Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond – Details, episodes & analysis

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Is Pilates enough?  How much is "enough" protein?  What does "lifting heavy" ACTUALLY mean?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alyssa Olenick, PhD, founder of Doc Lyss Fitness and creator of The Lyss Method, to break down what the research actually shows about strength training and protein in perimenopause.

As a strength athlete, ultramarathon runner, and certified sports nutritionist, Alyssa bridges the gap between science and real-world training. Together, we cut through fear-based messaging, social-media misinformation, and one-size-fits-all advice to talk honestly about what matters most for women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and midlife fitness.

This is a grounded, evidence-informed conversation for women who want to train smarter, feel stronger, and move with confidence—without overcomplicating it or chasing extremes.

In this episode, we cover:

• The massive knowledge gap around strength training for women
• Is Pilates enough—and how to know when it’s time to add load
• Training to failure: what it means and whether you’re actually training hard enough
• Why quality matters more than quantity in midlife training
• How to start with what feels accessible and build from there
• Building confidence in the gym (especially if you feel behind)
• Fueling to support training and recovery
• Protein needs, fiber, and common nutrition misconceptions
• Is it menopause, aging, or both—and how to think about that question

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing too little, too much, or just the wrong thing when it comes to training in perimenopause—this episode will bring clarity, perspective, and relief.

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:37 approaching the perimenopause space

5:28 questions women are asking

10:20 hesitancy with women and strength training

14:49 is something better than nothing?

19:54 training to failure

23:54 intensity brings interest

27:20 a place for group fitness

31:49 setting expectations & building confidence

42:26 the protein obsession

54:25 don’t forget fiber!

58:27 the ones question we need to ask

70:00 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH ALYSSA:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/doclyssfitness 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW4CCAMyceAtaGVKhpUqcfQ

Podcast: https://doclyssfitness.com/podcast/

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast, I’m joined again by Dr. Rita Deering, PT, DPT, PhD — Associate Professor of Physical Therapy and Director of the Movement Sciences Laboratory at Carroll University. With 18+ years of clinical experience and 15 years specializing in pelvic health, Dr. Deering is a leading researcher in perinatal musculoskeletal health, pregnancy and postpartum exercise, pelvic floor function, and female athlete performance.

This conversation is a must-listen for anyone navigating the overwhelm of women’s health information — clinicians, coaches, athletes, and moms trying to get real answers outside the noise. We dig into how to actually interpret research (not just quote it), what different study types really mean, and how to confidently separate evidence-based guidance from trending misinformation on social media.

Whether you’re dealing with pelvic floor symptoms, postpartum return to running or lifting, perimenopause changes, or pregnancy athletic performance, this episode brings clarity to the research so you can make informed decisions with confidence.

We break down:

• What “evidence-based” actually means in pelvic health & pregnancy fitness
• Different types of research (RCTs, systematic reviews, case studies) and how to interpret them
• Why outliers in research don’t invalidate lived experience
• Making research relatable and useful for everyday moms & athletes
• How AI, algorithms, and social media fuel misinformation
• Translating research to clinical practice without fear-based messaging
• Why respectful, nuanced conversation in women’s health actually helps patients

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

3:15 making research accessible

7:58 what is PubMed

13:50 different types of research

18:20 transferring research to the clinic

22:44 looking at the studies

33:19 different levels of evidence

37:04 systematic reviews and meta analysis

43:10 changing approach to implementing research

48:55 where the funding goes

51:20 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH RITA:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ritadeeringphd/

Website: https://www.carrollu.edu/faculty/deering-rita-phd

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I sit down with Leah Yingling, an internationally ranked trail and ultrarunner from Salt Lake City, Utah. Leah has achieved multiple top-10 finishes at Western States and UTMB, and has represented Team USA at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. In addition to her racing career, she’s the co-host of the Trail Network Podcast, works full-time in Population Health, and runs for Lululemon, Osprey, Garmin, and Hydrapak. Leah is also a new mom, recently welcoming her first child, Monte, in July.

We dive into what it means to pursue longevity in sport, how she balances full-time work and elite-level training, and what it looks like to plan a sustainable running career while growing her family. Leah shares insights on goal setting through different life seasons, increasing visibility for women in ultras, and the power of building a supportive community.

We talk about:

-Longevity in running

-Balancing full-time work and training

-Planning a long sustainable running career

-Goal setting with family planning

-Increasing visibility of ultras

-Building your community

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:32 comparing ultras to parenthood

3:31 moms in the ultra community

9:09 the problem solving aspect of ultras

12:24 deferals for races

20:43 competing while pregnant

24:44 navigating postpartum

29:45 resources for pregnancy and delivery

34:14 mom walks and being outdoors

41:06 winter activities with a baby

48:30 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH LEAH:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/leah_yingling/

Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/9911694

Tail Network Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trail-network-podcast/id1738325869

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today, I speak with Dr. Ashley Winter, Board certified urologist who specializes in sexual medicine and postpartum hormones. After realizing that many of the common concerns that patients were brining to her clinic were not being addressed by the information she was being taught, she decided to do a fellowship in sexual disfunction. After working in managed health for five years following her fellowship, she decided to branch out into the tech side of medicine to help improve sexual health care for everyone.

We talk about:

-foray into parenthood

-normal hormone levels

-failures in postpartum care

-impacts of estrogen 

-knowing when it’s something else

-topical estrogen and breastfeeding

-finding the right provider

-the benefits of Telehealth

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

7:33 parallels of hormones levels in pregnancy and postpartum

16:00 after the baby comes

22:30 genitourinary symptoms in lactation

25:24 barriers to obtaining vaginal estrogen

34:50 finding the right provider

45:02 listening to patients

50:33 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH ASHLEY

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygwinter/

Twitter at @ashleygwinter

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today, we are celebrating our 100th episode! I’ve been doing the podcast for about two years now, and I’ve have interviewed some incredible guests! But today is my first solo episode. Think of this as a State of the Union” Pelvic Floor edition. I cover what I’m loving about the pelvic floor space right now as well as things I’d love to see change. 

We talk about:

-state of the union

-the need for more specialization in pelvic health

-from pregnancy to menopause

-growing the profession

-pregnancy on social media

-too much DIY?

-high tone versus under activity

-listener questions

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:45 current state of pelvic floor physical therapy

10:05 all the way to menopause

13:38 bad things happening in PFPT

18:35 DIY fallout

23:57 biggest impact over the last 5 years

33:49 Top 5 podcast guests

39:47 olympic lifts after prolapse

42:10 exercising in supine in pregnancy

50:00 social media pet peeve

60:55 balancing mom and business owner

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Holly Brooks, a 2-time Nordic Ski Olympian, twin mom, licensed therapist working at the intersection of performance and mental health. She is also the co-founder of Moms Matter Now, a group focused on empowering, educating, and supporting women from pregnancy to early motherhood so they don’t lose their minds, selves or relationships. Her two passions are athlete & maternal mental health. Holly’s goal is to give moms tools to be models, not martyrs in their motherhood journeys!

We talk about:

-life after professional sports

-the athlete mindset

-preparing for the uncontrollable

-educating to empower

-matrescence

-knowing when to pivot

-navigating mixed messages of returning to sport

-maternal gatekeeping

-RED-S in moms

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

6:08 combining her interests to serve more people

9:17 athletes and first time moms

11:29 ways to guide a mom through pregnancy

17:20 knowledge without anxiety

21:23 dedication and perseverance for athletes and moms

26:30 when to return to sport

31:50 being a mom with goals

36:40 maternal gatekeeping

43:20 be a model, not a martyr

45:30 RED-S

51:12 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH HOLLY

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollybrooksllc/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momsmatternow/

Website: https://www.momsmatternow.com/

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Margo Kwiatkowski, an orthopedic and pelvic health physical therapist in Southern California. She has made it her life’s mission to provide valuable, evidence based, and accessible information about pelvic organ prolapse in postpartum people. Margo was diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse after the birth of her first child in the summer of 2021. She knew all the statistics about pelvic organ prolapse and did “all the right things” but was still taken aback by the diagnosis. She was the most shocked by how deeply this diagnosis affected her physical AND mental health. She quickly realized there was a need for more education and exposure about pelvic organ prolapse and created her Instagram with the hopes of normalizing changes postpartum. Her goal is to help dispel fears about prolapse and help people get back to what they love. 

We talk about: 

-learning about pelvic floor therapy 

-expectations going into pregnancy 

-not being heard postpartum 

-empowering but not scaring 

-speaking with a mental health professional 

-common but not normal 

-reducing symptoms to restore nervous system 

-shifting organs 

Time Stamps 

1:00 introduction 

2:56 learning about pelvic health 

5:40 pregnancy as a PT 

10:10 discovering she had prolapse 

15:00 validating patients’ feelings 

20:30 ah-ha moments from pelvic health 

28:19 pessaries 

34:25 “Are my organs going to go back?” 

40:49 dealing with perimenopause 

43:30 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH MARGO 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postpartum_prolapse/ 

Website: https://www.p4moms.com/

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Carter Norbo, a physical therapist, new mom, and member of the Rabbit Elite Team who ran at the University of North Carolina. In August 2023, she had twin boys at 29.5 weeks, but still went for an Olympic trials qualifying time on November 30th, at a marathon in Virginia. Even being so early in her postpartum, she came 73 seconds away from qualifying! Carter is still learning to adjust to life with running, work, and caring for the twins, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

We talk about:

-Carter’s start in running

-having a twin pregnancy

-running during pregnancy

-energy deficiency with training and pregnancy

-spending time in the NICU

-experiencing postpartum

-returning to exercise postpartum

-the future of her running 

Time Stamps

1:00 introduction

4:21 ideas of running through pregnancy

6:25 looking for information about activity and pregnancy

9:05 being able to run during pregnancy

11:21 having premature twins

14:15 being newly postpartum

18:20 taking one more shot at a qualifying time

21:35 race day experience

25:50 PRing her marathons time early in postpartum

28:44 favorites for the 2024 trials

30:06 running in the future

32:37 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH CARTER

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnorbo/

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Munira Hudani,  a Pre- and Post-Natal physiotherapist in Canada, and an emerging leader for the management of Diastasis Rectus Abdominis. After years of frustration in landing inconsistent results with her clients, and the dissatisfaction in having to say “we just don’t have enough research right now,” Munira began to challenge the conventional method to managing DRA. She realized that part of the inconsistent results came down to how DRA was being conceptualized. She started practicing with a different set of principles which improved outcomes. She has now compiled all of her knowledge and experience into a new framework that revolutionizes how we conceptualize, assess, and manage DRA. She is passionately committed to transferring this knowledge to both professionals and patients so they can finally make sense of the steps to take when navigating this condition. 

We talk about: 

-learning about diastasis recti 

-separating DR from back pain and other dysfunctions 

-DR is not preventable 

-factors that lead to long-term issues 

-management of DR 

-problems with the research 

-Is the gap bad? 

-feeling at home in your body 

-targeting the transverse abdominis 

-experiencing pregnancy and motherhood 

-letting go of expectations 

Time Stamps 

1:00 introduction 

7:05 defining diastasis recti 

10:50 prevention of DR 

13:45 fear mongering in pelvic health 

17:30 predicting long-term issues 

22:00 what the research says 

27:00 explaining distortion 

31:20 Is the gap bad? 

40:05 creating personalized care 

41:00 being a new mom 

48:33 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH MUNIRA 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/munirahudanipt/ 

Website: https://www.munirahudanipt.com/ 

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Dr. Aliso Grimaldi, an expert in the management of hip, groin and lumbo-pelvic pain and dysfunction. She is also Principal Physiotherapist at Physiotec and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. Because of her interest in the assessment and optimisation of lumbo-pelvic and lower limb biomechanics, Alison has collaborated with the European Space Agency on research. Alison is passionate about understanding why we develop problems around the hip and pelvis, and what we can do to most effectively prevent and manage these problems. 

Alison firmly believes research should have practical application, and should be easily accessible to physiotherapists.

She established Physiotec in 2005 and continues working with patients with complex hip and lumbopelvic conditions, across a broad spectrum of sports, including elite triathlon, running, dance, cricket, athletics & swimming.

We talk about:

-establishing collaborative care

-relationship between pelvic floor & hip

-strengthening the pelvic floor

-stress incontinence

-using real time ultrasound

-“ban the clam”

Time Stamps

1:00 introduction

5:19 collaborative care

9:30 dead butt syndrome

11:42 certainties of relationship between hip and pelvic floor 

19:40 clinical use of real time ultrasound

23:09 biggest misses by physios

29:34 “ban the clam”

38:30 future research

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH ALISON

IG: https://www.instagram.com/dralisongrimaldi/

Website (professional): https://dralisongrimaldi.com/

Website: (public): https://hippainhelp.com/

The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
 
This show has been a long time in the making! 
 
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry. 
 
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
 
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)