Baz Moffat, ex-GB rower and women's health coach, on women's health and sporting performance
Before I go any further, I want to say something to my male listeners. This episode is for you, too. If you're a male coach working with female athletes, it's an absolute must-listen, but even if you're not, assuming you have a wife or a mother or a daughter or a sister or a female friend, or if you belong to a club where there are female athletes, you'll learn something valuable. So please keep on listening.
When I decided to invite someone on the podcast to talk about women's health, there was only one person I could possibly consider - the brilliant Baz Moffat. As a former GB rower turned women's health coach, with a huge passion and enthusiasm for her subject, she had the complete package, so I was thrilled when she agreed to join me.
Baz started her career as an elite athlete, spending three years as a member of the GB rowing team and winning medals at the World Championships and World Cup. She now works as a women's health coach, with a specialism in pelvic floor, core, nutrition and women's wellness. She is one of the co-founders of The Well HQ which provides much-needed education on women's health to both individuals and businesses.
We could have talked for hours, but managed to keep it to just over an hour, during which we discussed:
When I decided to invite someone on the podcast to talk about women's health, there was only one person I could possibly consider - the brilliant Baz Moffat. As a former GB rower turned women's health coach, with a huge passion and enthusiasm for her subject, she had the complete package, so I was thrilled when she agreed to join me.
Baz started her career as an elite athlete, spending three years as a member of the GB rowing team and winning medals at the World Championships and World Cup. She now works as a women's health coach, with a specialism in pelvic floor, core, nutrition and women's wellness. She is one of the co-founders of The Well HQ which provides much-needed education on women's health to both individuals and businesses.
We could have talked for hours, but managed to keep it to just over an hour, during which we discussed:
- Baz's career as a rower and her unusually late start in rowing
- How healthy her life was as an athlete
- The challenges talking about women's health in sport and the workplace and the particular challenges for male coaches
- How parents and coaches can get the conversation started about women's health
- Body literacy and how little we understand about our bodies
- The importance of not judging people for their lack of knowledge
- The benefits to performance of understanding our menstrual cycle
- Effects of contraceptive pill on sporting performance
- Exercising during pregnancy and after childbirth - what is safe?
- Benefits of consulting a women's health physio in second trimester
- Training through perimenopause and menopause
- Importance of strength training and what that actually means
- What to prioritise if only have 10 minutes for yourself a day
- Avoiding overwhelm
- Misconceptions about core stability (and what is included in the core)
- Importance of pelvic floor exercises
- How to get advice and reminders for pelvic floor exercises
- The Well HQ - its mission to improve the health of female athletes and to help male coaches to address women's health issues without being inappropriate or creepy