Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Is there really a “menopause-specific” way to train, eat, and supplement — or is most of it marketing? In the finale of our 4-part menopause series, Drs. Jordan Feigenbaum and Austin Baraki go straight to the evidence on building muscle and bone before, during, and after the transition.
We cover whether menopause blunts your response to lifting (the Isenmann 2023 head-to-head trial and the 2026 meta-analysis of ~4,000 women say it doesn’t), the one-index-card prescription that actually works. Then we work through the loudest claims in the space — cortisol “wrecking” your fat loss, anabolic resistance, the protein and creatine hype, hormone therapy as a cure-all, and “you need a different paradigm” — steelmanning each before we push back. We close with the strongest case in the whole space: heavy lifting for bone density (the LIFTMOR trial), the pelvic-floor evidence, your three biggest fears answered, and how to tell a good coach or clinician from a bad one.
Claims discussed are associated with Stacey Sims, Mary Claire Haver, Mindy Pelz, and the broader functional-medicine space. We push back on the claims, not the people.
Timestamps:
• 0:00 The 90-year-olds who tripled their strength
• 1:10 Why this matters: heart disease and falls, not vanity
• 2:28 Can women still build muscle after menopause? (Isenmann 2023)
• 7:31 Does menopause blunt your gains? The 2026 meta-analysis
• 8:49 Is it menopause, or just individual variation?
• 14:42 The estrogen "shield" and the mechanical override
• 18:31 Does hormone therapy replace training? (the 2021 estradiol trial)
• 22:44 What actually works: the whole prescription
• 24:18 Program details: frequency, volume & insulin sensitivity
• 30:22 Nutrition: protein and the 2026 review
• 35:06 Creatine, vitamin D & calcium
• 43:29 Anabolic resistance: mostly overstated
• 47:22 Clinical case: the supplement-stack patient
• 52:23 A short history of wrong advice for women
• 53:38 Claim 1: "Lift heavy or lose your bones" (Stacey Sims)
• 1:01:09 Claim 2: the cortisol myth
• 1:15:18 Clinical case: the cortisol-anxious patient
• 1:18:20 Claim 3: "It's all hormonal, HRT fixes it" (Mary Claire Haver)
• 1:20:45 Testosterone in women: what it does and doesn't do
• 1:21:51 Claim 4: "Menopause needs its own paradigm" & the SWAN data
• 1:24:48 Bone density done right: the LIFTMORE trial
• 1:33:07 Does heavy lifting wreck your pelvic floor?
• 1:38:59 Your three biggest fears, answered
• 1:40:44 Green flags & red flags
Resources:
• Menopause Series Part 1 : youtube.com/watch?v=yzk0IkTy0WM
• Menopause Series Part 2 — youtube.com/watch?v=YKAlamIOiwU
• Menopause Series Part 3 — youtube.com/watch?v=jzoNMQaBAcI
• Hypercortisolism episode - open.spotify.com/episode/7tDdUi8dDFWjMYx0fRJdOz
Barbell Medicine coaching and templates: barbellmedicine.com
Signal book pre-order: barbellmedicine.com/shop/learning/signal
Isenmann (2023) doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02671-y
Isenmann (2026) doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2026.01.004
Fiatarone (1990) doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03440220053029
Fiatarone (1994) doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199406233302501
Dam (2021) doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.596130
Markofski (2015) doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2015.02.015
Orsatti (2022) doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2022.111904
Walter (2026) doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00954-2
dos Santos (2021) doi.org/10.3390/nu13113757
Myung (2021) doi.org/10.3390/nu13020368
Dote-Montero (2021) doi.org/10.1111/sms.13999
Ravussin (2015) doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glv057
Cadegiani (2016) doi.org/10.1186/s12902-016-0128-4
Greising (2009) doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glp082
Islam (2019) doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(19)30189-5
Testosterone in women review (2026) doi.org/10.1080/09513590.2025.2592402
NAMS nonhormone position statement (2023) doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002200
Vasomotor exercise meta-analysis (2022) doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2022.2097865
Greendale (2019) doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.124865
Watson, LIFTMOR (2018) doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284
Skaug (2024) doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000003278
Skaug (2021) doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04739-5
Dumoulin (2018) doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005654.pub4
Our Sponsors:
* Check out CovePure and use my code CovePure.com/bbm for a great deal: covepure.com
* Check out FIGS and use my code FIGSRX for a great deal: wearfigs.com
* Check out Factor and use my code factormeals.com/bbm50off for a great deal: factor75.com
* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/BBM for a great deal: quince.com
Advertising Inquiries: redcircle.com/brands
Is there really a “menopause-specific” way to train, eat, and supplement — or is most of it marketing? In the finale of our 4-part menopause series, Drs. Jordan Feigenbaum and Austin Baraki go straight to the evidence on building muscle and bone before, during, and after the transition.
We cover whether menopause blunts your response to lifting (the Isenmann 2023 head-to-head trial and the 2026 meta-analysis of ~4,000 women say it doesn’t), the one-index-card prescription that actually works. Then we work through the loudest claims in the space — cortisol “wrecking” your fat loss, anabolic resistance, the protein and creatine hype, hormone therapy as a cure-all, and “you need a different paradigm” — steelmanning each before we push back. We close with the strongest case in the whole space: heavy lifting for bone density (the LIFTMOR trial), the pelvic-floor evidence, your three biggest fears answered, and how to tell a good coach or clinician from a bad one.
Claims discussed are associated with Stacey Sims, Mary Claire Haver, Mindy Pelz, and the broader functional-medicine space. We push back on the claims, not the people.
Timestamps:
• 0:00 The 90-year-olds who tripled their strength
• 1:10 Why this matters: heart disease and falls, not vanity
• 2:28 Can women still build muscle after menopause? (Isenmann 2023)
• 7:31 Does menopause blunt your gains? The 2026 meta-analysis
• 8:49 Is it menopause, or just individual variation?
• 14:42 The estrogen "shield" and the mechanical override
• 18:31 Does hormone therapy replace training? (the 2021 estradiol trial)
• 22:44 What actually works: the whole prescription
• 24:18 Program details: frequency, volume & insulin sensitivity
• 30:22 Nutrition: protein and the 2026 review
• 35:06 Creatine, vitamin D & calcium
• 43:29 Anabolic resistance: mostly overstated
• 47:22 Clinical case: the supplement-stack patient
• 52:23 A short history of wrong advice for women
• 53:38 Claim 1: "Lift heavy or lose your bones" (Stacey Sims)
• 1:01:09 Claim 2: the cortisol myth
• 1:15:18 Clinical case: the cortisol-anxious patient
• 1:18:20 Claim 3: "It's all hormonal, HRT fixes it" (Mary Claire Haver)
• 1:20:45 Testosterone in women: what it does and doesn't do
• 1:21:51 Claim 4: "Menopause needs its own paradigm" & the SWAN data
• 1:24:48 Bone density done right: the LIFTMORE trial
• 1:33:07 Does heavy lifting wreck your pelvic floor?
• 1:38:59 Your three biggest fears, answered
• 1:40:44 Green flags & red flags
Resources:
• Menopause Series Part 1 : youtube.com/watch?v=yzk0IkTy0WM
• Menopause Series Part 2 — youtube.com/watch?v=YKAlamIOiwU
• Menopause Series Part 3 — youtube.com/watch?v=jzoNMQaBAcI
• Hypercortisolism episode - open.spotify.com/episode/7tDdUi8dDFWjMYx0fRJdOz
Barbell Medicine coaching and templates: barbellmedicine.com
Signal book pre-order: barbellmedicine.com/shop/learning/signal
Isenmann (2023) doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02671-y
Isenmann (2026) doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2026.01.004
Fiatarone (1990) doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03440220053029
Fiatarone (1994) doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199406233302501
Dam (2021) doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.596130
Markofski (2015) doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2015.02.015
Orsatti (2022) doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2022.111904
Walter (2026) doi.org/10.1186/s40798-025-00954-2
dos Santos (2021) doi.org/10.3390/nu13113757
Myung (2021) doi.org/10.3390/nu13020368
Dote-Montero (2021) doi.org/10.1111/sms.13999
Ravussin (2015) doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glv057
Cadegiani (2016) doi.org/10.1186/s12902-016-0128-4
Greising (2009) doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glp082
Islam (2019) doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(19)30189-5
Testosterone in women review (2026) doi.org/10.1080/09513590.2025.2592402
NAMS nonhormone position statement (2023) doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002200
Vasomotor exercise meta-analysis (2022) doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2022.2097865
Greendale (2019) doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.124865
Watson, LIFTMOR (2018) doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284
Skaug (2024) doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000003278
Skaug (2021) doi.org/10.1007/s00192-021-04739-5
Dumoulin (2018) doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005654.pub4
Our Sponsors:
* Check out CovePure and use my code CovePure.com/bbm for a great deal: covepure.com
* Check out FIGS and use my code FIGSRX for a great deal: wearfigs.com
* Check out Factor and use my code factormeals.com/bbm50off for a great deal: factor75.com
* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/BBM for a great deal: quince.com
Advertising Inquiries: redcircle.com/brands
