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 podcast@nutritiousmovement.com
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

As we wrap up 2025, we’re doing a shortened version of our annual recap—part reflection, part intention. Katy and Jeannette share their biggest movement wins, smartest health decisions, and one-word themes for the year, then look ahead to what they’re prioritizing in 2026 (strength, power, simplicity, and efficiency).

Then we distill the past year’s episodes into a clear set of movement rules for 2026 including: movement works locally (not just systemically), the 5 S’s of aging (strong, steady, straight, supple, swift) and the reminder that there will always be something else… move anyway.

If you only listen to one episode to catch up on the year and set your movement intentions for the next, make it this one.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

06:25 Katy and Jeannette review 2025 and look ahead to 2026
20:40 The Dynamic Collective
22:36 Movement Rule Number One: Movement works locally, not just systemically
32:05 Movement Rule Number Two: You should be getting the 5 S's of aging
38:46 Movement Rule Number Three: It's not the mode, it's the load
43:13 Movement Rule Number Four: The upward climb – why you need to exercise more as you age
51:29 Movement Rule Number Five: Hearts are like hip joints, or why you need to do more for your heart than just cardio
56:01 Movement Rule Number Six: There will always be something else – move anyway

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED

My Perfect Movement Plan by Katy Bowman
I Know I Should Exercise But... by Diana Hill & Katy Bowman

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:

Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
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.
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.

Thoughts/questions email us at podcast@nutritiousmovement.com
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Katy offers an aging reframe: in middle age, you are not “over the hill”—you are actually at the bottom of a valley, and staying strong and healthy means choosing to go uphill on purpose. Katy and Jeannette unpack the difference between chronological age and biological aging, why modern life may be speeding up the aging process, and how movement and exercise positively influence the cellular “hallmarks of aging.” They explore why exercise needs to increase with age (even when life gets busier and energy feels lower), and how reframing discomfort can make consistency possible—so you can extend not just your lifespan, but your healthspan, too.

Katy also speaks with Pack Matthews of Ikaria Design (creator of the Soul Seat) about “active sitting” and why our rest positions matter as we age. Pack shares his personal origin story—using floor-sitting and dynamic postures to counter arthritis. They also preview the upcoming Soul Seat Mini for the smaller people in your life and explore its role in dynamic classrooms.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript

00:03:00 — Flipping the visual: “over the hill” → “in the valley”

00:04:00 — The Dynamic Collective

00:06:00 — Chronological age vs biological aging & lifespan vs healthspan

00:08:35 — What may be accelerating aging: obesity, diet, sedentary behavior, stress

00:12:00 — How “biological age” is measured + hallmarks of aging
00:18:00 — Why exercise must increase with age: choosing uphill (progressive overload)
00:36:00 — Listener question: handedness across humans, animals, and even plants
00:47:00 — Interview: Pack Matthews (Ikaria Design) on the Soul Seat + active sitting

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED

Handedness in Animals and Plants

Ikaria Design

Soul Seat Instagram

Soul Seat Facebook

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN

Movement Advent 2025: 24 Ball Exercises to Balance Tech Stress
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:

My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
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.
Venn Design: Stylish ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting—featuring in our 2025 Movement Advent!
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.

Thoughts/questions email us at podcast@nutritiousmovement.com
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits