Can you jump on the trampoline... without leaking?

Does this sound familiar:

“I’m good at doing pelvic floor exercise. But could I jump on a trampoline? Oh god no, I’d wet my pants!”.

We were talking all things pelvic floor in the studio this week, and I was really taken aback by these comments, from several women in the room.

As it turns out, most women seem to do their pelvic floor exercises only when lying down, or sitting. And I must say, I’m so glad to hear when people are actually doing their pelvic floor exercises. It’s the simplest and best way to ensure you have a strong, stable pelvic floor, & reduce your risk of wetting your pants, or worse.

But - if you ONLY ever train your pelvic floor when you’re totally stationary, it may not be strong enough to work when you’re up & about.

And if you’re leaking when you’re doing higher impact activities, like bouncing on a trampoline, or sprinting to stop your toddler wandering into traffic, then your pelvic floor exercises are not doing enough, to support you when you need it most.

Leaking when you’re running, or jumping, or whatever, is a sign from your body that your system is NOT strong enough to properly support you.

So, what should you do?

Well firstly, a review with a Pelvic Floor Physio is the very best way to make sure you are actually even doing Pelvic Floor exercises properly. The stats show that the majority of women are NOT actually able to properly switch on their pelvic floor.

If you know that you ARE doing them properly, the next step is to gradually increase the position you do to exercises in. From lying down, to sitting, to standing, and then to moving.

All the things we do in our every day!

And if running & jumping are activities in your every day, you need to train your pelvic floor to work for you in those activities too.

So, if you always do your pelvic floor exercises when you’re lying down, I want you to try and do them next time in sitting. Take it slow, and make sure you can feel a proper contraction in the right areas, without squeezing those big butt muscles or holding your breath.

If you can manage sitting, I want you to try in standing.

And if standing feels ok - have a little go at swaying side to side.

Can you still hold it?

Let me know how you go!