The Wellness Mama Podcast The Gender Health Gap in Fitness and How This Harms Women With Dr. Jessica Shepherd
Mar 9, 2026
Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified OB/GYN and founder of Sanctum Med and Wellness, focuses on hormones, menopause, and female fitness. She explains how historical research ignored women and why physiology differs from men. Short segments cover hormones across life stages, the value of functional strength training, and why ages 40 to 60 are pivotal for long-term health.
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Historic Male-Centric Research Created A Gender Health Gap
- Medical research historically assumed male physiology scaled to women, leaving women's unique biology under-studied.
- Jessica Shepherd explains this wasn't malicious but a belief that height/weight adjustments sufficed, causing gaps in fitness and health data for women.
Hormone Phases Shape Women's Fitness Responses
- Women's hormones shift across life phases (early cycle years, reproductive, perimenopause, menopause) and change fitness, mood, and nutrition responses.
- Jessica Shepherd highlights estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone influence how women perform and recover at different ages.
Use Functional Resistance Training To Preserve Mobility
- Prioritize functional resistance training that builds hip strength, balance, flexibility, and lean muscle instead of only high-intensity or pure cardio.
- Jessica Shepherd recommends programs like Pvolve that combine resistance with functional movement to protect bone and mobility.