Stacy Sims, MSC, PhD, is an exercise physiologist, researcher, and author of Roar. Sims specializes in the differences between men and women when it comes to exercise, nutrition, and environment.
Her book, Roar, is a science-backed look at female physiology and how to maximize female performance.
Stims outlines how the woman’s body behaves—where women are naturally strong at endurance, where women carry muscle and power, “and all the other ways our physiology makes us unique.”
Menstruation, hormonal fluctuations, menopause, pregnancy—Stims covers them all and adds proven nutrition and workout advice so that women can stop following training advice designed for men and work with what makes the woman’s body special instead of fighting against it.
Roar is essential reading for female athletes, coaches who work with female athletes, and anyone else who wants to make use of the unique features of female physiology and leverage them for better performance. It also tops the list of my recommended fitness books for women.
Below are some key quotes and passages from Roar.
Where to Buy – ROAR by Stacy Sims
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle
- “Sorry, it’s true. Guys do lose weight more easily than we do. But pumping up your protein intake can help a lot.”
- “As a woman, you have more essential far, carry most of your lean mass in your lower body, and have a greater proportion of type I endurance (also called slow-twitch) muscle fibers than men.”
- “Pound for pound, a well-trained woman is darn near as powerful as her male counterpart.”
- “Women are naturally good fat-burners. That’s great for endurance, but you sometimes need a boost when you need to access those stored carbs to go hard.”
- “Menstruation is just the tip of the iceberg of the physiological differences between male and female athletes, and it’s time for women to understand that. This book is about empowering women with the fitness and nutrition knowledge they need to compete on the same even playing field as men.”
- “Women not only need different fuel before and during exercise, but we also have unique recovery needs. Our recovery window is a lot shorter than men’s; it’s harder to hold on to our valuable muscle tissue; and we are susceptible to performance difficulties in the heat.”
- “Some of the products sold to us to offset the disadvantages of our physiology (looking at you, soy protein) can actually make matters worse.”
- “When it comes to reaping all the benefits of your hard work in the gym or on the court… the quality of your training must be matched by the quality of your recovery if you hope to see measurable improvement. In short: Train hard, recover harder… It is, in fact, somewhat harder for women to recover.”
- “Women’s fat-burning postexercise metabolism drops back to normal about 3 hours after they’ve showered and gone about their day, while men’s levels remain elevated up to 21 hours later.”
- “Getting a good dose of protein postexercise becomes critical for us to rebuild our muscles and reduce the signalling to store body fat. So, if you’ve ever wondered why the men you train with seem to drop weight more quickly, physiology is a major factor.”
- “Given time to acclimate (which can take up to 2 weeks), exercise heat-tolerance time for women actually increases more than men’s, which makes that sex difference evaporate like a bead of sweat in the Arizona sun.”
- “Once you throw training into the equation, the gender gap shrinks considerably.”
- “Oftentimes as women, we have different expectations for ourselves than we do for men. We have the power to change much of that. We just have to be willing to learn and try. So let’s keep roaring on.”
Where to Buy – ROAR by Stacy Sims
Paperback | Audiobook | Kindle
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