenge all to make this as attractive and marketable as it actually is.” We talk about all that and the importance of improving our visibility and changing the narrative around aging this week.Along with being an ambassador for Velocio and World Bicycle Relief, Joan Swain is a senior leader in the Professional Services technology sector with a track record of business and culture transformations including change management, people management/operations, project/program management, resource management, data migration, internal coaching, customer service advocacy, partner management and onboarding, driving strategic direction, and sales enablement. You can follow her journey at instagram.com/joanlswain. Check out her photo spread with Velocio here. Sign up for our FREE Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feisty.co/feisty-40/Join us at Feisty Fest September 18-20, 2026: https://feisty.co/events/feisty-fest/Learn More about our 2026 Feisty Events, including Bike Camps and Cycling Trips: https://feisty.co/events/Follow Us on Instagram:Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopauseHit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099Support our Partners: Eternal - Get 15% off their services with code FEISTY15 at https://eternal.coMidi Health: You Deserve to Feel Great. Book your virtual visit today at https://www.joinmidi.com/Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/ Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/ Wahoo: Use the code FEISTY2026 to get a free Headwind Smart Fan (value $300) with the purchase of a Wahoo KICKR RUN at https://shorturl.at/WVhdr