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 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 it than Kegels—in fact, in some cases they can make it worse.

Chloë explains that there’s more to your core than your abs and obliques and how muscle imbalances and weaknesses in key parts of your core, which includes your pelvic floor, can lead to leaking, especially in active women. She talks about the importance of deep breathing and other exercises to improve pelvic health, decrease stress, and help stop incontinence.

She is a doctor of physical therapy, a Slowtwitch and BikeFit certified bike fitter, as well as a Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and USATF level 1 and RRCA certified running coach based in Zurich, Switzerland. You can find out more about her work at https://www.chloemurdockpt.com/meet-chloe

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 trigger a cascade of symptoms and, if it goes unchecked, health issues such as fatigue, forgetfulness, mood swings, weight gain, irregular menstrual cycles, high cholesterol, heart disease, and more.

This week’s guest, Ingrid Anderson, RD, RDN, CDN, founder of Simply Confident nutrition and co-founder of Core Strength Fitness, specializes in treating women with thyroid conditions like hypothyroidism (low thyroid) and Hashimoto’s Disease (an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid). She is also a wealth of knowledge about how estrogen (or lack thereof) and thyroid hormone interact and what that means for all of us. You can learn more about Ingrid and her work at https://www.ingridrd.com/

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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 that come during the menopause transition. Experts are still uncovering all the hows and whys. Neuroscientist Dr. Sarah McKay, author of The Women’s Brain Book: The Neuroscience of Health, Hormones and Happiness, is one of those experts. We dive into all of that as well as hot topics like hormone therapy and brain health on this week’s show.

Dr. McKay is an Oxford University-educated neuroscientist, educator, presenter, media commentator, and director of The Neuroscience Academy. She 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

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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 this week’s guest Andrea Du Cane, of Andrea Du Cane Kettlebell Fitness.

Andrea is Director of Certifications for Dragon Door Publications. She is a Master Kettlebell Instructor, an ACE-certified group fitness and senior fitness specialist, a TRX-certified trainer, and a Kettlebell-Functional Movement Specialist. She is also trained in Stott Pilates and has over 25 years of aerobics, weight training, and fitness experience, with an additional background in classical ballet, jazz dance and Argentine tango. She has also trained in a number of Eastern health and martial arts disciplines including kung fu, yoga, tai chi and qigong. You can learn more about her at https://kettlebellfitness.com/

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

“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 Wright, MD, is simply not having it. Instead, she’s using her 20 years of medical acumen and wisdom to help others optimize aging, maximize mobility, and enjoy vital, healthy, active lives.

Dr. Vonda is a double-boarded orthopedic surgeon, elite sports doc, public speaker, multiple time published author, bio tech consultant and health innovator. Her mission is to understand the causes of joint pain, ways we can improve joint health, and stay active and fit as we age. You can learn more about her work and practice at drvondawright.com.

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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, author of The Menopause Manifesto, as well as the New York Times bestselling The Vagina Bible.

Jen Gunter, M.D., is an internationally bestselling author and OB/GYN with more than three decades of experience as a vulvar and vaginal diseases expert. Her TED talk was one of 2020’s Top Ten, and The Guardian calls her “the world’s most famous—and outspoken—gynecologist.” The recipient of the 2020 NAMS Media Award from the North American Menopause Society, she is a columnist for The New York Times and star of the CBC/Amazon Prime series Jensplaining, which humorously debunks medical myths and misinformation. She also hosts a new podcast, Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter. For more on Dr. Gunter, follow her at @DrJenGunter or visit DrJenGunter.com. You can buy The Menopause Manifesto wherever you get your books, including popular retailers here: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/9780806540665/the-menopause-manifesto/

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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 us exactly how we’ve gotten here--our androcentric Western medical system that dates back to Ancient Greece is how. It’s why women have suffered misdiagnosis and mistreatment throughout history. It’s also undoubtedly why that even in modern times, a 2019 survey found that 20 percent of residents in family medicine, internal medicine, and even ob/gyn received zero lectures on menopause during their training and fewer than 7 percent reported feeling prepared to help manage the care of women through their menopausal years. We talk about all of that...and importantly what we can all do right now to advocate for ourselves in the present and make the future better on this week’s show.

Elinor has a background in feminist culture and history. She has given talks and lectures at the British Film Institute, where she has been a regular contributor to the education program, Tate Modern, and ICA London, and she has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 discussion show The Forum. In 2017, she was shortlisted for the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize, and she has since written creatively about her experience of chronic illness for publications including Ache (UK) and Westerly (AUS). She now works as a freelance writer and researcher. Unwell Women is out June 8th, but you can preorder it now at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/646468/unwell-women-by-elinor-cleghorn/

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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 where you are right now. This week’s guest, coach Julie Young lives, breathes, and, of course, teaches that philosophy to help her clients optimize personal performance, no matter their age or menopausal status.

Julie’s personal accomplishments include winning 2019 Single Speed US National championships and the singlespeed category at the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in 2018, both of which she accomplished over the age of 50. She had a 12 plus year cycling racing career as a National team rider, racing in Europe and for pro teams like Saturn and is considered one of America’s most dominant European stage racers of her era. As a “retired” pro, Julie continues to push herself, competing and winning in gravel, cyclocross, mountain bike, X-terra, and trail running events, including a win at the 50k Trail National Championships. Julie works as the Sports Science Specialist at the Kaiser Sports Medicine Endurance Lab, where she does a wide range of physiology testing. She is a certified Specialized Body Geometry Bike Fit Technician and a certified Medicine of Cycling Bike Fitter. She is also the owner of Julie Young Training, where she provides individual coaching. You can find more about her services at www.julieyoungtraining.com

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off at https://velorosacycling.com with code HITPLAY

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 most women in menopause reside, scratching their heads, wondering how to find a wellness prescription that really works. This week’s guest Carla DiGirolamo, M.D., is making it her life’s mission to fill that gap, bridging the lack of knowledge between the medical and wellness communities as an active participant in groups like CrossFit Health, as well as through her own private practice, so menopausal women can avoid meds they don’t need and live their strongest, healthiest, most confident lives.

Carla is a double Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist/Obstetrician Gynecologist working as a reproductive specialist at Boston IVF in Waltham, Massachusetts. She is ranked among the Top Doctors in the Boston Area, and is listed as a provider with the North American Menopause Society. She is also a Crossfit Level 1 trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach and Les Mills BodyCombat and BodyPump Instructor. She recently launched an online personal training and nutrition coaching business, FitforLifeMD, which you can check out at fitforlifemd.com, specializing in the care of women in all age groups, but with a special interest in the comprehensive care of peri/postmenopausal women.

**Support the Podcast**

InsideTracker: 25% off at insidetracker.com/feistymenopause

Nuun Hydration: 30% off at nuunlife.com with the code FeistyMenopause

Velorosa Cycling: 15% off with code HITPLAY at velorosacycling.com

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 of sprint training and lifting heavy sh*t along with sound nutrition and lots of rest and easy rides.

Cheryl, who works as a security specialist for the Department of Homeland Security, started her career in the sport of cycling as one of the sole women--and the sole Black woman at the time--in her region 25 years ago. In 1999, she started Artemis Racing (which now includes a club portion called Artemis Cycling) based in Bethesda, Maryland to help more women find the love of riding and racing. She continues that passion today through Artemis (which is still going strong) and as a board member and mentor at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania.