⛱️ Why You Should Take a Vacation From Your Wearables

Last summer, we were up in New England with a bunch of longtime friends, renting a house, paddleboarding, mountain biking, playing games, cooking dinner, having drinks, hanging out, and having a wonderful time. As the clock inched past midnight on the first night, I remember thinking, “my Oura ring score isn’t going to be good tomorrow…” And then I made myself a promise to not open the app to check while I was on vacation.

I kept that promise and had a super fun time. Sure, I would have liked a little more sleep, since I’m lousy at sleeping in and always get up at 6 a.m. no matter what time I go to bed. But it was nothing a cup of coffee and a fun day on bikes in the sun couldn’t fix. When we got back to our usual routine four days later, I started looking at my Oura app again. Scrolling back, sure my scores weren’t awesome, but within a few days the averages were all healthy, life moved on, and I’d made a bunch of great memories.

As I’m seeing people becoming increasingly stressed about their wearable scores, I worry that we’re optimizing the fun out of our existence–and maybe even worrying ourselves into worse health.

Sleep doctors have a name for what happens when people start obsessing over perfect sleep numbers and end up more stressed and sleepless because of it: “orthosomnia.” Dr. Stuart Phillips recently went a step further and used the term “orthometria” to describe what he sees as the unhealthy obsession over monitoring every metric in life. I don’t feel like I’m in either of those places, personally. I like my data, but I’m not obsessive over it, and I generally sleep like a stone. But I do think it’s worth asking whether vacation is the time to take a break from feeling like you’re being graded.

If we’re worried about travelling and staying up too late on vacation having fun, we’ve lost the plot, I think. We want to be healthy, yes. But we also want to be resilient. Resiliency means we can cut loose, go to a show, dance, sing, jump around, run a marathon, or do any number of things that "stress" us, then recover, get back to normal, and carry on.

That’s the point of all this, right? We’re optimizing to live, not living to optimize. Because if we’re not fully living life, what’s the point of trying to extend it? Just so we can get an A in recovery at the end? Spoiler alert: We’re all going to fail recovery in the end. That’s not meant to be morose. Just my practical observation as someone who—like many of us—has seen how unpredictable and short life can be, even for those who are perfectly healthy.

👟 Hettas: Built for Running. Ready for the Gym.

If you're one of those people who runs and does Hyrox or functional fitness, keep reading — this one's for you.

Hettas' Alma shoes were built for female runners first, but the same things that make them good for running — the narrow heel cup, the nitrogen foam pockets that lock your foot in place, the grippy outsole — carry over surprisingly well to sled pushes, lateral movement, all of it. The Tempo and Speed models especially have a firmer ride that holds up under that kind of load.

It's not marketed as a training shoe replacement, but if you're already living in these for your runs, don't be surprised if they hold up in the gym too

Use code STAYFEISTY for 20% off at hettas.com.

🔥Badass Athlete of the Week Goes To…

Big belated congratulations to Jenna Rinehart, 42, who made it into the prestigious Life Time Grand Prix series as a wildcard competitor. This will be her 4th season in the series for the Minnesota native. She’ll be toeing the line at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race in Colorado next month and we’ll be cheering her on as she takes on the best gravel racers in the world for the rest of the season.

Way to go, Jenna!

👉Want a chance to be featured? Click here to share your badass story

Join Me At FeistyFest 🙋🏻‍♀️

September 18-20 in Lehigh Valley, PA, Wahoo FeistyFest brings three days of movement, learning, and community.

🏃🏽‍♀️‍➡️ Move: Group rides, trail runs, swimming & running skills workshops, lifting sessions, and yes, pickleball.
🧠 Learn: Sessions with experts and leaders like Zwift's Kate Veronneau, Selene Yeager, and Erin Ayala.
💟 Connect: Solo travelers welcome (most attendees are!) — come alone, leave with a community of women cheering you on.

Tickets include all sessions, 3 days of entry, 2 dinners, and Feisty swag. Plus, the first 100 registrants score a free Feisty crew.

LEARN MORE: Grab your ticket at feisty.co 🫶

👩🏻‍🔬 Hit Play Research Round Up

We spend a lot of time scouring the latest research for news you can use to stay strong and feisty forever. Here’s what’s making waves this week:

👊🏽Strong Hands = Healthier Arteries. A new study on 216 women ages 19 to 90 found that after about age 50–55, higher handgrip strength is linked to lower stiffness in the carotid and aorta, key predictors of cardiovascular disease and dementia. That means keeping strength up may be one more way to help keep arteries supple and long‑term cardiovascular risk in check.

🧠 Lifetime hormone exposure may boost brain health. A study of 459 women aged 65–80 found that more lifetime exposure to ovarian hormones—via hormonal birth control, menopausal hormone therapy, and later natural menopause—was linked to larger gray‑matter volumes and thicker cortex in key temporal, parietal, and posterior cingulate regions on MRI. In women who had used both birth control and MHT, these “brain‑protective” patterns were even more pronounced, suggesting that cumulative estrogen exposure may contribute to healthier brain aging. The study is observational, so it doesn’t prove causation, and timing, type of therapy, and individual risk still matter.

🏃🏽‍♀️REDs is a real risk for ultrarunners. A new scientific review highlights that ultra-trail running plus underfueling, which often happens unintentionally, can drive relative energy deficiency in sport (RED‑S)—even in experienced runners. Low energy availability doesn’t just stall performance; it disrupts hormones, weakens bones, and raises injury and fatigue risk. It also can mimic perimenopause, making it particularly tricky to catch. If you’re stacking big miles, consistent fueling, rest, and regular health checks are non‑negotiable.

What's On My Mind...

Consistency. After more than 30 years of working in health and fitness related fields, I believe that’s what moves the needle most. Getting up at the same time. Moving your body daily. Eating well most meals. It all creates a well-worn path to a pretty solid life.

Listen to this week's episode of Hit Play Not Pause - Rethinking All the “Shoulds” of Menopause with Maria Luque, PhD

Feisty 40+ is written by Selene Yeager. Editing and ads by Ella Neumann.

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