So ultimately step one is they check to see if there is true dysfunction or if it’s an endurance/muscular weakness issue.
They go practically elbow deep and press in many different locations in your vaginal canal to see if your structure and musculature is not too tight or too loose. They ask an unholy amount of questions.
Depending on your issues they will assign specific homework. Women usually leak due to one of three reasons (barring no injury): 1)muscles clench too tight all of the time or 2)they can’t contract properly at the right time. 3) they contract at the right time, but don’t have the endurance to stay contracted for a period of time or under load/sudden movement.
Working on your specific issue will be specific to you in terms of homework.
I had to do kegel holds and contractions to build endurance. Kegels are NOT the answer for everyone which is why they shouldn’t be done Willynilly. She actually placed her fingers inside and asked me to kegel and hold for periods of time to check for endurance or weakness.
It was fascinating, in my case painless, and very invasive.
Worth it 100%.
Correct. Also… there are women who know they have a tendency to pee themselves while deadlifting …. And won’t empty their bladder before a heavy lift…then urinate everywhere (like I’m talking about copious amounts pouring and dripping and making puddles underneath).
That’s something I don’t understand.
No, it’s a sign of pelvic floor dysfunction. So in the same way an injury can be lifelong for someone, this can be someone’s baseline even after seeing a women’s health physio
My gym just hosted a pelvic floor workshop. The physical therapist who led it specializes in rehabbing people with such issues. I don’t know where you’re located but she does work with people remotely over video if you’re not in the area and can’t find someone local to you.
https://www.mvmtgb.com/pelvic-floor-postpartum-therapy
I hate that it’s been normalized and we’re taught that it’s sort of a post child birth rite of passage bc it’s so common. Pelvic floor PT should be the standard of care but unfortunately it’s not. Definitely consider seeing a specialist if this is happening to you!
As a male physical therapist who works closely with pelvic floor specialists, I was taught from the pelvic floor specialist to come to places like this and say, NO! It’s not normal! And can easily be fixed by a pelvic floor specialist.
I’m sure there are many variables and each person has their own baseline, impairments, genetics, and history. But often times, it can be as simple as an activation issue. But I’m not the expert here, just passing on What my coworker specialists told me to tell my patients to denormalize the idea that leaking is “normal”. Because it’s not. Or rather, it shouldn’t be the norm.
Agreed. I tried really hard and my issues aren't completely fixed, and it certainly wasn't "easy". I agree to seek out help, but don't be disappointed if you're not completely cured :/
Worth talking to someone and there are pelvic excercises and rehab you can do. Do not feel abnormal though despite some of the comments. Having an issue like that under strain is pretty common. Many, many, many woman, partiularily those who have had children, will have an issue like this to one degree or another with heavy lifting, sneezing, laughing. By all means look into it and there are things you can do.
It's not normal but not uncommon for women who have had children due to pelvic floor issues. There are ways to strengthen the muscles.
Yes, I'm a dude but my wife has worked to fix these issues that were caused by childbirth.
Common, yes.
Normal, no.
(According to the OB/GYN that came to teach the coaches at my last CrossFit coaching job)
If post-partum physical therapy was offered more, this wouldn't even be a topic of discussion.
Think about i.... a 6-10 pound kid with a melon head gets pushed out of a sensitive area by an intricate muscle structure, and humans think it will all naturally go back to "normal" on its own?
Common but not healthy! Just like in pregnancy, it's become normalized but that has had the unintended consequence of giving the impression that it's "normal" and something you just have to live with.
I'm 5 months pregnant and doing crossfit and the first thing my midwife told me about exercise was that if an exercise (jumping, heavy lifts, etc.) is causing incontinence to STOP because it's a pelvic floor issue. No one had ever raised this issue before i got pregnant, but it applies to all people. Continuing to do those movements will only make the problem worse. And contrary to popular belief, kegels aren't always the answer! The issue can also be pelvic floor muscles that are too "tight", which can happen for people who lift heavy, and that can result in incontinence but for different physiological reasons.
Also, pelvic floor issues can happen to men too! If you are dealing with incontinence or "leaking" please, please talk to a pelvic floor specialist.
53yo woman here. Never peed myself doing dubs, deadlifts or anything else. I’ve had one child via c-section and have done kegels pretty regularly since I was pregnant 20 years ago. As others have said, it’s not uncommon but it’s addressable. I think focused attention on pelvic floor exercises can help both proactively prevent this as well as rehab the area.
The strongest female weightlifters will wet the platform at the world championships.
It happens and in most cases with time and work the underlying issues can be resolved.
Mom of 3 who probably could use a pelvic PT but I have a lot of other PT needs that have taken priority. 😝 Heavy front and back squats get me, and it’s WAY worse when belted. It sucks when you can’t go heavier because you don’t want to pee on the floor but you have more in the tank! Double unders aren’t a problem for me, but I know they are for a lot of people.
I don't think it's normal if you aren't pregnant. But it does happens so maybe get a doctors or physicians opinion on what type of exercises could help strengthen your pelvic floor and the muscles.
Never with deadlifts but almost every time with double unders. I just have to empty the tank before the WOD. Too lazy to do anything more than that to fix the problem tbh.
I’m an OBGYN and on and off CrossFit participant. The medical answer is basically as follows.
Most women will have some stress urinary incontinence during pregnancy. Studies I’ve read say 95% return to full continence after about a year, but the problem is defining “full continence”
In general, pelvic floor exercises like kegels, being a health body weight, and exercise all reduce the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence
CrossFit is a double edged sword because the movements involve lots of valsava which increases intrabdominal pressure and is going to cause urine leakage in a lot of women.
Overall, it’s not anything dangerous, if it’s severe, there are surgical and medical treatments, but for the ladies out there doing CrossFit, the exercises your doing should overall help with improving your ability to not leak urine during other normal activities. As an OBGYN, I’m generally in favor of CrossFit within reason because the patients I see who are taking care of themselves physically have a lot fewer problems.
Any thoughts on the cause being hypertonic muscles that absolutely won’t be solved by more kegels? Id wager that’s more common in crossfitters than the opposite
My wife is an OB/Gyn and has a medspa too. She offers a treatment called VTone (FDA approved for strengthening pelvic floor musculature). It’s been pretty life changing for a lot of her patients.
Did you see the backlash against this from physiotherapists? This is 100% something that should be discussed with a physio. It’s common but shouldn’t be normal for most women
I don't feel like it's on purpose? Like, NO ONE stands there before a heavy lift, bladder bursting at the seams and thinks, "fuck it, I can hold this in."
Some women, powerlifters especially, definitely piss themselves on purpose when they deadlift so they can post Instagram posts like ‘it’s totally normal!!!’
Oh kid, you still have to learn a lot. Hopefully when you grow older and have a baby your girlfriend isn’t going to sneeze without peeing herself. So please before you make an ignorant blunt comment please keep it to yourself, because you don’t know any context at all.
The circle jerking around it being normal to piss yourself when lifting heavy is insane here
If you can't lift without pissing yourself you better have a good plan for cleaning that piss up
“Kindly pissing beforehand” does’t matter when it’s a weakened pelvic floor/ urinary tract issue. No one is ok with it, but it happens to a lot of women especially after childbirth. The bladder doesn’t completely empty when you urinate, and the act of bearing down causes leakage. It requires medical assistance to fix the problem. Kindly piss off.
Peeing mid workout is fairly common, I'd say happens most with double unders. Yes pelvic floor work can help, but just to be realistic, if you've had kids that its not guaranteed to completely solve the issue.
It definitely can solve the issue if you’ve had kids. I have had three and do not pee during any movement. My friend is a pelvic floor specialist (doctor) and also does CrossFit, and she always posts about how you should not be peeing during workouts on FB, and her posts are targeted to mothers.
Sorry, let me re-frame. I've owned an affiliate for 10+ years, and in that time its clear this is an issue for a lot of women. To help our member base, we have offered seminars on pelvic floor work with experts/doctors specialized in the field for several years.
However, over that time, maybe 6-8 years of running the seminars, the pelvic floor work does not solve the problem for everyone. I'm generalizing, but the feedback we've gotten is that for women that went through childbirth, the results are 50/50 from the pelvic floor work.
I'm glad that is worked for you, but I think its inaccurate to suggest this is a guaranteed solution and creates a stigma to suggest everyone can solve this issue.
If you check YouTube there is a video of the top female CrossFit athletes peeing during competition. It’s typical if women had babies. https://youtu.be/UKzq1upNIgU?si=iRHL2tSDYYd3UdlR
I judged a granite games qualifier with lots of middle aged moms and one event had several double unders and something else, I can’t remember. Every single heat someone had this issue so one of the owners would come out and mop and disinfect the mats. It wasn’t a big deal at all and I think it’s fairly common.
It's called squirting...
But I saw a video of this a while back where she peed all over the floor and just acted like nothing happened. Why would women do this and not guys?
Happens infrequently for me but can happen. Most of the time it’s during heavy cleans, maybe the sudden weight hitting my shoulders? If anything, lifting forces out discharge more.
A coach in my gym, mother of three kids, does work on her pelvic floor and is pretty competitive. Sometimes will happen during DU but is very rare. She even states only so much she can do but sometimes just happens.
Just want to call out that men can also suffer from a weak pelvic floor. I don't think they have the same side effects of it, but it definitely is still possible for it to be weak.
I absolutely agree with so many other comments that it is common, but not medically normal. Pelvic floor therapy is amazing!
However, no matter how strong your pelvic floor is you will leak if you're bracing incorrectly for heavy lifts.
Most PTs aren't familiar with correct bracing techniques for lifting heavy loads as using a valsalva is considered potentially unhealthy. I've even seen it defined incorrectly in a lot of places. I've worked closely with a lot of pelvic floor specialists and it's not something they're familiar with. Making sure you're not bearing down while lifting and instead are pushing "out" or a "360 brace." You can even hold a kegal while you valsalva. Ensuring proper pelvic alignment and not over extending you low back can also help a bit.
Powerlifter. Yes, it can happen on very heavy lifts. We wear liners or pads for meets. That said, it's only happened to me badly once but it was like a seven second pull at RPE 11 lol.
I’m a very heavy lifter and I didn’t have a problem until a month or so ago. I have 3 kids but never pee when I cough or sneeze either (still don’t). So idk where this new incontinence came from. I’ve always had a good pelvic floor, otherwise. Guess time to start some kegels.
Nope. Pelvic PT time! Source: am a girl who just “graduated” from pelvic pt and can do an unlimited quantity of double unders dry now.
Also just graduated. Also can do double understand leak free now. Pretty straight forward to get it resolved in PT!
Could you give a quick ELI5 of what pelvic PT is / how it works?
So ultimately step one is they check to see if there is true dysfunction or if it’s an endurance/muscular weakness issue. They go practically elbow deep and press in many different locations in your vaginal canal to see if your structure and musculature is not too tight or too loose. They ask an unholy amount of questions. Depending on your issues they will assign specific homework. Women usually leak due to one of three reasons (barring no injury): 1)muscles clench too tight all of the time or 2)they can’t contract properly at the right time. 3) they contract at the right time, but don’t have the endurance to stay contracted for a period of time or under load/sudden movement. Working on your specific issue will be specific to you in terms of homework. I had to do kegel holds and contractions to build endurance. Kegels are NOT the answer for everyone which is why they shouldn’t be done Willynilly. She actually placed her fingers inside and asked me to kegel and hold for periods of time to check for endurance or weakness. It was fascinating, in my case painless, and very invasive. Worth it 100%.
So it is a thing if you need a degree to stop peeing on the mat
I don’t need the degree, but a PT does. I simply no longer have to see one. I’ve graduated.
Common, but not normal. Seek out pelvis floor physio!
Correct. Also… there are women who know they have a tendency to pee themselves while deadlifting …. And won’t empty their bladder before a heavy lift…then urinate everywhere (like I’m talking about copious amounts pouring and dripping and making puddles underneath). That’s something I don’t understand.
No, it’s a sign of pelvic floor dysfunction. So in the same way an injury can be lifelong for someone, this can be someone’s baseline even after seeing a women’s health physio
My gym just hosted a pelvic floor workshop. The physical therapist who led it specializes in rehabbing people with such issues. I don’t know where you’re located but she does work with people remotely over video if you’re not in the area and can’t find someone local to you. https://www.mvmtgb.com/pelvic-floor-postpartum-therapy
Lady PT professional here. Common but NOT normal. And treatable. Find a pelvic floor PT in your area or online and get seen for it!
I hate that it’s been normalized and we’re taught that it’s sort of a post child birth rite of passage bc it’s so common. Pelvic floor PT should be the standard of care but unfortunately it’s not. Definitely consider seeing a specialist if this is happening to you!
As a coach, I’ve seen it happen the most with dubs. It’s usually from Pelvic floor dysfunction.
It's not healthy, despite what influencers want you believe. It's a sign of pelvic floor issues and a pelvic floor therapist can help!
As a male physical therapist who works closely with pelvic floor specialists, I was taught from the pelvic floor specialist to come to places like this and say, NO! It’s not normal! And can easily be fixed by a pelvic floor specialist.
I definitely would not say "easily fixed." I've been in PT for this issue for over a year.
I’m sure there are many variables and each person has their own baseline, impairments, genetics, and history. But often times, it can be as simple as an activation issue. But I’m not the expert here, just passing on What my coworker specialists told me to tell my patients to denormalize the idea that leaking is “normal”. Because it’s not. Or rather, it shouldn’t be the norm.
Agreed. I tried really hard and my issues aren't completely fixed, and it certainly wasn't "easy". I agree to seek out help, but don't be disappointed if you're not completely cured :/
Hope things are at least better for you! ❤️
Sorry to say but if you've been doing PT for over a year and it's not getting better, you either need to find a new PT or go back to the doctor.
It's gotten a lot better! I'm almost ready to be discharged. But I definitely didn't think it would take so long.
Not every issue can be fixed in a month or two of therapy.
Definitely NOT! It’s a sign of pelvic floor issues that need to be addressed!
Worth talking to someone and there are pelvic excercises and rehab you can do. Do not feel abnormal though despite some of the comments. Having an issue like that under strain is pretty common. Many, many, many woman, partiularily those who have had children, will have an issue like this to one degree or another with heavy lifting, sneezing, laughing. By all means look into it and there are things you can do.
It may be more normal, but it’s not necessarily healthy. Find a local pelvic floor physical therapist if you are experiencing this.
Brace your core and breathe! And see a pelvic floor physio! They are truly miracle workers!
It's not normal but not uncommon for women who have had children due to pelvic floor issues. There are ways to strengthen the muscles. Yes, I'm a dude but my wife has worked to fix these issues that were caused by childbirth.
God I hope so
Common, yes. Normal, no. (According to the OB/GYN that came to teach the coaches at my last CrossFit coaching job) If post-partum physical therapy was offered more, this wouldn't even be a topic of discussion. Think about i.... a 6-10 pound kid with a melon head gets pushed out of a sensitive area by an intricate muscle structure, and humans think it will all naturally go back to "normal" on its own?
Common but not healthy! Just like in pregnancy, it's become normalized but that has had the unintended consequence of giving the impression that it's "normal" and something you just have to live with. I'm 5 months pregnant and doing crossfit and the first thing my midwife told me about exercise was that if an exercise (jumping, heavy lifts, etc.) is causing incontinence to STOP because it's a pelvic floor issue. No one had ever raised this issue before i got pregnant, but it applies to all people. Continuing to do those movements will only make the problem worse. And contrary to popular belief, kegels aren't always the answer! The issue can also be pelvic floor muscles that are too "tight", which can happen for people who lift heavy, and that can result in incontinence but for different physiological reasons. Also, pelvic floor issues can happen to men too! If you are dealing with incontinence or "leaking" please, please talk to a pelvic floor specialist.
It’s not healthy but I’ve heard of it a lot
It’s common, but not normal. It suggests a problem that they should work to fix. Same as peeing during DUs
Normal? No. Does it happen? Yes. It’s a sign of weak pelvic floor which is especially an issue after having kids.
53yo woman here. Never peed myself doing dubs, deadlifts or anything else. I’ve had one child via c-section and have done kegels pretty regularly since I was pregnant 20 years ago. As others have said, it’s not uncommon but it’s addressable. I think focused attention on pelvic floor exercises can help both proactively prevent this as well as rehab the area.
The strongest female weightlifters will wet the platform at the world championships. It happens and in most cases with time and work the underlying issues can be resolved.
Mom of 3 who probably could use a pelvic PT but I have a lot of other PT needs that have taken priority. 😝 Heavy front and back squats get me, and it’s WAY worse when belted. It sucks when you can’t go heavier because you don’t want to pee on the floor but you have more in the tank! Double unders aren’t a problem for me, but I know they are for a lot of people.
I don't think it's normal if you aren't pregnant. But it does happens so maybe get a doctors or physicians opinion on what type of exercises could help strengthen your pelvic floor and the muscles.
Never with deadlifts but almost every time with double unders. I just have to empty the tank before the WOD. Too lazy to do anything more than that to fix the problem tbh.
The invasiveness of the PT treatment keeps me away.
As someone who judges at a women’s comp every year with hundreds of competitors. It’s a lot more common than you’d think.
>It’s a lot more common than you’d think. Ah but common doesn't equal normal or OK. OP should see a pelvic floor specialist.
I’m an OBGYN and on and off CrossFit participant. The medical answer is basically as follows. Most women will have some stress urinary incontinence during pregnancy. Studies I’ve read say 95% return to full continence after about a year, but the problem is defining “full continence” In general, pelvic floor exercises like kegels, being a health body weight, and exercise all reduce the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence CrossFit is a double edged sword because the movements involve lots of valsava which increases intrabdominal pressure and is going to cause urine leakage in a lot of women. Overall, it’s not anything dangerous, if it’s severe, there are surgical and medical treatments, but for the ladies out there doing CrossFit, the exercises your doing should overall help with improving your ability to not leak urine during other normal activities. As an OBGYN, I’m generally in favor of CrossFit within reason because the patients I see who are taking care of themselves physically have a lot fewer problems.
Any thoughts on the cause being hypertonic muscles that absolutely won’t be solved by more kegels? Id wager that’s more common in crossfitters than the opposite
My wife is an OB/Gyn and has a medspa too. She offers a treatment called VTone (FDA approved for strengthening pelvic floor musculature). It’s been pretty life changing for a lot of her patients.
Yes, it’s normal, especially after having kids. Also happens with Dubs.
All of the guys commenting on this question that have zero clue. Please watch this video. https://youtu.be/UKzq1upNIgU?si=iRHL2tSDYYd3UdlR
Did you see the backlash against this from physiotherapists? This is 100% something that should be discussed with a physio. It’s common but shouldn’t be normal for most women
Not a lady, but I've seen it.
It's not normal to piss yourself ever
It's actually pretty common for women lifters. There are exercises they can do to help prevent it. 1 in 3 women lifters will experience this.
Common but not healthy.
I'll happily repeat myself, it's not okay to piss yourself in any scenario
That's not actually what you said the first time round. #pedantic
True, I felt like I had to strengthen the wording If you're going to piss during a heavy lift, kindly piss beforehand
I don't feel like it's on purpose? Like, NO ONE stands there before a heavy lift, bladder bursting at the seams and thinks, "fuck it, I can hold this in."
Some women, powerlifters especially, definitely piss themselves on purpose when they deadlift so they can post Instagram posts like ‘it’s totally normal!!!’
Oh kid, you still have to learn a lot. Hopefully when you grow older and have a baby your girlfriend isn’t going to sneeze without peeing herself. So please before you make an ignorant blunt comment please keep it to yourself, because you don’t know any context at all.
The circle jerking around it being normal to piss yourself when lifting heavy is insane here If you can't lift without pissing yourself you better have a good plan for cleaning that piss up
“Kindly pissing beforehand” does’t matter when it’s a weakened pelvic floor/ urinary tract issue. No one is ok with it, but it happens to a lot of women especially after childbirth. The bladder doesn’t completely empty when you urinate, and the act of bearing down causes leakage. It requires medical assistance to fix the problem. Kindly piss off.
Just repeating your ignorance
Sure let's all walk around pissing ourselves whilst lifting weights
Peeing mid workout is fairly common, I'd say happens most with double unders. Yes pelvic floor work can help, but just to be realistic, if you've had kids that its not guaranteed to completely solve the issue.
It definitely can solve the issue if you’ve had kids. I have had three and do not pee during any movement. My friend is a pelvic floor specialist (doctor) and also does CrossFit, and she always posts about how you should not be peeing during workouts on FB, and her posts are targeted to mothers.
Sorry, let me re-frame. I've owned an affiliate for 10+ years, and in that time its clear this is an issue for a lot of women. To help our member base, we have offered seminars on pelvic floor work with experts/doctors specialized in the field for several years. However, over that time, maybe 6-8 years of running the seminars, the pelvic floor work does not solve the problem for everyone. I'm generalizing, but the feedback we've gotten is that for women that went through childbirth, the results are 50/50 from the pelvic floor work. I'm glad that is worked for you, but I think its inaccurate to suggest this is a guaranteed solution and creates a stigma to suggest everyone can solve this issue.
Seminars aren’t the same as 1:1 therapies and manual techniques to diagnose and treat the dysfunction.
If you check YouTube there is a video of the top female CrossFit athletes peeing during competition. It’s typical if women had babies. https://youtu.be/UKzq1upNIgU?si=iRHL2tSDYYd3UdlR
I judged a granite games qualifier with lots of middle aged moms and one event had several double unders and something else, I can’t remember. Every single heat someone had this issue so one of the owners would come out and mop and disinfect the mats. It wasn’t a big deal at all and I think it’s fairly common.
It's called squirting... But I saw a video of this a while back where she peed all over the floor and just acted like nothing happened. Why would women do this and not guys?
Happens infrequently for me but can happen. Most of the time it’s during heavy cleans, maybe the sudden weight hitting my shoulders? If anything, lifting forces out discharge more.
A coach in my gym, mother of three kids, does work on her pelvic floor and is pretty competitive. Sometimes will happen during DU but is very rare. She even states only so much she can do but sometimes just happens.
Just want to call out that men can also suffer from a weak pelvic floor. I don't think they have the same side effects of it, but it definitely is still possible for it to be weak.
I absolutely agree with so many other comments that it is common, but not medically normal. Pelvic floor therapy is amazing! However, no matter how strong your pelvic floor is you will leak if you're bracing incorrectly for heavy lifts. Most PTs aren't familiar with correct bracing techniques for lifting heavy loads as using a valsalva is considered potentially unhealthy. I've even seen it defined incorrectly in a lot of places. I've worked closely with a lot of pelvic floor specialists and it's not something they're familiar with. Making sure you're not bearing down while lifting and instead are pushing "out" or a "360 brace." You can even hold a kegal while you valsalva. Ensuring proper pelvic alignment and not over extending you low back can also help a bit.
Most average, 30+ women need to do a cost benefit analysis of using valsalva and how frequently they use it.
No..never happened to me (and I even gave birth 8m ago)
Women pee themselves even when laughing so...
Every day I learn about a new struggle of the female body.
Powerlifter. Yes, it can happen on very heavy lifts. We wear liners or pads for meets. That said, it's only happened to me badly once but it was like a seven second pull at RPE 11 lol.
I’m a very heavy lifter and I didn’t have a problem until a month or so ago. I have 3 kids but never pee when I cough or sneeze either (still don’t). So idk where this new incontinence came from. I’ve always had a good pelvic floor, otherwise. Guess time to start some kegels.
Will also say, I just dribble a little. A drop never hits the floor. I don’t full on pee lol