The Excellence Cartel: Diving into PCOS

The Excellence Cartel: Episode 31

I had the privilege of joining Jason Theobald, Jeffrey Su, and Jeff Black on The Excellence Cartel podcast to discuss all things polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) - or, as I prefer to call it, anovulatory androgen excess (AAE).

We went in depth on the drivers and root causes of this highly complex and dynamic reproductive metabolic disorder, including touching on genetics, epigenetics, lifestyle, and other contributing co-factors. Throughout the show, I provide some insight as to where to start in terms of finding the right treatment and care for each individual case.

I hope you enjoy the show!

PODCAST LINKS:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-31-diving-into-pcos-with-victoria-felkar/id1473504650?i=1000469476837

Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9jYzZhMDc4L3BvZGNhc3QvcnNz

Podparadise: https://www.podparadise.com/Podcast/1473504650

Radio Public: https://radiopublic.com/the-excellence-cartel-WwnnYZ

anchor.fm: https://anchor.fm/theexcellencecartel

Learn more about The Excellence Cartel:

The Excellence Cartel IG: @the_excellence_cartel

Jason Theobald: @scoobyprep1_ifbbpro

Jeffrey Su: @firstcalloutfitness

Jeff Black: @jeffunbreakableblack

#theexcellencecartel

www.physiqueeducationcollective.com

TRT Hormone Optimization: All Things Hormones

TRT Hormone Optimization: All Things Hormones

I had the opportunity to sit down with Danny Bossa and talk about all things hormones! We talk about different factors that influence testosterone and testosterone replacement therapy. Check out the two part episode below!

Part 1

Part 2

Learn more about TRT and Hormone Optimization

PRIVATE FB GROUP: TRT and Hormone Optimization

YOUTUBE: TRT and Hormone Optimization

TRT Revolution with Jay Campbell

How to Help Chemically Castrated Women Get Their Health Back

This podcast was everything! I had a fabulous time chatting with Mr. TOT himself, Jay Campbell of TOT Revolution. I met Jay at SWIS in October 2018, and loved the no b.s. energy and endless passion he brought to the conversation of hormone replacement therapy. His mission to provide the best education possible through partnering with the world’s best is also so near and dear to my own heart.

Thanks Jay for everything! Can’t wait for the next opportunity to talk shop with you!

Check out Jay’s amazing summary and show notes below.

---

Women’s health has been neglected and filled with myths and ignorance since the beginning of endocrinology.

Why is progesterone one of the most underestimated and misunderstood hormones, and what are its uses?

How has birth control destroyed the health of both men and women?

How can we help chemically castrated women get access to lifesaving healthcare?

On this episode, I talk with health practitioner, consultant, author, and educator, Victoria Felkar about what’s getting in the way of the help women need and what can be done about it.

The more you screw with hormones earlier in life, the more you’re setting yourself up for difficulty later on— but the salvation is in lifestyle.

-Victoria Felkar



At the start of the show, we talked about why women’s endocrinology is handled so badly, and the double standards that cause this.

Next we talked about the connection between hormones and sport, and how the stigma was born. We discussed how hormones are used at the elite levels of sport and how birth control is destroying us.

We also talked about the alarming warning signs about menstrual cycles that we shouldn’t ignore.

We also discussed:

• Why progesterone is a wonder hormone

• How hormones can be used as tools, not crutches

• The commonality of performance enhancement in sport

• The importance of tracking your hormonal bio-feedback

So many women are suffering because hormones like progesterone have been so maligned. At the same time, birth control pills have been misused and abused.

The truth is, the more you screw with hormones earlier on in life through birth control, fertility drugs, and other substances, the more intense the issues will be later on in life.

Lifestyle is actually a very important part of women’s reproductive health, not the manipulation of menstrual cycles we are seeing today.

If you have lower rates of stress, you’re going to improve your reproductive health. The woman’s body has its own built in clock, and it’s like a symphony that requires all the instruments.

If we start manipulating or removing some parts, there’s no telling how bad the impact will be, and we’re definitely starting to see the negative downstream effects now.

PODCAST LINK:

http://www.totrevolution.com/how-to-help-chemically-castrated-women-get-their-health-back-w-victoria-felkar/

ITUNES:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/trt-revolution-podcast/id1097576864?mt=2

Learn more about Jay Campbell & The TOT Revolution
WEB: http://www.totrevolution.com
IG: @TOTrevolution
FB: @TRTexpert
YOUTUBE: TOT Revolution

The CK Podcast: The Oral Contraceptive Pill

Finishing up 2018 strong with yet another podcast!

I had the pleasure of speaking with Chris Knott about the Oral Contraceptive Pill. I am so grateful to Chris for having me on his show, and asking me some of the best questions I’ve had to date.

Check out his summary of the show below!

---

“The stigma surrounding male anabolic steroid use is something well and truly still present in society. If a man were to experience unwanted side effects from AAS use he would be labelled as stupid for risking his hormonal health for aesthetic or performance reasons.

This being said, there is little to no difference in the way female contraception is administered to prevent pregnancies. Ovulation is inhibited by disruption of the regular hormonal cycle through the application of exogenous Estrogen and/or Progesterone.

This “can” lead to severe health issues if not treated responsibly through diligent lifestyle choices, I.e. being on top of nutrition, digestion, sleep and stress management.

Interested in learning more? Tune in to my latest podcast with Victoria Felkar for an absolute masterclass in everything you need to know about the oral contraceptive pill.”

PODCAST LINK:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/episodes/879236-the-oral-contraceptive-pill

ITUNES:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-chris-knott-podcast/id1337586535?mt=2

SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/show/2fngJKF6UUdFKfmRwJKuua

Learn more about The Chris Knott Podcast
IG: @chris_knott_
WEB: http://www.chrisknottpt.com/category/podcast/

EliteFTS: Female Athletes & Exogenous Substances

From your digestion to your sleep to your cognition, exogenous hormone use has dramatic effects on your entire body. However, there is a subconscious idea that when a drug is taken it, it's actions and influence will stay within a tidy little box of ‘intended’ outcomes. The reality is, pharmaceuticals influence nearly every system in your body.

If that wasn’t enough, the chaos effect of a drug must be compounded with other variables such as the fluidity of a women's hormonal life course (puberty, perimenopause), an extraordinarily stressful physiological event (ie. competing or acute illness), or the ongoing multiple small daily stressors, like training at a high capacity without adequate nutrition and sleep. Needless to say, there are so many factors that on their own or together with others, can manifest in immediate, ongoing, and future health consequences.

But, these risks don't just come from drugs used for enhancement purposes either. Although the 'finger' is pointed at anabolic-androgenic steroids for causing massive system-wide dysfunctions within the body, steroids like oral contraceptives - espescially when taken at the beginning of a female's reproductive period - have the capacity to result in lingering effects for health.

Breaking down myths, speaking to the knowledge gap, and critically thinking about the information you read and receive will go a long way in helping to improve the current state of women's health. Blissful, willful and reckless ignorance won’t help the situation, or the women affected by it. Get informed, get critical, and build knowledge by breaking down myths.

Read the full write-up from EliteFTS here.

Write here…

EliteFTS: www.elitefts.com
FB: @elitefts
IG: @elitefts
YT: Dave Tate

EMBODY RADIO: Women Health & Birth Control

It was AMAZING to be back on Embody Radio with the brilliant Emily Duncan. Em is good people, actually she’s the best kind of good people. Her passion and purpose make my heart smile, and I’m so proud of her and all the works she’s doing. Keep on blossoming, my friend. 

I’ll let her cover the summary of Part 1 of the show!

"You guys/gals are in for a treat today... @victoriafelkar was one of the first guests on the show (EP 5 & 6), and she’s back for two more EXCELLENT episodes! Victoria is an interdisciplinary researcher (her research is quite literally entitled “Women and Steroids”) and an all around incredible advocate for women’s health.

Today, part one of our interview does a deep dive on:

• hormone history and where the gendering of hormones began,

• the backstory of medicine, sport, sport medicine, endocrinology, and how it ties in to women’s health,

• just about all you could want to know about menstrual cycles,

• why menstruation AND ovulation are important to health,

• outcomes of hormonal contraceptive use,

• SOOOO much more!

She also provided us with a free and thorough menstrual cycle chart so you can start tracking your own cycle, learn whether/not and when you ovulate, and overall just become a better advocate for your own health.

Click the link in our bio to give this AMAZING episode a listen, and raise your hand 🙋🏻‍♀️ if you’d like to see Victoria as a regular guest on the show!”

ITUNES:

https://itunes.apple.com/…/podca…/embody-radio/id1245411599…

SOUNDCLOUD:

https://soundcloud.com/user-250742329

SPOTIFY:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VuquAgPBNlAvS6dqedOdO?si=ddPjkdnCRvuQWjXnq1VEUQ

Learn more about Emily Duncan
www.emilyduncanfitness.com
IG: @em_dunc
FB: @emilyduncanfitness

EliteFTS: How to Be a Healthy Competitor

Competing places a huge toll on the human body - and sometimes it can get out of hand. As a result, one 'thing' can go astray - like digestion or sleep - and in turn, this causes a chain reaction. Suddenly, your entire system is in meltdown mode.

Instead of getting to this point, it is important to focus on being proactive instead of reactive in the way you treat your body. The best way to do this is to maintain your body’s foundation.

You can’t manipulate or enhance something that isn’t there. Build your foundation first, and continue to manage it in order to help mitigate the risks associated with performance.

Read the full write up here.

EliteFTS: www.elitefts.com
FB: @elitefts
IG: @elitefts
YT: Dave Tate

EliteFTS: Menstrual Cycle Myths

Menstrual myth busting with the help of @elitefts. I’m so grateful to @underthebar and EliteFTS for providing me with a platform to talk about one of the biggest barriers to women’s health.

It’s easy to blame “stupid” coaches for manipulating women’s hormones, or point the finger at #fitchicks for perpetuating nothing more than rubbish rumours about periods and PCOS. Getting to the root of the problem is the hard part.

Overtime numerous myths and misconceptions have shaped our knowledge and understanding about women – their health, hormones and lives. Today, these myths continue to linger within most aspects of society, including medicine, science, and fitness. Although I'd like to believe that the cute infographics posted by the #fitfam are done with good intentions, the truth is, often these do more harm by continuing to produce, reproduce, and magnify not just bad - but wrong information, about women's health.

For the last two decades, there has been an epidemic of hormonal disturbances within women’s life cycles. Oral contraceptives use, enivornmental toxins, eating or training too much or too little, layering stress on more stress, and A LOT of other variables and triggers are contributing to this. My goal is never to simplify the situation or reduce it to any one factor. The body is really, really complicated and there are no easy or unified solutions. It always must come down to the individual in question. It should always be about her. Her body, her health, her life in context today, years past and those still to come.

With that being said, we must start recognizing that when it comes to women's hormones and menstrual cycles, there is a lot that we think we know, don't know and may never know.

Breaking down myths, speaking to the knowledge gap, and critically thinking about the information you read and receive will go a long way in helping to improve the current state of women's health. Blissful, willful and reckless ignorance won’t help the situation, or the women affected by it. Get informed, get critical, and let's start building knowledge by breaking myths.

Check out the write up: https://www.elitefts.com/educa…/watch-menstrual-cycle-myths/

EliteFTS: www.elitefts.com
FB: @elitefts
IG: @elitefts
YT: Dave Tate

The Muscle Nerd Podcast: Females on Steroids

The Muscle Nerd Podcast #11

Had an awesome early morning chat with @the_muscle_nerd_podcast. In the episode we spoke about female using performance enhancing drugs or more specifically anabolic steroids. 

I’m a morning person through and through, but a 14 hour time difference meant we had to start recording at 5am. While I always strive to keep things real and make sure anything I put out is organic, authentic and candid, I have a feeling that my #felkaring was extra in this episode! Thanks again Gus for having me on. The iTunes link is in my bio!

EPISODE LINK:

http://www.musclenerd.com.au/category/the-muscle-nerd-podcast/

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/the-muscle-nerd-podcast/id1395050839?mt=2

 

SPOTIFY: 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4a7n083oVBNMJPaBCtdqTa?si=M_m--Kk2QZGWNzRSeKSnrw

Learn more about The Muscle Nerd Podcast:
www.musclenerd.com.au
IG: @the_muscle_nerd_podcast

Part 1: 2018 elitefts Sports Performance Summit Presentation

"Victoria Felkar's relationship with elitefts began in 2011 when she attended a Learn to Train seminar and experienced what she has described a "defining point" in her journey. Leading up to that point—and in the years since—her accomplishments have earned her the following and respect of individuals in both the academic world of strength and the industry of strength. As an interdisciplinary researcher at the University of British Columbia, Felkar has focused on sports medicine, as well as on sociology, psychology, anthropology, pharmacology, and the relationships between them. She has also worked for over ten years as a practitioner, consultant, author, and educator.

In this video, Felkar begins her 2018 elitefts Sports Performance Summit presentation by talking about the divide between academia and the strength industry, the athlete performance model, and an approach to better manage an athlete's training and well-being."

Read the rest of the write-up here

Shop - elitefts.com/ Team elitefts - elitefts.com/team-elitefts/ Q&A - elitefts.com/q2a/ Training Logs - elitefts.com/training-logs Coaches Logs - elitefts.com/team-elitefts/ Ex Index - elitefts.com/category/education/exercise­­­-index/ Articles - elitefts.com/category/education/ PodCast - elitefts.com/category/education/podcasts­­­/ Client List - elitefts.com/client-list/ SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter - twitter.com/Elitefts You Tube - youtube.com/user/eliteftsMobile Flickr - flickr.com/photos/elitefts Pintrest - pinterest.com/elitefts/ Google+ bit.ly/14HaiqK FriendFeed -friendfeed.com/underthebar Instagram - instagram.com/underthebar/# Wallpapers - elitefts.com/desktop-wallpapers/

By the minute:

• (1:20) Why athletes need to be taken care of
• (2:55) Academia and industry
• (5:50) Athlete expectations and performance inhibition
• (9:34) Victoria's performance model concept
• (13:05) Adopting new methods and adapting old ones

www.elitefts.com
FB: Elitefts
IG: @elitefts
Youtube: Dave Tate

Ask Me Anything E5: Why blood work is more complicated than you think

Finally another episode of Ask Me Anything.

For the fourth episode, I tackle a question about ‘normal’ values for blood work. Ultimately, this was a really personal question about an individual’s own lab work, so I took it as an opportunity to talk about some really important aspects of blood work that often don't get discussed.

In a nutshell, I cover three main sub-topics:

1. A broad discussion of the various internal and external factors that influence blood work
2. Getting labs and why it’s important to be critical of the analysis process
3. What do the results actually mean, and the power of creating personalized data

Want the quick notes version?

It’s complicated.

I fully support individuals taking an active role in understanding and managing their own health state, and the importance of working with health practitioner(s) to do so. I don’t support DIY lab analysis, conventional medicines use of testing as a singular, static and completely depersonalized diagnostic tool, and the overall ignorance towards the multitude of other crucial internal and external variables that must be accounted for, explored and discussed.

Blood work should not be the judge, jury and executioner.

It should be one of many tools used to examine an individual’s health state. Additional methods should be used in conjunction with bloodwork, such as tracking and applying other markers of biofeedback, and then looking at everything in individual context. Building personal data is how you can begin to build a healthier and sustainable body from the inside and out.

If you like what you see - feel free to share and comment below. Want me to cover a topic or quesiton a video? Please shoot me a message. 

Video by: Alora Griffiths
aloragriffiths.foliodrop.com
FB: Alora Griffiths
IG: @aloragriffiths

Advices Radio: The Menstrual Cycle

Advices Radio with Scott McNally #58

This podcast makes me smile. My good friend, Scott McNally gave me a huge challenge to cover the menstrual cycle in a concise, easy to digest way that would provide listeners with a practical understanding of an incredibly complex process. Thank you Scott for providing me with another opportunity to do what I love!

Within the podcast, we explore the shifting kaleidoscope of hormones that are part of the menstrual cycle. The goal of this program is to help promote a better understanding of what is actually happening, which is a difficult task since every female body is unique.

EPISODE link:

https://www.advicesradio.com/track/episode-58

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/advices-radio/id1104299645?mt=2#

 

Stitcher: 

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/scott-mcnally/advices-radio/e/53953022

Learn more about Advices Radio:
www.advicesradio.com
FB: @advices.radio
YOUTUBE: Advices Radio

The Vanguard Sessions Podcast: Drug Talk

The Vanguard Sessions with Andrew Rose #10

 

Back at podcast guesting thanks to Andy Rose and The Vanguard Sessions!

I first met Andy a few weeks back at the elitefts Sport Performance Summit. I was on stage just about to sit down with the other presenters for a Q&A session, when he introduced himself and asked me if I would be interested in coming on his podcast. In the days following, after exchanging banter and chatting about the current state of the industry, I knew that this was going to be a great podcast experience.

From the pervasive and historical use of drugs in sport, to talking about some of the current issues surrounding anabolics and women's health, we dive into the PED abyss. Thanks again Andy!

EPISODE LINK:

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-tapap-8dbc0c

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vanguard-sessions-podcast/id1350278649?mt=2

Andy's Summary: 

I think it's high time we unbury our heads from the sand. Drugs - the performance enhancing kind - are here and they're here to stay. What's not here, unfortunately, is the data needed to help keep us healthy and safe. Sure, we're all getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Are we dying quicker? Are we destroying our bodies faster than we're repairing them? Will we ever have the answers? Or will we keep fumbling around in the dark using anecdotal broscience from some forum our old gym buddy once read on his ex-cousin-in-law's phone? This is a long episode, but I couldn't cut it short. There was way too much to be discussed.  Enjoy.  

 

Learn more about Andy Rose & The Vanguard Sessions podcast:
www.aefit.net
FB: @AndrewRose
IG: @vanguardbarbell
 

Ask Me Anything E4: Keto, Fasting & Why I Hate Diets

Then there were 4! 

In the fourth episode of Ask Me Anything, I provide a response to two separate questions on nutrition protocols: (1) Keto for Fat Loss in Women; (2) Intermittent Fasting for Longevity. 

But in typical VF fashion, what I talk about is far from the overly generalized and 'absolute' answers that often get thrown around to these types of questions. I cover all of this and more → 
· A reminder why diets are only temporary
· The often forgotten therapeutic role of food
· A 'diet' is only as good as your digestion. 
· The Keto, PCOS & gallbladder connection ... (aka. why your poop is yellow liquid & burps smell like sulphur) 
· #gutlife - The importance of a healthy gut microbiome & functioning GI system
· Personal story about my own digestion troubles, elimination diets & trigger foods,  
· Why a tummy ache isn't the only thing you have when your digestion sucks
· Things to consider about about specific protocols like keto & IF
· Dispel some industry nutrition myths
· Provide some practical tips for eating for your BODY, health, performance and goals

Then there were 4! In the fourth episode of Ask Me Anything, I provide a response to two separate questions on nutrition protocols: (1) Keto for Fat Loss in Women; (2) Intermittent Fasting for Longevity. But in typical VF fashion, what I talk about is far from the overly generalized and 'absolute' answers that often get thrown around to these types of questions.

Don't forget, eat for your body, eat for your goals! 

If you like what you see - feel free to share and comment below. Want me to cover a topic or quesiton a video? Please shoot me a DM or leave a comment. 

Video by: Alora Griffiths
aloragriffiths.foliodrop.com
FB: Alora Griffiths
IG: @aloragriffiths

Ask Me Anything E3: Women & Hair Loss

Ask Me Anything

Internal and External Variables for Female Hair Loss (including androgen use)

From hats to hormones, seasonal changes to genetics, there are a lot of internal and external variables that make this topic a complicated one!

To get to the root of female hair loss, within the video I talk about →

• Why hair loss is more than just about androgens 
• The multi-factorial basis of hair loss
• Internal & external variables that contribute to hair loss including
• Some factors that aren't often get considered
• My own experience with PCOS, hair loss, and frustrations with physicians
• Androgenic alopecia (AA), PCOS & anabolic-androgenic hormones
• The combination effect: managing individual precursors & variables for AA
• Various treatment routes for AA
• Why knowing the ingredients of your hair products matters
• PEDs and their influence on hair loss

If you like what you see, feel free to share. If you have any questions you'd like me to cover please feel free to shoot me a message.

Video Location: Android Bodies
www.androidbodies.ca
FB: Android Bodies Inc.
IG: @androidbodies

Video by: Alora Griffiths
aloragriffiths.foliodrop.com
FB: Alora Griffiths
IG: @aloragriffiths

Ask Me Anything E2: Periods, Training & Hormonal Adaptations

Ask Me Anything

Can you breakdown the stages of a women’s menstrual cycle, and how training volume/intensity should be adapted to their cycle?

I tackle this question by discussing why in my opinion you can't actually adequately adapt training to an individual's menstrual cycle. To do so, I cover all of this and more:

• Menstrual life cycle & the huge degree of individual variance
• The influence of various hormonal adaptions such as birth control, exogenous hormones & training
• Why lab work is hard to do
• Training for your own individual menstrual cycle including controlling inflammation
• Some key biofeedback markers to track and follow

In this episode I tackle the question: Can you breakdown the stages of a women's menstrual cycle, and how training volume/intensity should be adapted to their cycle? I tackle this question by discussing why in my opinion you can't actually adequately adapt training to an individual's menstrual cycle.

If you like what you see, feel free to share. If you have any questions you'd like me to cover please feel free to shoot me a message.

Video Location: Android Bodies
www.androidbodies.ca
FB: Android Bodies Inc.
IG: @androidbodies

Video by: Alora Griffiths
aloragriffiths.foliodrop.com
FB: Alora Griffiths
IG: @aloragriffiths

Muscle Expert: Hormone Manipulation & Food as Therapy

Muscle Expert Podcast with Ben Pakulski #58

USING food as a therapeutic tool and hormone manipulation in sports

Can’t thank Ben Pakulski enough for having me on The Muscle Expert. I'll admit, I was nervous as all when I found out that I was the first female guest - but I think he managed to keep the entire conversation organic and flowing by not telling me we were even recording! Seriously, though - this was such a good podcast, and it was great to catch up, talk shop and educate on some really critical topics. Thanks again Ben!

Key Highlights:

• How to balance fat ratios.
• The menstrual cycle myth and why women should be wary of missing their menstrual cycle.
• Glucose disposal agents, sex hormones, sleep deprivation, post-diet binge eating mitigation strategies.  

"Just don't eat like an asshole" 

EPISODE LINK:

http://www.benpakulski.com/podcasts/victoria/

 

ITUNES: 

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle/id725296816

STITCHER: 

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews-how-to-build/ben-pakulski-podcast-muscle-expert-interviews

Learn more about Ben Pakulski & The Muscle Expert podcast:
http://www.benpakulski.com
FB: @IFBBbenpakFANPage
IG: @ifbbbenpak
Youtube: MI40 Muscle Intelligence

Time Stamps:

4:00 Victoria's dissertation topic, exploring the world of female hormonal manipulation in elite sport.

10:47 Hyperandrogenism in females. 

11: 40 Metformin for women post competition.

13:40 Strategies for women recovering from androgen use. 

16:12 Progestron, chronic inflammation and more.

17:35 Reducing dietary triggers, changing your breakfast and eliminating the major allergenic foods.

20:06 Testing for gut health, food mapping protocols, and biofeedback.

21:50 Using food as a therapeutic tool. 

23:38 Balancing fat ratios. 

25:29 The modern American diet,

25:1 omega 6:3 ratio? 

28:50 Women, the first line of defense to overcome the psychology the binge and purge mindset. 

33:43 Glucose disposal agents, hormones, sleep deprivation. 

38:05 Less is more when it comes to training and more is more when it comes to food.

39:00 The menstrual cycle myth.

42:10 Victoria's book, nonhormonal ways to fix hormonal imbalances. 

45:50 The critical biopsychosocial physical ecological model of dynamic relations. 

52:00 Finding gratitude and acceptance.

56:42 Managing variables. 

1:00:20 Morning routines and avoiding emails.  

SWIS 2016 Clip: Post-Comp Strategies

From my talk at the 2016 SWIS Symposium on Female Competitor Health. In this clip from the SWIS 2016 Video library,  I discuss post competition strategies, and introduce the cconcept of changing your training strategy to re-frame how you think about your body post-show. 

See more at: http://swisvideo.com/collections/all

Learn more about SWIS:
http://swis.ca/
Access to SWIS videos
FB: Swis Video
 

SWIS 2016 Clip: PCOS

From my talk at the 2016 SWIS Symposium on Female Competitor Health. In this clip from the SWIS 2016 Video library,  I discuss PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and the steroid list women may take for competition ... aka pixiedust. 

Learn more about SWIS:
http://swis.ca/
Access to SWIS videos
FB: Swis Video
 

The 'Secondary' Side Effects of Steroids.

The Secondary Side Effects of Steroids: Sex, Gender and the ‘Unnatural’ Female Sporting Body

IN PROCESS

For over half a century controversy has swirled around the use of anabolic androgen steroids (AAS) by athletes and bodybuilders. They have received significant media and political attention though both the academic and clinical literature are sparse. Robert Goldman’s Death in the Locker Room (1984) helped to create and perpetuate hysteria and panic surrounding steroids, especially their use by women. Focusing on what he calls, “The New Unisex – Female Athletes Turning Male,” Goldman describes anabolic steroids as exclusively “masculine hormones,” and suggests that women who take them are ‘unnatural’, resulting in a ‘bastardization of the female form.’ Goldman is not alone in his concern for the female use of anabolic steroids. The little research that surrounds women and steroids tends to endorse powerful cultural norms about a ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ female sporting body. Often, discussions of female athlete steroid use echo long standing beliefs about the appropriate appearance, health and abilities of the female sporting body.

This project will examine why there has been so little attention to female steroid use and discuss the underlying assumptions on which biological determinism, sex, gender, and the ‘natural’ body have been built into the steroid discourse. As Nelly Oudshroon pointed out, ideas regarding the function of hormones, and the terminology surrounding these chemical messengers have embodied rigid cultural ideas about sex, gender, and the body. Although hormones, including synthetic hormones, do not possess an inherent sex or gender, the debate over anabolic-androgen steroids use in sports continues to distinguish anatomical and physiological differences in the ‘male’ and ‘female’ sporting body.

Despite recent scholarship on gender verification, sex testing and the female athletic body that challenge dominant ideas about ‘normal’ levels of ‘natural’ endogenous androgen levels in female athletes, little research has addressed exogenous androgens, women and AAS use in sport, or the gendering of synthetic sex hormones. Furthermore, although there is a growing body of critical literature on anabolic steroids, the gendering of synthetic sex hormones has not gained the same level of critical inquiry as other aspects of the topic, such as the reframing the philosophical debates of ‘fairness’, debating doping-control measures, or the unsubstantiated physiological and/or psychological ‘risks’ associated with male athlete use.

Drawing upon historical and contemporary medical and popular literature, this project will explore the interplay around the construction of biological sex, gender and hormones, with misrepresentations and myths about the use of steroids by female athletes. It aims to address the current ‘science’ of steroids as it relates to the sporting female body, and show how presumptions about what a ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ female should look like underscores much of the discourse around women’s use of AAS.

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