Blogging with Dr. Stacy Sims
How to work with your female physiology to succeed in thin air.
If you’ve ever run, biked, hiked, or skied in the U.S. Rockies, European Alps, the Himalayans, or anywhere high above sea level—especially above 2400 meters or 8000 feet—you know performance drops as the air thins....
If you’re an active female, chances are you’re at risk for low energy availability and the health consequences it brings. Here’s what you need to know.
When researchers screen the nutritional intake of female athletes, a staggering percentage are not eating enough to...
By working with your premenstrual physiology, you can make progress (and yes, podiums) despite the challenges of premenstrual syndrome.
By now, you’ve heard me talk all about “period power”—that your menstrual cycle is when your body is more resilient to stress and a great...
Elite women are training, competing, and yes, winning, during and after pregnancy, rewriting the playbook for moms in sport.
It wasn’t that long ago that active women were discouraged from continuing their exercise routine when they got pregnant. Sure, they were supposed to meet the bare...
Whether you’re crossing time zones or working shift work, circadian rhythm disruption takes a toll, and is worse for women. Here’s what to know.
Anyone who’s been in an airport lately knows that travel is back. Airports and planes are packed as people take long overdue...
Collagen is the current darling of the wellness industry. It can benefit a lot of women, but not all supplements work the same.
More women (and men for that matter) are interested in collagen supplements than ever before. Weightlifters believe they can enhance muscle mass. Athletes want them to...
Kerry Litka talks about her change of perspective as a post-menopausal woman
For a change of pace, I thought that a case study of a woman in our community might be of interest to my readers, and it ties in nicely with the sale of my Menopause 2.0 course (the last time it goes on sale until...
Donating blood is great. But you don’t need to give a pint to gain fitness as new research may suggest.
Women are not small men. It’s been my mantra for well over a decade. In recent years, the scientific community has been catching up and calling attention to sex differences in...
What you need to know about the pre-event pasta party.
Women perform best when they’re well-fueled. Anyone who follows me here is clear on that. Women should prioritize protein to make and maintain our muscles. We also need carbs, of course, to fuel our exercise, training, and competition....
The right amount of this essential macronutrient keeps your female physiology working its best.
Building and maintaining muscle is essential not just for performance but also for health and longevity. Lower muscle mass is associated with increases in metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease,...
Females appear more sensitive to brain tissue inflammation. Here’s what might help.
Scientists have recently reported that women are more likely than men to experience long COVID after an infection, and are significantly more likely to experience related complications in the brain and...
Race day temperatures are rising. Here’s what active women need to know.
As I write this, race season is underway in the Northern Hemisphere and temperatures are climbing as much as 20 degrees above average across a large swath of the U.S. As sweltering weather becomes the norm, it’s...
Your physiology changes as your hormones fluctuate, but there’s never a “bad day” to nail a personal best.
My life’s work is largely devoted to helping women work with their unique physiology to train and perform their best. That means adjusting training sessions to...
Resistance training triggers hormones that increase abdominal fat burning.
When women come to me wanting to change their body composition, I direct them straight to the weight room. Contrary to the old “cardio to burn fat” “resistance training to build muscle” dogma...
Heavy lifting. Sprint training. Plyometrics. They all have one thing in common—they’re essential for menopausal health and performance.
Society has taught women to devalue their power. That’s especially true during menopause when we’re told it’s time to slow down and...
Why your recovery scores may not be what they seem depending on your cycle.
Many women tell me that they use heart rate variability (HRV)—the variance in time between beats of your heart—for tracking recovery. HRV is the metric that Whoop Strap, Oura Ring, and other recovery tracking...
Endurance sports have their place, but for long-term health and longevity, you need to hit the weights.
As a former Ironman triathlete and bike racer, I’m not about to tell anyone to hang up their racing flats or rack their bike. Endurance training can improve cardiorespiratory fitness,...
The science behind ice baths and sauna sessions.
Extreme temperature treatments have been a hot (pun intended) trend for the past few years. Long time athlete Gabby Reece famously swears by super hot (up to 220 degrees F!) sauna treatments followed by icy cold plunges and Lady Gaga’s...
Research shows the perimenopausal period is the best time to adapt your training to prevent unwanted menopausal metabolism and body composition changes.
I’ll say up front that it’s never too late (or too early!) to start lifting heavy sh*t and upping intensity to improve...
Men do, too. Research shows another downside to low-carb training.
Women perform best in a fueled state. That means eating carbohydrates. That shouldn’t be a radical concept. Carbs are the preferred fuel source for our brain; they’re necessary to fuel high intensity efforts, and they...
Building the foundation of your diet on plants builds a strong foundation for health and performance, especially for women.
Since I spend so much time helping inform how other people should eat for optimal health and performance, many women ask me how I eat. I have been a plant-centered athlete...
If you thought it affected your cycle, you were right. Here’s what’s going on.
I just got boosted. Aside from a sore arm (which I had to put a brave face on for, so my daughter wouldn’t be afraid to get her shot after me), I didn’t have too many side...
Research shows that female athletes have the same relative energy requirements as their male counterparts.
As anyone who’s been following me for more than 3 days knows, I’m all about women fueling properly, because the fact is that most active women do not eat enough to support their...
Your microbiome helps you turn food to fuel and a whole lot more.
Most of us don’t think too much about our gut…until our gut demands our attention with bloating, cramping, and other forms of GI distress. That’s a mistake because our gut microbiome is one of the most...
