Meet Your Body
Podcast
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Welcome to Meet Your Body with Jessica Valant, MSPT — a podcast dedicated to helping women feel strong, safe and empowered in their bodies through every season of life. Combining science-backed education, professional expertise, advocacy, and compassion, Jessica brings honest conversations and practical tools to the complex world of women’s health and aging.
Each episode explores the topics women are too often left to navigate alone, including perimenopause, menopause, endometriosis, hysterectomy, prolapse, infertility, exercise, aging, recovery, body image, and learning how to advocate for yourself in healthcare and everyday life. Through expert guests, personal stories, actionable strategies, and evidence-based guidance, Jessica helps listeners cut through misinformation and reconnect with their bodies with more confidence and clarity.
Drawing from both her professional experience as a physical therapist & women’s health expert and her own personal health journey, Jessica offers a grounded, empowering approach to aging, healing, movement, and wellness — reminding women that strength is possible at every stage of life.
Women over 40 are hearing the message loud and clear: You need to strength train. You need to lift heavy. You need to build muscle.
But what does that actually mean—and how much strength training do you really need?
In this episode of Meet Your Body, physical therapist Jessica Valant breaks down the science and practical realities of strength training for women in midlife and beyond. She explains why maintaining muscle and strength becomes increasingly important as we age, while cutting through some of the confusing and conflicting messages surrounding exercise for women over 40.
You’ll learn:
Why strength training becomes increasingly important as we age
What actually counts as strength training
What “lift heavy” really means—and why heavy is different for everyone
How many days a week you should strength train
What progressive overload is and simple ways to use it
The major movement patterns to include in a well-rounded strength program
Where Pilates fits into strength training
Why walking and cardio still matter
How perimenopause, menopause, pelvic floor concerns, osteoporosis, previous injuries and recovery can affect your approach
Jessica also explains why strength training doesn’t need to be complicated or extreme to be effective. You don’t need to spend every day in the gym, lift the heaviest weights possible or give up the other forms of movement you love.
Whether you’re completely new to strength training or wondering if your current routine is enough, this episode will help you build a realistic, effective approach that works for you.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
⚫︎ Free three day trial to UNLIMITED https://app.jessicavalant.com/sign-up
⚫︎ How to Start Lifting Weights https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-your-body-with-jessica-valant-mspt/id1649561552?i=1000719787855
⚫︎ About Progressive Overload https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-your-body-with-jessica-valant-mspt/id1649561552?i=1000755983233
⚫︎ 20 Minute Beginner Dumbbell Workout: https://youtu.be/zRayn_kDjZw
⚫︎ Jessica’s website, resources, services & more: http://www.jessicavalantpilates.com
⚫︎ Jessica’s UNLIMITED community and app with daily workouts for muscle strength: http://www.jessicavalantpilates.com/unlimited
⚫︎Watch our podcast episodes on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@meetyourbodypodcast
⚫︎ YouTube workouts: https://www.youtube.com/c/JessicaValantPilates
⚫︎ Follow Jessica on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/jessicavalantpilatesJessica Valant Pilates app:Apple IOS – https://tinyurl.com/mry5ya8rGoogle – https://tinyurl.com/yh3ty5fp
Jessica Valant and Jessica Valant Pilates, LLC, recommend you consult with a physician before starting any new exercise program. The information given here is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical condition.
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Join physical therapist, Pilates Teacher, mom of two, and coffee lover Jessica Valant as she brings her signature combination of hope, science based research and a little fun to the world of movement and women’s health. The Meet Your Body Podcast will address the fear, confusion and loneliness that can oftentimes be associated with our bodies. We will use education, uplifting stories, actionable strategies and compassion to address things like endometriosis, hysterectomy, prolapse, infertility, the aging process, exercise, how to advocate for yourself and more. Join us as Jessica shares her own journey with these issues and ultimately provides a guide for finding strength and joy in your own body.
