Robert Brace and Dr. Elizabeth Poynor are on a mission to help women in midlife understand what strength training can make possible across the menopause spectrum—and to create a more informed, effective, and empowering path to long-term health.Enrollment is open now for their formal 12-week, medically supervised research study for women in midlife.Learn how you can connect with Robert and Dr. Poynor, access their work, and apply here to join the study. Less than a year after leaving the hospital at 97 pounds—unable to walk upstairs and having lost nearly all her muscle—Dr. Poynor completed her first clean pull-up at 64 and deadlifted 175 pounds.But this is not simply a fitness transformation.Dr. Poynor is a former cancer surgeon who became the patient herself. In this deeply personal conversation, she and Robert explore what illness taught her about muscle, resilience, aging, longevity, and the expectations placed on women’s bodies in midlife.They also examine why strength training may be one of the most powerful non-pharmacological interventions available to women during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond—and why women need more than the vague instruction to “exercise more.”Strength training can support muscle mass, bone health, metabolic health, physical independence, confidence, mental well-being, and long-term resilience. Yet many women are never taught what to do, how to progress safely, or how to train for meaningful results.Robert and Dr. Poynor are working to bridge the divide between medicine and fitness by combining clinical insight, lived experience, expert coaching, and measurable outcomes.In this episode, they discuss:• Dr. Poynor’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, and life-threatening complications• What it felt like to lose nearly all her strength and independence• How she rebuilt her body after leaving the hospital at 97 pounds• Completing her first pull-up at 64• Deadlifting more than her body weight• Why muscle is essential for women in midlife• Why chair-based exercise can be a starting point—but should not always be the final point• How strength training changed the way she practices medicine• Why women need evidence-informed exercise prescriptions, not generic advice• What becomes possible when the medical and fitness worlds work togetherHer message to women in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond is clear:Your strongest, healthiest, and most embodied years do not have to be behind you.Watch the full episode, then follow the link above to connect with Robert Brace and Dr. Elizabeth Poynor and apply to become part of their mission to help women across the menopause spectrum understand—and experience—the transformative potential of strength training.Chapters:• 0:00 From 97 Pounds to Stronger Than Ever• 1:50 Meet Dr. Elizabeth Poynor• 4:18 From Cancer Surgeon to Patient• 6:38 Cancer, BRCA and Preventive Surgery• 12:20 The Complication That Changed Everything• 16:06 Rebuilding After Losing All Her Muscle• 18:44 From 97 Pounds to a 175-Pound Deadlift• 23:46 How Strength Training Changed Her Medicine• 28:13 Strength Training and Mental Health• 31:56 Why Women Shouldn’t Fear Getting “Bulky”• 38:24 Turning Recovery Into a Research Mission• 42:37 Bridging Medicine and Fitness• 44:11 Menopause, Muscle Loss and Anabolic Resistance• 47:57 The Future of Midlife Women’s Health• 50:54 Getting Strong at Any Age• 54:22 What’s Next: The Research SeriesConnect with Robert Brace:• Website• Instagram • Facebook• LinkedIn