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 she does it and why she believes that once you toss out your self-limiting beliefs, you can continue to grow and make progress at any stage of life. Leka Fineman is a 5 time CrossFit Games Athlete, and is a certified CrossFit, Weightlifting, Gymnastics, Nutrition, and XPT Performance Breathing Coach. Leka specializes in helping her clients feel mentally and physically strong to navigate through and enjoy a long, healthy life. Her expertise is in providing women with tools to handle stress, balance hormones, and optimize the body’s natural ability to recover. She is dedicated to helping women feel strong, confident, and empowered in their lives and bodies- through all stages of life. You can learn more about her and her work at lekafineman.com Watch Live: https://www.youtube.com/@CrossFitGamesTV?mibextid=Zxz2cZ 
 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Crushing CrossFit Goals During Menopause with Leka Fineman (Episode 139)

Welcome to the Hit Play Not Pause Podcast, a Feisty Menopause podcast for active, performance-minded menopausal women who aren’t willing to put their best years behind them. It’s time to reimagine what you can accomplish as an active woman in your 40’s, 50’s and beyond. We talk about how to optimize your physiology, maintain your fitness, and harness your power in, through, and past the menopause transition. Come join the movement. 
Join host Selene Yeager for a no B-S podcast for women ready to live their feistiest lives.

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Sally “Sal” Edwards, now 76, is a pioneer in women’s sports. She qualified for the first women's marathon Olympic Trials in 1983 and is one of the original founders of USA Triathlon. She also brought heart rate and zone training to the mainstream. For 22 years, Sal served as the national spokeswoman for the Danskin Women's Triathlon Series volunteering to finish last as a professional triathlete so that no other woman would have to. This week Sal reflects back on her past and shares her insights into where training technology is taking us in the future. We also talk about menopause, what it means to have a great life, and how we “shouldn’t let the old woman in.” Sally “Sal” Edwards, MA, MBA, an American best-selling author, professional athlete, entrepreneur, teacher and coach is one of America's leading experts in business, exercise science, and lifestyle living. She is the author of 25 books on health, fitness, and weight loss. Her passion is to get America fit. Her company, Heart Zones®  is a fitness and health technology and wearable devices company. Sally is the co-founder of Fleet Feet. She is the developer of the Heart Zones patented group technology used in over 2,500 schools in 10 countries plus health clubs and individual fitness enthusiasts around the world. https://www.heartzones.com/schools/methodology/threshold-training/#1538596814280-1c88a01f-2303 
 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Don't Let the Old Woman In with Sal Edwards (Episode 178)

Be smaller. Be lighter. For our entire lives those messages have been drilled into us from every angle, including very often from those in our sports. We hear we need to be at “race weight.” We’re shown “idealized” images of what female athletes “should” look like. It’s all incredibly damaging, especially as we hit menopause and midlife and our bodies start to change. It’s also based on BS. Women with cellulite and extra body fat win races. Women who are well-fueled outperform those who are not. There is no one magic number on the scale or body fat percentage that makes us a success. All the destructive messages that make us hate our bodies feed the diet culture machine. This week we sat down with coach and sports dietitian Marni Sumbal to dismantle that machine and help us find body peace, so we don’t spend the next chapters of our lives in an endless war with ourselves.  Marni Sumbal MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N is the owner of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, a coaching and nutrition company based in Greenville, South Carolina, which she runs with her husband and RETUL bike fit expert, Karel Sumbal. Marni is a 3x author, board certified sports dietitian and holds a master of science in exercise physiology. She is a 19x Ironman finisher, 2x XTRI finisher, and 6x Ironman World Championship finisher. You can learn more about her and her services at trimarnicoach.com.  Resources: Marni Sumbal’s latest book: Athlete to Triathlete: The Ultimate Triathlon Training Plan for Sprint and Olympic Races  
 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Race Weight, Body Image & Performance with Marni Sumbal, MS, RD, CSSD (Episode 177)

If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s pelvic floor health is a whole lot more than doing Kegel exercises. In fact, sometimes Kegels are the last thing you need. This week we look at pelvic floor health through the lens of Postural Restoration with pelvic floor physical therapist and Postural Restoration Certified (PRC) practitioner Hayley Kava, who talks us through anatomical and structural issues that can contribute to leaking, aches and pains, and even propensity to injuries that become more common in the menopause transition.  Hayley Kava PT, MPT, PRC is a pelvic floor physical therapist and Postural Restoration® Certified (PRC) provider. A former collegiate athlete and sports medicine physical therapist, Hayley was shocked at the lack of integrative education, information and support for pelvic floor specific concerns when she became a mother in 2017. In 2018, Hayley started her pelvic floor education to complement her PRI training and in 2020, she started her own business working exclusively with people with pelvic floor disorders, taking an “outside in” approach to pelvic health. Her mission in this work is to ensure that no person feels alone in dealing with pelvic floor problems. You can learn more about her and her work at hayleykavapt.com

 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Postural Restoration & Pelvic Floor Therapy During Menopause with Hayley Kava PT, MPT, PRC (Episode 176)

At 49, this week’s guest Sarah Max is the oldest rider in the Life Time Grand Prix, the biggest, hardest gravel and mountain bike race series on the planet. That was something Sarah didn’t always want to talk about. She didn’t want to be defined by her age and didn’t always love the attention it attracted. But she’s realized that while her age isn’t her “brand,” it is part of her story–and an important part that inspires others and helps them see their own potential. And it most certainly doesn’t get in her way, as she embraces the challenges and opportunities of the professional cycling life while also working full time as the Managing Editor at Morgan Stanley Research and being the mom of twin college-age girls.  Sarah Max’s professional cycling highlights include a 3rd place finish at 2019 Unbound (formerly DK200), 2nd place in the notoriously competitive Belgian Waffle Ride in Southern California in 2019 and 6th in 2023, 4th at Steamboat Gravel in 2022, and 13th overall in the Life Time Grand Prix series last year. She started her editorial career covering investing and personal finance as a staff writer for Money Magazine and, later, as a senior writer for CNNMoney. With the mountains calling, Sarah moved to Bend, Oregon where she worked as a contributing editor to Barron's and contributing writer to publications including Entrepreneur, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal before taking her current job at Morgan Stanley. Resources https://www.lifetimegrandprix.com/ 
 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Opportunities of a Life Time with Sarah Max (Episode 175)

Women’s brains are finally getting the research attention they deserve! While we sort out the role hormones play in our current and future cognitive health, it’s important to remember that estrogen is just one player in a lifelong host of factors impacting your brain, including education, intellectual engagement, diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness, hearing loss, head injuries, sleep, stress levels, community, purpose, and much more! Hormones are part of the picture, but don’t outweigh everything else. There are many actions we can take to improve cognitive function and brain health, whether or not we also use hormone therapy. We dive into it all this week with neuroscientist Dr. Sarah McKay. Dr. Sarah McKay is an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist and educator. She is the director of The Neuroscience Academy and author of The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness. Dr. McKay teaches coaches, therapists, teachers and other professionals how to thoughtfully apply insights and tools from neuroscience to their work. You can learn more about her and buy her book at drsarahmckay.com Resources Menopause impacts human brain structure, connectivity, energy metabolism, and amyloid‑beta deposition study here. Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia study here.  Sex-specific associations of serum cortisol with brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s risk study here. Hormone Replacement Therapy Could Ward off Alzheimer’s Among At-Risk Women research here Trends in Intracranial and Cerebral Volumes of Framingham Heart Study Participants Born 1930 to 1970 study here.  
 Subscribe to the Feisty 40+ newsletter: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/feisty-40-sign-up-page  Follow Us on Instagram: Feisty Menopause: @feistymenopause  Feisty Media: @feisty_media  Selene: @fitchick3  Hit Play Not Pause Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/807943973376099  Join Level Up - Our Community for Active Women Navigating the Menopause Transition: Join: https://www.feistymenopause.com/monthly-membership-1  Leave your questions for Selene: https://www.speakpipe.com/hitplay  Get the Free Feisty Women's Guide to Lifting Heavy Sh*t: https://www.feistymenopause.com/liftheavy  Support our Partners: Lagoon Sleep: Go to LagoonSleep.com/hitplay and take the 2 minute sleep quiz to find your match, and then use the code HITPLAY for 15% off your first purchase  Hettas:  Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/   Previnex: Get 15% off your first order with code HITPLAY at https://www.previnex.com/    Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/ 

Crushing CrossFit Goals During Menopause with Leka Fineman (Episode 139)

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