Resources for Female Athletes

Read on to check out some featured female athlete blog posts and some of my favorite resources related to women’s sports and physiology!

Coach Katie’s podcast episode on the female athlete

Featured female athlete blog posts:

Contraception choices for female athletes
St. George prep and mental health
Injury prevention for female athletes
Hypothalamic amenorrhea in female athletes

Recommended female athlete gear items:

Bike saddles:

Specialized Sitero (my top pick for TT bikes and aero position)
Ergon SR Sport Gel saddle (my top pick for road/gravel)
Honorable mentions: Specialized Power Comp with Mimic (road/gravel), Fizik Arione Classic (road)

Bike shorts:

ASSOS Uma GT bib shorts
Ornot Women’s Droptail Cargo bib shorts (love the pockets on these)
Honorable mention: ASSOS Dyora RS bib shorts (nice shorts, but IMO not worth the increase in price from the Uma GT bib shorts linked above)

Sports bras:

Indura Athletic Square Neck sports bras (look no further for sports bras! Just be sure to measure yourself to get the right size using a tape measure

Run shorts:

ON Running Shorts

Other products:

DZ Nuts women’s bliss chamois cream

Some favorite resources:

Stanford Female Athlete Science and Translational Research (FASTR) Program: Science-backed educational content on topics including the menstrual cycle, bone health, mental health, nutrition, and REDs/the Female Athlete Triad. Check out their educational video series and their Instagram!

Garmin Connect menstrual cycle tracking feature.

Glute activation routine (for men and women, but especially important for women): Women’s hips are naturally wider than men’s, which can make us more prone to knee and hip injuries. Check out these moves to injury-proof your lower body.

Headspace app: Easy to use guided meditation app that teaches you how to meditate for better sleep and stress management.

Some of my favorite podcasts, videos, books, and articles related to women’s sports:

ROAR by Dr. Stacy Sims: With the mantra, “Women are not small men. Stop eating and training like one,” this book provides excellent tips for women to optimize their performance based on their unique female physiology. A must-read for endurance athletes. Also see Sims’ podcast interview with the Iron Women podcast on female hormones and how they affect training, and her “Women are not small men” TED talk.

Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond Kindle Edition by Dr. Stacy Sims (with Selene Yeager): Sims’ science-backed advice about training, nutrition, sleep and recovery and supplements, as well as sample exercise routines, meal plans, macronutrient planning charts.

Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes by Christine Yu: Your best one-stop-shop for the latest research on all aspects of women in sport. Yu passionately advocates for pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls.

Good for a Girl by Lauren Fleshman: Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her inspiring personal story and a rallying cry for reform of a sports landscape that is failing young female athletes. Highly recommend the audiobook (read by Fleshman herself) in particular!

Educational content on from the Stanford Female Athlete Science and Translational Research Program (FASTR) on REDs, Nutrition, Bone Health, the Menstrual Cycle, and Mental Health.

Sarah True: Finding Happiness in Sport.

WHOOP Podcast:

Colleen Quigley’s IUD story.

Dr. Sara Gottfried: How to Optimize Female Hormone Health for Vitality & Longevity on the Huberman Lab podcast.

Tina Muir’s Running for Real podcast: In particular, check out episodes on body diversity, menopause, what healthy eating actually means, and more.

Mary Cain’s New York Times video interview and podcast on toxic cultures for women’s sports, and Lauren Fleshman’s response op-ed.