There is a lot of conflicting advice about how women should train and fuel through midlife.
Should they prioritise high-intensity work over Zone 2? Train around the menstrual cycle? Cut back on carbohydrates?
In this episode of Stronger With Time, I speak with Rachel Neylan, Olympic cyclist, world championship silver medallist, physiotherapist and high-performance coaching psychologist.
We discuss under-fuelling and carbohydrate fear, bone health after years of cycling, and whether Zone 2 is really overrated for women. Rachel explains why the aerobic base that supported her professional career also helped her absorb harder training and recover from it.
We also talk about training around the menstrual cycle without rigid rules, rebuilding after serious injury, the difference between motivation and identity, and creating systems around training, nutrition, sleep, recovery and community.
This conversation is for women who want to stay strong, fit and capable through midlife, and for the coaches and health professionals who work with them.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:40 Rapid-fire cycling questions
06:30 Leaving physiotherapy for professional cycling
09:45 Matching your physiology to the right sport
14:15 Why children need variety before specialisation
17:00 Movement variety for healthy ageing
19:25 What endurance sport teaches you about doing hard things
21:40 Motivation versus identity
24:35 Training after retiring from professional sport
26:15 Bone density and the hidden cost of cycling
29:25 Recovering from a major crash
33:15 Resilience and training around injury
37:30 Under-fuelling and fear of carbohydrate
42:45 Fuelling around a one-hour training session
44:55 Why every workout should not be hard
47:15 Is Zone 2 overrated for women?
52:00 Why an aerobic base supports high-intensity training
55:05 Female physiology and training differences
57:50 Menstrual-cycle tracking without rigid rules
01:01:25 Building a personal performance ecosystem
01:04:00 Rachel’s current work in performance coaching
01:06:20 Closing thoughts
Resources
Rachel Neylan’s websitehttps://www.rachelneylan.com/
Rachel Neylan’s Australian Olympic profilehttps://www.olympics.com.au/olympians/rachel-neylan/
Tony’s websitehttps://tonyboutagy.com/
Explore Tony’s courseshttps://tonyboutagy.com/explore-the-courses-page
Follow Tony on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/tonyboutagy/
Subscribe to Stronger With Time for more evidence-informed conversations on training, health and performance.
This episode is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.
