Muscle Science for Women

Sleepmaxxing, peptides, intuitive eating, and AI personal training: Ashleigh and Rachel give their thoughts--underrated or overrated- on a list of fitness trends, food ideas.
Ashleigh shares about a physical app blocker she has been testing for about a week, and they also talk about "wellness raves", the muscle mommy label, dating apps and run clubs, and much more.
Anything else in the fitness world that you think is under or overrated? Share at musclescience4women@gmail.com and we'll chat about it on the pod!
This episode is sponsored by Peluva, makers of five-toe, zero-drop, barefoot-style shoes. When you put on a pair of Peluvas, you are getting an automatic foot strengthening effect, a toe spacer effect, and a healing effect from the damage caused by regular shoes. Peluva has sufficient cushioning to use for all manner of everyday movement, fitness and athletic activities, and navigating hard modern surfaces. And they look (surprisingly) good, and are super comfortable. Go ahead and use your specialized athletic shoes, work boots or even high heels when you need to, but the more you wear minimalist shoes when walking around and exercising safely, you can reawaken the natural functionality of the human foot to stand, walk, run, and perform. Visit https://checkout.peluva.com/MUSCLEMAVEN and use the code MUSCLEMAVEN for 10% off your first pair!
01:07 Ashleigh's app-blocking Brick experiment
05:20 Physical barriers, junk food and the reward pathway
13:10 Sleepmaxxing
16:19 Peptides
20:45 Wellness raves
22:34 Muscle mommy 
23:41 Dating apps and run clubs
26:16 HYROX as a way to meet people
28:59 Intuitive eating
32:28 AI personal training
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fucYPnYJuUk
Programs
Muscle Science For Women, 12-week strength program: https://rgfit.com/msw
Grow Your Glutes, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/glutes
Strong and Sculpted Shoulders, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/shoulders
Fit Pregnancy Program: https://rgfit.com/fit-pregnancy
Dopamine Reset Challenge, 10 days: https://rgfit.com/offers/BAQj63ya
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@musclescienceforwomen
Ashleigh VanHouten: https://ashleighvanhouten.com, Instagram @themusclemaven (https://www.instagram.com/themusclemaven/)
Rachel Gregory: https://rgfit.com, Instagram @rachelgregory.cns

Can you be addicted to food? Rachel opens with the research she has been doing since the emotional eating episode. Then the ladies answer two listener questions: whether three, ten-minute blocks spread across a day can build strength, and how to adjust training through heavy cycles, low iron and deep fatigue.
This episode is sponsored by Peluva, makers of five-toe, zero-drop, barefoot-style shoes. When you put on a pair of Peluvas, you are getting an automatic foot strengthening effect, a toe spacer effect, and a healing effect from the damage caused by regular shoes. Peluva has sufficient cushioning to use for all manner of everyday movement, fitness and athletic activities, and navigating hard modern surfaces. And they look (surprisingly) good, and are super comfortable.
Go ahead and use your specialized athletic shoes, work boots or even high heels when you need to, but the more you wear minimalist shoes when walking around and exercising safely, you can reawaken the natural functionality of the human foot to stand, walk, run, and perform. Visit https://checkout.peluva.com/MUSCLEMAVEN and use the the code MUSCLEMAVEN For 10% off your first pair!
CHAPTERS
06:48 Eating disorders, restriction, and what is different here
11:44 Stacked rewards at night and the Dopamine Reset Challenge
17:40 Consistency over extremes
18:54 Hannah's question about short strength sessions through the day
21:12 Rachel on exercise snacks, warming up, and tracking overload
27:48 Tiana's question about heavy cycles, low iron and fatigue
29:06 Ashleigh on grace, and what low iron actually feels like
33:04 Rachel on maintenance, not a deficit, and getting support
40:02 The sports betting ad and the outrage economy


PROGRAMS
Muscle Science For Women, 12-week strength program: https://rgfit.com/msw
Grow Your Glutes, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/glutes
Strong and Sculpted Shoulders, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/shoulders
Fit Pregnancy Program: https://rgfit.com/fit-pregnancy
Dopamine Reset Challenge, 10 days: https://rgfit.com/offers/BAQj63ya
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@musclescienceforwomen
Ashleigh VanHouten: https://ashleighvanhouten.com
Instagram @themusclemaven: https://www.instagram.com/themusclemaven/
Rachel Gregory: https://rgfit.com
Instagram @rachelgregory.cns: https://www.instagram.com/rachelgregory.cns/

How much fiber do you actually need, and can you overdo it? Rachel and Ashleigh sort the fiber claims that hold up from the ones that don't: where the 30 gram number came from, what happens when you jump from 10 grams to 40, whether fiber does anything for your hormones, and what to do about constipation on a GLP-1.
They also talk about fiber supplements, resistant starch from cooked and cooled rice and potatoes, whether you should eat fiber before training, and more.
Head to truenutrition.com/MUSCLE and use the code MUSCLE for 20% off your custom mix! Choose a mix of protein bases, a range of delicious flavors and sweetness level, and boost your protein with adaptogens, collagen, immune support, electrolytes and much more. Ashleigh loves the chocolate fudge brownie with a grassfed New Zealand beef protein base, and Rachel is testing different protein base combos for the ultimate protein ice cream recipe. Save time, effort, and money by combining all your supplement needs into one delicious protein powder. 
02:06 Protein versus fiber, and internet rage bait
03:04 Catch-up: Ashleigh's full blood panel
12:41 Where the 30 gram number came from
16:04 Digestion and regularity as feedback
18:01 Claim: fiber fills you up so you eat less
20:28 Fiber and the number on the scale
22:34 Net carbs
24:46 Claim: fiber supplements are a shortcut
29:53 Claim: fiber balances your hormones
32:02 Constipation on a GLP-1
34:39 Fiber intake moves with calories
36:15 Cooking and cooling rice and potatoes for resistant starch
39:01 Fiber before training
41:03 Whole versus ground flaxseed
41:41 Fiber before bed, and where to send questions
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/I6eWkvmLDuQ 
Programs
Muscle Science For Women, 12-week strength program: https://rgfit.com/msw
Grow Your Glutes, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/glutes
Strong and Sculpted Shoulders, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/shoulders
Fit Pregnancy Program: https://rgfit.com/fit-pregnancy
Dopamine Reset Challenge, 10 days: https://rgfit.com/offers/BAQj63ya 
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@musclescienceforwomen 
Ashleigh VanHouten: https://ashleighvanhouten.com , Instagram @themusclemaven
Rachel Gregory: https://rgfit.com , Instagram @rachelgregory.cns

In this episode, Rachel and Ashleigh talk about recent struggles with comfort eating, sharing the reality that nearly EVERYONE has experienced at least once: eating in secret, or feeling shame and guilt over their food choices, and eating in a way that doesn't support your goals even when you know you don't really want to. Why do we sometimes eat compulsively even when we tell ourselves we shouldn't, or don't want to? Why do we feel so much shame around "guilty pleasure" eating?
Rachel also shares where she has been over the past few months, including another heartbreak/grief cycle, a period of depression, starting a low dose antidepressant, and the body image feelings that come with regaining weight.
In addition to sharing some very personal stories, they also offer a range of strategies and tactics for breaking habits that aren't serving you: things like urge surfing, planning, mindfulness and other therapies that can have a big impact. 
Some big lessons come out of this episode, including the fact that you are not alone in your struggles; externalizing your fears can make them less scary; and there is always work to be done (and why this is a good thing!)
Thank you to our sponsor, True Nutrition, where you can customize your own protein! Choose a mix of protein bases, a range of delicious flavors and sweetness level, and boost your protein with adaptogens, collagen, immune support, electrolytes and much more. Ashleigh loves the chocolate fudge brownie with a grassfed New Zealand beef protein base, and Rachel is testing different protein base combos for the ultimate protein ice cream recipe. Save time, effort, and money by combining all your supplement needs into one delicious protein powder. Head to truenutrition.com/MUSCLE and use the code MUSCLE for 20% off your custom mix!
Chapters
00:13 What this episode covers instead of fiber
03:44 Listener feedback on the Strong and Sculpted Shoulders program
05:48 Using food to take the edge off
08:36 Why the brain defaults to food under stress
10:16 Shame, guilt, and eating in secret
11:43 Meeting the pattern with compassion instead of shame
15:13 Getting back on track faster instead of never messing up
16:04 Urge surfing and pausing before you react
19:30 Interrupting the pattern and building new pathways
21:16 Setting up your environment and taking a portion instead of the whole bar
24:43 Working with a coach, structure, and tracking as data
26:11 Change takes time, Ashleigh on eating two dinners
28:25 Rachel on the past few months
30:18 Getting lean while depressed
32:41 Starting an antidepressant and what changed
36:27 Body image, postpartum, and pressure in the fitness industry
39:29 Externalizing it and asking for help
41:27 Stigma around antidepressants and weight loss drugs
45:43 What this podcast is for
47:00 The work is not done
48:55 Sponsor break, True Nutrition
51:42 Sign off
Takeaways
Both hosts say they eat to cope with stress, and both say that knowing the mechanism does not stop them doing it.
Rachel frames the goal as getting back faster rather than never slipping, and says that interrupting the pattern even once starts building new pathways you can prove to yourself.
Ashleigh's tool is putting time between the urge and the reaction, five or ten minutes, then deciding, so the choice is a made one either way.
Rachel's portion approach for clients: take a serving instead of the whole bar, eat it somewhere else, pay attention to it, then step away and pick a different way to cope if the feeling is still there.
Rachel says a low dose antidepressant has helped alongside therapy and her own work, and she is careful to say the medication did not cause the weight gain.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vehl-lpMXM8 
Programs
Muscle Science For Women, 12-week strength program: https://rgfit.com/msw
Grow Your Glutes, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/glutes
Strong and Sculpted Shoulders, 8 weeks: https://rgfit.com/shoulders
Fit Pregnancy Program: https://rgfit.com/fit-pregnancy
Dopamine Reset Challenge, 10 days: https://rgfit.com/offers/BAQj63ya 
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@musclescienceforwomen 
Ashleigh VanHouten: https://ashleighvanhouten.com , Instagram @themusclemaven
Rachel Gregory: https://rgfit.com , Instagram @rachelgregory.cns

If you've been wanting a masterclass on pelvic floor health, look no further. Ashleigh interviews Dr. Caroline Packard, DPT, a pelvic floor physical therapist, lifelong athlete, and mother of three who is changing the way women think about their bodies, their strength, and what's actually possible after pregnancy, injury, or years of being told their symptoms are just "something to manage." 
They discuss:
What coaches and active women get wrong when they separate "core training" from pelvic floor function
Symptoms women normalize that are actually pelvic floor dysfunction
How to tell whether the issue is strength, tension, coordination, timing or pressure management
What breath and bracing should look like during strength training to protect pelvic floor function
How to modify without fear-mongering or telling women to stop lifting
How to progress back to heavier training, impact or intensity in a way the body can actually support
All that and more - if you have any questions or want us to continue to cover this topic, reach out at musclescience4women@gmail.com.
Dr. Packard has created the Connect app, featuring an extensive program grounded in pelvic floor physical therapy principles and built around five progressive training phases: Prep, Reset, Integrate, Strength Fundamentals, and Elevated Strength. Members begin by learning how the diaphragm, deep core, posture, and pelvic floor function together to manage pressure and stabilize the body, then systematically apply that foundation to increasingly challenging strength work. Ashleigh has been using the app herself for months and calls it the most comprehensive guide to understanding and improving pelvic floor function that she's ever seen. 
Muscle Science for Women listeners can 20% off an annual subscription using the code MUSCLESCIENCE. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Join the conversation - leave a comment on the podcast, share the episode on social media, or leave a comment, topic idea, or question on the website: https://musclescienceforwomen.com/contact
Check out the MSW Substack here: https://musclescienceforwomen.substack.com
Learn about all of the MSW training programs here: https://musclescienceforwomen.com/programs
Subscribe to the new YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@musclescienceforwomen