Podcasts for Women Interested in Fitness and Health

We are so spoiled with informative content these days. Back in the day, our parents and grandparents relied on the library, formal education and attending events held by thought leaders in the space to learn new things. Now we have resources like podcasts, YouTube videos, Tiktok, and search engines like google that can give us the answers and education we need to learn more about a topic of interest. When I was a personal trainer, it was crucial for me to stay abreast of new research and trends because that’s what my clients were being exposed to. So here are the podcasts that I listened to that helped me understand female health from a holistic perspective.

Huberman Lab

Andrew Huberman, PhD, is an icon in the health and fitness industry. He approaches all of his podcasts from a very scientific perspective. He has authored his own studies, and brings on true experts in the health and fitness industry to discuss topics that he may not have expertise in.

I particularly have enjoyed the episodes related to women’s hormones and exercise recommendations that are specific to women’s health. Here are the links for those two episodes, which have both been released in that last 12 months:

Understanding the science behind women’s health and the recommendations I would make to my primarily female client-base not only helped me coach with confidence, but also came in handy when a client was looking for a deeper “why” to my recommendations.

There is so much nonsense out there that is designed to sell you something instead of truly help you, so listening to Huberman Lab was a great way to break through the noise and make sure I have evidence-backed advice to bring to my clients, but also apply to my own health and fitness.

Science Vs.

This is one of my favourite podcasts and was actually recommended to me by a client, so I know it was something I had to listen to so I was staying on top of trends and the knowledge sharing that was happening amongst non-professional fitness enthusiasts.

They cover a wide range of topics, but some great episodes that I have listened to recently cover protein intake and hydration. These are two classic areas of interest in the health and fitness world and have entire industries built around them to sell you non-sense. So much food is labeled with protein-related messages and the protein powder industry is projected to hit $26.9 BILLION USD in 2024. Hydration has also come into the collective conscience, with “hydrogen water” becoming popularized this year, despite a water molecule literally being 2 hydrogen + 1 oxygen.

Science Vs. does a great job of speaking with experts, sharing citations, and running their own personal experiments to offer first-hand experience with the research they are discussing. You can check out those episodes here:

Hydration: Are you Drinking Enough Water?
Protein: Are you Getting Enough?
Hormone Balancing: Should You Try It? (this is a great episode!)

All of the information is presented in an easily digestible way, and in complete contrast to the Huberman Lab, which can feel like you need a biochemistry degree to understand, Science Vs. is designed to be accessible to everyone.

Healthy Hormones for Women

Women are targeted really heavily by the fitness industry, as it is part of the patriarchical structure to constantly make women feel like they are never enough. So I wanted to make sure I listened to the top podcasts that women would be listening to so that I could understand the messages they were receiving, and if there was anything I could do to help them combat the pressures they feel from society.

I also went through a bit of a hormone discovery journey between 2018 and the first half of 2019 when I stopped taking hormonal birth control and experience post-birth control syndrome for the first time. My body was completely out of whack, so I needed women speaking about their experiences with their hormones to help me better understand what was available to me to help “fix” this.

I looked for this podcast, but it doesn’t seem to exist on Spotify anymore. I did find their website, which has archived episodes of the podcast. You can check them out here and it turns out the podcast is now called “Wellness Witch”. One of my favourite episodes from them talked about post-birth control syndrome with Dr. Jolene Brighten. I can’t find that episode, but I did listen to this episode on food addiction, which is something I have to manage every day, and found it full of interesting tips and tricks.

Mind Pump

For anyone who is sensitive to hyper-masculinity and feeling like you’re getting testosterone injected into your ears while you listen to a podcast – I would approach this recommendation with caution.

This podcast was recommended to me by the men that I worked with at the gym, and when I was able to filter out the macho-vibe, there was actually a lot of great information to glean from this podcast.

They also had an episode with Dr. Jolene Brighten, the holistic health practitioner I mentioned above, who specializes is getting women’s hormones back on track after coming off of the pill. You can listen to the episode on signs your hormones are out of balance here.

The Health Code

In the age of influencers, it was so important that I had at least one podcast in my repertoire that was hosted by a fitness influencer. Back in 2017 – 2019, YouTube was still the place to go for fitness influencers, and Sarah’s Day was one of my go-to gals. She’s an australian fitness influencer, turned lifetsyle and mommy influencer, who has a workout app, workout programs, a cookbook and a podcast that help women reach their health and wellness goals.

Although they stopped making new episodes in August 2020, there are still some great episodes in there that discuss health and fitness, but also discuss it through the lens of popular culture. I found the episodes were the kick in the butt I needed to get back on track when I was in a training or motivation rut. These were some of my favourite episodes:

The Hard Truth: Sacrifice, Motivation & Determination | What is takes to Achieve Greatness
Why You’re Failing: Self-Sabotage, Limitations & Comfort Zones (bit of a harsh title, but sometimes you need that!)

These were the podcasts that I listened to that kept me on top of trends and the latest research in women’s nutrition, fitness, and exercise physiology. Some honourable mentions that also put me in the right mindset to stay ambitious and strive for greatness in my own life:

School of Greatness with Lewis Howes : I think he’s been cancelled in recent years, but it is still a good podcast and his older episodes were really helpful to me when I was a PT
The Tim Ferris Show : lots of bio-hacking stuff, but he has great guests
The Mindvalley Show : This fulfilled that spiritual side of me that needed to really dig deep into my mindset and learn strategies to fine tune my life for success.
Guys we F*****d: This podcast was really great for helping me remove shame from intimacy and exploring that side of my life and my health. It is vulgar at times, but also hilarious and really informative.

Let me know in the comments which podcasts you find helpful in your pursuit for better health and wellbeing.