This is the part of my chat with Emily Capodilupo that we keep coming back to. The full episode came out in September 2024, and after sitting down with Lydia O'Donnell it felt like the right time to pull this section out on its own. Emily leads research and data at WHOOP. She was studying pregnancy while she was pregnant, watching her own resting heart rate climb by 15 beats and knowing exactly why. She went for her first run after her daughter was born and was surprised by how comfortable and how fast she felt. Most of what women are told about their bodies after a baby turns out to be social rather than physiological, and she has the data to show it. I'm grateful she talked about her own numbers this openly.

In this episode Emily and I discuss the WHOOP study with West Virginia University that followed 18 women from preconception through postpartum, why a resting heart rate 15 to 20 beats higher in the third trimester is normal, and why recovery afterwards can be better than baseline. She explains what actually needs care on the way back, from a caesarean to diastasis recti and the six week check, and why VO2 max and lung capacity can both come out higher on the other side. We finish on training with the cycle rather than against it, what changes in the follicular and luteal phases, and why you cannot simply move your cycle so a big race lands in the right week.

For the full episode:

#66 Emily Capodilupo: WHOOP$3.6B Growth, Sleep Consistency Boosts GPA and Alcohol’s Effect on Recovery: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

For more just like this:

#170 Grace Grove: Doctor, Runner & Content Creator | Being Yourself & Ditching Toxic Productivity: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

#176 Jacqui Bell: Youngest Person to Run an Ultra on Every Continent: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

#160 Andy Buchanan: Finding Purpose In Running: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube

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