RECLAMATION RADIO — EP 150
Dr. Kelly Brogan & Dr. Stephanie Estima
Speaker:
As we age, the more muscle mass that you have, the better your brain capacity, mood regulation, sleep regulation—everything. As women, we have to unlearn this idea that we have to be small at any price.
Speaker 2:
I was doing Pilates multiple times a week. I was still doing pole and other cardio dance… and my body did not change at all. Then I joined a gym.
My hip pain is completely gone.
Speaker:
Everybody talks about muscle. Nobody wants to talk about joints and tendons. We also have to think in terms of longevity. We have to think about the adaptations that muscle needs.
Even in perimenopause, there’s research suggesting it helps support a healthy progesterone-to-estrogen balance in the second half of the cycle.
Every time you go to the gym, you are investing in a short-term, medium-term, and long-term version of yourself.
Speaker 2:
The doors are open to my 2026 live Audacious Embodiment event in Miami, May 15th through 17th.
I’m calling in all women who are ready to stop pretending, performing, curating, and managing a rigid identity.
This weekend focuses on four “P’s”:
- Pattern Disrupt
- Permission Field
- Pleasure
- Polarity
We’re laying fresh snow on your mountain so you can create new tracks—because new experiences shift identity.
When you’re in spaces where possibility is modeled, you expand what you believe is available to you.
And when you attend a retreat, you need a space holder who has owned more of their truth—so they can expand your permission field.
Speaker (continued):
Pleasure deserves to sit in the proper place in your priorities—daily.
There is something deeply healing about women gathering in shared embodied experience.
And polarity—this is about feminine power, but not in the cliché sense. Not just aesthetics or emotional release.
This experience includes:
- More practice time
- Daily dance + movement
- Transformational embodiment work
It’s about expanding your relationship to your body and rebranding who you get to be as a woman.
Speaker 2 (Host – Dr. Kelly Brogan):
Welcome back to Reclamation Radio. I’m Dr. Kelly Brogan, and today I’m here with Dr. Stephanie Estima.
She’s a chiropractor, a fitness expert, and an incredible resource for women in midlife.
I turned to her when I realized it was time to start lifting heavy things.
As a lifelong dancer—a “cardio bunny,” as she might say—this transition was humbling and intimidating. But her work gave me clarity and direction.
We talk about:
- Why strength training (specifically lifting heavy) matters
- Why Pilates and cardio alone aren’t enough
- The deeper role of muscle in the body
- Nutrition for strength training
- Breaking myths around aging and women’s health
Speaker 2 (Host):
If you’ve never lifted before…
If you’ve been unsure where to start…
If you’ve been chasing vitality but not finding it…
This conversation might change everything for you.
Speaker:
I got into the gym for vanity—I wanted to look good.
But what I found was confidence, self-trust, and emotional release.
I built a relationship with myself that I had never been taught.
It wasn’t just physical—it was psychological and emotional.
Speaker (continued):
As women, we’re often afraid of getting “bulky.”
But physiologically, it’s incredibly difficult for women to build that kind of mass.
What we do need, especially as we age, is muscle for:
- Brain function
- Mood
- Sleep
- Hormonal regulation
Speaker 2 (Host):
You describe strength training as the most important investment in your future self.
That really resonates.
It’s not about fixing something wrong—it’s about offering something to yourself.
Speaker:
Yes. Think of lifting as a love letter to yourself.
Every session supports:
- how you look (short-term)
- how you feel (medium-term)
- how you perform (long-term)
Speaker 2 (Host):
For me, this has been a complete awakening.
I went through a period where I lost a significant amount of weight through fasting—and I didn’t realize I had lost muscle.
I gained weight back, but something felt off:
- skin quality changed
- I developed hip pain
- my body didn’t feel like mine
I tried:
- nutrition adjustments
- Pilates multiple times per week
- cardio
Nothing changed.
Then I joined a gym.
Within three months:
- my hip pain disappeared
- my body felt younger
- my energy shifted completely
I even noticed something wild:
I went from struggling to run a mile…
to running 2.5 miles on the beach effortlessly.
Speaker:
That’s your glutes.
They connect your upper and lower body and are essential for:
When they’re underdeveloped, everything suffers.
Speaker (continued):
Muscle isn’t just aesthetic.
It gives you:
- Mobility
- Metabolic health
- Menstrual and hormonal support
Speaker 2 (Host):
And flexibility too—I’ve seen improvements just from strength training.
Speaker:
Exactly.
And we need to talk about the myth of “toning vs bulking.”
What people feel in Pilates is endurance burn.
But hypertrophy (muscle growth) happens when you approach muscle failure.
That means:
- slower reps
- reduced range of motion
- increasing perceived effort
That’s very different from endurance work.
Speaker 2 (Host):
There’s also something powerful about learning to rest.
Between sets. Between days.
Speaker:
Yes—and many women struggle with that.
We’re conditioned to believe:
If I’m not doing something, I’m not productive.
But growth happens in recovery.
Speaker (continued):
We also need to stop fearing food.
Instead of asking:
“What should I remove?”
Ask:
“What do I need to include to thrive?”
Common issues I see:
- chronic calorie restriction
- fear of carbs
- under-eating protein
Speaker:
Muscle growth depends on:
- protein (to build)
- carbohydrates (to protect muscle from breakdown)
They work together.
Speaker (continued):
Women especially need to stop trying to be small at all costs.
Because what’s often lost is:
- muscle
- bone density
- metabolic health
Speaker 2 (Host):
Yes—and removing restriction actually reduced obsession for me.
Speaker:
Exactly.
We don’t need extremes.
We need nourishment, consistency, and strength.
END TRANSCRIPT
