In this episode of the Movement Logic Podcast, Laurel Beversdorf and Dr. Sarah Court examine the enduring myths and misinformation around the aesthetic goal of “getting abs.” They analyze the anatomy and function of the abdominal muscles, the cultural evolution of ab training versus core strength and stability training, and the role mechanical tension, muscle length, and training volume play in hypertrophy (muscle growth). Additionally, they discuss how pursuing the aesthetic goal of "getting abs" is different from performance goals related to abdominal strength.

The hosts unpack popular misconceptions, such as “abs are made in the kitchen,” or that body composition changes work differently for women than men, or that core stability means never moving your spine. They contrast these myths with what current research on energy balance and hypertrophy training show. They also trace how Pilates, physical therapy, and social media helped shape the modern core strength and stability narrative—one that, in some circles, shifted from building strength through movement to “protecting” the lumbar spine by avoiding it.

Additionally, this episode aims to clarify all of the factors that influence the appearance of the abdominal region, and how gendered, moralized, and shame-based messaging about the midsection continues to distort public understanding of exercise and body image.

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RESOURCES

Clip: Mel Robbing Podcast interview with Stacy Sims about abs

67: Popular Explanations for SI Joint Pain are Wrong, Says Science

78: Behemoth Knee Myths

20: Pelvic Floor In-Depth with Stephanie Prendergast, MPT

54: Alignment Dogma - Spine

58: Alignment Dogma - Shoulders

48: Alignment Dogma - Pelvis

80: Posture Panic Pt. 3 with Author Dr. Beth Linker, PhD

50: Bracing versus Breathing

Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, by Beth Linker

GHD Sit-Up

Hodges, 2001; PMID: 11181617

Kalantari, 2024; PMID: 38565979

Brown, 2011; PMID: 21325932

Cholewicki, 1999; PMID: 10521659

In this episode of the Movement Logic podcast, hosts Laurel Beversdorf and Dr. Sarah Court PT dive deep into their six-month online barbell lifting course, 'Lift for Longevity.' They discuss the course structure, including linear periodization, high variation, and impact training. Laurel and Sarah also share insights on the benefits of barbell training for women, challenging societal norms about women's fitness, and emphasizing the importance of strength and self-efficacy. They underscore the transformative power of consistent strength training and offer practical advice for those considering joining their course.

Sign up for the live Q&A on Wednesday October 22nd here (or get the replay)

Movement Logic on Instagram

References:

Episode 112 Redefining what’s possible: Lift for Longevity Alums Share their Stories

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Court and Laurel Beversdorf delve into the claims and marketing tactics used by two high-profile menopause experts and social media influencers, Dr. Mary Claire Haver and Dr. Vonda Wright. They explore and critique various aspects of their advice, including the advocacy for supplements like turmeric and collagen, the promotion of hormone therapy, and questionable exercise prescriptions. The hosts analyze the scientific validity of their claims, the potential harms, and the prevalence of fearmongering in their messaging. The episode aims to empower listeners to become more critical consumers of health information, especially in the menopause space.

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References:

Episode 37: Plyometrics – Get More Bang for your Bones

Episode 96: Bone Density Grifters – Introducing the Grift-O-Meter!

Episode 103: Do Weighted Vests Do Anything For Us?

Episode 109: Hot Flashes, Cold Facts: Menopause Myths That Won’t Die

Episode 110: Fact Checking Female-Specific Training & Nutrition Advice with Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, PhD

Episode 111: Make Stacy Sims Make Sense

The Pause Life

Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss

Inflammatory mechanisms linking obesity and metabolic disease

The power of creatine plus resistance training

The Effects of Creatine Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training

Dose-Response of creatine supplementation on cognitive function

Effects of Collagen Supplements 

Dietary Supplementation with Specific Collagen Peptides

Oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides

Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides

Vonda Wright

The musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause

Single Leg Balancing

Managing Menopausal Skin Changes

Topical estrogen for skin aging

Dr. Wright Instagram Posts:

MSK Syndrome of Menopause

F.A.C.E.

Estriol for face

Canyon Ranch

Bone Density

Hip Fracture

Step Down

Weighted Vests

Grip Strength

Welcome to Episode 112 of the Movement Logic Podcast! In this special episode, Laurel and Sarah talk to four women who recently completed Lift for Longevity about their experiences. Whether it’s overcoming fear of injury, finally finding a program that sticks, breaking free from perfectionism, or realizing barbells belong in their hands, each woman brings a unique and inspiring story.

In this episode, you’ll hear from:

Karen Klubertanz, an interior designer and yoga therapist who came to us after chronic back pain and years of yoga and kettlebells. Her story is about overcoming fear, learning to train with RPE, and discovering she could get stronger safely and sustainably.

Anna Grojec, a freelance writer and editor in New Jersey who found us through the podcast and has now completed the course twice, entirely asynchronously without ever taking a live class. Her story is about making strength training stick for the first time in her life through structure and community support.

Terry Littlefield, a longtime yoga teacher and old friend of Sarah’s who came in skeptical, took our free class, and realized she had to join. Her story is about shifting from perfectionism to consistency and finding confidence under the barbell.

Janai Leeb, a personal trainer in northern Los Angeles County who first got the impression in her PT cert that barbells weren’t for her. She joined to build her own barbell skills and now teaches them to her clients. Her story is about finding her lane with the barbell and showing others that anyone can lift, at any age.

If you’ve ever wondered if you’re too old, too inexperienced, or too "not a gym person" to lift barbells and get stronger, these conversations will change your mind.

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In this episode, Laurel and Sarah take a look at one of the most influential and controversial voices in women’s health: Dr. Stacy Sims. Known for the phrase “women are not small men,” Sims has built her brand on the idea that women need entirely different training and nutrition strategies than men.

Laurel and Sarah trace Sims’ rise to prominence, the research she leans on, and the rhetorical playbook she uses on major platforms like the Mel Robbins Podcast, and the Huberman Lab podcast. They examine how Sims’ is able to persuade listeners of her ideas, even though her catchy slogans and bold claims outpace the evidence.

Rather than just fact-checking Sims’ most dubious claims on cycle syncing, fasted training, cardio, and how women should train, this episode instead focuses on how Sims’ messages are delivered. You’ll listen for how Sims’ and the hosts of these podcasts frequently employ persuasive tactics like appeals to authority, fearmongering, absolutist framing, pseudo-feminist virtue signaling, and what Laurel and Sarah call “mechanism theater” can make the weak evidence and shaky reasoning behind the claims sound stronger than it is. These strategies aren’t unique to Sims; you’ll start noticing these persuasive tactics everywhere, especially in menopause marketing and wellness content online.

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FOLLOW @MovementLogicTutorials on Instagram

RESOURCES

Sims’ TedX talk

110: Fact-Checking Female-Specific Training & Nutrition Advice with Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, PhD

Debate between Sims and Colenso-Semple on  Docs Who Lift

Post Debate Interview on Barbell Medicine

109: Hot Flashes, Cold Facts: Menopause Myths that Won’t Die

62: Make McGill Make Sense

Bulky mug

Social Post from Dr. Colenso-Semple about choice to use mechanistic, rat, or men’s data

108: Breathing for Bone Density? YogaU Cannot Be Serious

108: Does it Have to be Heavy? Rethinking the Lift Heavy Shit Narrative

98: Capacities for Longevity Part 3 - Cardio

Decoding the Gurus

Front Page Fitness

Conspirituality

Yoga Meets Movement Science

Barbell Medicine

In this episode, Laurel and Sarah sit down with  muscle physiology researcher and science communicator Lauren Colenso-Semple to take a hard look at some of the most popular and problematic claims circulating in women’s health and fitness. Together, they unpack the slogan “women are not small men,” and the idea that women need completely different training and nutrition approaches than men. Lauren explains where the evidence actually stands on topics like muscle loss at 30, lifting to failure, cardio recommendations for women, bone density changes at menopause, training fasted versus fed, cycle syncing, cortisol “hacks,” and more.

This conversation is a deep dive into separating women's physiology from marketing ploys. Learn why overcomplicating women’s training does more harm than good. You'll gain clear, evidence-based guidance for women in perimenopause, post-menopause, and beyond.

Sign up for the Bone Density Course Interest list

Follow us @MovementLogicTutorials on Instagram

04:30 Why Naming Sources Matters

08:15 “Women Are Not Small Men”: What’s True and What’s Branding

16:00 How Much Research on Women Actually Exists

29:30 Training to Failure, Heavy vs. Light Loads, and Age-Specific Claims

31:00 The Case for Keeping Moderate-Intensity Cardio

36:15 Bone Loss Myths and What Exercise Really Helps

46:30 What “Challenging Sets” Mean in Research

49:00 Cortisol, Fasted Training, and Breakfast Timing

52:30 Low Energy Availability vs. Simply Skipping Breakfast

01:08:00 Cycle Syncing and Monthly Program Overhauls

01:15:00 Rapid-Fire Q&A: Creatine, Weighted Vests, Collagen, Protein Targets, Electrolytes

01:23:30 How Overcomplicated Rules Keep Women Out of Exercise

01:24:00 Has Stacy Sims Done More Good or More Harm?

01:26:30 Why Simple, Progressive Training Works for Everyone

Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple on Instagram

Front Page Fitness Podcast

Study Menstrual cycle phase does not influence muscle protein synthesis or whole-body myofibrillar proteolysis in response to resistance

Mel Robbins Podcast interview with Dr. Stacey Sims

Huberman Lab Podcast interview with Dr. Stacey Sims

In this episode of the Movement Logic podcast, Sarah and Laurel take on the most persistent—and profitable—myths about menopause and women’s health. From metabolism myths to cortisol panic, creatine hype, and new exercise “rules”, they separate marketing spin from actual science.

They also unpack the nuanced role of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)—who it helps, when it’s useful, and why menopause isn’t a medical emergency needing endless “fixes.”

Sign up for the Bone Density Course Interest list

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10:12 8 Menopause Myths and Misconceptions

37:08 Cortisol and Menopause

43:14 Exercise and Menopause

51:33 Muscle Loss and Menopause

55:00 Hormone Therapy and Muscle Mass: The Evidence

57:56 Debunking the Rapid Bone Loss Myth

01:04:31 The Truth About Creatine Supplementation

01:18:48 Menopause Symptoms vs. Aging: What's the Difference?

01:29:24 Menopause Hormone Therapy: Myths and Realities

01:42:25 Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations

Ep 8 A Perimenopause Perspective

63: Dismantling Long and Lean Pt 2

108: Does it Have to be Heavy?

Study Daily Energy Expenditure Through the Human Life Course

Study Changes in Physical Activity and Body Composition in Postmenopausal Women

Study  Evaluation of sex-based differences in resistance exercise training-induced changes in muscle mass, strength, and physical performance

Study Changes in body composition and weight during the menopause transition

Study Association Between Hormone Therapy and Muscle Mass

Study Longitudinal changes in BMD during perimenopausal transition

Study BMD Changes During the Menopause Transition

Study  Efficacy of Creatine Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass

Study  Creatine Supplementation During Resistance Training Does Not Lead to Greater Bone Mineral Density

The Vajenda

North American Menopause Society

Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple

Professor Susan Davis

In this episode of the Movement Logic Podcast, Dr. Sarah Court and Laurel Beversdorf critically evaluate the claims made by YogaU Online about the connections between breathing practices and bone health during a recent promotional webinar for a new workshop called “Breath As Medicine: Yogic Breathing for Vital Aging.” They meticulously analyze research studies cited by YogaU, debunking pseudoscientific assertions about nitric oxide production, VO2 max, and the impact of breathing on bone density. The hosts highlight the ethical implications of such misleading information and emphasize the importance of evidence-based practices in the fitness and yoga communities. The discussion also touches on marketing tactics that prey on the fears of older women, underscoring the need for transparency and integrity in health advice.

Sign up for the Bone Density Course Interest List here!

Movement Logic on Instagram

03:48 Calling Out Pseudoscience

05:19 Yoga U's Dubious Claims

17:47 The Breath as Medicine Workshop

18:39 Debunking the Claims

32:57 Understanding Breathing Pathologies

01:01:56 Lung Function and Bone Mineral Density: A Study Review

01:03:57 Debunking Misleading Claims in Yoga Marketing

01:09:38 Sleep Apnea Studies and Their Misuse

01:17:57 Hypoxia and Bone Health: Misinterpretations

01:23:23 Nitric Oxide and Aging: Separating Fact from Fiction

01:41:02 Cardiovascular Fitness: Misconceptions and Realities

01:50:47 Yoga U's Ethical Dilemma and Call for Accountability

01:59:38 Conclusion and Call to Action

References:

Episode 5 Does Yoga Asana Build Bone Density?

Episode 38 Got Bones? Yoga Asana Isn’t Enough

Episode 79 Make YogaU Make Sense

Episode 92 Make Dr. Loren Fishman Make Sense

Twelve-Minute Daily Yoga Regimen Reverses Osteoporotic Bone Loss

Recognizing and Treating Breathing Disorders: A Multidisciplinary Approach by Leon Chaitow

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

Association between lung function and bone mineral density in children and adolescents

Assessment of Bone Mineral Density and Bone Metabolism in Young Men with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Bone Mineral Density and Changes in Bone Metabolism in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Hypoxia is a Major Stimulator of Osteoclast Formation and Bone Resorption

Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Hypoxia-Induced Alterations in Bone Remodeling

Front Page Fitness podcast

Yoga Meets Movement Science podcast

In this episode of the Movement Logic Podcast, we take a hard look at one of our own core messages and ask: does it have to be heavy to build bone? We unpack a landmark systematic review and meta-analysis that compared more than 100 exercise interventions in postmenopausal women, looking at low, moderate, and high intensities across resistance training, impact, and combined programs.

We explain the big picture: resistance training works across intensities, moderate intensity often performs just as well as heavy, and impact-only isn’t the standalone solution it’s often made out to be. We also highlight how few truly high-intensity trials exist, why that matters, and what it means for interpreting the data.

Along the way, we reflect on why it’s important to update your message when new evidence emerges, and how this research shifts—not our programming, but our language—around lifting heavy. You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what actually builds bone, what the science says (and doesn’t yet say), and why there’s more than one effective way to get stronger bones.

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00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview

09:37 New Research on Exercise Intensity and Bone-Building Exercise for Postmenopausal Women

37:08 About the Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

52:20 Meta-Analysis Results Overview

54:16 Lumbar Spine Analysis

59:00 Femoral Neck Analysis

01:01:43 Total Hip Analysis

01:02:40 Key Takeaways and Summary

01:04:17 Meta-Regression Insights

01:09:47 Clinical vs. Statistical Significance

01:14:14 Discussion on Bias

01:17:26 Engaging with the Community and Expert Opinions

01:39:46 Debunking Myths About Women and Heavy Lifting

01:40:39 Addressing Misconceptions around Lifting Heavy

01:47:25 Cultural Shifts and Women in Strength Training

02:05:58 Practical Benefits of Heavy Lifting

02:11:44 Final Thoughts

REFERENCES:

LIFTMOR Trial and YouTube video

Kistler-Fischbacher Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

91: LIFTMOR, Not Less: An Interview with Professor Belinda Beck

Stu Phillips IG page and post

Korpelainen paper

100: The Hidden Cost of "Just Do Something" Fitness Advice

In this episode of the Movement Logic Podcast, Laurel unpacks what warm ups actually do—and why cool downs aren’t necessary. She explains how warming up sharpens focus, raises tissue temperature, and primes the nervous system, setting you up to perform better and reduce injury risk. Laurel shares five simple principles for effective warm ups, clears up myths about stretching and “activation,” and contrasts them with cool downs, which don’t aid recovery or prevent soreness.

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FOLLLOW Movement Logic on Instagram

References:

Article - (Stronger by Science) Heavier warm-ups are best, new study suggests 

Paper - Systematic Review with Meta Analysis on Cool Downs (Afonso, 2021)

Ep. 90 - Capacities for Longevity: Strength