Feisty Women's Performance

This week, Sara talks to professional trainer, figure and bikini competitor Josefine Holmberg about all things bodybuilding like a woman.

Josefine is an all-around athlete who competed in CrossFit, Olympic Lifting, and Figure before finding her love for Bikini competitions. Josefine shares how she uses the advice of Dr. Stacy Sims to optimize her performance, and the performances of the women she trains.

A natural optimist, Josefine describes her long return from Lyme disease and how she dealt with a difficult, multi-year return to sport. She discusses her experience of having to advocate for herself, even with well-meaning doctors, in order to reach a diagnosis.

And last but not least, Sara and Josefine talk about being celiac and an athlete, and bond over their GI symptoms :)

Follow Josefine Holmberg on Instagram @iamjosefineholmberg

Listen to Josefine’s podcast on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts: One You Podcast

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

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Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

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@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Okay, Feisty friends, if you are looking for some inspiration and motivation - this is the episode for you.

This week, Sara talks to Emily Kraus and Megan Roche. Emily is the FASTR program coordinator, MD, a clinical assistant professor at Stanford children's orthopedic and sports medicine center, a seven-time marathoner, and a two-time Boston finisher.

Megan is the FASTR lead researcher, an MD, a Ph.D. candidate in epidemiology, AND a five-time national trail running champion.

So what is FASTR? It is a program designed to conduct research and provide information for female athletes. Sara talks to Emily and Megan about the moments they first realized there was a gender gap in sports science research, and how they are working to close that gap. Further, they discuss how women have certain advantages built into their physiology to help them perform, and what Emily and Megan would do if they could conduct ANY research on female performance broadly.

Follow the FASTR program on Instagram @stanfordfastr

FASTR Website

Follow Emily @emilykrausmd_sportscience

Follow Megan @meg_runs_happy

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

This week on the show, Sara shares Selene Yeager’s Keynote Speech from last weekend’s Feisty Women’s Performance Summit.

Selene is a professional journalist, health and fitness writer, personal trainer, professional mountain bike racer, and an all-American IRONMAN triathlete. Selene discusses her journey to where she is today - as host of Feisty Menpoause’s Hit Play Not Pause podcast. She underlines the importance of coming together as women and creating an empowering culture for all women - not just those that are ready to break down barriers. Sara and Selene end the show with an insightful Q&A session where they get real with us and share the ways they have been built up by their communities.

Selene Yeager Instagram

Feisty Menopause Instagram

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

This week on the show, Sara welcomes obstacle racer, Amelia Boone, to discuss Amelia’s experience as a high-performance female athlete.

Boone is one of the most decorated obstacle course racers ever, four-time obstacle course World Champion, three-time winner of the World's Toughest Mudder, Spartan Race Champion, Ultrarunner, AND full-time lawyer for Apple inc.

Amelia tells us about her start in obstacle racing and the importance of having a good neighborhood playground. Amelia and Sara delve into the pressures of sport from a young age. When Amelia was 15, she first developed an eating disorder that would seriously jeopardize her mental health, physical health, and athletic performance. They discuss the clear and distinct intersection of sport and disordered eating and the ways in which self-knowledge can propel recovery.

Amelia Boone Instagram

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Sara welcomes Ultra-endurance bike rider and racer, Lael Wilcox, to discuss her unconventional success in ultra racing and the joy of making people (ok, mostly men) think, "How is this even possible?!"

In 2016, she won the Trans Am Bike Race outright, making her the first female to do so. The Trans Am is the premier self-supported road race across the United States, traversing over 4200 miles.

She discusses:

• The exhilaration of winning outright
• Her strategy and logistics for winning such a grueling event
• The power of beating the boys - "A Win for Womankind"
• A woman's capacity for resilience and grit
• What it was like being constantly doubted and questioned
• Handling the physical and mental aspects of pain and how she made friends with it
• 
  

Lael also runs Tucson GRIT and Anchorage GRIT (girls riding into tomorrow), a cycling mentorship program, for girls ages 11-13. They ride together for six weeks, with a build-up to a camp-out ride. Her true passion? Getting more girls and women to “give it a go.” She shares her advice with parents of young girls, and even older women who want to achieve their own epic adventures.

Find mentors and start small. Do things that will build your confidence. Then, before you know it, you'll be riding across the country in jean shorts beating the boys across the line.  

Lael is a keynote speaker at the 2022 Women's Performance Summit - it's a talk you won't want to miss.

Lael Wilcox Instagram

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Sara welcomes Dr. Carla DiGirolamo, a double board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and reproductive endocrinologist who has experience with the unique physical and mental challenges that women face through every stage of life's journey.

In addition to specializing in all aspects of fertility care, Dr. DiGirolamo is also a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer/Crossfit Health, Certified Nutrition Coach, and Les Mills BodyCombat Instructor.

Today, she and Sara talk hormones, including:

• The purpose of hormones
• Myths and misconceptions about hormone imbalance
• Training under stress - the good and bad
• Advice for prepubescent teens and parents of those children
• Pros and cons of different birth control methods for active athletes
• Benefits of HIIT Training and lifting heavy shit
• CrossFit Health
• Recommendations on nutrition
• Advice to someone struggling with infertility
• Advice to someone struggling with perimenopause and menopause

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Each week on the Women's Performance Podcast, we discuss the four pillars of performance, which are physiology, nutrition, mental health, and culture, while recognizing that ultimately, we can't separate one from the other.

Today, we take this multidisciplinary approach with activist, entrepreneur, Mom, and cyclist, Monica Garrison. As Founder and Executive Director of Black Girls Do Bike, Monica and her team of "Sheroes" have amassed a worldwide organization of 30,000 members with over 100 chapters in the US and, most recently, in London.

While it's wildly important to celebrate the fact that she is helping to get black women on bikes and identify as cyclists, it's equally important to recognize how black women are shifting the culture of cycling for the better.

Monica and Sara Discuss:

• Monica's background as a photographer/videographer and how that influences her work with Black Girls Do Bike
• Crafting the imagery of BGDB
• How they motivate their children
• The impetus for starting BGDB
• The initial response from the industry when she started BGDB
• Why it is important to have a space for Women of Color
• Issues or stereotypes of black women that most don't see
• The valuable assets black women bring to the cycling culture and industry
• Viewing herself as a serial entrepreneur - even with some failures
• How she finds sponsors and supporters for BGDB
• Personal cycling or fitness goals
• Pressures she feels as the leader of this growing organization
• Her vision of BGDB over the next several years
• Advice for those of us who are trying to shift the culture and create a more inclusive space

We must continue to create spaces for underrepresented groups and, with people like Monica, we see a beautiful representation and the power of being that change.

About Black Girls Do Bike Founder, Monica Garrison

Monica Garrison is the Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Storyteller at Black Girls Do Bike. She is tasked with fueling 100+ BGDB chapters worldwide and a network of 180+ lady leaders. She believes that the simple act of riding a bike can be a catalyst for wonderful, life-changing experiences for women of all ages. Growing and supporting a community of women who share a passion for cycling is her north star. 

Black Girls Do Bike - Website and Resources

Monica's Photography Website

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Sports nutrition is entering a new era of sex hormone-specific needs. Athletes who menstruate have specific fueling needs during and around training as it relates to hormone levels. 

Today, Sara takes a deep dive on the topic of performance nutrition with Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD.

They discuss:

• Common pitfalls of fueling
• Sorting through the diet trends like Intermittent Fasting and Paleo. 
• GI issues during and after exercise and tips on how to train your stomach to absorb calories during training 
• Navigating perimenopause
• How to stop fearing food and start loving ourselves and our powerful bodies

This interview is valuable for anyone who's looking for women's specific nutrition information, or information on how to love our bodies and have a better relationship with food.

Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Kristi Mohn is a born advocate.

As one of the founders of Unbound Gravel, she has long been an outspoken champion for women and non-binary cyclists and, in today's episode, she and Sara dive deep into this pillar of culture and creating equal representation.

You'll also hear Kristi's:

• Advice for anyone who’s interested in advocacy work, or how we can be effective advocates for ourselves and others.
• Thoughts for anyone who feels an entrepreneurial calling. Kristi once had 11 LLCs at one time!
• Take on parenting by example and managing motherhood in a busy life.
• Philosophy of creating an evolving definition of what performance means.

Our definition of "performance" will evolve over time and, thanks to movers and shakers like Kristi, we have shining examples of success across multiple spectrums.

Kristi Mohn and Kathryn Taylor are Movers and Shakers

Kristi Mohn Instagram

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo

Taylor Treacy is a former collegiate and professional volleyball player. In this powerful keynote address from the 2021 Women’s Performance Summit, Taylor addresses the topic of diet culture and the many ways that weight stigma and fat-phobia are destructive physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

She discusses:

• The genesis of diet culture and “the why” behind keeping women small and submissive
• The fallacies of diet culture and how they disregard and diminish much of the population
• The myriad physical, mental, and emotional impacts women face as a result of societal pressure
• Ways to avoid, challenge, and say “F*ck You” to diet culture

As Taylor says, education is vital, so if you are struggling or think you need help, please seek the assistance of licensed professionals including Registered Dietitians, Physicians, and Psychologists. 

The Virago Project

Taylor Treacy Instagram

Join the Feisty Winter Training Programs:

https://livefeisty.com/training/

Sign up to Receive The Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter:

Feisty Women's Performance Newsletter: https://livefeisty.com/newsletters/feisty-womens-performance/

Follow us on Instagram:

@feisty_womens_performance

Support our Partners:

Momentous: Head to https://www.livemomentous.com/ and use promo code PERFORMANCE for up to 35% off your first order

Wahoo: Learn more about Wahoo Fitness Products at: https://wahoofitness.pxf.io/0GAByR

Tifosi Optics: Use code FEISTY2026 for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/

Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Orca: Use the code FEISTY15 for 15% off at https://orca.avln.me/c/HzUkzIfxsmYo