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As estrogen drops, our midlife brains go through a lot of changes. The activity in our dopamine network declines, which can leave us going from highly motivated to “meh.” We can experience bigger cortisol spikes and have elevated levels of the stress hormone longer. We can end up feeling constantly stressed out and in a […]
Muscle and bone loss. Inflammation. Bloating, diarrhea, and other GI issues. Peri and postmenopausal active women can face myriad training and performance challenges. But the good news is that a lot of them can be helped with proper nutrition practices. This week we dive into the basics on how to fuel your active midlife body, […]
This week’s guest ultrarunner Megan Eastwood is a portrait of perseverance. She’s lived through trauma, battled eating disorders, and been flattened by perimenopause. Through it all, she’s learned, grown, evolved, and ultimately thrived. Now 55 and postmenopausal, Megan is out in nature every week, running, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, basically anything she can do outdoors. […]
Active and athletic women can be hit hard by the menopause transition. Many of us have become accustomed to our bodies responding in a predictable way to our training and nutrition, only to have that sense of control slip away during the menopause transition. That can leave us feeling desperate for solutions–and vulnerable to predatory […]
Perimenopause can blindside us in unexpected ways. Fatigue hit this week’s guest, elite cyclist and coach Marissa Axell, so hard she thought she had cancer. Now the creator of the Cycling Success System wants everyone to know what can happen during this phase of life, and importantly what active women can do to counteract it. […]
We’ve got a grab-bag of gynecological goodness for you this week, as we sat down with elite ultrarunner, gynecologist, and Paradis pro ambassador Dr. Lauren Puretz. We dive into her running life, including how she navigates elite ultra training with two kids and a medical practice; the common gynecological issues she helps peri and menopausal […]
If you’ve ever felt like your mood has a mind of its own during PMS, pregnancy, or perimenopause, you already know that hormones like estrogen and progesterone don’t just affect your body — they shape your entire sense of well-being. And if you’ve lived with trauma or neurodivergence, like ADHD, you also know how reactive […]
Many women, like this week’s guest Olympian runner and broadcaster Carrie Tollefson, suffer through perimenopause for far too long because they know they’re tough and they can handle things. But you don’t need to suffer, and you shouldn’t just tough it out. You can get back to feeling better and living more fully by getting […]
Women go on hormone therapy to manage peri/menopause symptoms and feel better. But sometimes to their surprise, they feel worse. Or some symptoms go away while others pop up. That’s because of the hormones! We have hormone receptors all over our body and whenever we switch up the signals they’re receiving, whether through the menopause […]
Many of us have spent a lifetime trying to shrink ourselves. We grew up being told you could never be too thin. As athletes, especially in endurance sports, smaller, lighter, faster was the ethos of the day. That is changing as we see athletes, especially women, discover that being fueled and strong yields even better […]
Women have been left on the sidelines when it comes to sport and exercise research. Research finds a measly 6% of studies in the field have exclusively focused on women. That’s bad. But for menopausal women, it’s worse. Of that 6%, menopausal women account for only 9% of total study participants, with only 16% of […]
Lots of experts have training and nutrition advice for midlife and menopausal women that is grounded in scientific evidence. Yet, the advice doesn’t always agree…and doesn’t necessarily work the same for everyone. That’s because, while there are general guidelines that are helpful for many women, in the end, we are all scientific studies of one, […]
Phantom smells. Lack of focus. Dizziness. While everyone is talking about hot flashes and night sweats, women know that the transition to menopause brings on tons of signs and symptoms that no one ever talks about. This week’s guest, menopause educator and researcher Andrea Donsky is on a mission to change that. As the co-founder […]
Veterinary surgeon Debbie Tacium, 55, wanted to flip the script of my menopause. After suffering pain, loss of coordination, weakness, and changes in body composition during perimenopause, she went back to the sport she loved most in life–gymnastics. She wanted to use it to bring herself back to herself and remember what it was like […]
Bill Campbell, PhD, has spent his entire career as a fat loss researcher. So when his wife hit menopause and wanted help with body composition changes, he thought it would be easy. Spoiler alert: It was not. Which made him realize his field had a lot to learn, especially about active women whose bodies change […]
Running through the menopause transition can be challenging. If you feel like throwing in the towel sometimes, you’re not alone. This week’s guest, distance runner and blogger at runandbebrave.com has faced it all: injuries, setbacks, poor sleep, fatigue, vanishing motivation, hot flashes, and all the joint pain that accompanies the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause. Through […]
Welcome to Menopause Research Review! Now that menopause has hit the mainstream, we’re swimming in a steady stream of studies, which is great and can also be overwhelming. So for 2025, we’re introducing a regular segment called Menopause Research Review where we break down key research as it comes out with resident reproductive endocrinologist and […]
Spikes, crashes, excursions, and elevated numbers. Blood sugar is on a lot of active midlife women’s minds. But what do we really know about what this all means…and what it doesn’t, especially when it comes to long term health? This week’s guest Oxford nutrition scientist and globally recognized type 2 diabetes expert Dr. Nicola Guess […]
Women are often accused of being “too emotional”, whether it’s PMS, perimenopause, or just plain life. Worse, we’re made to believe those emotions make us weak. What if the opposite were true? What if our emotions were our super power, a force we could channel to give us strength in and out of the gym? […]
For the longest time, endurance athletes avoided the weight room, afraid unwanted muscles would weigh them down, while strength athletes all but kicked cardio to the curb. Now we know that no matter if you’re running an ultra or competing in a CrossFit competition, the right blend of cardio and strength is the secret sauce […]
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 […]
Here we go again with the bombardment of “New Year, New You” ads and messages to “eat this, not that,” or “do this specific workout for 30 days to get amazing abs.” You know the drill and they’re probably in your feed as we speak. In this first-of-its kind episode, Feisty Media podcast hosts Kathryn […]
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 […]
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you won’t suffer during peri or postmenopause. Many women are led to believe that if they exercise, eat healthy, and practice all the right lifestyle habits that menopause won’t really affect them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even if you’re doing “everything right” you can still be blindsided […]
If you’ve ever felt stiff and stuck like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz after being left out in the rain; have tight, sore knots that restrict your mobility, or have battled issues like frozen shoulder, this show is for you. We’re learning all about fascia–the unsung connective tissue that holds our muscles […]
Menopause doesn’t mean that you will automatically be slower. It does mean you may have to change the way you train, especially since we don’t bounce back from hard efforts the way we used to, and we’re more vulnerable to injury. This week’s guest knows all about all of that as she recently worked her […]
Horrible periods. Crippling anxiety. Weight gain. Rage. Sheet-soaking night sweats. This week’s guest, elite runner, triathlete, and endurance coach, Phaedra Kennedy had all of it, and unfortunately at the time, had no idea it was perimenopause. Because that’s just how it’s been for women. We get the birds and the bees talk as kids, but […]
Midlife and the menopause transition can leave us breathless, with stress, rising anxiety, and for some an accelerated decline in lung function. The good news is help is right under your nose–your breath. Many of us think of breathing as something that just happens–so we really don’t think about it at all. But as this […]
November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and many peri- and postmenopausal women have questions. Like why is my fasting blood glucose and/or AIC going up? What role do hormones, diet, exercise, and lifestyle play? What does it mean (and not mean) for my current and future health? So, this week we sat down with midlife […]
Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) sends about 4% of women into premature menopause before the age of 40. Yet, the condition is little understood and for those experiencing it, incredibly isolating. This week we talk about the struggles women with premature menopause face with athlete and entrepreneur Christy Napolitano Wernau, who experienced premature menopause at age […]
We’re celebrating four years and 200 episodes together at Hit Play Not Pause! It’s like we’re finishing up peri/menopause high school and now we’re off to college. Actually, it is a lot like that when you consider how much our knowledge about this pivotal life transition has grown and keeps expanding. So, this week host […]
We don’t have to tell you that menopause can be a real sleep wrecker. Recent research finds that half of women aged 45 to 64 say they experience sleep disruption due to menopause. One of the biggest culprits is hormonally-driven symptoms like night sweats, so hormone therapy can help. But it’s not a guarantee to […]
The messages we see and hear about hormone therapy are often head spinning, as headlines seemingly say one thing and guidelines say another. Medical experts themselves spend days arguing on Instagram. And women are left wondering how to make the best decisions for their health and well being. We feel it, too. So this week, […]
Female athletes of our generation have been told a lot of bullsh*t stories about what we’re supposed to look like; how much we’re supposed to weigh; what we’re supposed to eat (or more often not eat), and what we should or shouldn’t do in sports and training and life. We’ve lived through diet culture, sport […]
For literally decades, active women like Natalie Perkins have suffered through night sweats, mood swings, low mojo, injuries, and disruptive symptoms because everyone was scared off hormone therapy by outdated information. Unfortunately, though the tide is turning, it’s been a slow process and millions of women are still suffering for no good reason. That’s why […]
Frozen with fear. That’s how many active women can find themselves on mountain bike trails, ski slopes, and wherever they recreate as our hormones fluctuate and decline in the menopause transition. That’s something high altitude mountaineer Jeannette McGill knows all too well as she summits some of the tallest mountains in the world and sets […]
Menopause is a confusing, sometimes isolating time. We have more information than ever, but can still feel in the dark about exactly what’s going on and what we should or maybe shouldn’t be doing about it. To help, Feisty Menopause and Hit Play Not Pause host Selene Yeager have created an 8 week course called […]
Of all the things women worry about when it comes to hormone therapy, breast cancer, for many, tops the list. Our current understanding of breast cancer risk–even among at-risk women–has changed dramatically in recent years and continues to evolve. To fully understand hormone therapy and breast cancer risk, we need to understand that hormone therapy […]
Many of us going through menopause at the moment were the latchkey kids of Generation X, who came of age without a whole lot of supervision and (though it certainly wasn’t all bad!), more than our share of angst, body image issues, eating disorders, and cultural BS about how women were supposed to look and […]
Many of us grew up with implicit–and sometimes explicit–messages to be small, both in our physical selves and in our power. Now, as we hit midlife, we’re increasingly rejecting those BS limitations and seeing just how powerful we can be. That’s exactly what two-time Olympian Gabrielle Rose did in her mid-40s when she set her […]
Menopause can be challenging. Menopause for women who have been through trauma can be exponentially harder. Few know this better than political refugee and abuse survivor, Mirella Russell, one of the “House Wives” of Hip Hop who found hip hop dance when she was 40 and has used it to bring joy through her grief […]
Women and girls have historically been overlooked when it comes to ADHD. Now experts understand that many girls and women do indeed have ADHD. It just looks different, and estrogen has a big role in how it plays out and in how we treat it, which becomes especially important once we hit the menopause transition. […]
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 […]
*This episode originally dropped on January 3, 2024* 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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? […]
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, […]
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 […]
We talk a lot about the importance of lifting heavy for our muscle, bone, brain, and heart health. But that’s just the beginning! Being stronger makes us feel more capable and opens the door to all kinds of new adventures that we might not otherwise try because we have more confidence in what our bodies […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
CrossFit Games athlete Leka Fineman didn’t start the sport until she was 40. She learned to walk on her hands at age 50. Now at 56, she is competing in her fifth CrossFit Games competition as this episode airs. And she’s done it all while going through the menopause transition. We talk all about how […]
Whether it’s waking up at 2 a.m. with feelings of impending doom, fighting off a sudden freakout about driving on the freeway, or becoming paralyzed on a tricky trail you’ve ridden, hiked, or climbed dozens of times before, anxiety can hit seemingly out of nowhere during the menopause transition. In fact, because it can be […]
*Note – This episode originally dropped on January 27, 2021* Time for “the talk.” Seriously, we get sex ed when we go through puberty to know what to expect. But then we hit the other end of the hormonal spectrum and…crickets. Loss of libido and painful sex are real issues during menopausal years and, all […]
*Note – This episode originally dropped on February 24, 2021* Menopause and midlife can send dueling wrecking balls straight into your sleep architecture, leaving you tossing and turning unable to get to sleep, waking up with racing thoughts at 3 a.m., and generally depriving you of the rest and regeneration you need. This week’s guest, […]
Sandra Bueckert started bodybuilding when she was just 16. Now, 40 years later, she’s still in the strength and fitness game, but she’s made a few changes. Sure, she still wants to look her best, but that’s no longer her driving force. These days she’s training to be part of the resistance—specifically to defy what […]
Hormones bring your DNA to life. They drive your training adaptations, help build muscle and bone, modulate your immune system, and much, much more. As peri and postmenopausal women we often focus on estrogen and progesterone (and maybe testosterone), but others like human growth hormone, vitamin D, and cortisol deserve our attention, too. And though […]
Healthcare as we know it (especially in the U.S.) is mostly sickcare. Instead of working with us to keep us healthy, it treats us when we’re on the verge of disease or are outright unwell. There’s a growing movement to change that approach, which would be especially beneficial for menopausal women, who are at a […]
Menopause and midlife don’t mean giving up on our big goals. We can run marathons. We can do Ironman triathlons. We can compete at CrossFit. We just need to do things differently now. We need to respect balanced training that includes equal amounts of effort and restoration and to respect that a balanced life is […]
Past trauma can lead to a difficult menopause transition with more severe symptoms. Making matters worse, severe menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and difficulty sleeping can also heighten existing post-traumatic stress symptoms for women who have suffered trauma. Female veterans are especially at risk for both, and this week’s guest Tonya Oxendine, Warrior Speak […]
Pelvic floor injuries, body image woes, race day nerves, declining running times, newfound emotional flare ups, preventing injury…you had questions! And we have answers. This week we dig into the Speakpipe voicemail box and address your questions and concerns regarding menopause and performance with host Selene Yeager. Along with being the host of the Hit […]
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 […]
When this week’s guest Jen McNutt laced up her figure skates and got back on the ice after a 26-year hiatus, her goal was to try to get back to where she used to be–hitting double jumps on the ice. Perimenopause had other ideas. Jen found herself struggling with fatigue, weakness, poor recovery, and sliding […]
Fine artist and cyclist Lisa Congdon was not prepared for the impact menopause was going to have on her body or the extent to which those changes would cause a drop in her athletic performance. So, she dug into all the resources she could find for athletic menopausal women and, at the then age of […]
Remember being told you should start dieting if you could “pinch an inch” around your midsection? (Thanks Special K cereal ads…) Growing up, our bellies were often made a point of shame as they were poked, pinched, and otherwise derided. For many, that shame gets deeper in the menopause transition. That urge to suck it […]
When life gets hard, many of us channel our inner Dory, put our heads down, and “Just keep swimming.” Nobody, but nobody, embodies this ethos more than this week’s guest ultraendurance swimmer Sarah Thomas. In Sarah’s 40 years on this planet, she has endured chemo, radiation, and surgery for aggressive breast cancer, a traumatic ectopic […]
Now that menopause is mainstream news, interest in hormone therapy is exploding. And so is the confusion and controversy surrounding it, as menopausal hormone therapy (aka hormone replacement therapy), which is undeniably a game changer for millions, has also become a massive business. Some practitioners are reportedly prescribing “megadoses” of estrogen–in some cases twice or […]
Midlife and menopause can do a number on our sexual selves. Our bodies are changing. We can feel more anxious and less self-confident. After years of taking care of others, we can lose sight of ourselves. Sex might be the last thing on our minds. If that makes you sad, take heart. It doesn’t have […]
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 […]
2022 Ultraman World Championship winner and new course record setter Dede Griesbauer will be the first to tell you, age is definitely more than “just a number.” It’s real, and the training, recovery practices, and dedication it takes to accomplish such feats at 52 is radically different than it is at 32 or even 42. […]
Whether we’re trying to make muscle, perform our best, or avoid the dreaded GI distress during long endurance events, women in and beyond the menopause transition have special needs. But the sports nutrition and supplement landscape is rife with conflicting and confusing information. This week we cut through the noise with scientist, exercise physiologist, and […]
Sarah-Jane Nichols is a BMX cycling legend. The Hall of Famer was a 7-time British Champion, 4-time European Champion, and a World Champion as a teen in 1986. Now, at age 52, 34 years after retiring from the sport, Nichols is back on her bike despite being in the throes of extremely challenging perimenopausal symptoms. […]
What does equity mean in sport? Yes, it’s women being included, but it’s also resources for racing moms, supporting the inclusion of Black folks in historically white sports, having size-inclusive athletic gear, and SO much more. Feisty Media welcomes a panel of women with intersectional identities to celebrate International Women’s Day and discuss why equal […]
Pat Spencer couldn’t help but think she’d be faster if she were lighter. After all, that’s what everyone in endurance sports tells you. But instead of gaining speed, Pat went from being a competitive age group triathlete to not being able to do any endurance sports because of a profound case of Relative Energy Deficiency […]
Record-holding runner Anabelle Broadbent thought she’d blow right through menopause…until erratic, uber-heavy periods, body composition changes, anxiety, and a major drop in speed told her menopause had other ideas. As a scientist, she did what she knows best: research and problem-solving. And last year, at age 55, she was awarded the 2022 USATF GOLD Phidippides […]
Past trauma–big or small–and daily stress can take a toll on the nervous system, and many of us spend our days largely in a state of fight or flight. When we hit menopause, our nervous system becomes even more nervous, and life, along with everything that happened up until that point rises to the surface […]
Many women start exercising to lose weight–to get smaller and chase a number on the scale. This week’s guest powerlifter Michelle Carlson is no stranger to those goals. She took up running in her early 30s and in her own words “spent a ridiculous number of years chasing the number on the scale and living […]
Do you struggle with feeling you’re not enough? Fit enough? Successful enough? Lean enough? Enough, enough, enough. By the time we reach menopause, many of us have spent years, even decades, of our lives chasing enough. And, as this week’s guest, coach, trainer, and athlete Kristin DiDomenico knows, that relentless pursuit of perfection can take […]
People will often accuse a woman who is changing things in her life at 50 of having a midlife crisis. It’s quite the opposite, according to this week’s guest, two-time Olympian, Jennifer Stoute. It’s midlife clarity. Stoute, who also played Rebel the Gladiator on the hit show Gladiators has done her share of evaluating and […]
In many ways, health care is actually sick care. We are enormously grateful for physicians who can address pathology and treat disease. But often the emphasis is on surviving, not thriving. That’s where Lifestyle Medicine comes in. It’s a system of health care that leans in on the power of social connections, personal psychology, exercise, […]
We’ve been led to believe weight is a simple equation: energy in versus energy out, which implies it’s all in our control. We’re in charge. We just need the right diet, exercise, and willpower. And while nutrition and physical activity matter a lot, and some maintain their weight through those means, others feel like their […]
We’re back! And we’re kicking off the New Year with the perfect introspective conversation with former pro athlete turned entrepreneur and life adventurer, Nicole DeBoom. Nicole recently turned 50 and is in the thick of perimenopause, which for her has manifested in brain fog, night sweats, body composition changes, and more. She’s also recently had […]
Since we started this podcast, many women have gone from being afraid to take hormone therapy to being afraid not to take hormone therapy, as some in the menopause field are saying that menopause is really a “hormone deficiency” and we can’t age well without it. This week we dive in on what hormone therapy […]
The good news: we are finally talking about menopause! The not so good news: we still have a long way to go, especially in the realm of research, says this week’s guest Dr. Stephanie Faubion, who is on the tip of the spear leading the way forward as the Medical Director of The North American […]
Dr. Google is often our first stop when we want to understand a symptom we’re experiencing and find out what we can do about it. But the internet is a bottomless well of information–and disinformation. Even when we dig into actual research studies, the conclusions aren’t always reliable or consistent, which is why it’s hard […]
At age 42, off-road triathlete Deanna McCurdy was crushing it, including clocking the fastest female amateur time at XTERRA National Championships, and was ready to turn pro when—perimenopause. Out of the blue, her performance tanked and she found herself in tears through a key race. Deanna, who’s also a mom of a special needs daughter, […]
Women have been taught incontinence is our destiny–that we should just accept it and wear pads. Pelvic floor issues like prolapse are often normalized–we should just stop running, jumping, and lifting heavy sh*t. This week’s guest The Vagina Coach, Kim Vopni, is having none of it, and she dives into all the therapies and tools […]
Ultrarunner Kamm Prongay is clear: she did not sign up for the Menopause 200. Her ovaries did. And when they did, she eventually found herself on the start line, unable to run. Kamm has been chronicling her journey through menopause in a series of essays in Ultrarunner.com, including one titled the Menopause 200, in which […]
More than diet, exercise, the money in your bank account, your cholesterol levels, or even your genes, it’s your relationships that matter most when it comes to being happier and healthier in midlife and into old age. That’s important because midlife and menopause are inextricably intertwined, and how we experience one impacts how we experience […]
Want to challenge yourself without the pressure that comes with traditional competition? Feel like trying something new that won’t have you comparing your former self to your current self? This week’s guests Teri Smith and Dana Katz suggest trying an FKT, or fastest known time, a challenge where you run, hike, or in some cases […]
Nothing stops you in your tracks like chronic pain and nagging, seemingly endless injuries, both of which can become more common during the menopause transition and beyond. The sports medicine world is brimming with cutting-edge, regenerative medicine treatments promising relief, but it can be hard to cut through the marketing jargon to figure out what […]
Body image issues. Wrecked sleep. Struggling with slowing down. Midlife and menopause can send us into some seriously turbulent waters. This week’s guest, Lisa Alfano, manages to keep from going under by riding the waves–literally. Lisa is a surfer and triathlete who has married her passions in her business Tri2Surf, a community for women ages […]
Eat less. How many times have you seen and heard that message? As a generation that grew up steeped in diet culture, most of us have it deeply internalized…often to our detriment. Underfueling among active women is extremely common and puts us at risk for low energy availability (LEA), which can lead to relative energy […]
October is breast cancer awareness month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. That’s especially important for women in the menopause transition and beyond because the risk of breast cancer rises with age. Most breast cancers are found in women who are 55 and older. This week we sat down […]
The good news: we are finally talking about menopause! The not so good news: we still have a long way to go, especially in the realm of research, says this week’s guest Dr. Stephanie Faubion, who is on the tip of the spear leading the way forward as the Medical Director of The North American […]
We are celebrating our 100th episode…and the fact that we have surpassed one million downloads in just two years’ time! Our community is growing by leaps and bounds and you’re the reason why. So this week, we are also celebrating YOU! Host Selene Yeager sits down with Hit Play Not Pause producer Carrie Barrett to […]
Bloating, hot flashes, night sweats, disrupted sleep, irritability, restlessness, brain fog…this week’s guest Michelle Hay treats them all, as well as the stress that can exacerbate them, with acupuncture. This week’s show is all about this Traditional Chinese Medicine practice, how it works, what to expect, and the specific benefits for menopausal women. Michelle P. […]
Most of us, even if we’re very active, are not moving our bodies the way nature designed them to move. We exercise plenty. We also sit plenty. We wear shoes that don’t help keep our feet strong or our posture properly aligned. That can set the stage for aches, pains, and injuries, especially during this […]
Heavy lifting, HIIT training, and explosive exercises like plyometrics do a menopausal body good. So, CrossFit can be the perfect workout for women in this stage of life…provided they scale it to their needs. That’s because CrossFit also has elements that may not work with our physiology and can leave us feeling tired and beat […]
What would happen if you tossed out all your premenopausal notions about how you are “supposed to” eat and train for your best performance and tried some new tricks to work with your changing physiology? If you’re like this week’s guest, you might just win a gold medal. Ashling Smith is a runner from Ireland […]
How do you know if menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is for you? What should you expect if you start hormone therapy? How long does it take to work? What should you do if you don’t feel like it’s working? We dive into the ABCs of starting MHT this week with menopause doctor Heather Hirsch, MD. […]
The only thing women tend to do better than men after having a heart attack is die. That’s a sobering mic drop. It’s also a fact and one that this week’s guest Dr. Martha Gulati is making her life’s work to change. We dive into the special heart disease risk factors women, especially menopausal women […]
From femtech apps to menopause telehealth, tracking rings to cooling bracelets, and even cryotech surgical services designed to prolong ovarian function, menopause is having a moment in innovation and enterprise. This week we dig into it with Alyssa Dweck, MD, FACOG, who is an avid runner as well as a consultant, key opinion leader (KOL), […]
One in eight women will have their ovaries removed before the natural age of menopause. Five percent of women naturally go through early menopause between the ages of 40 and 45, and 1 percent experience premature menopause before age 40. That’s a lot of women. And a large percentage of these women are not getting […]
Women have traditionally been ignored in sleep medicine (shocking, we know). That means our sleep issues can be misunderstood and misdiagnosed, especially during menopause when sleep disruptions rise. This week we investigate how hormones and menopausal symptoms impact sleep, as well as dive into sleep issues like sleep apnea (which shows up differently in women), […]
Hit Play Not Pause is on a quick summer break during the weeks of July 18th and 25th, 2022. While we’re out, we are excited to share two episodes from Feisty Media’s excellent limited Title IX series. Not to pick favorites, but here at Feisty – this is definitely a favorite. With almost 50 years […]
Hit Play Not Pause is on a quick summer break during the weeks of July 18th and 25th, 2022. While we’re out, we are excited to share two episodes from Feisty Media’s excellent limited Title IX series. This week, Haley Chura – co-host of Ironwomen – interviews the renowned Wendy Mink. Wendy is a professor […]
If you’re feeling more injury prone, you’re not alone. Many women who have led active, athletic lives without a lot of injuries and “itises” suddenly find themselves sidelined more often during the menopause transition. Fluctuating and declining hormone levels directly impact your musculoskeletal system, as do your lifelong movement patterns, exercise habits, recovery practices, and […]
Women often stop going to the high mountains when they reach menopause. The reasons why–hot flashes, unpredictable periods, anxiety, and fear, to name a few–will resonate with all of us, whether or not we ever step foot above sea level. This week’s guest, high altitude mountaineer Jeannette McGill is currently navigating the menopause transition herself […]
The menopause transition can throw a lot of obstacles in your path. Training for and participating in obstacle course races can help you overcome them both physically and mentally, as you lift heavy loads, strengthen your grip, and hone your mental toughness and problem-solving skills. Plus, it’s super fun, says this week’s guest, obstacle course […]
As active women, we train our strength and our endurance. But we don’t clean that barbell, we don’t cross that finish line, we literally don’t accomplish anything in life without first having the mental ability that comes from our brain. And as we age, our brains become vulnerable to decline. They physically change during the […]
As women are living longer, pursuing higher education, and chasing athletic goals well into midlife, the decision if, when, or even how to have a baby has become increasingly complex, because the old formula of graduate, get married, have kids just doesn’t work the way it used to. So this week’s guest, Liz Carlson, created […]
Breaking a sweat is generally a good thing–a sign of healthy exertion–unless you’re working out in temperatures more suited to penguins than people. In those conditions, it can quickly lead to hypothermia, frostbite…or worse. So how does a perimenopausal woman (hello, hot flashes) make a 1,130 kilometer trek across Antarctica while pulling a 175-pound sled? […]
The menopause transition can leave a minefield of body image issues in its wake. Some research shows that as few as 12 percent of us are satisfied with our bodies at this time of life. That’s a problem, as poor body image is also linked to mental health issues like depression. We can’t wave a […]
Hot flashes. Sleepless nights. Mood swings. Divorce. The challenges of menopause and midlife came raining down on this week’s guest, Karen Duff, just a few years after she’d taken up mountain biking and was ascending the ranks quickly with her sights set on world-class competitions. She shares how she persevered through training, racing, and community […]
Your pelvis changes during menopause–inside and out. The vaginal and vulvar tissues become thinner; the pH and microbiome in your vagina can shift; and the scaffolding that supports your pelvic organs can weaken, increasing your risk for pelvic organ prolapse. There’s help for all of that, so you can continue running, riding, lifting, having sex, […]
Menopause is not the end of the line. It is not a “deficiency.” It’s a transition to the next phase of your life–a phase that can be positive, empowering, and powerful. But first, we need to understand what menopause really is; what is happening hormonally during this time, and how it is affecting literally every […]
Your muscles and connective tissues can get “stickier” and feel stiffer during the menopause transition, and you can find yourself with more aches and pains and niggles than you had before. Massage therapy can help with that. But the benefits don’t end with your muscles. Massage is also good for the menopausal mind. It activates […]
We know lifting heavy, doing plyometrics, and adding intensity to our routines help us stay strong and powerful as our bodies change during the menopause transition. But where do we start? What if we can’t jump? How do we lift heavy if we don’t have heavy weights? Longtime trainer and now one of the leaders […]
In the year and a half since we started this podcast, many women have gone from being afraid to take hormone therapy to being afraid not to take hormone therapy, as some in the menopause field are saying that menopause is really a “hormone deficiency” and we can’t age well without it. This week we […]
Kirsten Lewis, at the age of 57, just ran her fastest 5K time–post-menopause, less than two years after she was ready to hang up her racing shoes and walk away from it all while in the throes of the menopause transition. She credits feeling stronger, happier, more grounded, and winning her age group in recent […]
If you’re a woman, someone somewhere has a diet to sell you. If you’re a menopausal woman, that diet is likely to paint carbs as the root of all your woes–and the elimination or restriction of them as your midlife salvation. This week we sat down with dietitian and “undiet” advocate Jenn Salib Huber, RD, […]
Whether you’re training for a tri, into CrossFit, or just want to be strong for life, barbells are the most effective way to get full-body strong in very little time. Barbell lifting also builds bone and muscle, improves stability and mobility, and makes you feel like a complete badass. This week we talk all about […]
Need glasses for the first time in your life? Contacts suddenly feel too tight? Are your eyes dry and itchy? Menopause and midlife can usher in a cascade of vision and eye health changes. Thankfully there are many ways you can sharpen your sight and keep your eyes healthy (and more comfortable!). We dig into […]
Dim the lights. Pour a drink. Light some candles. And get ready to…row! Yep, row. Indoor rowing can be an exercise in meditation, says this week’s guest and rowing aficionado, Sarah Fuhrmann. It also uses 86 percent of your muscles and can be an ass-kicking workout when you want it to be. This week we […]
Even if you brush, floss, and get regular dental check-ups, if you’re like many athletes—especially those in the menopause transition—you may still struggle with tooth decay and oral health woes. That’s because both athletics and hormone decline can lead to conditions that set the stage for dental disease and mouth discomfort, both of which can […]
Anyone who’s ever hit the wall at mile 19 of a marathon or fizzled out on a Fran at CrossFit, knows how important glucose (aka sugar) is for energy–both mentally and physically. As women in the menopause transition, we also know that managing generally healthy blood sugar levels can be more challenging as we can […]
We all want to belong. That desire can increase during the menopause transition, when having a community to share experiences with helps us feel less alone. But making those connections isn’t always easy, especially when culture doesn’t include you. This week’s guest, long time athlete Elizabeth Allen, who identifies as a Black, plus-sized GenXer (who […]
For far too long, many of us have defined ourselves (or worse our self worth) by the size of our thighs and the circumference of our waistline, setting ourselves up for a lifelong battle with our bodies and an underlying discontent with who we are based upon a largely unattainable “ideal.” That can get worse […]
Sometimes life sidelines us, knocking us off the path we thought we’d be on forever, or at least for the foreseeable future. Menopause can certainly trip us up. But so can many other random, sometimes terrible, events we never saw coming. And sometimes we end up contending with all of it. This week’s guest, Jennifer […]
What do you do when menopause turns you into a nearly unrecognizable version of yourself? If you’re Gina Ransom, you pore through every resource you can find, advocate for yourself and others in the same situation, and form a community so you all can keep on kicking ass. Gina is a lifelong fitness professional who […]
It’s easy to look at the barriers we face and think, “I can’t.” Leah Goldstein is here this week to show you, you can. Leah won the Race Across America (RAAM) outright last year at age 52, beating the next closest man by 17 hours. But that barely scratches the surface of her myriad accomplishments […]
Running is a coping mechanism for many trauma survivors. You lace up and put one foot in front of the other for solace and escape. But what happens when you hit menopause and the demons start to catch up? This week’s guest, coach and endurance athlete Athena Farias talks about all that and more this […]
Menopause can be a wet blanket for competitive athletes. How do you keep showing up to start lines when you’re managing hot flashes, heat intolerance, poor sleep, and watching peers walk away from the sport? This week’s guest has some answers. A lifelong athlete and self proclaimed triathlon addict, Julie Dunkle, now in her mid […]
Most of us–even the most active among us–are limited in how well we move. Sure we can run or ride a bike or lift heavy sh*t, but can we balance on a beam or jump over fallen logs? Can we move with strength and fluidity in every direction? Can we go over, under, and through […]
Your brain is your largest–and arguably your most important–sex organ. It’s also the most overlooked, especially during the menopausal transition when we spend a whole lot of time talking about our vaginas (which are important, too, of course!). This week’s guest Kelly Casperson, MD, talks about all of it in a show that drives home […]
Hormone therapy for menopause is rife with confusion, fear, misunderstanding, and outright misinformation. Even doctors, who are often relying on long debunked research, can be at a loss to help women make educated choices for their health, well-being, and performance during this time. This week’s guests, Drs. Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris, authors of Estrogen […]
Longevity in sport takes determination, curiosity, and the ability to adapt to what your mind and body needs as time goes on. That’s the embodiment of professional triathlete, mountain bike racer, coach, and 5x world champion Melanie McQuaid, who continues to kick ass through the menopause transition, placing 3rd at Ironman Chattanooga and 10th at […]
“Who am I now?” That’s an identity crisis many of us face during the menopausal transition, especially if we end up taking a step back from our primary sport or activity to figure out what we want from athletics in this next phase of life. This week’s guest, life and wellness coach Lisa Hesse, helps […]
“Menopause Is Hell. It Also Made Me a Better Climber.” That’s the title of a feature article written in Outside magazine by this week’s guest and legendary outdoor sport athlete Jeannie Wall. We dig into what that piece is all about and address topics of fear, anxiety, rage, hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, and the […]
Joint pain, hot flashes, night sweats, crushing fatigue. Menopause can usher in a host of symptoms that make daily life challenging, let alone daily life on top of training and racing as a recreational athlete, being a mom, and managing a business. But with knowledge, practice, and patience, it can be done. This week’s guest, […]
Women make testosterone. It works in concert with estrogen and progesterone to maintain healthy muscles and bones and fires up your sex drive and helps protect your brain. Yet there are no FDA approved testosterone products for women and “T” is not included in standard menopausal hormone therapy. So women are left to their own […]
Our performance nutrition needs change during the menopause transition. Few know that better than women who both teach it and live it as athletes and sports dietitians, like this week’s guest Lauren Antonucci, RDN, CSSD, author of High-Performance Nutrition for Masters Athletes. Along with being a sports nutritionist, Lauren is a runner, an Ironman athlete, […]
Bunions and bone spurs and heel pain, oh my! Foot pain in all shapes and forms is extremely common and becomes more so as we enter the menopause transition and our estrogen declines, taking our collagen production with it, which impacts the dozens of joints and tendons in our feet. That’s important because our feet […]
As active women we know all about our muscles. We know the sets and reps to work our shoulders, glutes, and core. We’re proficient in using dumbbells, kettlebells, and squat racks. But when it comes to training our pelvic floor, we know one word: Kegels. That’s not enough. In fact, if our pelvic floor is […]
Never underestimate the power of menopausal women. Their years of experience and deep well of physical and mental strength uniquely positions them to move mountains–or at least a fully loaded dragon boat weighing more than a ton. This week’s guests Chris Head, a newbie dragon boat racer with the Dragon Divas, a team of Breast […]
As a woman you can lose up to 20% of your bone density during the five to seven years following menopause. Given the fact that we hit peak bone density by age 30, we can’t go back in time and build more, but we can take steps right now to hang onto what we have […]
Happy birthday to Hit Play Not Pause! As a special gift, past guest, personal trainer, and healthy ageing coach Tania Dalton turns the tables and interviews host Selene Yeager for a 1 year anniversary bonus edition of the podcast. The two dive deep into Selene’s background as an accidental athlete turned professional level cyclist as […]
Whether we run, ride, swim, or practice martial arts, at some point we can feel like we’re nearing the end of the line with how far we can go. That’s especially true when menopause and midlife put us in a Malachi crunch. But maybe what feels like an endpoint is really the starting point of […]
Your brain is your largest–and arguably your most important–sex organ. It’s also the most overlooked, especially during the menopausal transition when we spend a whole lot of time talking about our vaginas (which are important, too, of course!). This week’s guest Kelly Casperson, MD, talks about all of it in a show that drives home […]
Races are about more than winning. Competing is about more than podium spots or fastest times. Races are about personal bests and striving to be your best, whether that’s first place or 571st place. In fact, the person who comes in last may have overcome more, learned more, and grown more from the event than […]
Following menopausal athletes on Instagram can be inspiring. But if we’re honest, it can also be deflating. You see the podium smiles and the highlights of their lives, which can leave you feeling alone in your own struggles. That’s why it’s so wonderful when one of these athletes like this week’s guest, multisport athlete Nicole […]
Juggling training by itself is hard. Juggling training along with real life obligations is even harder. Add the physical and psychological changes that come with menopause and midlife? Oh boy. Better call Cirque du Soleil for some tips. Or you can call a lifelong athlete, veteran coach, and exercise physiologist like this week’s guest, Lenita […]
Medical menopause can be intense. If you’re a cancer survivor, you may have multiple rounds with menopause. You may go through premature menopause or have menopause symptoms related to chemotherapy and/or other drug treatments and then go through it again either naturally or should you need surgery or other treatments later on. It can all […]
As women we hear a lot about “breaking the ceiling,” whether it’s the glass one that has hovered over us for so long or the self imposed one that we sometimes put overhead, limiting our potential. Well if you want to crack that ceiling, it helps to raise the floor—elevate the platform from which you’re […]
We often talk about menopause as puberty in reverse. Remember puberty? You sprouted breasts and grew hips and maybe got curvier all the way around. Nobody ever said to you, “What have you done?” You were obviously going through this very natural process. When those hormones reverse course, your body also starts changing. Only now, […]
Cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and other psychological practices come up a lot on this show as ways we can quell anxiety, manage menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats, and get some quality sleep during this time of life. But what exactly is it? How do you do it? How does it work? We […]
Let food be thy medicine, they say. But don’t stop there. Let exercise and stress management and sleep and friendships and your whole lifestyle be thy medicine, too. That’s the basic tenet of the type of Lifestyle Medicine this week’s guest, Dr. Melissa Sundermann practices. It’s grounded in research showing how we live our lives […]
Hormone therapy for menopause is rife with confusion, fear, misunderstanding, and outright misinformation. Even doctors, who are often relying on long debunked research, can be at a loss to help women make educated choices for their health, well-being, and performance during this time. This week’s guests, Drs. Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris, authors of Estrogen […]
This show is all about working with your changing physiology to optimize performance. This week’s guest, Masters 50-54 Cyclocross World Champion and Masters 50-54 XC and Masters 50-54 Marathon Mountain Bike National Champion, Libbey Sheldon embodies that ethos as well as anyone we know. After struggling with mountain bike stage racing in 2013, Libbey went […]
Everyone needs a little summer break, even podcast hosts! So this week we are re-posting this excellent episode with physical therapist Chloe Murdock from fall 2020. Enjoy! It happens. You sneeze, cough, or laugh…and leak. Or you can barely get your key in the door without wetting yourself. It’s common, but not normal…or necessary. This […]
60 percent of people with thyroid disease go undiagnosed. And if you’re a menopausal woman, you may be mistaking thyroid disease symptoms for menopause symptoms—and suffering from both. The North American Menopause Society calls the thyroid a “touchy gland,” as it becomes imbalanced in about 1 in 8 women. And when it does, it can […]
Recent research using brain imaging analysis shows our brains physically change during perimenopause. So our brains are clearly—sometimes substantially—impacted by our hormones. But those hormones are part of a larger chorus that includes nature, nurture, culture, society, lifestyle, and our thoughts and emotions, which can have a profound impact on how we experience the changes […]
If you’re looking for just one piece of equipment that can help you get strong and fit AF, look no further than kettlebells. If you’re looking for one woman who can tell you everything you want to know about kettlebell training and why it’s the ideal training tool for menopausal women, look no further than […]
“Maybe it’s time to slow down.” That’s the message menopausal women often get from their friends, family, and yes, even physicians when they have joint pain and nagging injuries like Achilles tendonitis or “menopause arthritis” that are preventing them from running, riding, and hitting the weights without pain. This week’s guest, active aging expert Vonda […]
Why is there so much misinformation about menopause? What really helps? What doesn’t? What the heck are “bioidentical hormones”? And why do we go through menopause anyway? We dig into all this and much, much more this week with none other than renowned (and oh, so feisty) OB/GYN and pain medicine physician, Dr. Jen Gunter, […]
Ever wonder how we got here? How is it that in 2021 billions of women are still largely in the dark about menopause? That many of us still feel kind of ashamed to talk about it? This week’s guest, historian Elinor Cleghorn, Ph.D., author of Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World tells […]
What can you do today to make yourself better tomorrow? The best answer to that question is based on you and you alone. Not what other women are doing. Not what you think you should be doing. Not what you used to do. But what you need to do—how to learn and improve—today based on […]
Ask your doctor about the benefits of high intensity exercise, lifting heavy sh*t, and adaptogens and you may just get a shrug (or worse a patronizing smile). Ask your coach or trainer about medicine and…well, don’t ask your coach or trainer about medicine because that’s not their job. What’s left is a giant chasm where […]
Your big goals don’t have to change with “The Change,” but your training, nutrition, and mindset sure do. This week, long time road and track cyclist Cheryl Osborne, 55, shares how she’s chasing a gold medal and championship jersey at the USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships this fall. Her strategy includes a healthy dose […]
It’s hard to chase big goals and live your best life when you’re getting sidelined by injuries, which is a struggle many women face during the menopause transition. Research is only beginning to uncover how our sex hormones keep our muscles and connective tissues healthy and resilient and how the menopausal transition can increase the […]
Does your diet make you feel good? How’s your energy? Are you performing and recovering well? How do you really feel? If we’re honest, many of us don’t even really know. Spending so many years on the high carb, low carb, no carb, low fat, high fat, keto, paleo, intermittent fasting Merry-Go-Round, it can be […]
How many times have you pushed back a big goal until you got “fitter” or “leaner”? How many times have you looked at an exciting challenge and thought, “That’s not for me.”? Tania Dalton spent most of her pre-menopausal life battling with body image issues, disordered eating, and crises of confidence, which kept her on […]
Gut health means more than just good digestion—though that’s certainly an important part of it! Your gut microbiome also impacts your overall health, body composition, and athletic performance. It’s also changing all the time and the menopausal transition definitely alters it…and not necessarily for the better. That’s why it’s especially important to build a diverse, […]
The hormonal havoc of menopause can leave us with higher anxiety, less muscle, and a decline in power—all things that are unhelpful for sport in general, but especially if you’re scaling a vertical rock formation a dizzying distance from the ground. This week’s guests, Nancy Feagin and Maggie Odette, both badass rock climbers in their […]
Diets do not work. More than 30 years of diet culture has proven that point. Yet, we’re still bombarded day in and day out with books, websites, and fitspo pros promising rapid weight loss and making everyone feel bad about their bodies. Menopausal women are currently a popular target for many of these quick fixes […]
Everyone knows chest pain is a symptom of heart trouble. What too many people still don’t know is that women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms like nausea or vomiting, unexplained shortness of breath, profound inexplicable fatigue, jaw or back pain, or no symptoms at all. American Heart Association data from two […]
Tight hips, achy knees, weak glutes, grouchy back, stiff ankles…the list of aches, pains, and niggles that pop up seemingly out of nowhere can feel overwhelming, especially once we hit the menopausal transition and our hormones aren’t keeping our muscles and connective tissues as resilient and supple as they once were. This week’s guest, Dr. […]
Yoga is more than something you do–that one or two classes a week where you attempt a full pigeon pose. It’s a way you live–a strengthening of the tether that connects your mind, body, and soul. Practiced daily, it can improve every aspect of your physical and mental well being, especially when you need that […]
Dragging yourself through the motions more often than not these days? You’re not alone. The brain chemistry changes that occur during menopausal years can cause your mojo, motivation, and mental game to go MIA. But don’t despair. This week’s guest, psychologist Dr. Lisa Lewis is here to help you get your groove back. Spoiler alert: […]
Menopause and midlife can send dueling wrecking balls straight into your sleep architecture, leaving you tossing and turning unable to get to sleep, waking up with racing thoughts at 3 a.m., and generally depriving you of the rest and regeneration you need. This week’s guest, Dr. Sophie Bostock, the sleep scientist—and self-proclaimed sleep evangelist—is here […]
As active women, we use carbs to fuel our training and racing. But there’s a limit to how many are good for our health (as well as performance), especially as we hit menopause and become more insulin resistant. This week’s guest, coach Gale Bernhardt has been on a mission to help her athletes dial in […]
What keeps you going when the curtains start to fall at mile 19 of a marathon? How do you get up and charge again 3 days into a 6 day stage race? What makes the difference between picking up a kettlebell or a bottle of wine at the end of a long, hard, tiring day? […]
Chasing big athletic goals can supercharge your life. But how do you chase and accomplish those goals without dropping the ball on everything else, especially as you’re also trying to navigate all the changes that menopause and midlife can bring? This week’s guest, long time endurance athlete and coach Lynda Rowan is here to help. […]
Time for “the talk.” Seriously, we get sex ed when we go through puberty to know what to expect. But then we hit the other end of the hormonal spectrum and…crickets. Loss of libido and painful sex are real issues during menopausal years and, all too often, women suffer in silence. Issues like vaginal dryness […]
The words we say to ourselves. The way we look at ourselves. The way we fuel, or often don’t fuel, ourselves. They’re a product of so many things–culture, society, ingrained images and messages. And too often they hurt our health, performance, and general well being. Exercising, playing sports, and being active can help, but they […]
Injuries don’t just hurt physically. They can rock you emotionally, as they keep you away from the activity you love, isolate you from your training buddies, and do a number on your self image, especially as we get into our menopausal years and injuries can pop up with increasing frequency. Your doctor or PT help […]
Ready to create your menopause adventure? Yes, adventure. Now is the time to shine, says this week’s guest, wellness coach and fitness trainer Kacy Duke, who teaches people how to use the right mindset, motivation, and movement to reach their goals. Named one of New York City’s best trainers, Kacy has been the personal trainer […]
Missing your usual mojo and motivation? Wrestling with body image issues? Want a little help setting meaningful goals that go beyond how fast you can run a 5K? You are not alone! This week, exercise scientist and mental performance expert Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach addresses these topics and more as we take a deep dive into […]
Mary Jane is clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has been a North American Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) since 2002, and has been in private practice in New Haven, Connecticut for more than 35 years. Mary Jane has won myriad […]
Recovery, resilience, and injury resistance gets harder as we get older. The harder and longer you go, the harder and longer the recovery process can be. This week’s guest, legendary ultra runner Magda Boulet knows all about what it takes to stay resilient and recover well even after the longest, hardest challenges. Since turning 45, […]
Studies show women following a plant-based diet have fewer night sweats and hot flashes during menopause. So this week Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, CSSD, LDN, owner of Active Eating Advice digs into the powers, and occasional pitfalls, of a plant-based diet: what it means and what foods to include for optimum muscle, bone, and hormonal […]
Past trauma can lead to more severe symptoms and a more challenging menopause journey. This week, stress and resiliency expert Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., explains how stress and trauma can change our DNA and drag us down mentally and physically, especially at midlife. She also serves up a whole lot of hope and no B.S. […]
Missing your usual mojo and motivation? Wrestling with body image issues? Want a little help setting meaningful goals that go beyond how fast you can run a 5K? You are not alone! This week, exercise scientist and mental performance expert Dr. Kristen Dieffenbach addresses these topics and more as we take a deep dive into […]
Low fat. High protein. Low carb. No carb. This week’s guests and authors of The Menopause Diet Plan, Hillary Wright and Elizabeth Ward, have seen diet trends come and go and come around again. And they know what works. Spoiler alert: Yes, you can – and should – eat carbs. We get into why, as […]
Depression, anxiety, bone-crushing fatigue, incontinence, heart palpitations, migraines. What the hell is going on? Shockingly, your family doctor may not know it’s menopause. And you’ll end up feeling like you’re losing your mind like this week’s guest Amanda Thebe, author of Menopocalypse: How I Learned to Thrive During Menopause and How You Can Too. Amanda […]
It happens. You sneeze, cough, or laugh…and leak. Or you can barely get your key in the door without wetting yourself. It’s common, but not normal…or necessary. This week, pelvic floor specialist Chloë Murdock, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS offers solutions to the incontinence that can happen during menopause. And, spoiler alert, there’s more to fixing […]
Thirty four years ago, at the age of 42, Cherie Gruenfeld went from lying in bed eating sticky buns and watching the LA Marathon to buying running shoes and a book on how to run a marathon the very next day. She wanted to know what she was capable of. At 76 years old, after […]
Heavy periods, hot flashes, vaginal pain, debilitating full body achiness, we’ve got a hit parade of menopausal symptoms, and more importantly, solutions this week with guest Mary Jane Minkin, M.D. Mary Jane is clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has been a […]
It’s easy to beat yourself up (and down) with strength training. That’s not Erin Carson’s game. As the strength trainer for endurance athletes like 3x Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae, Erin’s approach is building her athlete’s up to be not just strong, but also energetic, nimble, and fast. She dishes out plenty of thoughts on […]
What is happening?! You’ll find out as Selene Yeager talks all things menopause with Dr. Stacy Sims, exercise physiologist, nutrition scientist and the brains behind the women’s training and nutrition book ROAR. The show dives deep on symptoms and solutions, including specific fueling and training techniques and adaptogens that can help women maintain muscle, energy, […]
Traditionally athletes in their 40s (and certainly their 50s) are supposed to retire and find something else to do. Not seven-time world champion Rebecca Rusch, who didn’t even start racing professionally as a mountain biker until age 38, and proceeded to rack up national and world victories, win Leadville 100 four times, DK200 three times, […]
Welcome to the Hit Play Not Pause Podcast, a Feisty Menopause podcast for active, performance-minded women who aren’t willing to put their best years behind them. It’s time to break the silence and get past the stigma of what you can accomplish as an active woman in your 40’s, 50’s and beyond. We’ll talk about […]
We dive into the true science and strategy behind aging with power. We’re busting myths about menopause, metabolism, and muscle, bone and talking strategy for women over 40 who want strength without burnout. Know how to prevent the physical “outages” that so often follow menopause, injury, or hormonal upheaval. Reclaim control without burning out!! If […]
In this week’s essential episode, Dr. Lovely is joined by Dr. Vonda Wright, an acclaimed orthopedic surgeon and longevity specialist, to decode a hidden crisis for women in midlife: the mysterious aches and pains that often get dismissed. Dr. Wright introduces her groundbreaking research on the Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause (MSM), putting a name to […]
In this episode, I challenge why saying you’re not “tempted” by food might actually be keeping you stuck and powerless around eating. Get the full show notes and information here: https://drdebbutler.com/490
Today, I’m joined by Dr Natasha Wallace, a clinical psychologist, founder of Revive Psychological Services, and creator of The Thrive Method. Natasha is passionate about helping working mums break free from overwhelm, exhaustion, and guilt so they can feel calmer, more connected, and truly at home within themselves. In this episode, Natasha shares her own […]
In this episode of Mastering Menopause, I sit down with my client Cheryl Vaillancourt to share her incredible results from the 4-Week Summer Shred. Cheryl lost over 12 pounds, dropped her body fat from 43% to 32%, and shrunk by 11.5 inches, while completely transforming her habits and mindset. We dive into the realities of […]
There is no escaping stress but cortisol in menopause changes. With that, your stress response to nearly everything may change. You don’t feel it at first but then there’s unexplained weight gain or belly fat. There’s less focus or concentration than you used to have. It shows up in different ways for each of us. […]
In this encore episode, Andrea Donsky, a nutritionist with over 20 years of experience, a menopause educator, a published menopause researcher, and co-founder of WeAreMorphus, interviews Dr. Jason Fung, MD, an international expert on the benefits of intermittent fasting. He answers questions and debunks myths about whether intermittent fasting works for women in perimenopause and […]
Menopause is a natural part of life — but when it shows up in the workplace, it can create very real challenges that most organizations are simply not prepared to address. Symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, hot flashes, and brain fog don’t stay at home when women walk into the office… and when these go unacknowledged, […]
If you are a menopausal woman and spend any time on social media, you are familiar with Dr. Corinne Menn. She is a trustworthy voice of science and evidence-based medicine in a sea of influencers who don’t always stick to the data. Dr. Menn is one of the authors of a recent study titled Women’s […]
This week on Thursday Thoughts, Lucy and I are chatting about the filters we use to live our lives. Is your filter clouding your judgement? Is it colouring everything grey, making things seem worse than they really are? And how long are you willing to sit in that negativity? The thing is, when you change […]
This new menopause therapy is like stand-up comedy for hot flashes. My guest in this episode uses humor and truth to bridge the gap between women’s health then, now and the future. Her message is for all women on how to address the gaps in awareness about menopause. If you’re a health and wellness pro […]
In this special episode, we’re sharing Dr. Lovely’s interview from the Women Aging Powerfully Summit with host Leah Vachani. With 20 years of clinical experience in women’s physical and mental health, Dr. Lovely pulled back the curtain on Musculoskeletal Syndrome of Menopause (MSM)—a debilitating but rarely discussed condition tied to estrogen loss. Here are the […]
I spent 30 years losing the same 25 pounds over and over until I learned to reconnect with my body’s most basic instinct. Get the full show notes and information here: https://drdebbutler.com/489
I spent 30 years losing the same 25 pounds over and over until I learned to reconnect with my body’s most basic instinct. Get the full show notes and information here: https://drdebbutler.com/489
In this episode, I’m joined by Anu Verma—certified trauma recovery coach, holistic therapist, and author of Victim to Victor. Anu’s story is one of courage and resilience. She opens up about her own experience of childhood trauma, the years she spent in survival mode, and how she eventually found the tools to begin her journey […]
“The fire in the belly is coming from people’s want and need to help patients and to make a change” This week, Dr Fionnuala Vernon, Medical Director of Blackwater Private Clinics and GP trainer in Ireland, joins Dr Louise Newson for a compelling conversation about breaking down barriers in healthcare and addressing the ways […]
Perimenopause and menopause hit active women differently. We have a different lifestyle and different goals. And we know our bodies. Whether you run and hike or do CrossFit and ski (or a little of everything!), you’ve had a way of eating and exercising that worked…until the menopause transition, when it all goes out the window […]