Stacy Sims
Exercise physiologist · Women Are Not Small Men
Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist whose long-running argument is that training and nutrition advice built on male data does not transfer to women. Her book ROAR made that case for a general audience; Next Level carried it into perimenopause and menopause. She is blunt about fasted training, ice baths and zone 2 for female physiology, and she publishes her reasoning, and a fair amount of her own routine, in a newsletter written from New Zealand.
- Entries
- 35
- Does
- 14
- Recommends
- 14
- Discusses
- 7
Gear
7 pieces of gear in this stack
- GearRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Kettlebell
There is more than one way in, on her account, because liking or disliking resistance training is largely intuitive. Her second route is kettlebells in the garage, or dumbbells light enough to move fast, doing thrusters or hang cleans. That gives a beginner the feel of momentum, which she treats as a learning curve of its own.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & LongevityView item: KettlebellOn record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - GearRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Sleep eye mask
Her year-round sleep hygiene list is about the room rather than a pill. Block the light out with blackout curtains or a sleep mask, keep noise down with earplugs or white noise, eat nothing in the last two hours, and wind down with dim lights and no screens.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Women Struggle with SleepView item: Sleep eye maskOn record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 2 recommend it - GearRecommends$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Weight sled
Asked what a postmenopausal woman should do on her first day in a gym, she said ignore the cardio machines and the classes and walk to where the weights are. Dumbbells work, so does a barbell. The sled is the one she called fun: load it, push it, pull it, and it gasses you completely.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: The Ultimate Guide to MenopauseView item: Weight sledOn record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 2 recommend it - GearRecommends$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Air bike
Sprint intervals need something you can empty yourself on for 30 seconds, and the assault bike is what she puts women on. She laid out the pairing on Huberman Lab: 20 minutes of heavy lower body work, then flat-out 30-second efforts with as much recovery as you need between them. People think they have four or five in them, she said. Most are done after two.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & LongevityView item: Air bikeOn record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 recommends it - GearRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Basal body thermometer
For a naturally cycling woman who wants more than a calendar, she suggests a pharmacy basal body thermometer alongside an over-the-counter ovulation kit. Temperature falls about half a degree Celsius before ovulation and climbs after it, and reading that shift tells you how long your own follicular phase runs.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How to Track Your Menstrual CycleView item: Basal body thermometerOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - GearDiscusses$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
WHOOP
A caveat rather than a dismissal. Current wearable algorithms do not detect the HRV decline of the menopause transition, she writes, so through it they cannot predict true recovery. What she suggests instead is watching HRV, respiratory rate and sleep quality as trends: a lower HRV alongside a higher respiratory rate is the cue to back off.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How Your Female Sex Hormones Affect HRVVisit whoop.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - GearDiscusses$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Oura Ring
Women keep telling her they read recovery off their HRV, and she says the number is only part of the story. HRV sits lower through the late luteal phase whether or not you are tired, so a bad readiness score can be the cycle rather than the training. She would rather people watched the trend and how they feel.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How Your Female Sex Hormones Affect HRVVisit ouraring.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 5 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 3 have discussed it
Supplements
7 supplements in this stack
- SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Caffeine
She opens her piece on the caffeine research by saying she loves her coffee and that her mornings typically start with a strong cup. The practical end of the same article is a six-hour gap before bed, tighter if perimenopause has changed how the stuff feels.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Coffee, DecodedView item: CaffeineOn record from 14 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 1 recommends it, 3 have discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Electrolyte supplementation
Long-haul cabins dry her out, so she drinks steadily through the flight with a pinch of salt in her water to help absorption and keep digestion moving. She calls it the low-tech version of an electrolyte drink.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Jet Lag Hits Women HarderView item: Electrolyte supplementationOn record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 12 do it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
Magnesium L-threonate is one of two things she names for quieting the brain before bed, and she notes in passing that she takes them herself, 30 to 60 minutes before sleep.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenView item: Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it, 2 have discussed it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Rhodiola rosea
The third item in the pre-bed routine she says travels with her, taken about half an hour before she wants to be asleep. She adds that she leans on adaptogens during stretches of stress, strain and reduced sleep.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Jet Lag Hits Women HarderView item: Rhodiola roseaOn record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 1 recommends it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
L-theanine
The other half of the pre-sleep pair she names with magnesium threonate, taken 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Quieting the brain and settling the system down is how she describes what the two are for.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenView item: L-theanineOn record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - SupplementDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Tart cherry juice
Cold Montmorency juice, roughly half an hour before bed, sits on her short list of natural sleep aids. The cold helps dump core temperature, she says, and the melatonin in the cherries lines up with the body's own rise.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Women Struggle with SleepView item: Tart cherry juiceOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - SupplementRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Creatine monohydrate
The one supplement she puts on every list, for women at any stage. She points to the lower baseline stores women carry, evidence spanning strength, bone and mood, and monohydrate as the form worth buying. Three to five grams a day is where she says there is no real need to go further.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Active Women Need CreatineView item: Creatine monohydrateOn record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 10 do it, 2 recommend it
Apps
4 apps in this stack
- AppDoes it$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Spotify
At the end of 2025 she gave the newsletter over to two of her own things instead of the usual science: a solo gym workout she called a rare share, and the highlights of her Spotify Wrapped. If you are going to do one of her workouts, was her line, you may as well do it to her most-played songs of the year.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Gratitude, Growth, and a Rare ShareVisit spotify.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - AppRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
OSTEO-GAINS
Built by a research team including a close family friend of hers, Dr Tracey Clissold, around trials she took part in herself. The daily jump-landing sessions run under five minutes, and she describes the exercises as simple rather than ballistic or intimidating.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Jump to Improve Your Bone Health!View item: OSTEO-GAINSOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - AppDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
TrainingPeaks
Tracking does not have to be fancy, is her line. A paper calendar and a pen will do the job, and she points at the comment box on an online training tool like TrainingPeaks as the software version of it: a note on how the session felt, kept beside the session. Reading back over months is where the pattern turns up.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How to Track Your Menstrual CycleVisit trainingpeaks.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it - AppDiscusses$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
WILD.AI
For the high-tech end of cycle tracking she points at apps like WILD.AI, which read your logged days and symptoms for patterns and then suggest training and nutrition. Keep your agency, she adds. An app can be right about what a phase usually means and still be wrong about you.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How to Track Your Menstrual CycleView item: WILD.AIOn record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 has discussed it
Books
2 books in this stack
- BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Next Level
For anyone in perimenopause or past it, this is the one she points at instead of ROAR, for the training information and the programs at the back.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenVisit drstacysims.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - BookRecommends$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
ROAR
Her first book, and the one she sends women in their twenties to forties to when they ask where the programming should start.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenVisit drstacysims.com (opens in a new tab)On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Protocols
13 entriesStructured routines and practices with a defined method.
Lifting is the first thing she names when she looks back on a busy 2025, ahead of ocean swims and gravel rides. She reads the growth of her audience the same way, as more women training with intention.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Gratitude, Growth, and a Rare ShareHer flight home lands just before 6 a.m., so the layover goes on a double espresso and a long outdoor walk, and the dog gets walked on the beach once she is in. Nothing resets the body clock as well as daylight, on her account.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Jet Lag Hits Women HarderEndurance is where she came from and the gravel bike is what survived it. She told Andrew Huberman she now loves long weekend rides, while acknowledging in the same breath that they are not what her age or her own goals really call for.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & LongevityShort intervals are what she reaches for when her body clock is wrecked after a long-haul flight. She admits it is the last thing anyone jet lagged wants to do, then calls it one of the better resets available, and says she keeps her own session brief and outdoors.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Jet Lag Hits Women HarderVegan since high school, after a school trip to a pig slaughterhouse, she keeps that separate from her advice: she prefers women to take most of their fat from plants for physiological reasons rather than personal ones, and says the fear of dairy fat has not held up.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & LongevityShe was a participant in the trials behind a jump program developed by a team that includes Dr Tracey Clissold, a close family friend. Since those studies ended she has kept the jumping to three days a week, and she reports a Z-score above +2 despite a family history of osteoporosis.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Jump to Improve Your Bone Health!Underfueling is the mistake she says she sees most often in active women. Her starting point is 0.7 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight a day, carbohydrate timed around training, and no fasted work before anything hard.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenGiven the choice between heat and cold for women, she takes heat, and she wants it after training rather than before. Sitting in a sauna while already slightly dehydrated keeps the heart rate up and extends the training stimulus, she told Andrew Huberman, and the body answers by building blood volume.
Source: Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & LongevityEat most of the day earlier, a pattern she calls front-loading. Because melatonin starts climbing around 9 p.m. in women, she argues that a well-fed day is one of the most underrated things anyone can do for the night that follows it.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Where Do I Start? A Roadmap for Active WomenBrisk walking will not do it: that is her reading of the evidence for women in the menopause transition. She wants the hard end of the week to be genuinely hard, with short sprint-level efforts driving the blood vessel and cardiac changes she says steady cardio does not deliver.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Menopausal Women Need Polarized TrainingColder is not better for women, on her reading of the thermoregulation data. She puts the useful window nearer 14 to 15°C than ice water, warns that near-freezing plunges can push cortisol up and thyroid function down, and tells people to keep cold away from strength sessions.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Cold Plunging for WomenFor active women she thinks fasting usually backfires: thyroid activity drops, cycles turn irregular and body fat goes up when energy demand is left unmet. Sedentary populations may see something from it, she allows, but most of the encouraging data came from men.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Fasting Does Not Work for Active WomenLow-intensity work barely shifts the lactate transporters in women, on her reading of the MCT1 and MCT4 data, so she argues against zone 2 as the default prescription. She is careful to add that she is not calling long slow training pointless, only misplaced as the priority.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: What Women Need to Prioritize Instead of Zone 2
Habits
2 entriesRecurring behaviors recorded in public statements.
Mornings are not her strong point, which is how coffee blended with protein became her fix. It signals a fed state to the brain, she says, without asking anyone to face a full meal before an early session.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Fasting Does Not Work for Active WomenShe has been pushing female athletes to log their cycles for over a decade, and points to the 2019 US women's national soccer team as the visible example. Paper and pen is fine. Apps earn their keep when a coach reads them, and the goal is learning your own pattern rather than obeying an algorithm.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: How to Track Your Menstrual Cycle
In their own words
Checked word for word against the linked source
“There are very few supplements I recommend across the board. Creatine is one of them.”
Dr Stacy Sims: Why Active Women Need Creatine (opens in a new tab) · 11 Feb 2026 “My go-to pre-bed routine (wherever I am) is L-theanine, magnesium L-threonate, and Rhodiola Rosea, 30 minutes before I want to be asleep.”
Dr Stacy Sims: Why Jet Lag Hits Women Harder (opens in a new tab) · 18 May 2026 “Since the studies ended a few years ago, I’ve kept up the jumping three days a week, and it is something I will continue doing for the longevity of my bones”
Dr Stacy Sims: Jump to Improve Your Bone Health! (opens in a new tab) · 12 Mar 2025 “Those are the big rocks, the sprint interval training, the heavy resistance training, the jump training, and the protein.”
Huberman Lab: Female-Specific Exercise & Nutrition for Health, Performance & Longevity (opens in a new tab) · 22 Jul 2024 “I'll say it upfront: I love my coffee. My mornings typically start with a strong cup, and many of the active women I know have a similar habit.”
Dr Stacy Sims: Coffee, Decoded (opens in a new tab) · 8 Jul 2026 On Caffeine
Stack notes are paraphrased. Anything in quotation marks is a short excerpt copied from the transcript it links to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.