Show Notes
In this episode, Laurel and Sarah take a look at one of the most influential and controversial voices in women's health: Dr. Stacy Sims. Known for the phrase "women are not small men," Sims has built her brand on the idea that women need entirely different training and nutrition strategies than men.
Laurel and Sarah trace Sims' rise to prominence, the research she leans on, and the rhetorical playbook she uses on major platforms like the Mel Robbins Podcast, and the Huberman Lab podcast. They examine how Sims' is able to persuade listeners of her ideas, even though her catchy slogans and bold claims outpace the evidence.
Rather than just fact-checking Sims' most dubious claims on cycle syncing, fasted training, cardio, and how women should train, this episode instead focuses on how Sims' messages are delivered. You'll listen for how Sims' and the hosts of these podcasts frequently employ persuasive tactics like appeals to authority, fearmongering, absolutist framing, pseudo-feminist virtue signaling, and what Laurel and Sarah call "mechanism theater" can make the weak evidence and shaky reasoning behind the claims sound stronger than it is. These strategies aren't unique to Sims; you'll start noticing these persuasive tactics everywhere, especially in menopause marketing and wellness content online.
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RESOURCES
Sims' TedX talk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5LYGzKUPlE]
110: [https://tinyurl.com/37ht6y9a] Fact-Checking Female-Specific Training & Nutrition Advice with Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple, PhD
Debate [https://tinyurl.com/29w4zvpw]between Sims and Colenso-Semple on Docs Who Lift
Post Debate Interview [https://tinyurl.com/mdzphbar] on Barbell Medicine
109: [https://tinyurl.com/44zc297s] Hot Flashes, Cold Facts: Menopause Myths that Won't Die
62: [https://tinyurl.com/mwnmt459] Make McGill Make Sense
Bulky mug [https://tinyurl.com/2mzd3rh5]
Social Post [https://tinyurl.com/2f36eb75] from Dr. Colenso-Semple about choice to use mechanistic, rat, or men's data
108: [https://tinyurl.com/44zvn7zz] Breathing for Bone Density? YogaU Cannot Be Serious
108: [https://tinyurl.com/er3fukyu] Does it Have to be Heavy? Rethinking the Lift Heavy Shit Narrative
98: [https://tinyurl.com/3xxx4ucn] Capacities for Longevity Part 3 - Cardio
Decoding the Gurus [https://tinyurl.com/yntb4tsb]
Front Page Fitness [https://tinyurl.com/yc4xucr5]
Conspirituality [https://tinyurl.com/4brd6js8]
Yoga Meets Movement Science [https://tinyurl.com/4akxnvyh]
Barbell Medicine [https://tinyurl.com/3vyu85ar]
More from Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held
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In this episode, Sarah Court and Laurel Beversdorf investigate the bone supplement company AlgaeCal and ask whether its marketing claims are supported by good evidence. They unpack the company's promotion of algae-derived calcium, its use of strontium supplements to claim increases in bone density, and why improvements on a DEXA scan don't necessarily mean stronger bones. Along the way, they explain how appeals to nature, authority, and fear are used to sell expensive supplements to women worried about osteoporosis.
SIGN UP [https://themovementlogic.com/bone-density-course-lift-for-longevity/] Lift for Longevity. Enrollment closes Sunday, September 20th. Classes begin September 28th.
In this episode, we look back at how our thinking about exercise has changed over the years, from our beginnings in yoga and physical therapy to strength training, bone density, power, fall prevention, and longevity. We talk about the ideas we stopped believing, the evidence that changed our minds, why "lift heavy shit" was an important corrective but ultimately an incomplete message, and how all of this has shaped the newest version of Lift for Longevity.
In this episode, we talk with bone health researcher Dr. Lora Giangregorio about what the evidence really says about resistance training, impact exercise, menopause, fracture prevention, balance, and falls. We also get into claims from OsteoStrong, why not all published research deserves equal weight, and why confident claims about the "best" way to build bone often outrun the evidence.