Ladies who deadlift...
Replies
-
Hip thrusts are the culprit for me. Every single time. And jumping jacks.0
-
-
TresaAswegan wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »So glad to see so many women get reassurance that this is normal. Well, I don't know if normal is the right word, but common. Two life changers for me....Impressa. A fellow MFP'er told me about it. It is a new tampon like insert that compresses your urethra enough that you don't leak with exercise induced incontinence. I always wear one now when I'm hitting anything above 80% 1RM. The second thing is that there is actually such a thing as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. I have been going for a few months now and it's really helping me figure out how to strengthen those muscles.
Yes! I think the physical therapy is what the MegSquats video is about, or at least mentioned.
I think this is a great idea. There are probably some at home exercises that could be done aside from seeing a specialist?
This is super common, and nothing to be embarrassed about. However, it is not "normal" in the sense that this is physiologically how your body should behave. I squat, deadlift, and hip thrust decently heavy weights and do not have an issue. Before I started lifting I had occasional issues while sneezing, but lifting helped me better engage my pelvic floor. Yay!
Stress incontinence is typically caused by bracing incorrectly or a weak(er) pelvic floor. Generally speaking if there are huge gushes of urine during a lift that person is probably bracing incorrectly, and when there are little dribbles it's probably a pelvic floor issue. Sometimes the pelvic floor is just weaker than the abs and back so when those muscles contract the bladder is squeezed, and the pelvic floor is the weak link that lets urine escape. Another possibility is the pelvic floor is strong enough, but the lifter needs to learn to keep it engaged during lifts. In situations like this Kegel exercises and progressions can be done to help strengthen and/or engage the muscles. There are more complex situations where it would be beneficial to see a PT specializing in women's health to address the issue. For example if someone's weak pelvic floor is due to or contributed from also having anterior pelvic tilt. The PT would have to assess why this is happening and correct the APT and address the pelvic floor weakness.
TLDR: Make sure you're bracing correctly, do your kegels, and if that doesn't work see a PT.4 -
^^ This exactly. That's what I've learned. The PT just basically hooked me up to a machine so she can track my progress and and help me learn how to engage my pelvic floor correctly. I was engaging my abs WAY too much. It was super hard for me to learn how to do kegels without using my abs. My prescribed therapy is really just sets of kegels (done the right way) laying down, sitting down and standing up as well as isometric holds.2
-
Fittreelol wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »So glad to see so many women get reassurance that this is normal. Well, I don't know if normal is the right word, but common. Two life changers for me....Impressa. A fellow MFP'er told me about it. It is a new tampon like insert that compresses your urethra enough that you don't leak with exercise induced incontinence. I always wear one now when I'm hitting anything above 80% 1RM. The second thing is that there is actually such a thing as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. I have been going for a few months now and it's really helping me figure out how to strengthen those muscles.
Yes! I think the physical therapy is what the MegSquats video is about, or at least mentioned.
I think this is a great idea. There are probably some at home exercises that could be done aside from seeing a specialist?
This is super common, and nothing to be embarrassed about. However, it is not "normal" in the sense that this is physiologically how your body should behave. I squat, deadlift, and hip thrust decently heavy weights and do not have an issue. Before I started lifting I had occasional issues while sneezing, but lifting helped me better engage my pelvic floor. Yay!
Stress incontinence is typically caused by bracing incorrectly or a weak(er) pelvic floor. Generally speaking if there are huge gushes of urine during a lift that person is probably bracing incorrectly, and when there are little dribbles it's probably a pelvic floor issue. Sometimes the pelvic floor is just weaker than the abs and back so when those muscles contract the bladder is squeezed, and the pelvic floor is the weak link that lets urine escape. Another possibility is the pelvic floor is strong enough, but the lifter needs to learn to keep it engaged during lifts. In situations like this Kegel exercises and progressions can be done to help strengthen and/or engage the muscles. There are more complex situations where it would be beneficial to see a PT specializing in women's health to address the issue. For example if someone's weak pelvic floor is due to or contributed from also having anterior pelvic tilt. The PT would have to assess why this is happening and correct the APT and address the pelvic floor weakness.
TLDR: Make sure you're bracing correctly, do your kegels, and if that doesn't work see a PT.
That was super insightful!
I guess I was thinking at-home options not so much out of embarrassment, but more along the lines of affordability. Like if it would be something insurance would cover for everyone, or if it would be difficult to find a specialist without having to travel. (I am rural and uninsured, so that's where my mind goes I guess!)
I've never had any issues lifting or otherwise, but it makes me kind of sad to see so many women dealing with it when there's likely options that could help!1 -
I own 3 pairs- and I'm getting ready to order more. For real. They are a game changer for me as a woman and a lifter.I pretty much emptied my whole bladder down my leg once. I already went pee multiple times- and had pulled multiple reps- including the one previously that DID piddle as well.
I finally said *kitten* it and pulled the weight and pretty much voided everything liquid in my system.
I have it on video- you can't tell- but holy crap was it miserable.
I called it quits after that day after that lift.
I use period THINX panties to help- pads are nice- but they are really annoying to lift in. So I use a liner/pad and the thinx and eventually I get ride of the pad- but it happens. You're not alone.
I never thought to try thinx for deadlift days! Omggg! Good to hear that they're comfy. I don't have a pair yet but I was looking at buying them...so expensive though, blah! But, sounds like they're worth it.
It doesn't happen to me everytime, and there's no rhyme or reason for the times it does. But it's happened for sure.
If you are really heavy- they will NOT hold up. They are a really good back up method. I am pretty light- so I can use them for all but 1-2 days of my period. But they are great for lifting- great for sleeping in too- so you don't have to worry about tampons at night.
Nope- gotta order them. They are 'spensive.
But as someone who doesn't have a heavy flow- using pads constantly for spotting is REALLY annoying. Soooooo the thinx are great. They are also great for sleeping.
^^ THIS. All of this, except that I DO have a heavy flow. Sometimes a regular tampon can give up after an hour, and having the heavier-flow THINX on saves me a lot of hassle. And then as the cycle goes on, I can quit with the tampons and just use the THINX. And I wear the thong ones under my yoga pants a lot (I lift in those too) to help me feel more confident when I lift.
They're so expensive, but soooooooooooo worth it.1 -
TresaAswegan wrote: »Fittreelol wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »So glad to see so many women get reassurance that this is normal. Well, I don't know if normal is the right word, but common. Two life changers for me....Impressa. A fellow MFP'er told me about it. It is a new tampon like insert that compresses your urethra enough that you don't leak with exercise induced incontinence. I always wear one now when I'm hitting anything above 80% 1RM. The second thing is that there is actually such a thing as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. I have been going for a few months now and it's really helping me figure out how to strengthen those muscles.
Yes! I think the physical therapy is what the MegSquats video is about, or at least mentioned.
I think this is a great idea. There are probably some at home exercises that could be done aside from seeing a specialist?
This is super common, and nothing to be embarrassed about. However, it is not "normal" in the sense that this is physiologically how your body should behave. I squat, deadlift, and hip thrust decently heavy weights and do not have an issue. Before I started lifting I had occasional issues while sneezing, but lifting helped me better engage my pelvic floor. Yay!
Stress incontinence is typically caused by bracing incorrectly or a weak(er) pelvic floor. Generally speaking if there are huge gushes of urine during a lift that person is probably bracing incorrectly, and when there are little dribbles it's probably a pelvic floor issue. Sometimes the pelvic floor is just weaker than the abs and back so when those muscles contract the bladder is squeezed, and the pelvic floor is the weak link that lets urine escape. Another possibility is the pelvic floor is strong enough, but the lifter needs to learn to keep it engaged during lifts. In situations like this Kegel exercises and progressions can be done to help strengthen and/or engage the muscles. There are more complex situations where it would be beneficial to see a PT specializing in women's health to address the issue. For example if someone's weak pelvic floor is due to or contributed from also having anterior pelvic tilt. The PT would have to assess why this is happening and correct the APT and address the pelvic floor weakness.
TLDR: Make sure you're bracing correctly, do your kegels, and if that doesn't work see a PT.
That was super insightful!
I guess I was thinking at-home options not so much out of embarrassment, but more along the lines of affordability. Like if it would be something insurance would cover for everyone, or if it would be difficult to find a specialist without having to travel. (I am rural and uninsured, so that's where my mind goes I guess!)
I've never had any issues lifting or otherwise, but it makes me kind of sad to see so many women dealing with it when there's likely options that could help!
Thank you. I'm super passionate about this for some reason. I want to help all the ladies!1 -
Fittreelol wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »So glad to see so many women get reassurance that this is normal. Well, I don't know if normal is the right word, but common. Two life changers for me....Impressa. A fellow MFP'er told me about it. It is a new tampon like insert that compresses your urethra enough that you don't leak with exercise induced incontinence. I always wear one now when I'm hitting anything above 80% 1RM. The second thing is that there is actually such a thing as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. I have been going for a few months now and it's really helping me figure out how to strengthen those muscles.
Yes! I think the physical therapy is what the MegSquats video is about, or at least mentioned.
I think this is a great idea. There are probably some at home exercises that could be done aside from seeing a specialist?
This is super common, and nothing to be embarrassed about. However, it is not "normal" in the sense that this is physiologically how your body should behave. I squat, deadlift, and hip thrust decently heavy weights and do not have an issue. Before I started lifting I had occasional issues while sneezing, but lifting helped me better engage my pelvic floor. Yay!
Stress incontinence is typically caused by bracing incorrectly or a weak(er) pelvic floor. Generally speaking if there are huge gushes of urine during a lift that person is probably bracing incorrectly, and when there are little dribbles it's probably a pelvic floor issue. Sometimes the pelvic floor is just weaker than the abs and back so when those muscles contract the bladder is squeezed, and the pelvic floor is the weak link that lets urine escape. Another possibility is the pelvic floor is strong enough, but the lifter needs to learn to keep it engaged during lifts. In situations like this Kegel exercises and progressions can be done to help strengthen and/or engage the muscles. There are more complex situations where it would be beneficial to see a PT specializing in women's health to address the issue. For example if someone's weak pelvic floor is due to or contributed from also having anterior pelvic tilt. The PT would have to assess why this is happening and correct the APT and address the pelvic floor weakness.
TLDR: Make sure you're bracing correctly, do your kegels, and if that doesn't work see a PT.
can you give more information about bracing incorrectly?
I've been doing some work on learning to brace differently- but it's been more upper transverse abs vs what assuming are the external obliques but if I'm bearing down on a DL- all *kitten* goes south- or rather all pee goes south.
I would generally consider myself to have a reasonably strong pelvic floor- (or I did) as a bellydancer we use a lot of those low muscles and try to keep the pelvic floor engaged- but the more I learn- the more I realize despite years of lifting I have more to do- I still have a lot of work to tighten things up.
1 -
Fittreelol wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »mom23mangos wrote: »So glad to see so many women get reassurance that this is normal. Well, I don't know if normal is the right word, but common. Two life changers for me....Impressa. A fellow MFP'er told me about it. It is a new tampon like insert that compresses your urethra enough that you don't leak with exercise induced incontinence. I always wear one now when I'm hitting anything above 80% 1RM. The second thing is that there is actually such a thing as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. I have been going for a few months now and it's really helping me figure out how to strengthen those muscles.
Yes! I think the physical therapy is what the MegSquats video is about, or at least mentioned.
I think this is a great idea. There are probably some at home exercises that could be done aside from seeing a specialist?
This is super common, and nothing to be embarrassed about. However, it is not "normal" in the sense that this is physiologically how your body should behave. I squat, deadlift, and hip thrust decently heavy weights and do not have an issue. Before I started lifting I had occasional issues while sneezing, but lifting helped me better engage my pelvic floor. Yay!
Stress incontinence is typically caused by bracing incorrectly or a weak(er) pelvic floor. Generally speaking if there are huge gushes of urine during a lift that person is probably bracing incorrectly, and when there are little dribbles it's probably a pelvic floor issue. Sometimes the pelvic floor is just weaker than the abs and back so when those muscles contract the bladder is squeezed, and the pelvic floor is the weak link that lets urine escape. Another possibility is the pelvic floor is strong enough, but the lifter needs to learn to keep it engaged during lifts. In situations like this Kegel exercises and progressions can be done to help strengthen and/or engage the muscles. There are more complex situations where it would be beneficial to see a PT specializing in women's health to address the issue. For example if someone's weak pelvic floor is due to or contributed from also having anterior pelvic tilt. The PT would have to assess why this is happening and correct the APT and address the pelvic floor weakness.
TLDR: Make sure you're bracing correctly, do your kegels, and if that doesn't work see a PT.
can you give more information about bracing incorrectly?
I've been doing some work on learning to brace differently- but it's been more upper transverse abs vs what assuming are the external obliques but if I'm bearing down on a DL- all *kitten* goes south- or rather all pee goes south.
I would generally consider myself to have a reasonably strong pelvic floor- (or I did) as a bellydancer we use a lot of those low muscles and try to keep the pelvic floor engaged- but the more I learn- the more I realize despite years of lifting I have more to do- I still have a lot of work to tighten things up.
Absolutely!
To start with try to not bear down at all. For some reason this cue is bandied about the interwebs with insane frequency. Ideally you don't want to bear down ever except during childbirth. You should *theoretically* only have to relax the muscles to urinate/defecate. Bearing down can lead to hemorrhoids, in extreme cases vaginal and/or anal prolapse, and can also interfere with normal elimination patterns in the future.
So if not bearing down what do I do? I think of it as bearing "out" like you're getting ready for a gut punch. I was lucky? enough to participate in tae kwon do as a kid so I learned how to do this real quick and it carried over. I'm not sure how to describe exactly how to accomplish this so I did a lot of googling. Apparently the internet agrees that "bracing for a punch" is a good cue, but it doesn't go a lot further into explaining it either.
Now I've spent 20 minutes reenacting my bracing technique in order to describe it (I might have too much time on my hands today). I take a large diaphragmatic breath, then I pull my abs in slightly, and then push my entire midsection out either against my belt (which is a lever belt I keep fairly tight) or into an imaginary one. It's important to not just push your abs out like you just had all you can eat sushi, and you don't want to pull them in so far you're doing that weird 'belly button to your spine" thing they talk about in yoga class. A happy medium with a belly full of air should be good. If that doesn't work just have someone hit you a few times to practice.
Oh and there's some interesting information on bracing here: http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/#Bracing0 -
Well that's interesting- I would describe what I do is the brace "outward" (against my belt) rather than "bearing down" (although I realize that's the word I used).
I'll have to revaluate when I DL- b/c I think/suspect my method of core stability is different from one to the other if I am thinking about it now.0 -
PT is definitely a worthwhile thing to pursue. I had a consult after the birth of my second, and while my issues were minor and no longer, it was worth the awkward to get the assessment and exercise advice.0
-
Well that's interesting- I would describe what I do is the brace "outward" (against my belt) rather than "bearing down" (although I realize that's the word I used).
I'll have to revaluate when I DL- b/c I think/suspect my method of core stability is different from one to the other if I am thinking about it now.
Do you wear your belt higher for DL? I do not, although I know it's common for lifters to do so. That might be placing more pressure downward on your bladder.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions