Muscle Science for Women

Today is the 100th episode of Muscle Science for Women! We've had a blast learning and sharing our knowledge with each other, and with our listeners, and we appreciate each and every one of you who tune in and spend time with us.

On our 100th episode milestone, we're asking you to help us make it to 200 episodes: please, take five minutes today to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast on whatever platform you listen, and if yo...

While we wait for Ashleigh to recover from her second birth, we decided to re-release an episode from before the rebranding of the podcast. Back in 2021, when the podcast was called Muscle Maven Radio, Ashleigh did a long deep dive about her pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience with her son Magnus. If you're pregnant, looking to become pregnant, know someone going through this, or simply love hearing these kinds of stories, ...

In this episode, Ashleigh and Rachel answer questions about fasted cardio and their thoughts on male coaches who focus on female clients looking to grow their glutes (there are a lot of them!) 

• Is there evidence that fasted cardio first thing in the morning burns more fat than fed cardio?
• What's the balance with cardio that optimizes fat loss without adding negatively to your overall stress load, increasing hunger, etc?
• And th...

Today is another re-release of a popular episode from a while back you may have missed: in this one, Ashleigh and Rachel discuss the nuances between training for strength and training for muscle growth (hypertrophy). These goals can be achieved together, but don't necessarily have to; you can get bigger without getting much stronger, and you can get stronger without your muscles getting much bigger. They talk about training differe...

Today is a re-release of a popular episode you may have missed with Rachel and Ashleigh all about the idea of "intuitive eating" - what does that term mean, exactly? Is it possible to eat intuitively in a food landscape where hyper-palatable, low-nutrient food is so easily available? How can you listen to your body and still achieve body composition goals? All that and more in today's episode.

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Today the ladies answer questions around the optimal time to work out, how to make the best of a poor workout schedule, and they provide a lot of actionable tips on how to approach binge eating at night and consistent sugar cravings. 

That and more - make sure you're subscribed, leave a rating or review, and sign up for notifications so you know when a new episode is available!

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Today Ashleigh and Rachel talk about the "anabolic window" - what it is, how important is it really, and how you can optimally fuel before and after your workouts to maximize your recovery and your gains.

They also dive into the fraught and touchy subject of dieting for a wedding - how to do it safely and healthily, and when is it "too much"?

That and more - make sure you're subscribed, leave a rating or review, and sign up for not...

In this episode Rachel and Ashleigh answer a listener question about how they met, and they reminisce about their "origin story" and talk about how they work now as cross-continental business partners.

They also dive into some brand new goals they have for themselves for 2025 and how they plan to accomplish those goals, and how listeners can better communicate their goals to their coaches in order to really get the results they wan...

In this important episode, Rachel and Ashleigh walk listeners through how they can have the "menopause" conversation with their doctor: the information you should have and bring to them, including symptoms and family history (and how to track said symptoms); and why it's important to have more specific goals to discuss than simply "I want to feel better." The ladies also chat about how to find a provider who specializes in, or at l...

In this episode, Rachel talks about a camping adventure; the two ladies discuss whether or not there are "ideal rep ranges" for building strength and muscle; they dive into one listener's question about how to train for a marathon without impacting fertility; and, because you can never understand your body TOO well, they talk again about training around your period: should you train differently at different tim...

In the final episode of 2024, Rachel and Ashleigh answer a question about weight loss from a male listener, highlighting some of the differences and similarities men and women face in their struggles to change body composition.

The women discuss the accuracy of various body-fat measurement tools, and they also dive into a slightly different take on the age-old question, "how can I train for endurance but also build muscle," from a ...

Today Ashleigh asks an expert all the questions about red light therapy: Having dealt with health challenges in childhood and early adulthood, Scott Chaverri has always been passionate about all things health and wellness. After earning a BA in Psychology from Cornell University and a MBA in Finance from the Simon School of Business, Scott worked for several Fortune 500 companies, in the business services, medical device, financial...

Proper gym etiquette (ie, manners and common sense) is so important, but often overlooked - Rachel and Ashleigh get fired up over some of the most egregious issues we see in the gym. They also talk about Mukbang videos (what are they? Why do people like them? What are the health implications)? We talk about whether it's possible (or healthy) to get multiple days' worth of calories in a single meal, and how to boost your nutrition i...

In this solo episode, Ashleigh updates you as she hits the halfway mark of her second pregnancy, including what's different or the same this time around, what's easier and what's more difficult, and anything that's surprised her along the way. She shares info on her supplement routine as well as how she's working out and eating, and her birth plans.

She also answers pregnancy questions from listeners about taking creatine in pregna...

In this episode, Ashleigh speaks with Alison Mars, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Cookbook author of The Paleo Gut Healing Cookbook, about managing Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and PCOS; how fertility, pregnancy, and parenthood can impact gut health; and all the things that play into our gut health that aren't food (hint, there's a lot). We dive into mental health practices, optimizing circadian rhythm, better and worse fitness ...

In this episode, Ashleigh gives an update on her pregnancy; the ladies answer a question about how to slowly increase calories without gaining fat; dive into the benefits of magnesium supplement; discuss the pros and cons of putting young kids into formal sports; and more.

The book we mention is called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein.

Send your questions, feedback, topic ideas, or just say at...

In this episode, Ashleigh and Rachel answer questions from listeners:

• What are coregasms? How and why do they happen in the gym, and if they're happening, how can you stop them so you don't hurt yourself during a heavy back squat? (yikes!)
• What is a deload week? How do you program them properly? When do you know you need one, and what does it consist of?
• If you had money allocated specifically for health or fitness improvement...

In this episode, we discuss training and nutrition for women with PCOS, and also how to think about food cravings during your period; we discuss one of the biggest food-related challenges for women in losing fat that isn't talked about, and we give our unsolicited opinion this season's favorite flavor, pumpkin spice.

Wanna tell us what you think about pumpkin spice, or anything else? Send your questions, topic ideas, and feedback t...

Who is the best and most well-rounded female athlete? What does it mean to be a well-rounded athlete anyway? Why are some "fitness" standards different for men and women (it must be the uterus...) Is cardio really "out" now, or are there types of cardio that can still be beneficial for building muscle and losing fat? Does exercise count as "therapy"? Ashleigh and Rachel discuss all these topics and more - plus, we have some more mu...