Ah, what a week! In addition to the usual shenanigans, I had to complete 24 hours of online CEU classes in order to renew my massage therapy license. To be clear, I had two years to complete these classes- I just “chose” to do it all in the last week (eye roll.) One of the classes I took was “Foundation Concepts of Core Stability,” and it reminded me how important the pelvic floor is.
After my daughter was born, I couldn’t run five steps without peeing. I knew a lot of women had this problem so I didn’t take it seriously (I remember going to races wearing a pad, thinking that solved everything.) Eventually I read an article in Runner’s World that made it clear this is not okay. Your pelvic floor is a really important muscle of your deep core, and if it’s not working, then the rest of your body won’t work properly either.
I found a pelvic floor rehab online, did the exercises, and the problem got about 80% better. Then I stopped doing the exercises because, to be honest, they’re incredibly boring (basically like kegels, combined with other small movements, coordinated with breathing.) Now I’m thinking maybe my pelvic floor needs a touchup- I’ll find those exercises again and add them to the list.
Enough about urine! Let’s get on to the Weekly Rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah (thanks, ladies!) Here’s how the week played out:
Sunday
Leg day at the gym- focused on squats and deadlifts, with calves and abs thrown in as always.
My husband and I went together, and he was my photographer.
Monday
4 mile run! This run felt pretty good- it’s always nice to have some clouds.
Tuesday
Upper body day at the gym. Bench press, lat pulldowns, rows, overhead shoulder press, and abs. I was scrolling through my phone to find my photo from the day, and there isn’t one! Oops- I guess I forgot.
Wednesday
9 mile run on my old favorite trail! This is the trail I ran on while training for my 50k, and I hadn’t seen it since April. It was great to be back, but it was a little overgrown.
Thursday
Off! When fitting together the puzzle pieces of workouts this week, it made the most sense to make this my day off.
Friday
I started the morning with leg day #2 at home. I have mixed feelings about these at-home leg days. On the one hand I’m doing a lot of things I don’t get to at the gym- things I haven’t done in a while, and it’s been eye- opening. For example, on this day I did side planks with a leg lift, and I could easily do ten on my right side- but on the left side I could barely get through five without resting. Hmm!
On the other hand, I feel like I should be at the gym twice a week working on my squats and deadlifts. Sigh.
After I dropped my daughter off, I went out for a 3 mile run.
Saturday
4 mile run before work!
Sunday
On tap for today: back to the gym for leg day. And in the afternoon, my daughter and I are finally seeing Barbie with some friends!
It was a good week- I fit almost everything in. I didn’t get to do my treadmill hill workout, so that (along with two gym leg days) is on the schedule for next week. We’ll see how that works out!
How was your week? Did you get the monster heat wave? – I think the midwest was hotter than Florida.
Have you ever done pelvic floor exercises? Do you have any to recommend?
38 Responses
No in those exercises.
We had a cooler week with rain here and there.
Congrats for returning to your beloved trails.
I loved Barbie. Very funny with some important messages.
Yes, I’m looking forward to it! I don’t go to movies often.
It seems like you’ve had a LOT of rain this summer. I don’t envy that, but I do envy your cooler temps.
A few years ago, I went to a pelvic health PT to work on my SI joint and she fixed all kinds of issues. I wrote a whole post on it. I highly recommend it, but it is so interesting how many women just look at me like I’m weird when I mention it.
The heat wave was brutal! I did a run on the TM and didn’t mind one bit. But oh, is it nice now!
Enjoy Barbie!
I’m getting out my pink clothes!
I’m sure I could benefit from a pelvic floor PT. I remember your post- I’ll go back and read it again.
I had no idea about pelvic floor issues (yes, this is where you can tell the difference between the moms and the stepmoms) until a few years ago when a Facebook friend spoke up. She *only* had problems for 10 years and thought it was just her, which is why she posted about it and her treatment.
I have to do continuing ed for my certifications. To my credit I never put it off until the last minute but I always “binge” and do it all at once. It’s too boring otherwise.
This renewal period I was especially bad for some reason. I’m a procrastinator, so if you tell me I have two years to do something I’ll promptly put it out of my mind for… about two years.
The pelvic floor is so important! I have had pelvic floor physiotherapy and the exercises are exactly what you describe – kegels with breathing, and holding them for various lengths. I think more women should talk about this – we don’t because it feels “gross” or something, but it’s so important!
I wish I had had pelvic floor PT BEFORE I tried to start running again postpartum- I think it would have made a huge difference. But, better late than never.
Pelvic floor exercises are kind of buzzy lately but I’ve never really focused on them. I am sure I could benefit from some as we all could. Your squat form looks fab! Looks like a great week of workouts for you
Thanks Deborah! You probably know if you need work on your pelvic floor. In my case, it was extremely obvious!
Yes to pelvic floor exercises!! I saw a pelvic floor PT after my pregnancy with Will because I had some odd pains around my incision from all the vigorous bouncing. My friend highly recommended seeing one and it was covered by insurance. I didn’t have the pelvic floor issues most women have since I had c sections and my babies were on the smaller size and I have a long torso/a taller frame to carry all that extra weight. So I’ve never had the pee leaking issue. But there were other things she addressed. It is kind of like going to the gynecologist, just FYI. She did a thorough exam and it was very eye opening what they can address. My PT told me this is a standard part of post partum care in countries like France! My PT was really working on building more partnership between OBGYNs and her practice because ever doctors didn’t really know to refer women. Like I think it should be a standard thing offered to all women, especially if you are leaking! My PT was also the person who got me safely back to running after pregnancy. She laid out a plan that consisted of running/walking intervals and then each week she would check to see if it was impacting my pelvic floor. In my case, my pelvic floor was actually too tight. That’s less common as for most women, they need to strengthen the pelvic floor. Anyways, I could go on and on about my experience!!!
It was horribly hot here last week. Our highest heat index was 114. It was just terrible!! But it broke on Friday night and now it’s been beautiful! Our summers are so short so it’s hard to have that kind of weather! It was too hot to be outside with the kids. I would drip with sweat just getting the kids in their car seats. Bleh. Plus I was coming off a weekend of no exercise since I had the boys on my own. I got back on track with ST workouts on thur/fri and then ran yesterday and today.
Anyways, stepping off my soapbox.
Yes, I’ve heard of pelvic floor specialists and they do an internal exam, probably the only way to assess the situation. I definitely wish it were standard care postpartum. Interesting that yours was too tight- but like with any other muscle, you don’t want it to be too weak or too tight.
Glad your heatwave broke!!!
Yes, we absolutely did have a horrid heatwave, but not it broke and it feels like fall, which is not exactly what I was hoping for. *sigh*
Look at you with all your training! Lovely job! Someday you’ll have to teach me how to be less crabby about exercise!
Oh, the left side and right side of my body are very different strength-wise, despite my attempts to correct the imbalance. When I was in my mid-20s, I had pneumonia really badly and I tore a bunch of intercostal muscles and broke a couple of ribs on my right side from coughing. So I spent YEARS trying to make sure my right side was as strong as my left side. Then I broke my left leg terribly and it was reconstructed. My left leg has crazy endurance because it’s metal, but my flexibility and strength are different and there’s not much I can do to change it. So if you examine your injuries/medical interventions, it’s possible you can figure out reasons why one side is different from another. (My husband right leg is an inch taller than his left and this messes up a lot of yoga poses, etc.)
Interesting- I’ll have to go back and think about former injuries. I haven’t had anything as major as you, but i’ve definitely had plenty.
Yes, I guess it would have been nice to go back to a normal summer, rather than jumping straight into fall. I would still take the fall temps over triple digits though.
We had a much cooler week here in Canada. A lot of rain, and chilly mornings (like in the 50s F).
I had C-sections so don’t have as many pelvic floor issues BUT my C-section scar adhered to my bladder and I had a lot of issues with needing to pee in the night. Going to an osteopath SOLVED THE PROBLEM. I cannot recommend this treatment highly enough for anyone who has had a C-section and is struggling with incision pain or issues with scar tissue and surrounding organs. I go once every year or two when the scar tissue seems to seize up, have an adjustment, and things go back to normal.
Yes, C-sections have their own set of problems. I’m glad you have a solution for it.
I love 50s and sunny, but 50s and rain is a little chilly!
You just reminded me that it’s been ages since I’ve done any serious side-planking. I do forearm planks daily, but the side planks kind of get forgotten. In fact, I think it’s time I add those to my daily “must-do” roster (along with the forearm planks and push-ups). I also should bring back the wall sits. WOW, you’ve really inspired me 😉 As you know, we had a major heat wave here…I’m glad it’s over, but this morning’s temps were 58F when I went out for my early morning run. BRRR!
Ha ha, I would take 58 any day! And, I forgot about side planks for a long time too- I’m just getting back into them. Glad you got inspired!
Way to get in all the workouts! Yes it was brutally hot here. Reminded me of the weather in Dubai when we were there in July 2017. The actual temp there was 116 I can’t even fathom what the “feels like” was. I work in pelvic floor exercises when I do core work like planks. They make a big difference!
Yes, the exercises that I did made a huge difference. I like the idea of working them into other core exercises- I’ll start doing that.
I looked at that photo of your trail & before reading the caption I though — that’s a trail? LOL!
Clouds are a tremendous help! And wind (only when it’s hot, not in the cold).
You had a great week! Sounds like your training is going well.
Thank you Judy! Yes, that part of the trail was really overgrown, and overall it was a little trickier to navigate. I don’t know what their schedule is for clearing the trail, but things grow so fast here in the summer, it’s probably hard to keep up.
Great week of solid workouts, Jenny. I have not done any pelvic floor exercises in a while but it’s great you bring this up because I think we women should definitely have those on our radar!
We got a little bit of humidity earlier this week because of hurricane/tropical storm Hilary that made its way through California. Luckily, the temps overall came down quite a bit.
Glad you didn’t get hit by Hilary and glad your temps came down! I would imagine you’ll have cooler weather now that it’s almost fall.
I went to a running medicine conference (to renew my PT certifications) a few years ago that focused on the pelvic floor. One of the instructors told us to tell our clients to pretend they’re holding a kidney been in them and to contract and pull up so the bean doesn’t shoot out when exercising. Give that a try when you’re doing other exercises and see if that helps.
Okay, I”ll try that! I like how I can do it during other exercises that I’m doing anyway.
Interesting about the pelvic floor exercises, I’ve been reminded recently when reading different fitness posts on IG but I always thought you train them when you do regular strength training – that things like squats would help the pelvic floor too.
How nice for you to go back on that trail, but it certainly looks overgrown! That’s a very decent long run too.
Nice strength work this week, and thanks for reminding me of the side planks with leg lifts! Maybe I can do them soon again.
We never really got a heatwave this summer, but it’s been quite warm (for Irish standards) all summer with close to 20C during the day almost all the time. I normally prefer it warmer than that but since I’ve been confined to the boot most of the summer, 20 was definitely enough. Other than temperatures, the weather has been quite meh, except May and June. The last few days have been nice!
I think squats help the pelvic floor, and would help it even more if combined with breathing and kegels… the exercises I did were very precise about those small muscle movements.
For all my complaints about the heat, I think Ireland would be a little too cold for me!
I saw Barbie twice I loved it so much, but just heard from someone who walked out after 20 minutes they hated it so much. Gees…divisive!
Interesting about the pelvic floor. I don’t have kids but I wonder if its something I still need to think about as I age.
I’m sure its a relief to have the credits done now so you can keep your license!
Great job on the strength training this week!
We liked Barbie!!! Believe it or not, conservatives think it’s “woke” so that’s why they don’t like it. (???)
So glad you were able to get back to the trail. Love that.
Last week felt a little cooler and then bam. We are back to hot.
I am excited to sign up for the gym. I want more leg options.
Yes! You will be very happy to have more options at the gym. I got tired of doing strength at home.
After you mentioned the Athleta crop tank tops you bought (I think one is in your Monday picture!), I bought two of them. So comfortable, thanks for the tip!
I liked the Barbie movie. I hope you enjoyed it too! Interesting about the pelvic floor info. One of my physical therapists who I saw for a long time ended up going into women’s care specific to pelvic floor issues.
We liked Barbie too!
Glad you like those crop tops. I should go back and see if they have any on sale, since they’ll be putting out fall things soon.
Maybe a weird question from a midwesterner, but….don’t you have to worry about…”creatures” on trails like that? I feel like in your hot, tropical climate, aren’t there, I don’t know, snakes or scorpions or something that you could run across?? I don’t know if that’s even true, but it was my immediate thought when I saw those trail photos!! Haha!
Re: the home leg day- my take is that something is always better than nothing! I think consistency trumps almost all else- at least you’re hitting legs. Sometimes home workouts are just more convenient. Maybe you can schedule in home workouts like every other week, so on 2 of 4 of the weeks you’re getting the gym in twice for legs, and 2 weeks you’re doing 1 home + 1 gym? Then you’re still averaging more in the gym than not, but giving yourself a little breathing room on some days.
I agree with you- consistency is key.
About the creatures- the only thing I’ve had issues with are spiders. I got a REALLY nasty bite when I did my trail race last April- I’m just assuming it was a spider bite based on what it looked like. i know people out in the southwest say they’ve seen rattlesnakes on the trail, and that would freak me out! They don’t seem that phased by it though.
I’m with NGS – you are going to have different “levels” of strength depending on what your dominant side is, how much you use it vs. your other side, etc. Since you’re a massage therapist – and, um, probably use your hands and arms a lot? – I wonder if that has a more significant impact on which side is stronger. That is, maybe there’s a greater difference for you than for people who don’t use their arms as much when working?
And I’m with Kae – I would not be stepping foot on that “trail”, thanks! You are braver than I, for sure…
Ha! I ran on that trail a lot last winter, when it was clearer, so I feel like I still know it.
Yes, I do use my arms and hands a lot. I’m sure that plays into it, somehow. I still feel like the strength discrepancy is huge, but that’s why I’m working out!