Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

We dive into the often-overlooked topic of amenorrhea: the absence of menstruation. Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram unpack the science with a focus on Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (FHA) linked to energy deficiency in athletes. They explore how intense training and and sport pressures around leanness or weight can disrupt regular hormonal signals, affecting long-term bone density, cardiovascular health, and performance. They also discuss the original concept of the Female Athlete Triad (low energy availability, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density) and its evolution into RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport), a more holistic model encompassing many aspects of health and wellbeing.
The conversation expands into evolutionary perspectives, comparing Western menstrual experiences—from menarche to menopause—with those of hunter-gatherer populations like the Hadza, and questioning what “normal” really means. Ultimately, this episode reframes intense athletics as a nuanced practice that must be supported by adequate nutrition and recovery.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

00:00 – Intro & Sponsors
02:45 – What Is Amenorrhea?
05:40 – Primary vs Secondary Amenorrhea
09:00 – Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (FHA): Energy deficiency and hormonal suppression
11:10 – Female Athlete Triad → RED-S: Evolution of understanding in sports science
21:30 – The Hadza perspective: menarche to menopause
25:25 – Negative consequences of amenorrhea: Bone Health  
29:15 – IUD induced amenorrhea 
37:00 – Historical and modern timelines for menarche compared to the Hadza 
50:45 – Closing thoughts on ancient humans 
Links & Research Mentioned:

Substack article that prompted this episode 
Dr Jen Gunter’s article on the hormonal IUD and bone health 
Foraging & Menstruation in the Hadza of Tanzania 
Comparison between The Female Athlete Triad & RED-S

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explain how just nine minutes of vigorous activity can make a measurable difference for your cardiovascular health. They break down what counts as vigorous exercise, how to gauge it “old skool” without complicated gadgets, and how much is needed based on the movement patterns of the heart-healthy Hadza. Plus, they share nine practical ways to fit short bursts of higher-intensity movement into your day, from running stairs and kitchen dance parties to treading water in a pool.
The episode also explores a personal experience related to the menopause transition, including the onset of salt sensitivity, water retention, and hypertension. Katy and Jeannette discuss the link between estrogen and salt management, explaining why the loss of estrogen can make women more susceptible to salt-induced high blood pressure—and what lifestyle shifts can help protect heart health.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:00 — Introduction & Sponsors
01:50 — Heart Health and Midlife Movement
03:45 — What Counts as Vigorous Exercise?
07:00 — How Much Vigorous Do We Actually Need? Insights from the Hadza 
12:30 — Nine Minutes of Vigorous Movement: Practical Ideas to fit into your life
25:00 — Listener Question: Vigorous Movement in the Pool
36:20 — Warming Up for Vigorous Movement Snacks 
41:30 — Salt Sensitivity, Menopause & Blood Pressure

Links & Research Mentioned:

Physical Activity Patterns and Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Hunter Gatherers  by Raichlen et al (2017) 
Lifestyle and Patterns of Physical Activity in Hadza Foragers by Sayre et al (2023)
Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality by Stamatakis et al (2022) 
Postmenopausal Salt Sensitivity and Hypertension by Kim et al (2014)
Estrogen negatively regulates the renal epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) by promoting Derlin-1 expression and AMPK activation by Zhang et al (2019) 
Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure in Women by Barris et al (2023)

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explore the prevalence and underlying causes of knee issues, from popping and noisy knees to everyday pain and osteoarthritis. The knee is not just a simple hinge, and Katy explains its anatomy using a helpful “cube” model that includes bones, ligaments, cartilage, and the meniscus. Together, they clarify the difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and examine how movement patterns influence the forces and loads placed across the knee joint. Katy and Jeannette share practical strategies for changing knee loading through gait retraining, along with tools to improve muscle strength, stability, and proprioception to help protect ligaments and cartilage. They also discuss why women tend to experience more knee problems due to hormonal and biomechanical factors, and why prehab and post-surgery exercise training play a critical role in achieving better outcomes after knee surgery.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:00 Introduction: The prevalence of knee issues and arthritis
02:00 Why movement and position matter for knee health
04:08 Sponsors: The Dynamic Collective
05:58 The knee as a “cube,” not just a hinge
10:58 Ligaments vs muscles: Why ligaments are seat belts, not brakes
14:20 Cartilage and the knee meniscus: Function and damage
18:00 Changing movement patterns for knee pain: Gait retraining
24:21 Noisy knees explained
26:22 Knee instability: Strength, proprioception, and hypermobility
33:07 Listener question: Why do women have more knee issues? Hormones and Q-angle
46:40 Prehab and post-surgery knee care

Links & Resources Mentioned:
The Pelvic List 

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Set yourself up for success: how to create a sustainable movement plan. We walk through their own real-life movement plans to explore the three things every movement plan needs: a clear focus, a small set of daily “ride-or-die” exercises linked to that focus, and movement integrated across the many domains of life—not just exercise.
This episode offers a practical, honest look at how to build a sustainable movement plan that actually works, highlighting flexible planning and simple environmental makeovers that reduce resistance and make movement easier to return to—again and again.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:12 Movement Plan Introduction
00:45 Resources for Your Movement Plan
01:30 Sponsor Acknowledgements
02:50 The Three Movement Plan Must-Haves
03:50 The First Essential: A Movement Focus You Re-Evaluate
06:25 Daily “Ride-or-Die” Exercises
10:30 Psychological Flexibility: Why Time Targets Often Backfire
19:18 Containers for Movement: Exploring the SLOTH Model
20:13 Sleep, Repetitive Positioning, and Supportive Rest
23:16 Leisure Activities
26:28 Incorporating Movement Into Your Occupation
28:55 Transportation and Home Makeovers
33:00 Listener Question: Underuse vs. Overuse of Body Parts
Books Mentioned:
My Perfect Movement Plan by Katy Bowman
Links & Resources Mentioned:
Download a printable Movement Plan
Hamstring curls with a ball
Side bend on the ball
Ball push-ups

Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

How cold affects muscles, blood flow, and cardiovascular risk—plus practical ways to keep moving safely indoors and out. 
Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explore how cold air and cold water affect muscle function, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure during exercise. They unpack how vasoconstriction increases cardiovascular demand, and why activities like snow shoveling and cold-water swimming carry specific risks. The episode also offers practical strategies for continuing to move safely outdoors throughout the winter months.
Even when winter keeps many of us indoors, movement doesn’t have to disappear. Karri Bowen-Poole of Smart Playrooms joins Katy to discuss how indoor spaces can be designed to encourage movement for kids, teens, and adults. They share ideas for simple, versatile equipment that supports strength, coordination, and play, explain why visible and aesthetically pleasing setups matter, and describe how rotating movement tools over time helps sustain interest as needs and abilities evolve.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:14 Discussing Cold Weather and Its Impact 
01:19 The Dynamic Collective 
03:07 Practical Tips for Exercising in Cold Weather 
03:43 The Importance of Balance, Slip Training, and Other Winter Exercise Tips 
10:45 Cardiovascular System, Cold Weather, and Snow Shoveling 
21:52 Cold Water Immersion and Its Effects 
29:46 Listener question: Hallux Limitus and Foot Issues 
36:02 Introducing Smart Playrooms 

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED
Katy’s 2025 Advent featuring Venn Designs Air Chairs
Smart Playrooms x Move Your DNA equipment picks
Smart Playrooms setting up a teen room
Smart Playrooms Sport Court section

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits