It’s been about a week since I completed the GGS Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification
course, and I wanted to give myself time to let the information settle before writing this review. Since there aren’t many in-depth reviews about this course available online, I hope my experience helps others decide whether this course is right for them, especially given the high cost.
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I paid for the course myself, and this is my honest review.
What I Was Looking For
In my early 40s, I began noticing changes in my body and wanted to understand what the next 10 to 20 years might hold. I became increasingly curious about perimenopause and menopause, hormonal changes, and how these would impact my diet, exercise, sleep, and overall health. Rather than relying on scattered online resources, I wanted a structured course.
Having already completed Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s Nutrition Certification and the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification, I had a solid foundation in general nutrition and was looking for something more specific to women at midlife.
After researching, I narrowed it down to two options: the Girls Gone Strong (GGS) Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification and Stacy Sims’ Menopause for Athletes course. I chose GGS because it seemed more focused on the average woman, not just athletes, and included input from multiple experts. Although it was about three times more expensive, the formal certification appealed to me.
Quick Summary
✅ Best for: Certified personal trainers wanting to learn how to train women in perimenopause and menopause
❌ Not ideal for: General wellness coaches or non-fitness professionals
💰 Worth the money? Only if you plan to apply it professionally
⭐ Rating: 6/10 – Informative, but too repetitive and poorly delivered
Evaluation Criteria
I evaluated this course based on five key areas:
- Content Quality
- Learning Experience
- Platform Usability
- Practical Application
- Value for Money
Who Is This Course For?
Although the GGS website claims the course is suitable for everyone, from nutrition coaches and lifestyle coaches to midwives and fitness enthusiasts, I found it primarily geared toward certified personal trainers.
Had I known this earlier, I likely wouldn’t have enrolled. Many of the exercises presented require a foundational understanding of exercise science. As someone who isn’t a licensed fitness instructor, I didn’t feel confident applying much of what I learned. While I found the fitness modules interesting, they felt redundant without prior coaching knowledge.
How Much Does It Cost?
I paid $899.99 USD as an early enrollment fee. Do I believe I would have still received a discount after the deadline? Honestly, yes. The frequent sales and constant email promotions suggest that the course is rarely sold at full price.
Platform and Books
Like Precision Nutrition, GGS uses a basic online platform with physical books for offline learning. Unfortunately, the platform is essentially a WordPress site hosting PDFs, which were buggy, hard to navigate, and difficult to zoom into.
I appreciated receiving physical books (especially to reduce screen time), but they took nearly two months to arrive in Europe. This made the initial learning phase quite frustrating. One personal touch I appreciated was the inclusion of a welcome card, the founder’s book, and stickers. However, bookmarks featuring motivational “girl power” slogans, for example, “The women of the world need you!” were a bit of an overkill and made it feel a bit cringeworthy
Pros:
- Physical book option for offline study
- Clear chapter-end tests
Cons:
- Outdated, buggy PDF-based online platform
- Books took 2 months to arrive in Europe
- Lack of visuals made complex topics harder to grasp
- Some of the information was online only
GGS Menopause Coaching Certification Content
The written content had a lot of information, and a lot of it was very useful, but it often felt repetitive. I believe the repetitions and unnecessary elaborations could have been trimmed down by 30 to 40 %. Many basic concepts were overexplained, and more complex topics lacked diagrams or illustrations.
Exercises like “goblet squats” or “suitcase carries” were referenced with no visual aids, leaving me to Google unfamiliar terms.
Some diagrams were hard to interpret, and visual explanations of topics like the pelvic floor were sorely missing. I found myself wishing for the kind of clear, engaging visuals featured in Dr. Collins’ courses.
What I Liked:
- Impressive breadth of information
- More serious tone than PN1; less “chatty”
- Option to study from books
- Clear, manageable tests at the end of each chapter
- Helpful exercise videos (though inconsistently executed)
- Excellent chapters on pelvic floor health and program design
- Ability to retake the course after 2 years for free to renew certification
What Could Be Improved:
- Excessive repetition in both text and video formats
- Disorganized structure with important topics scattered or delayed
- Outdated, inconsistent video quality and lack of visuals
- Clunky, error-prone learning platform
- The exercise programming section felt outdated (copying and pasting into Word)
- Few experts are featured despite being a selling point. Only one doctor appeared in two Zoom recordings.
Tone and Presentation Style
Similar to Precision Nutrition, GGS uses a very casual and conversational tone. Sometimes it felt overly simplified or even patronizing. In contrast, other sections dove into complex science with minimal context.
A more balanced, neutral tone with concise and direct explanations would have improved the learning experience significantly.
Video Content on the course
The video content was inconsistent; sometimes it was very useful, especially at the end, where you were shown the exercises, but often the videos were low in quality and just a person reading out the same things you read in the book. In one video, the founder role-played both a coach and a client, switching characters by putting glasses on and off. It felt gimmicky and unprofessional for such a high-priced course.
Instructional videos on exercises were available, but the quality varied. Some clients appeared uncomfortable on camera, and several instructors lacked strong presentation skills.
The videos were hosted across multiple platforms, YouTube, Instagram, and the GGS site, making them hard to find or revisit. This inconsistency made the course feel disorganized and outdated.
Overall, I did enjoy watching and found usefull maby 30% to 40% of the videos, the rest I found to be redundant.
There were no videos with infographics like in PN1 and Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s Nutrition Certifications, which were very useful to grasp a bit more technical and scientific concepts.
Sales and Marketing Tactics
This was one of the most off-putting aspects of the course.
Even before starting the course, I was bombarded with emails: countdowns, discounts, giveaways, and additional content. It felt overwhelming and distracting.
The aggressive upsell tactics during enrollment were also a turn-off. Although customer service responded well when I raised concerns, the sheer volume of promotions made the experience feel more like a sales funnel than a professional education platform and cheapened the brand.
Customer Service
Despite my marketing frustrations, GGS’s customer service was excellent. I connected with real people (not bots) and felt genuinely heard. This experience was one of the main reasons I stayed enrolled.
Course Duration
I took my time and completed one chapter per week over 18 weeks, mainly because I waited two months for the books to arrive. The course could be completed faster, 2 to 3 chapters per week, but I lost motivation midway due to repetitive content and had to push myself to finish.
Are the Exams Difficult?
Not at all. The exams are open-book and consist of 15 questions at the end of each chapter. Most questions are straightforward and can be answered without reviewing the material. You can retake the tests as many times as you like, making it virtually impossible to fail.
Is the GGS Menopause Course Worth the Money?
It depends.
If you’re looking to deepen your personal knowledge, much of the information is available for free through GGS newsletters, social media, or other resources. If you’re not pursuing certification or don’t need formal credentials, you may not find this worth the price. Personally, I have learned a lot, but I don’t think it is worth the price tag.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed parts of the course, especially the chapters on pelvic health and exercise design. However, the course would benefit from major improvements in structure, visual content, and delivery.
In hindsight, I regret not choosing Stacy Sims’ menopause course, which seems more professionally produced, better priced (currently $240), and visually engaging.
Disclosure: I’m not affiliated with Dr. Stacy Sims; I just wish I’d made a different choice.
While I did learn a lot and will refer back to the book, I don’t feel prepared to coach clients based on this course alone. The material was broad but often lacked depth.
Would I Recommend It?
Only if you’re a certified personal trainer looking to expand your expertise in working with women in midlife.
If you’re not licensed to teach exercise, you won’t be able to apply much of the course’s practical content. Even for personal use, it might be more efficient (and affordable) to follow GGS’s free resources.
Comparing this to the other two certifications I’ve completed, GGS offers valuable content but falls short in delivery. With fewer repetitive sections, clearer visuals, and a more user-friendly platform, this course could have been so much better.
I hope GGS shifts focus from aggressive marketing to enhancing the quality and clarity of its educational materials.
If you like this review, you might also like:
Silvija Meilunaite, PN1-NC, CSMC, is a certified nutrition and menopause coaching specialist, and a writer in the nutrition and self-improvement field. She explores science-based approaches to holistic health and plant-based nutrition, with a strong focus on researching clean, non-toxic products that support long-term well-being.
