The Weekly Riff with Louise Green

Louise Green
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  • Fitness

The Weekly Riff cuts through fitness culture’s noise with real talk from Louise Green — award-winning coach, author, and size-inclusive fitness trailblazer redefining what strength looks like. In a world where most fitness spaces still exclude, this podcast offers something rare: a space that honours all bodies and holds the belief that your body is fully capable of strength, power, and performance — through every season of life, including midlife and menopause. Each 20-minute episode dives into strength training, body image, mindset, and the deeper layers of showing up for yourself — without the toxic pressure to shrink, conform, or apologize. Louise blends expert insight, lived experience, and raw honesty to explore how we can all train for strength and self-respect, not validation. Expect conversations that challenge stereotypes, dismantle diet culture, and invite you to rise — as you are, right now. 🎧 Tune in weekly for unfiltered, empowering riffs on what it really means to be strong — in body, mind, and culture.

  1. 19h ago

    Episode 3 - The Strength Gap: Women Are Stronger Than We Think

    How strong could women actually become if we stopped underestimating them? In this episode of The Weekly Riff, Louise Green explores the enormous gap between what women have been taught to expect from their bodies, what they are currently lifting, and the upper limits of their actual strength potential. For decades, women have been encouraged to make their bodies smaller: eat less, weigh less, take up less space, use lighter weights. Even as strength training has become more mainstream for women, the conversation is often framed around maintaining muscle, preventing bone loss, “toning,” or avoiding frailty—particularly after 40. But what if we've been asking the wrong question? Instead of asking how women can prevent becoming weaker as they age, Louise asks: How strong could women actually become? Drawing on nearly two decades of coaching experience, Louise examines why so many women may be training far below their true capacity. She explores progressive overload, consistency, genetics, coaching, community and the psychological shift that happens when a woman stops simply “working out” and begins training to become genuinely strong. This isn't about every woman needing to squat or deadlift a particular number. It's about removing the artificial ceiling and giving women enough time, training, support and expectation to discover what their bodies are actually capable of. And for women entering midlife and beyond, the strongest chapter may not be behind them at all. Keywords women's strength, women lifting weights, strength training over 40, strength training over 50, midlife strength, progressive overload, women and weightlifting, diet culture, female strength potential, muscle building, strength coaching, women in fitness, strength ceiling, aging and strength Key Topics The gap between women's current strength and their potential strengthHow diet culture taught women to prioritize shrinking over physical developmentWhy “lift weights, but don't get bulky” still puts limits on women's strengthThe difference between exercising with weights and actually training for strengthWhy women may be stopping progression long before reaching their physical ceilingHow early exposure to strength training can change long-term expectationsWhy strength development doesn't have to stop at 40, 50 or beyondThe role of progressive overload, programming, recovery and consistencyHow genetics and muscle-fibre composition influence individual strength developmentWhy coaching can change not only performance, but what a woman believes is possibleThe power of training alongside other strong womenHow larger-bodied women are often directed toward weight loss rather than athletic developmentMoving the midlife conversation beyond preventing frailty and toward building capacityWhy measurable strength can fundamentally change a woman's relationship with her body Chapters 00:00 — How Strong Could Women Actually Be? Challenging what we've been taught to expect from women's bodies and introducing the gap between current strength and potential. 02:11 — How We Learned to Underestimate Women's Strength The history of women in weightlifting, gym culture and the persistent message to stay small. 03:59 — When Does Strength Potential Begin? Early strength development, age, training history and why starting later doesn't mean you've missed your opportunity. 06:04 — What Happens When Someone Expects You to Be Strong How coaching, programming and training alongside other women can dramatically change what's possible. 07:47 — Why 50 Doesn't Have to Be Your Strength Ceiling Moving beyond the narrative of decline and exploring the possibility of significant strength development in midlife and beyond. 10:05 — When Strength Changes Your Identity The psychological shift from “I work out” to “I am strong”—and the power of measurable progress. 12:12 — Lifting Weights vs. Training for Strength Consistency, progressive overload and what it actually takes to keep developing physical capacity. 13:55 — The Ceiling We Put on Women's Bodies How diet culture, body size and gendered expectations influence what women believe they are capable of. 15:58 — Belief Changes the Weight on the Bar Why expectation, confidence and seeing other strong women can expand our perception of what's possible. 17:53 — What If You're Nowhere Near Done? An invitation for women to stop assuming they've reached their limit and start exploring their strength potential. 20:14 — Breaking the Strength Ceiling A final challenge: stop asking women merely to avoid weakness and start asking how extraordinarily strong they might become. Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  2. Sep 27

    Episode 2 - Top Five Things That Make Strong Athletes (aside from the usual stuff)

    Louise’s Top 5 Things That Make a Strong Athlete What actually makes someone strong? We hear a lot about progressive overload, protein, sleep, recovery and following the right training program. And yes—all of those things matter. But there’s a piece of the strength equation we don’t talk about nearly enough: none of those strategies work unless you can consistently create the conditions for them to work. In this episode of the Weekly Riff, Louise breaks down her top five things that make a strong athlete—and they go well beyond sets, reps and how much weight is on the bar. Ultimately, this episode isn't about becoming the perfect athlete. It's about building the systems, patience and self-trust that allow you to keep coming back. Because strong athletes aren't born knowing how to do all of this. They're built, one imperfect rep at a time. In This Episode Why consistency is the foundation underneath progressive overloadThree ways to make training more consistent in real lifeWhy one missed workout matters far less than repeatedly starting overThe difference between exercising and actually training toward somethingWhy strength programs use different phases, rep ranges, loads and temposHow patience becomes a legitimate training skillWhy constantly testing your strength can interfere with building itHow sleep and recovery contribute to strength adaptationWhy nutrition advice is useless without systems that make it doableGrocery shopping, meal planning and regular eating as part of strength trainingWhy intrinsic motivation is more sustainable than relying on willpowerHow mastery and repeated effort build confidenceWhy confidence is often the result of action—not a prerequisite for itLearning to tolerate appropriate discomfort, difficult reps and occasional failureWhy imperfect consistency will take you further than short bursts of perfectionHow to create a training life you can realistically sustain for months and yearsKeywords strength training, building strength, progressive overload, consistency, training cycles, periodization, strength programming, recovery, sleep, nutrition, protein, motivation, intrinsic motivation, confidence, athletic confidence, fitness consistency, strength mindset, women’s strength training, sustainable fitness, training motivation, progressive strength training, resilience, fitness over 40 Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  3. Sep 5

    Episode 1 - Transformation Beyond the Mirror

    Season Three kicks off with a hard look at how the fitness industry sometimes cheapens the word "transformation" — selling it as something achievable in 30 days through extreme measures. Louise makes the case for a different definition: transformation as a lifelong process, not a before-and-after photo. Drawing on her own story, she talks about fitness as a catalyst to rebuilding her life, and why the real, lasting version of change rarely looks like what gets marketed. Key Topics Why the industry sells transformation as fast and extremeRedefining transformation as ongoing, not a fixed endpointWhat fitness rebuilt beyond appearanceWhy inside-out change doesn't always get recognized as "real" transformationThe conditioning that ties transformation to body sizeSound Bites "Transformation is a lifetime, not 30 days.""We've lost the plot on what transformation actually means.""The real impact isn't something you can see in a photo."Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: Why transformation goes beyond the mirror02:41 — The conditioning around body image and progress markers04:02 — Personal story: From struggle to strength06:20 — The ongoing nature of transformation10:56 — Real stories of profound transformation14:04 — The pitfalls of quick-fix programs17:40 — The importance of long-term change22:23 — Transformation from the inside out23:18 — Conclusion: Keep evolving and transformingLouise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  4. Aug 30

    Episode 30 - The Ethics of Wellness: How to Spot Exploitation Before It Spots You

    Louise Green pulls back the curtain on the wellness and diet industries, why "calories in, calories out" fails so many people, how exploitation hides behind the language of health, and what actually separates a company that helps you from one that needs you to never feel finished. Part myth-busting, part field guide: by the end, you'll know how to spot exploitation dressed up as wellness, and where to put your focus instead. Keywords:  Key Topics Why "calories in, calories out" doesn't hold up for most peopleHow exploitation operates inside diet and fitness industry promisesObesity as a chronic condition, not a personal failureDiet culture's toll on mental healthHow vulnerable populations — including women in menopause — get targetedA field guide to spotting exploitation and false promises in wellnessBuilding sustainable, functional health practicesHealing your relationship with your body through community and acceptanceTakeaways Diet and wellness programs often profit most when you never fully "arrive" — that's a business model, not health care.Focusing on what your body can do builds more lasting confidence than chasing a number on the scale.Obesity is increasingly understood as a chronic condition, not a personal moral failure.Mental health isn't separate from physical health — a program that ignores one isn't really about the other.Real body confidence is rooted in strength and function, not size.Chapters 00:00 — Introduction: diet culture's impact 01:11 — The misconception of health and weight loss 02:01 — What the fitness industry actually promises — and delivers 03:18 — Why calorie deficit fails for so many people 04:39 — Obesity as a chronic condition, not a character flaw 06:20 — The toll of dieting on mental health 08:26 — Exploitation in menopause and other vulnerable populations 10:10 — Field guide: spotting exploitation and false promises in wellness 13:41 — Sustainable practices for long-term health 17:02 — Functional health over appearance 18:59 — Why community and acceptance matter 20:45 — Healing from diet culture and building real confidence Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  5. Aug 23

    Episode 29 - A Guideline for What to Eat for Optimal Exercise (especially in your 40's or 50's)

    Louise tackles a common question from her private community: what to eat before and after workouts, especially for women in their 40s and 50s. She frames the conversation carefully around scope of practice, using Canadian food guidance, published research, and her own lived experience to explain how to fuel for strength and recovery. Louise also shares practical, body-aware guidance on hunger cues, protein, carbohydrates, and why the answer changes with age, training load, and individual needs. Key topics Louise explains why this episode is about building a stronger body, not shrinking one, and why that distinction matters.She clarifies the limits of fitness professionals giving nutrition advice and points listeners toward official government food guidance and qualified dietitians.The Canadian food guide structure is highlighted: half vegetables or fruit, a quarter whole grains, and a quarter protein foods, with a preference for plant-based protein more often.Louise discusses how exercise fuel should not become an excuse to cut carbohydrates too low, since carbs provide glycogen for workout energy.She notes that many people, especially in North America, are under-eating protein for their body size, activity level, and age.In women in their 40s and 50s, she points to muscle loss acceleration, estrogen decline, and bone density risk as reasons protein and consistency matter more.She emphasizes that hunger cues are not always a rumbling stomach and may show up as agitation, impatience, or feeling “hangry.”She gives examples like rice cakes and peanut butter, tuna and rice cakes, toast and jam, and yogurt with fruit.After training, she usually returns to a normal balanced meal rather than relying on a giant protein shake.She encourages listeners to look for qualified menopause nutrition experts and mentions Dr. Jen Huber as an example of a registered dietitian with both credentials and lived experience.Useful points of conversation:  00:00 - Why this question keeps coming up in Louise’s community 02:21 - Using the Canadian food guide as the baseline reference 03:17 - Personal experience versus prescription in coaching 05:49 - The eat well plate model and how it maps to training fuel 06:36 - Why protein matters for recovery and muscular health 08:34 - Why aging athletes often need more protein 09:21 - Carbohydrates as glycogen and workout fuel 09:51 - Why many people do not need extra food for mild to moderate exercise 10:19 - How hunger cues can show up without stomach rumbling 13:59 - Louise’s post-lift cravings and what they might mean 15:02 - Protein intake research for postmenopausal women 16:55 - Higher protein ranges for female athletes under heavy training 17:32 - Why body awareness matters more than formulas alone 19:39 - Practical snack examples before training 20:37 - What she does after training and why balanced meals still matter 22:41 - Why she recommends Dr. Jen Huber for menopause nutrition guidance 25:03 - Her personal rule of thumb: snack 60 to 90 minutes before workouts Also, as promised in the episode, a direct link to the Riff on Protein.  Direct link to Dr. Jenn Huber, The Menopause Nutritionist  Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  6. Aug 17

    Episode 28: Advocating for Equitable Care in Health and Fitness

    What does health equity look like and how do we know we are getting it?  In this episode, Louise shares a story about a client who recently had an appointment to see a specialist due to knee pain. Her story of anxiety around doctor's blaming her weight is one we've heard, time and time again. In this episode we dig into something bigger: the difference between correlation and causation, and how mixing the two up drives real harm in both healthcare and fitness spaces. This episode covers research on weight bias among physicians and medical trainees, patient avoidance of care, and discrimination in gyms — alongside the more hopeful research on weight-neutral care, Health at Every Size programs, and how quickly trainable bias actually is with the right intervention. Louise also shares patterns she's seen again and again coaching women through both worlds. Fair and equitable care isn't a soft ask — it's what accurate diagnosis and good coaching actually require. 00:00 – the coaching call, and why my client was anxious about her knee appointment02:00 – what this episode covers and why it matters03:45 – how my client found a doctor who never once mentioned her weight07:00 – Correlation vs. causation: why weight gets blamed for things it may not have caused, and the "metabolically healthy obesity" research10:40 – The hard numbers: weight bias among physicians and medical trainees, patient avoidance of care, discrimination in gyms14:10 – Why this matters to me: patterns I've seen coaching women through healthcare and fitness spaces18:15 – The hopeful data: weight-neutral care outcomes, Health at Every Size research, and how trainable bias actually is20:45 – What fair and equitable care actually looks like in practice23:20 – Close Key Stats Mentioned ●      Nearly 40% of surveyed resident physicians agreed "fat people tend to be fat pretty much through their own fault"; about a third reported feeling more irritated treating patients with obesity.  ●      Across a six-country study, 56–61% of adults reported experiencing weight stigma, with 63–74% of those experiences coming from healthcare providers.  ●      84% of plus-size and underweight gym-goers reported experiencing negative weight-related judgment at the gym.  ●      Weight stigma itself — not body size — was linked to elevated cortisol and oxidative stress in one study, independent of participants' actual body composition.  ●      In a 2-year randomized trial, a weight-neutral approach produced sustained improvements in cholesterol, physical activity, self-esteem, and quality of life — without weight loss as the goal.  ●      A 2-hour weight-inclusive training for fitness professionals produced measurable, sustained improvements in attitudes three months later.  Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  7. Aug 9

    Episode 27 - Inclusion Across the Atlantic: Same Industry, Different Accent

    What does a country’s fitness culture communicate about who belongs? After travelling through Spain and the UK, Louise Green reflects on the differences she noticed in fitness marketing, body ideals and the visibility of larger people. From transformation-focused messaging and before-and-after imagery to the groundbreaking This Girl Can campaign, she examines the tension between promoting fitness and making people feel that their bodies need to change first. Louise also shares why seeing larger-bodied people as coaches, athletes and leaders—not simply as the “before” picture—can profoundly change someone’s relationship with movement. This is a conversation about representation, belonging and what genuine size inclusion really looks like. Key Topics The differences Louise noticed between fitness culture in Spain and the UKHow aesthetics and transformation shape fitness marketingThe way before-and-after imagery creates a hierarchy of bodiesThe difference between general diversity and genuine size inclusionThe contradiction between inclusive public campaigns and commercial fitness cultureWhy larger-bodied coaches and fitness leaders matterKey Takeaways Fitness culture reflects broader beliefs about bodies, success and personal worth.Different countries may market fitness differently, but appearance and transformation remain powerful themes.Showing a larger body only as the “before” picture is not meaningful representation.Genuine inclusion means showing larger people as active, capable, knowledgeable and successful.Public campaigns like This Girl Can demonstrate how powerful it can be when people see bodies like their own participating in movement.Seeing a larger-bodied person in fitness leadership can create a life-changing sense of possibility and belonging.Chapters 00:00 — What Travel Revealed About Fitness Culture 01:19 — Spain: Aesthetics and the Ideal Fitness Body 02:10 — How North American Fitness Sells Transformation 03:25 — When Representation Still Leaves Larger Bodies Out 04:14 — What This Girl Can Got Right 05:10 — Why Larger-Bodied Fitness Leadership Matters Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

  8. Jul 26

    Episode 26 - Freedom: Why Autonomy Fuels Your Motivation

    The final episode in Louise Green's four-pillar series — Strength, Feminism, Disruption, and Freedom. After exploring physical power, challenging inherited norms, and redefining disruption as a way of life, Louise lands on Freedom: the autonomy to choose how you move, train, and show up for yourself — and why that choice drives real, lasting motivation. Key Topics The four pillars of Louise Green's brand: Strength, Feminism, Disruption, FreedomSafety, belonging, and intrinsic motivation in fitness spacesIdentity threat and negative experiences in sport and fitnessCreating freedom, autonomy, and choice for clientsVulnerability and relatability as the foundation of communityDisrupting objectification and promoting body positivityMaslow's hierarchy of needs as a motivation frameworkIntrinsic motivation and its role in long-term adherenceChapters 00:00 Introduction to the four pillars: Strength, Feminism, Disruption, Freedom 00:41 Overview of the pillars and how they connect 01:23 Finding community and belonging in wellness spaces 02:20 Intrinsic motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs 03:15 Creating safe, welcoming fitness environments 04:43 Overcoming identity threat and negative experiences 06:05 The importance of freedom and autonomy in fitness 07:02 The science behind autonomy and motivation 08:00 Flexible programs and movement choices 09:25 The power of language and goal setting 11:09 Community, vulnerability, and connection 12:57 Building relatability and depth in community 15:30 Feminism and objectification in fitness 16:52 Motivation archetypes and personalized approaches 17:37 Conclusion and series wrap-up Louise Green is an award-winning coach with 20 years invested in working with women of all body sizes. She has coached thousands of women from all over the world, if you're ready take the next step in your strength, check out her coaching program: https://www.louisegreeninc.com/size-strong

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The Weekly Riff cuts through fitness culture’s noise with real talk from Louise Green — award-winning coach, author, and size-inclusive fitness trailblazer redefining what strength looks like. In a world where most fitness spaces still exclude, this podcast offers something rare: a space that honours all bodies and holds the belief that your body is fully capable of strength, power, and performance — through every season of life, including midlife and menopause. Each 20-minute episode dives into strength training, body image, mindset, and the deeper layers of showing up for yourself — without the toxic pressure to shrink, conform, or apologize. Louise blends expert insight, lived experience, and raw honesty to explore how we can all train for strength and self-respect, not validation. Expect conversations that challenge stereotypes, dismantle diet culture, and invite you to rise — as you are, right now. 🎧 Tune in weekly for unfiltered, empowering riffs on what it really means to be strong — in body, mind, and culture.

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