“The person who wins is often the one who is fending off the menopause the best!” Those were words of advice a fellow competitor once gave this week’s guest, physiotherapist and competitive cyclist Nicole Oh. That would be something Nicole would come to learn firsthand just a few short years later, as she found herself navigating mysterious joint pain, hot spells, and concerning bone loss. This week Nicole talks candidly about how she preserved performance during the transition, why she now champions DEXA scans for midlife athletes, and the role of plyometrics in protecting bone health. She also discusses the importance of being proactive—not reactive—when it comes to training, recovery, and maintaining power, and her personal mission to crack 1000 watts.

Nicole Oh is a physiotherapist from Sydney who specializes in the management of cyclists and triathletes. Nicole combines her cycling knowledge and physiotherapy skills to offer bike fitting services for all levels of riders. She also writes for the UK magazine Cycling Weekly on bike fitting, health and injury. Nicole was a late comer to endurance sports, starting as a triathlete, then switching to road racing in 2012 at the age of 35, racing in the UK, Europe, and now Australia. She has won National Masters titles in road and criterium racing, time trialling and cyclocross. You can learn more about her and her work at thebodymechanic.com.au/nicole-oh

Resources:

At 46 menopause took me by surprise - here’s how I’ve coped with the changes and adapted my training. Cycling Weekly

I hit menopause and found I was osteopenic - this is what cyclists (male and female) need to know. Cycling Weekly

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Over the past eight years, Feisty Media has grown into a go-to resource for women’s health and performance education.

In this special episode, Feisty CEO Sara Gross and Hit Play Not Pause host Selene Yeager reflect on how Feisty’s content has evolved to meet the real-life needs of active women. From menopause and nutrition to strength training and brain health, Feisty is offering more than ever—including a new suite of comprehensive, on-demand courses.

In a world overflowing with wellness advice, Feisty stays grounded in science. With trusted experts and evidence-based content, their goal is to give women clear, practical guidance for every stage of their health journey.

Now, for the first time, all Feisty courses are available on-demand—including our three brand-new offerings:

• A Perimenopause Starter Pack (All New!)
• Your Quick-Start Guide to Hormone Therapy (All New!)
• Brain Power: Understand, Protect, and Optimize Your Brain Health (All New!)
• Fueled: The Science, Psychology, and Strategy of Nutrition for Active Women
• Strong: The Complete Strength Training Course for Women
• Navigate Menopause: A Menopause Guide Built for Active Women

Whether you’re training, transitioning through menopause, or simply looking to take charge of your well-being, these courses deliver the knowledge and support you need—when and where you need it.

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When some of the biggest names in menopause medicine want to learn to lift heavy, they turn to this week’s guest, Nike Master Trainer and midlife fitness advocate Holly Rilinger, founder of the LIFTED Method. Because Holly gets it. She’s been through her own journey with damaging diet culture, body image issues, and a challenging perimenopause that has left her navigating sheet soaking night sweats, brain fog, and fatigue. Through a midlife-specific training plan and tailored hormone therapy regimen (including testosterone), she’s been able to reclaim her energy and power and is devoted to helping others do the same. This week we dive into the science and strategy behind Holly’s Lifted Method and her Blueprint programs designed specifically for women in midlife, as well as for those using GLP-1 medications. This conversation is packed with insight, honesty, and a lot of muscle. You can learn more about Holly and her programs at www.theliftedmethodcoaching.com

Holly Rilinger is a Nike Master Trainer, author, and founder of the LIFTED Method: An in-person and virtual platform with the focus of empowering people at all levels to strength train. Holly is dedicated to delivering innovative, science-backed training methods in an environment that prioritizes growth, resilience, and a lifelong passion for fitness. Holly coaches in her East Hampton studio and on her virtual platform. She is also the founder of LIFTED Blueprint, formerly Menopause Bootcamp, a program designed specifically to help women in midlife get stronger, feel more energized, and gain confidence as they navigate this powerful phase of life. She is also the creator of LIFTED’s newest program for SLP-1 patients–GLP-1 Blueprint in partnership with Dr. Alexandra Sowa of So Well.

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At the start of 2024, 55-year-old ultrarunner Hilde Dosogne set out to achieve the female World Record for the most consecutive days to run a marathon distance run by completing a marathon every day for a year. On December 31st of last year, she clocked her 366th 26.2 mile run (it was a leap year, which means she had one extra day to run) and her record was verified by Guinness in March. And we had questions, mostly how? How did she stay healthy? (Spoiler, she didn’t, but kept going.) Is she managing menopause symptoms? (Yep.) What does she want others to take from her feat? (The power of the mind and so much more.) This week we share our conversation about her journey to set that Guinness World Record.

Hilde Dosogne is a Belgian ultrarunner who started running at 41 and found her stride as a world-class endurance athlete quickly thereafter. Her career highlights include 100km Race Belgian Champion in 2023; 4th place in Ultrabalaton, a 210km race around Lake Balaton in Hungary; finishing Spartathlon in 2022 and 2023, and Marathon Des Sables, a 250km stage race in the Moroccan desert in 2021. She is also a mother of four and a bio-engineer. In 2024, she set a Guinness World Record by running 366 consecutive marathons in support of breast cancer research. Hilde is dedicated to pushing the limits of human endurance and proving what we’re capable of when we set our mind to it. You can learn more about her and her accomplishments at www.hildedosogne.be/en

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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 doom spiral we can’t quite escape. And it doesn’t exactly help that many of us are also firmly entrenched in the most demanding period of our lives. This week’s guest, cognitive neuroscientist Therese Huston, PhD, is coming to the rescue with a host of simple–and quick–ways to boost our dopamine, keep cortisol in check, and help our midlife brains be their best.

Therese Huston, PhD, is a cognitive neuroscientist at Seattle University and the author of four books. She’s always asking, “How can we remove the pesky obstacles that get in the way of smart people?” Her latest book, Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science, offers science-backed actionable strategies, many of which take 5 minutes or less, to help you make the most of the brain you’ve got. Therese received her MS and PhD in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. She completed a prestigious post-doc in cognitive neuroscience at the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and earned a degree in Organizational Leadership at Oxford University. She frequently gives talks and runs workshops for organizations like Microsoft, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Strava, and the Cleveland Clinic. She also loves a good 5K, especially when the rain takes a pause in her hometown of Seattle. You can learn more about her, her work, and her books at www.theresehuston.com.

Resources:

The Healthy Minds Program app here

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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, including what to know about carbohydrates, ultraprocessed foods, energy availability, protein, anti-inflammatory foods, supplements, and more with sports dietitian Kristen Arnold.

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.

Resources

Black Cohosh review here

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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. She’s completed numerous multi-day running events, where she generally posts top five in her age group, and currently has her sights set on 70.3 Ironman triathlon events. We talk all about her journey and learnings and what she wants other women like her to know.

Megan Eastwood never considered herself athletic. She was the girl no-one wanted on their sports team at school. Now 50+ she’s finding the confidence to see what her body is capable of.

She found ultra trail running in the UK in her early 20s, but an eating disorder ended any sports activity by the age of 30. Through career, marriage, and raising a family, she hit 39, overweight and not even able to run around the block. She knew she couldn’t enter her 40s like this and started running again. Living in Vancouver, Canada she quickly found the ultra-marathon scene.

Perimenopause hit hard. Like many women she couldn’t understand why everything was going wrong. She dug into research and resources and turned her situation around. Her message to anyone struggling to stay fit through menopause is keep going (and strength train), you will come through the other side eventually.

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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 marketing. That’s where mindset, especially acceptance, becomes an essential tool in our midlife toolbox. While there are steps we can take to feel and perform our best at every age and stage of life, there will always be some changes outside of our control. Accepting that isn’t “giving up”, it’s freeing yourself to stop battling your body and to truly appreciate all it does for you. This week we talk all about movement and mindset during midlife and menopause with fitness expert Maria Luque, PhD, menopause coach with Respin Health.

Dr. Maria Luque is an energetic and accomplished fitness and menopause expert, former health science professor, and USAF veteran. With a PhD and MS in Health Sciences and over two decades of fitness experience, she combines academic expertise with practical insights. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and NASM Women’s Fitness Specialist. Dr. Luque is passionate about helping women in midlife re-imagine exercise, body image, and well-being. She’s the founder of Fitness in Menopause, a company dedicated to helping women be healthier, stronger, saner, and more open to fun and adventure. In her role as head coach at Respin health, she has worked as the menopause coach to founder Halle Berry. You can learn more about her work at www.FitnessInMenopause.com and

www.DrMariaLuque.com. You can find her at Respin at www.respin.health/coaches

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