

Feisty Women's Performance
Dr. Erin Ayala
Tired of fads, quick fixes, and performance advice that wasn’t designed for you? So are we. Feisty Women’s Performance cuts through the noise to bring you credible, science-backed insights to live your best, healthiest, active life.
Hosted by Dr. Erin Ayala, this is your go-to resource for tackling the challenges of being an active woman today—whether you’re hoping to PR your next marathon or just trying to understand how much protein women actually need to be eating.
We’ll move beyond the male-dominated lens of sport science to deliver honest conversations and actionable advice from women for women, to improve women’s health. Each episode dives deep into one of our four pillars—physiology, nutrition, mental health, and cultural issues—with leading experts to explore topics that are often left undiscussed.
If you’re an active woman who cares about your sustainable health, performance growth, and long-term progress, these conversations are for you.
No fads, no quick fixes. Just real science and legit experts.
Re-launching January 2026.
Hosted by Dr. Erin Ayala, this is your go-to resource for tackling the challenges of being an active woman today—whether you’re hoping to PR your next marathon or just trying to understand how much protein women actually need to be eating.
We’ll move beyond the male-dominated lens of sport science to deliver honest conversations and actionable advice from women for women, to improve women’s health. Each episode dives deep into one of our four pillars—physiology, nutrition, mental health, and cultural issues—with leading experts to explore topics that are often left undiscussed.
If you’re an active woman who cares about your sustainable health, performance growth, and long-term progress, these conversations are for you.
No fads, no quick fixes. Just real science and legit experts.
Re-launching January 2026.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 21, 2022 • 57min
Kristen Arnold MS, RDN, CSSD - Fuel Your Powerful Body
Sports nutrition is entering a new era of sex hormone-specific needs. Athletes who menstruate have specific fueling needs during and around training as it relates to hormone levels. Today, Sara takes a deep dive on the topic of performance nutrition with Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD.They discuss:Common pitfalls of fuelingSorting through the diet trends like Intermittent Fasting and Paleo. GI issues during and after exercise and tips on how to train your stomach to absorb calories during training Navigating perimenopauseHow to stop fearing food and start loving ourselves and our powerful bodiesThis interview is valuable for anyone who's looking for women's specific nutrition information, or information on how to love our bodies and have a better relationship with food.Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSDSign up to Receive The Feisty 40+ Newsletter: https://feisty.co/newsletters/feisty-40/Keep up to date on all women's sports:https://feisty.co/newsletters/the-feist/Follow us on Instagram:@feisty_womens_performance Support our Partners:Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Feb 14, 2022 • 46min
Kristi Mohn - Remain Unbound and Ambitious
Kristi Mohn is a born advocate. As one of the founders of Unbound Gravel, she has long been an outspoken champion for women and non-binary cyclists and, in today's episode, she and Sara dive deep into this pillar of culture and creating equal representation.You'll also hear Kristi's:Advice for anyone who’s interested in advocacy work, or how we can be effective advocates for ourselves and others.Thoughts for anyone who feels an entrepreneurial calling. Kristi once had 11 LLCs at one time!Take on parenting by example and managing motherhood in a busy life.Philosophy of creating an evolving definition of what performance means.Our definition of "performance" will evolve over time and, thanks to movers and shakers like Kristi, we have shining examples of success across multiple spectrums. Kristi Mohn and Kathryn Taylor are Movers and ShakersKristi Mohn InstagramSign up to Receive The Feisty 40+ Newsletter: https://feisty.co/newsletters/feisty-40/Keep up to date on all women's sports:https://feisty.co/newsletters/the-feist/Follow us on Instagram:@feisty_womens_performance Support our Partners:Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Feb 7, 2022 • 32min
F*ck Diet Culture with Taylor Treacy
Taylor Treacy is a former collegiate and professional volleyball player. In this powerful keynote address from the 2021 Women’s Performance Summit, Taylor addresses the topic of diet culture and the many ways that weight stigma and fat-phobia are destructive physically, mentally, and emotionally. She discusses:The genesis of diet culture and “the why” behind keeping women small and submissiveThe fallacies of diet culture and how they disregard and diminish much of the populationThe myriad physical, mental, and emotional impacts women face as a result of societal pressure Ways to avoid, challenge, and say “F*ck You” to diet cultureAs Taylor says, education is vital, so if you are struggling or think you need help, please seek the assistance of licensed professionals including Registered Dietitians, Physicians, and Psychologists. The Virago ProjectTaylor Treacy InstagramSign up to Receive The Feisty 40+ Newsletter: https://feisty.co/newsletters/feisty-40/Keep up to date on all women's sports:https://feisty.co/newsletters/the-feist/Follow us on Instagram:@feisty_womens_performance Support our Partners:Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Feb 2, 2022 • 53min
Every Woman Deserves Performance
Every woman deserves performance.We have observed that there is A LOT of B.S. information out there for women coming from the fitness and health industries, which gets even worse as we age. Because of this, we saw the need to bring trusted information to women so we can feel and perform our best. The launch of the Women's Performance Podcast features host, Sara Gross, with three change-makers, movers, and shakers in the women's performance space - Dr. Stacy Sims, Selene Yeager, and Jamila Gale-Agans.They discuss multiple topics around performance and dive deep in order to provide solid information and access to resources for active women, coaches, parents, race directors, and companies.Stacy Sims provides perspective on the biggest changes in her field of research, and what new directions she is seeing that will help women.Selene discusses changes she has seen in the fitness industry and media, and how she vets information when working on an article or looking for a guest on the "Hit Play Not Pause" podcastJamila paints a picture of her time as a US Army Officer and the cultural assumptions she had to navigate in this "culture within a culture."They also provided valuable roundtable insight on questions from both Sara and the live audience, including:What does it mean for you to focus on performance in your life? And, how has it changed through the years?What does it mean to continue to focus on performance as we age?How do history and culture affect our work, research, and performance?Why is it important to look at performance through a variety of lenses?What's the best advice you've received as a performance-minded individual?How do you make strength training fun?How do I know if I need a rest day, or if I'm just being lazy? (spoiler alert: you're NOT lazy)Do you train according to your cycles?What is your advice on recovery?This is our time to learn, grow, and thrive. It’s not about standing on a podium (although some of us will); it’s about being able to do the things we love throughout our life.Episode ResourcesRegister for the Women's Performance Summit & use coupon code EARLYBIRD50 by February 4th for $50 off the Annual PassSubscribe and Follow the Feisty Women's Performance PodcastWe are now accepting proposals to speak at the Women's Performance Summit. We currently have four pillars of presentations and topics: Physiology, Nutrition, Psychology and Mental Health, and Social/Cultural. To submit a presentation follow this link.Why We Started the Women's Performance Podcast By Feisty CEO, Sara Gross, PhDFor all Feisty Resources, including podcasts, courses, articles, and moreSign up to Receive The Feisty 40+ Newsletter: https://feisty.co/newsletters/feisty-40/Keep up to date on all women's sports:https://feisty.co/newsletters/the-feist/Follow us on Instagram:@feisty_womens_performance Support our Partners:Hettas: Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at https://hettas.com/

Jan 25, 2022 • 13min
Welcome to the Feisty Women's Performance Podcast
We live in a world where sport was made for men. Whether we're competing at the highest level or running a local 5k, we often feel like something is missing when it comes to getting the best from our bodies. That's because most of the research, product development, and cultural norms in sport are centered around men. Getting the information you need to reach your goals shouldn't be so hard, and that's why Feisty CEO, Sara Gross, will cut the B.S. and find the information and trusted experts you need to get the best out of your body.

Mar 21, 2021 • 3min
Feisty Life Trailer
The Feisty Life is for active performance-minded women or for anyone who wants to know how women can get the best out of our bodies throughout our lives.We know that women have largely been excluded from sports science, nutrition and medical studies- so how do we know what information actually applies to us? In this podcast, we explore these questions and more.Host Sara Gross, founder of Feisty Media, Ironman Triathlon Champion and PhD in Women’s History will chat with experts, athletes and people-in-the know in order to cut through the crap and get some answers. Together we will learn new ways of thinking, doing and being our feistiest selves so we can all live full and active Feisty Lives. Categories: Sports, Fitness, Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Mental Health, Business, Parenting


