👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #187 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this month (4 min read):
👩 The female stress response
Science spent 70 years describing the stress response using data that was 83% male.
When they finally studied women properly, they found something completely different…
The female stress response isn't wired for fight-or-flight. It's wired for connection and care. Researchers call it "tend and befriend".
Here's why:
Compared to men, women tend to have higher baseline oxytocin. And oestrogen amplifies oxytocin's calming effect.
So when stress hits and cortisol rises, instead of fight or flight, the pull is toward connection and care.
But...
chronic stress keeps cortisol elevated. And cortisol + oxytocin work against each other.
So when the stress signal won't turn off, the recovery signal can't turn on.
For that to change, the nervous system has to shift first. Out of a cortisol-dominant sympathetic state and into parasympathetic, where repair happens.
That shift needs a deliberate input:
- 🌬️ slow breathing (physiological sigh, box breathing)
- 🤚 physical touch
- 🤝 social connection
- 🌳 time in nature
- 🧠 reducing decision load
These aren't nice-to-haves. For the female stress response specifically, they're the mechanism.
You're not neglecting your responsibilities by recovering. You're honouring how your body is actually built.
🔥 SHIFT
I've been trying to recreate this feeling for years...
From these experiences I've had overseas that combine breathwork, movement, ice and sauna. In a group environment. Music.
It’s like nothing else.
I'd walk out feeling like a new man. For days, sometimes weeks.
So I'm super excited to share that I've been working to recreate it here in Sydney.
With thermalist instructor Heidy Jameel and breathwork facilitator Sophia Hatzis, we built the sequence from scratch.
It's called Shift.
It's a 90-minute guided breathwork, movement and contrast session designed to take your nervous system through a full state change.
9am Sunday 28 June. RCVRI Martin Place. $59pp.
Only 20 spots available.
Books yours here.
I'm fired up. Hope to see you there 🤙
💧 The RCVRI Academy
The wellness industry has a trust problem.
There’s no shortage of information. In fact, it’s the opposite. There are more studies, more influencers, more products than ever before.
But cherry-picked research and the confirmation bias of social media algorithms mean the loudest voices often drown out the most accurate ones.
So misinformation spreads fast.
Spend any time on social media and one thing becomes obvious quickly: wellness information is all over the shop. Nuggets of info picked up from podcasts, posts and brand marketing. Sometimes genuinely sound advice. Though often, missing essential context.
The ice bath is a great example.
- Cold immersion in the morning can give us energy for the day. But too close to bed and it’ll leave us wired.
- After training, it can help reduce muscle soreness. But can also hinder muscle growth.
- It can help us train our stress response. But can also push us over the edge if we’re already overloaded.
Someone’s biology, preferences, goals and current state can all influence how we use it. Cold immersion is just one example. But the same nuance applies across all recovery tools.
That's why I built the Academy for RCVRI.
It's an aggregation of peer-reviewed research across every modality RCVRI offers, translated into plain language and graded by evidence strength. What the research actually says, and how to use it in practice.
If you've ever wondered whether something you're doing is actually working, or why, this is where to start.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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