Women's Performance Feisty Media

Let's talk about Monday! 
In our last pre-Olympics episode, Sara and Kelly talk with Caroline Fitzgerald, CEO and founder of GOALS Sports about the business case for women’s sports. Yes, viewership and investment for women’s sports is on the rise, but what does that mean for these athletes getting paid? For potential sponsors? For fans? 
Even with all the progress that's been made, there's still a massive pay gap between men and women—even in highest-parying sports like tennis and soccer. And, women's sports receive less than 1% of global sponsorship dollars, despite research that shows that sponsors of women’s teams actually see better returns on their investments than sponsors of men’s teams.
It's not just the right thing to do; it's good business to invest in women's sport.
How do we ride this current tailwind? By creating media coverage and accessibility to unlock increased viewership, investment, and (in turn) increased compensation for the players. By building stories and narratives around these athletes. By eliminating the obstacles and limited resources that prevent female athletes from having the best chance to perform at the top-level. Pay them and let them be the badass athletes that they are. 
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Today, Sara and Kelly turn the spotlight on the Paralympic Games — taking place in Paris just three weeks after the Olympics.
With its start as a British rehabilitation event post-World War II, the Paralympics has since turned into a bonafide global sporting spectacle with elite athletes competing in many of the same events as their Olympic counterparts.
We're joined by USA Triathlon's Paralympic Program Manager, Lindsey Jerdonek, as well as two USA Paralympic legends, Oksana Masters and McKenzie Coan, who share insights into the challenges, misconceptions, and goals for the continued growth of the Games.
The discussion on the past, present, and future of the Paralympics includes:
Some of these athletes' personal journeysBuilding a genuine fan base for Paralympic sportsThe classification systems in paratriathlon and other para-sports to ensure fair competitionUnique obstacles faced by aspiring para-athletes, including the lack of resources and the needed equipmentHow do para-athletes even get into the Paralympic pipeline? Creating more exposure, equality, and inclusion for these athletes!
As McKenzie Coan says, "Paralympic athletes are the same elite-level competitors, just like our Olympic counterparts, but we just happen to have physical differences."
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After a holiday break last week, Croissants & Commentary is back to talk about mental health in sports.
When we talk about mental health, does that mean optimizing peak mental performance in competition? Does it mean addressing diagnosable mental health conditions, like generalized anxiety or OCR? Do sports relieve or exacerbate these mental health challenges? Or, are all these issues related?
To help us figure out what it means to be a mentally healthy elite athlete, Sara and Kelly are joined by certified mental performance consultant, Danelle Kabush, PhD, RCC, CMPC, who has worked with a number of national teams and world class athletes. They discuss:
Female athletes and the systemic mental health challenges they faceThe growing awareness and destigmatization of mental health in sportsCommon issues faced by athletes, like confidence fluctuations and performance anxietyCreating a balance between sports and personal lifeThe definition of a mentally healthy athlete in high-performance sportsThe importance of individualized approaches and proactive measures for mental well-being
Dr. Kabush also gives listeners some tools and strategies to put in their athlete's mental health toolkit. 
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PILLAR Performance: use code FEISTY for 15% off first-purchases at https://pillarperformance.shop/, or https://thefeed.com/ for North American listeners.
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Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20! for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/
The Amino Co: Shop Feisty's Favorite 100% Science-Backed Amino Acid Supplements. Enter code PERFORMANCE at Aminoco.com/PERFORMANCE to Save 30% + receive a FREE gift for new purchasers!
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It wasn’t that many years ago that co-host Sara Gross was told by a coach that to perform better she needed to lean-up and lose additional weight — despite already training huge hours as a pro triathlete. Ultimately, she ended up in such an energy deficit that she collapsed and blacked out on the race course.
This happens all-too-frequently across all levels of competition for female athletes, especially at the elite level.
In this episode, Sara and Kelly delve into the critical topic of energy availability and fueling for female athletes - including the unique challenges women face.
Female athletes are often encouraged to be lean, but not too lean. Muscular, but not too muscular. They should eat, but not too much. These societal pressures too frequently prioritize leanness over health, impacting not just athletes' well-being but also their performance. Additionally, long-term deficits in energy — ie. higher energy output than intake — can have bigger health impacts for women. The Female Athlete Triad, for example, refers to the interconnectedness of menstrual dysfunction, low energy availability, and decreased bone density. As a result, female athletes are much more susceptible to REDs (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) — which can lead to numerous health issues.
This week’s expert, Melissa Lodge from the FED Collaborative, discusses these challenges and the consequences of long-term energy deficiency.
She also proposes several strategies to mitigate these risks, including: 
The need for a balanced approach to nutrition that supports both performance and health.A multidisciplinary approach involving coaches, nutritionists, and medical professionals to address the many aspects of underfueling.Continued education and resources around REDs and Low Energy Availability to promote sustainable performance.Standardized screening and assessment tools to detect early signs.The need for protocols and policies within organizations and governing bodies to promote fueling for female athletes.
For more guidance, check out Feisty's Fueled educational course.
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Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20! for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/
The Amino Co: Shop Feisty's Favorite 100% Science-Backed Amino Acid Supplements. Enter code PERFORMANCE at Aminoco.com/PERFORMANCE to Save 30% + receive a FREE gift for new purchasers!
MOTTIV: Get two months of full premium access with the code FEISTY at mymottiv.com

It seems shocking that the 2024 Olympics marks the first time there will be a nursery in the Olympic Village, for mothers competing at the Games. While there has been a huge increase in recent years in the number of elite athletes returning to sport postpartum — and in the resources available to them (thanks to pro moms like Allyson Felix, Alysia Montaño, and Chelsea Sodaro) — it begs the question, "How are we JUST getting here?!"
Figuring out how to train (or not) during pregnancy — how often, at what intensity — and what the timeline looks like for moms wanting to return to sport postpartum can be challenging. The research on pregnant and postpartum female athletes has been lacking, and many women face outdated beliefs from doctors and society. That is especially true for moms at the elite Olympic level.
Kelly and Sara are joined by Dr. Shefali Christopher PT, DPT, PhD, LAT, ATC to discuss the latest research on training during pregnancy and postpartum, including:
How to know you're ready to return to training postpartum?What return-to-sport postpartum guidelines exist for athletes?What recommendations are there for pregnant athletes?Recommended exercises, including lower extremity, core, and pelvic floor work
Sara also shares her personal experiences of being pregnant as a professional triathlete, along with coming back after giving birth.
Not surprisingly, there isn't a "one size fits all" approach — despite what social media might say! — which is why it's important to have a network of support. Factors like childcare, sleep, nutrition, energy deficiencies, and stress all impact a mom's risk for injuries and timeline as they return to training.
What else is needed in the coming years to help more female athletes during this stage of their careers?
Here is some of the key research on postpartum reutrn-to-sport and training during pregnancy:
Medical consensus on how to know when you're ready to return to running postpartum: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/6/299Consensus on designing a return-to-run program: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/4/183The four-phase approach to postpartum return-to-run: https://www.themotherrunners.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Rehabilitation_of_the_Postpartum_Runner__A_4_Phase.3-2.pdf
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Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20! for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/
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Why do we spend so much time talking about the history of women's sports? Because what doctors, coaches, and fans think women are capable of on the track or field changes how women are viewed in all parts of society. Like how women's colleges had mandatory rest days for their female students, because women were believed to be too physically weak to handle the stress of attending school.
Today, Sara and Kelly talk about surprising moments in the Olympics that have been lost to misogyny and inaccurate coverage. And, Kelly speaks to Maggie Merton about her new book "Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women."
Maggie dives into the history to examine how doctors, coaches, sports associations, and the media fought hard to keep women out of sports. They misreported what really happened, lied about races, and perpetuated medical myths that simply weren't true.
But it's time to learn about all the surprising moments you might not have known from the Olympics and the history of women's sports. Like the female athlete pioneers, including: 
Stamatis Rovithi, who actually ran the marathon at the very first modern Olympics in 1896Diane Leather, who was the first woman to break the 5-minute mileAlice Milliat, who started a separate Women’s Olympic Games Jasmin Paris, who was the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons
Where we are now is a product of where we came from, and still shapes things today.
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Support our Partners:
PILLAR Performance: use code FEISTY for 15% off first-purchases at https://pillarperformance.shop/, or https://thefeed.com/ for North American listeners.
Hettas: Use code FEISTY20 for 20% off at https://hettas.com/
Tifosi Optics: Use code FM20! for 20% off at https://tifosioptics.com/
The Amino Co: Shop Feisty's Favorite 100% Science-Backed Amino Acid Supplements. Enter code PERFORMANCE at Aminoco.com/PERFORMANCE to Save 30% + receive a FREE gift for new purchasers!
MOTTIV: Get two months of full premium access with the code FEISTY at mymottiv.com