The Body Pod

In this episode of The Body Pod, Hailey sits down with Dr. Alyssa Olenick - exercise physiologist, researcher, endurance athlete, and one a trusted voice in women's fitness science. Alyssa holds a PhD in exercise physiology with an emphasis in women's fitness and has dedicated her career to translating complex science into real, actionable guidance for everyday women. Hailey and Alyssa dig into the strength training conversation that midlife women actually need, cutting through the conflicting online noise to talk about what a smart training year really looks like, why training multiple characteristics (strength, power, and cardio) across a year produces far better results than doing the same thing indefinitely, and why power training and plyometrics are the most overlooked piece of the puzzle for women over 40. They also break down the cardio and heart rate zone conversation with refreshing honesty, explaining when zones actually matter, how to build an aerobic base, and why most women are overthinking it entirely.The episode closes on the topic every midlife woman is asking about: metabolism, body composition, and the real story behind the changes happening in perimenopause and beyond. Alyssa unpacks what the research actually says about metabolic rate, fat redistribution, muscle loss, and why so many women feel like everything changed even when nothing in their routine did. She leaves listeners with a simple, grounded framework to stop spinning their wheels and start building a body (and a relationship with fitness) that actually works for this season of life. Find more of her work at doclyssfit.com.Be First in Line for Shred Happens: Our popular 6-week challenge for shredding fat and building muscle starts October 18. You get a personalized calorie/macro budget, live Q&A calls with experts, workouts for both gym and home, prize giveaways and an incredible community of women doing it along with you. Save Your Spot →Hailey Happens Fitness Membership is my full training system in your back pocket. Join with a Yearly Plan to design a training year that fits your midlife goals and body. Start training with a 10-day free trial →

If you're a woman in perimenopause, menopause, or beyond and you've heard that strength training is important but aren't sure where power training, jumping, and plyometrics fit in, this episode is a must-listen. We sit down with plyometrics expert and PhD researcher Matt McInnes Watson to explore why midlife women need more than just lifting weights to support bone density, balance, mobility, fall prevention, healthy aging, and long-term independence. Matt breaks down the science behind plyometric training, tendon health, force production, reaction time, and how explosive movement can help women stay strong, capable, and athletic for decades to come.In this fascinating conversation, Matt explains why power is one of the first physical qualities we lose with age, how plyometrics improve bone health, muscle function, coordination, cognitive performance, and injury resilience, and why traditional exercise programs often miss this critical piece of the longevity puzzle. You'll learn the difference between strength and power, why learning new movement skills is so important for brain health, and how simple activities like skipping, hopping, bounding, and multidirectional movement can improve everything from athletic performance to everyday confidence.Whether you're looking to build stronger bones during menopause, improve balance and stability, prevent falls, increase athleticism, boost cycling or running performance, or simply move through life with more energy and confidence, this episode provides practical, evidence-based strategies you can start using today. Matt shares beginner-friendly approaches to plyometric training, how to safely build tissue capacity, and why adding speed, power, and reactive movement to your fitness routine may be one of the most powerful investments you can make for healthy aging, longevity, osteoporosis prevention, and lifelong strength.Be First in Line for Shred Happens: Our popular 6-week challenge for shredding fat and building muscle starts October 18. You get a personalized calorie/macro budget, live Q&A calls with experts, workouts for both gym and home, prize giveaways and an incredible community of women doing it along with you. Save Your Spot →Hailey Happens Fitness Membership is my full training system in your back pocket. Join with a Yearly Plan to design a training year that fits your midlife goals and body. Start training with a 10-day free trial →

If you're a midlife woman trying to build muscle, lose stubborn fat, and finally get straight answers about protein, this episode of The Body Pod is required listening. Host Hailey Babcock sits down with nutrition scientist Mikki Williden, PhD, and nutrition coach Brandon DaCruz to tackle the online protein controversy head-on: is there really a "ceiling" of 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or does that number change entirely once a midlife woman is strength training and eating in a calorie deficit? Drawing on a 2025 meta-regression on protein dosing, Bill Campbell's body recomposition research, and decades of clinical experience, Brandon and Mikki break down exactly how much protein women over 40 need to protect muscle mass, support bone density, and build a body recomposition: losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time.The conversation goes far beyond protein numbers, digging into the fat loss strategies every midlife woman should understand before trying them. Brandon explains protein-sparing modified fasts and rapid fat loss protocols — including who they're genuinely appropriate for and why chronic dieters and lean women trying to get leaner should approach them with real caution — while Mikki offers a more sustainable alternative using calorie cycling and diet breaks to create a deficit without the burnout. The two also unpack the real science behind spot reduction, walking through the physiology of fat loss (lipolysis, transport, and oxidation) to explain whether targeting fat loss in the abs, arms, or glutes is actually possible.This episode also confronts the hidden hormonal risks of chronic dieting in midlife, including low energy availability, thyroid dysfunction, and declining bone mineral density, referencing the IOC's 2023 consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. Hailey, Mikki, and Brandon also touch on GLP-1 medications, muscle loss, and the pressure many women feel to be "rail thin," closing with Mikki's simple 3-day food journal exercise designed to reveal what's really stalling fat loss progress. Whether you're navigating perimenopause, menopause, or just tired of conflicting advice, this roundtable delivers the nuanced, evidence-based guidance midlife women need to build muscle, lose fat sustainably, and protect their long-term hormone health.If you love what you learned in this podcast, Mikki Wlliden is one of the featured experts in our Fat Loss Happens Education course starting September 8th. Join now for our 7-week science-backed education program that teaches midlife women how to lose fat, build strength, and keep results, without extreme diets or endless cardio.Be First in Line for Shred Happens: Our popular 6-week challenge for shredding fat and building muscle starts October 18. You get a personalized calorie/macro budget, live Q&A calls with experts, workouts for both gym and home, prize giveaways and an incredible community of women doing it along with you. Save Your Spot →Hailey Happens Fitness Membership is my full training system in your back pocket. Join with a Yearly Plan to design a training year that fits your midlife goals and body. Start training with a 10-day free trial →

In this powerful episode of The Body Pod, world-renowned performance physiologist Dr. Stacy Sims and endurance expert Selene Yeager break down the latest breakthroughs in women’s health research, longevity, strength training, and female physiology—and why the future of women’s health is finally changing.From the stage with icons like Jane Fonda to cutting-edge conversations on the bone–brain–muscle axis, this episode dives deep into why strength training is essential for women’s longevity, brain health, metabolic health, and hormone balance. You’ll learn why traditional fitness advice has failed women, how underfueling impacts bone density and muscle mass, and why lifting weights is one of the most powerful tools for preventing osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and cognitive decline.Dr. Sims also introduces her groundbreaking new initiative, Collective X—a female-specific research and data platform designed to close the gender data gap in health and fitness. By leveraging vetted research, AI, and real-world data, Collective X is working to revolutionize how women understand their bodies, optimize performance, and make informed decisions about their health across the lifespan.This conversation tackles:The massive gap in female-specific health researchWhy women have been left out of medical and fitness dataHow strength training supports brain function, gut health, and inflammationThe truth about DEXA scans, bone density, and hidden health risksWhy every woman deserves to be in the weight roomHow lifting weights improves confidence, resilience, and quality of life as we ageIf you’re a woman navigating midlife, menopause, or simply want to live longer, stronger, and healthier, this episode is your roadmap to understanding the science—and taking action.Be First in Line for Shred Happens: Our popular 6-week challenge for shredding fat and building muscle starts October 18. You get a personalized calorie/macro budget, live Q&A calls with experts, workouts for both gym and home, prize giveaways and an incredible community of women doing it along with you. Save Your Spot →Hailey Happens Fitness Membership is my full training system in your back pocket. Join with a Yearly Plan to design a training year that fits your midlife goals and body. Start training with a 10-day free trial →

What if the most powerful thing you could do for yourself right now is simply stop? Like so many women who have built their lives around movement, productivity, and pushing through, Hailey discovered that slowing down was one of the hardest things she's ever tried to do. Quieting her mind felt almost impossible at first. But learning how to do it changed everything. Not just her health, but the way she sees herself and the life she's living. Because here's what she's come to believe: giving yourself permission to pause, to go inward, to do the quieter, slower, less visible work is every bit as powerful as the workouts, the nutrition, the fitness goals you've been chasing. In this episode, Hailey sits down with fitness icon, model, actress, author, and wellness retreat host Brooke Burke for an honest conversation about what it means to give yourself permission to pause. They dig into why midlife can feel like you've lost yourself in the chaos, how a wellness retreat can crack you open in the best possible way, and why more women are choosing to invest in the experience of coming back to themselves. Brooke has built her life around this kind of intentional renewal and she brings the same unfiltered honesty and warmth to this conversation that has made her a trusted voices in women's wellness. This isn't about escaping your life. It's about finally returning to yourself within it. Whether you've dreamed of going on a retreat or don't even know where to start, this one will move you.Be First in Line for Shred Happens: Our popular 6-week challenge for shredding fat and building muscle starts October 18. You get a personalized calorie/macro budget, live Q&A calls with experts, workouts for both gym and home, prize giveaways and an incredible community of women doing it along with you. Save Your Spot →Hailey Happens Fitness Membership is my full training system in your back pocket. Join with a Yearly Plan to design a training year that fits your midlife goals and body. Start training with a 10-day free trial →