106: Katy Bowman on Why to Stop Doing Kegels & Squat Instead

I’m excited to say that Katy Bowman is here today! In fact I think she’s the most requested guest to date, so many of you listening will be especially interested in today’s episode.

Katy is the movement mastermind behind the award-winning blog and podcast Nutritious Movement (formerly Katy Says) that reaches thousands of people every month. She’s blogged for 10 years on the topic of movement and its importance to health. Along the way she also found time to author 8 books, including the best-selling Move Your DNA and Movement Matters.

A biomechanist by training, Katy pioneers research on the effects of our modern sedentary culture and the profound potential of human movement. She’s convinced me that movement can be just as nutritious as food … and she’s not just talking about getting to the gym.

To find out what she is talking about, stick around!

Katy Bowman on Nutritious Movement

If you’ve been around my blog, you may have noticed I have some strong feelings on eating real, nutritious foods and avoiding empty, toxic ones like sugar and processed oils. Well the way I feel about sugar and processed foods is the way Katy Bowman feels about sitting still.

Deprive your body of its daily dose of movement, she says, and it’s just as bad as not eating your vegetables.

The amazing part is that regular exercise doesn’t even undo the effects of sitting for long hours in a desk chair or on your couch. Research shows that too much sitting can lead not only to obesity but higher rates of cancer, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. It can even shorten our life span.

So what’s a healthy mom to do? Katy Bowman lays it all out, step-by-step. She explains exactly what we can do about this cultural problem and how to meet our body’s movement quota in a sedentary world.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

• why we’re not getting enough “Vitamin Squat” … and why it’s so important we don’t go without it
• what movement can do for the body, and how to get more of it
• the reason why not many of us adults are very good at squatting (and why my toddler is pro!)
• why Katy has very little furniture in her house … yes, not even a couch
• where kegels fall short … and what to do for the pelvic floor instead
• the difference between stationary and sedentary
• ways to get out of our comfort zone and try new movement (even when everyone else is just sitting around)
• modifications to help you recover the ability to squat
• “nutritious” ways to move after having a baby
• how to create the ideal dynamic work space
• the relationship between diastasis recti and pelvic floor issues … and how to fix it
• the cool way her family does dinner