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#128: Dr: Courtney Johnson: How women can build strength and confidence through better pelvic floor health
640 Plays29 days ago
This episode is all about empowerment - from the inside out. I’m joined by Dr. Courtney Johnson, also known as the Female Athlete Doc, to have an honest, myth-busting conversation about pelvic floor health and why it’s so much more than just kegels. Whether you’re navigating postpartum recovery, dealing with incontinence or prolapse, or simply want to feel stronger and more in control of your body as you age, this episode is for you.
We chat about how strength training, breathwork, yoga, and smart movement can completely transform your pelvic wellness at any stage of life. Dr. Courtney shares insights on how to build true core strength, overcome common barriers to exercise, and create a foundation of health that supports both performance and longevity. It’s time we normalise these conversations and give women the tools they need to feel confident in their bodies again.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
[0:00] - Why pelvic health needs to be part of the wellness conversation
[0:28] - Meet Dr. Courtney Johnson, the Female Athlete Doc
[1:23] - What pelvic floor dysfunction really looks like in everyday life
[3:58] - Common barriers women face when trying to stay active
[6:48] - Simple habits that support long-term pelvic health
[10:56] - How to assess pelvic floor mobility (and why it matters)
[22:47] - Core training that actually works (without making symptoms worse)
[32:28] - Can you really do jump training with pelvic floor issues?
[34:21] - How to train for longevity and fun
[42:07] - Understanding pelvic organ prolapse and the path to recovery
[56:24] - Using fitness as a tool to feel empowered - not limited
Links & Resources:
- Connect with me on Instagram here
- Connect with Courtney on Instagram here
- Learn more about KHH coaching here
- Learn more about The Pelvic Wellness Academy here
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health and fitness tips, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
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Transcript
Introduction to Lifestyle Decisions and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
don't have to be 75 years old wearing ah diaper or wearing pads. It's just up to you to start changing your life and making better decisions and lifestyle habits.
00:00:10
Speaker
And you can work on these things at any age.
00:00:22
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. So in today's episode, I chat with Dr. Courtney Johnson. Courtney is widely known on Instagram as the female athlete doc and 360 wellness.
00:00:37
Speaker
She is a highly respected pelvic floor specialist and women's health advocate. With a unique blend of medical expertise and a passion for fitness, Courtney is dedicated to empowering women to take control of their health through targeted core and pelvic floor strength training.
00:00:54
Speaker
She combines evidence-based clinical knowledge with practical accessible strategies designed to help women improve function, reduce pain and enhance quality of life at every stage.
00:01:07
Speaker
from postpartum recovery to athletic performance and ageing well.
Importance of Pelvic Floor Health
00:01:11
Speaker
Her work shines a light on an often neglected area of women's health, the pelvic floor, which is exactly what we base our whole conversation around, and highlights how crucial it is for overall well-being.
00:01:23
Speaker
Through her coaching, educational content and wellness programs, Courtney helps women overcome common but misunderstood challenges like incontinence, pelvic pain, prolapse,
00:01:33
Speaker
and the physical impacts of pregnancy and childbirth. So if you are a woman, this is an extremely important episode for you to listen to. And we cover all of those topics. It doesn't matter what age or stage you're at.
00:01:48
Speaker
This is relevant to you. So I hope you get as much value from this as I do.
00:01:57
Speaker
Hi, thanks for having me here. I'm just saying how cool it is that it's 7pm where I am and it's 11am where you are and we're talking to each other from different parts of the world. But we're connecting on a really common theme that is relevant no matter where you are. If you are a woman, obviously, and we're going to talk a lot about pelvic health and the pelvic floor.
Courtney's Background and Exercise Barriers
00:02:16
Speaker
But before we get into it, do you want to just tell everyone ah little bit about you and what you do? Yes, absolutely. Well, my name is Dr. Horney and I'm based in Phoenix, Arizona in the US and myself included.
00:02:30
Speaker
i am a doctor of physical therapy, strength coach and pelvic floor women's health. I like to kind of just say women's health more than like just pelvic floor because I'm like, I treat the whole woman, not just the pelvic floor, even though that obviously is my specialty.
00:02:44
Speaker
And I work with women literally all over the world through like our online wellness um and rehab programs. And we help women literally do whatever they want again, post baby, pre-baby, during pregnancy, be able to like be active, right? So a lot of women essentially like are held back from there, whether it's pain, injuries, pelvic floor dysfunction, from being able to exercise, to lose weight, to eat healthy, like there's all these barriers.
00:03:11
Speaker
And so typically my jam is literally helping people get back into the things that they love to be able to do. i am not married just yet, no babies yet, but three dog babies. So big dog mom.
00:03:23
Speaker
And I spend a lot of my time exercising outdoors. We do a lot of hiking and a lot of traveling and just building fun businesses. That sounds so fun. Like literally what I love to do as well, except to add three kids onto that. And it's just, but they're getting that bit older that I can actually get out hiking without them now. I'm getting a bit of me back. And I know a lot of the listeners are kind of at that stage as well with like older kids where it's like, yes, now this is the time to focus on me.
00:03:48
Speaker
And I will dive into kind of my own pelvic health issues and stuff now, because I think it'll be a really good way to kind of talk through things. But before I do, you said barriers.
00:03:58
Speaker
Okay. So you're saying you help women to work through barriers to exercise or but barriers to their health. What are these barriers that you see quite often? So one of the biggest barriers, I mean, there's there's a lot. I shouldn't say this is like the biggest one because...
00:04:13
Speaker
Every pelvic floor issue is a big deal to whoever's dealing with it, right? Like I'm not going to minimize all these other issues and like glorify just one. But a lot of times women are held back from exercising specifically.
00:04:26
Speaker
and exercise is the one thing that we know between you and I, and obviously a lot of people know that exercise medicine, movement is medicine. We need it to feel good, to look good, to prolong our longevity in life.
00:04:39
Speaker
And oftentimes when there is some type of dysfunction, whether that's leakage, that's diastasis recti, core dysfunction, or it's prolapse or back pain, hip pain. like I mean, I could laundry list a bunch of issues right now, but these are the things that often hold women back from being able to exercise.
00:04:59
Speaker
And when you're being held back from the one thing that can truly actually help those symptoms, that's the biggest barrier that they're facing, right? Like whether that's from fear because they've tried doing it on their own and they haven't had success or they made their symptoms worse.
00:05:16
Speaker
or it's because somebody else told them that they shouldn't be able to do something, whether that's a medical professional, or somebody in their life, a friend, a family member, or it's somebody who's just normalizing it. And they're like, well, you just deal with it and you just don't do those things, right?
00:05:30
Speaker
Somebody who like has leakage of like urine, for example, with running, and we just normalize it. Okay, just don't run. Right. And so there's these barriers that hold women back from being able to feel their best and look their best and have the best outcomes for longevity because of the issues that they're experiencing.
00:05:49
Speaker
Like it's so ironic, isn't it, that what they're experiencing is holding them back from what will actually help them overcome. Yes. Going through as well. Like, it it you know, it is kind of like this vicious cycle.
00:06:00
Speaker
Yes. Exercise is literally like, I'm obviously a physical therapist and there's so many things about physical therapy, right? There's manual therapy and then there's like the exercise portion and then there's the modalities. There's so many things that can like,
00:06:14
Speaker
help someone feel better. But I'm a really big exercise therapist. Like I believe that exercise the medication that everybody needs to actually feel better versus always, you know, getting massages or getting dry needles or doing the fun modalities, is you know, like the tens units or the red light therapy and like all these other, you know, woo woo kind of things.
00:06:36
Speaker
Exercise really is the solution that a lot of people are missing.
Preventative Habits for Pelvic Health
00:06:40
Speaker
And I don't think it's talked about enough. I know I couldn't agree more. Before we kind of get into what to do when we're experiencing different symptoms, we talk a little bit about, I suppose, preventative habits that we can put in place.
00:06:53
Speaker
I would imagine what you're the first thing you're exercise, obviously. What are the things we should be doing to prevent any issues with pelvic floor after we have children. So if anyone listening is at a stage that they haven't had kids yet and they want to set themselves up as best as they can, or maybe someone is pregnant and they're kind of trying to prepare, what would you recommend?
00:07:13
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. It's such a good question because I'm one of the biggest proponent or fans of preventative care. And a lot of my Instagram is about that. It's a lot about like, how can you prevent issues from coming or even starting?
00:07:28
Speaker
Like even when you do get pregnant or you are postpartum, how can we really set ourselves up for success? And Often, obviously, that is exercise, like you're mentioning right away. But the number, like if I were to give like two pieces of advice, the two pieces of things that are like the biggest proponents of being able to basically prevent pelvic floor dysfunction is understanding what the pelvic floor is and what it does.
00:07:52
Speaker
And a lot of times people don't do anything about the pelvic floor until it becomes an issue. Like yeah i didn't get into pelvic floor therapy until I realized like, okay, leakage with jumping is not normal. Right. but like my gym and all of the moms in the gym that I went to when I was you know, 21 years old at this time, I was still in college.
00:08:12
Speaker
It was like normalized, like they all had it, right? But I didn't realize it could be fixed until I actually learned what the pelvic floor was in physical therapy school. And so when you learn what the pelvic floor is, right? Group of muscles at the bottom of the pelvis that support your pelvic organs, support the pelvis, have a couple other functions as far as your bladders and your bowels.
00:08:33
Speaker
But other than that, like... The pelvic floor does a lot of work to provide support. And if we don't know what the pelvic floor muscle group does, right?
00:08:44
Speaker
It's i' muscle a muscle group that does or is the same as any other muscle group in the body. And when it contracts and when it relaxes, like that's how we can work with it. Right, like people just think of the pelvic floor as this like foreign place in your body that like you don't even deal with it until you have kids. Or like even men, right? Like men, oh no, it's just for women. Like I don't have that issue. And it's like, well, that's not the case because the pelvic floor muscles contract and relax just like any other muscle group in the body. So if you understand its functions,
00:09:15
Speaker
and that it's a normal muscle like everything else that needs to be trained, it needs to be relaxed, there needs to be recovery. And if you understand what the pelvic floor works with in your body, right? So like the pelvic floor doesn't move in isolation, it's a part of your major core system, your diaphragm, your transverse abdominis, your back muscles, and then the pelvic floor.
00:09:35
Speaker
Those four groups make up the core system. If you learn to manipulate your breath, then you can manipulate the range of motion of the pelvic floor. so if you're just getting started and you're like, okay, i have no idea where to start. i don't know what to do, but how do i be preventative about my pelvic floor?
00:09:51
Speaker
Number one, learn what it does, right? You understand that it moves and contracts and relax. that's That's good because if we want to strength train it and be preventative about it, you need to be able to make sure your pelvic floor moves.
00:10:04
Speaker
If you don't know if it moves, then... We have some learning to do. And then the second thing is if you start breathing properly, right? Diaphragmatic breathing, then you're going to get range of motion to that pelvic floor, which can help it move.
00:10:17
Speaker
So number one, range of motion, understand what it does. And number two, breathing. Those would be the two biggest things I would start with if I was trying to be preventative about anything. Because oftentimes people are trying to learn those things after the damage has been done, after they already have the symptoms.
00:10:33
Speaker
But for myself right now, I'm like, well, I don't have any kids yet, but I'm going to be really, really preventative in the next six months or so before I have a kid. And that is making sure my pelvic floor can move and I'm breathing correctly when I'm exercising day to day, things like that.
00:10:46
Speaker
Okay, there's so much to go through here. How do we make sure our pelvic floor moves? Yes. How we test this? How do we make sure it moves? Okay, so I'm gonna give like kind of two personas here.
00:10:59
Speaker
So if you're a persona number one and you are not having any issues, And by that, I mean, you don't even know about urination issues, bowel issues. like Those are things that are not even like crossing your mind. You're not peeing all the time. like You have pretty normal bowel movements, urination habits. like You're not rushing to the restroom. You're not peeing 20 times a day. You're not having any leakage. You're not having pain.
00:11:28
Speaker
That's persona number one. And then persona number two is... one of those issues or a lot of those issues, right? So persona number one, you're probably having good range of motion of the pelvic floor because you're not having dysfunction.
00:11:41
Speaker
And I'm not saying that people with dysfunction don't have range of motion. I'm just saying you're more likely to have range of motion when you don't have issues. And that's usually the people that are like, well, I'm not going to do anything until I'm postpartum or whatever, I get pregnant, right?
00:11:55
Speaker
So persona number one, i would start with breath work, because this is the best way to understand that your pelvic floor is moving. And you don't have to worry about, okay, is my back safe in this position?
00:12:06
Speaker
am I going to leak when I do this? Right? So I would focus on diaphragmatic breathing. And I have videos of this on my YouTube channel. So it's really, really laid out simple of how to breathe in. Inhales and exhales, right?
00:12:17
Speaker
When you diaphragmatic breathe, your pelvic floor moves. That's actually moving through your diaphragm, not through your chest. That's number one on how to understand that your pelvic floor moves. You can also do like a tactile feedback as well. So you can like put your hand like on your perineum, like you can sit on your parent, like sit on your hand on your perineum and also take deep breaths.
00:12:37
Speaker
And if you feel like gentle pressure down into the hand, then that's what how you also know if your pelvic floor is moving gently with your breath. So if you're doing belly breathing and your diaphragm is moving downwards, your pelvic floor should also be moving downwards with it. does it you its It moves in the same direction as your diaphragm. Same direction if it's coordinated.
00:13:01
Speaker
If we're good. If we're green light. That's what it should be doing. Yeah. That's what it should be doing. Yeah. And then it should come back up as you exhale. It's not like crazy range of ocean. So I don't want someone to go do this and be like, Oh my gosh, I don't feel anything.
00:13:15
Speaker
It's subtle guys. Like it's very, very, it's gentle. It's subtle because it's passive. It just passively happens when you're breathing. If you don't absolutely don't feel anything, there's different positions that you can get into that like really help. So maybe like a deep squat hold or like a butterfly or a child's pose position that can really open the pelvis and help you feel that more. So then try and in those positions, if you don't feel anything, and if you still don't feel anything, then you're probably somebody in more of that persona too, who could eventually develop dysfunction because your pelvic floor is not moving. You don't feel it move, which means
Personal Experiences and Age Impact on Pelvic Health
00:13:52
Speaker
your pelvic floor might be tighter or more overactive than not. And that is usually the case for persona number two, who's having dysfunction. i will put it on my life that 90% of the women that I work with have a tighter pelvic floor or an overactive pelvic floor than not, especially, and a lot of people that I work with are athletes, are very active women or want to be active again.
00:14:19
Speaker
Active women are more likely to have overactive pelvic floors. And when you have tight pelvic floors, just like any other muscle in the body or a tight muscle everywhere else in the body,
00:14:30
Speaker
also can contribute to dysfunction. Tight muscles are weak muscles. So if you have tighter muscles, you're probably not going to feel that breath, that breath work of that passive mobility of the pelvic floor.
00:14:43
Speaker
So again, persona number two, you'd also start with breath work. And that would be like your focus probably every day for at least two to five minutes. of just breathing to get range of motion of that pelvic floor in different positions. Like you don't have to just lay or sit, you know, there's better positions. And I also have a six minute yoga breathing positional kind of YouTube video that goes in great detail of this that you can.
00:15:09
Speaker
It's like perfect. it's It's like six minutes every day and you you really start to feel your pelvic floor. So interesting to me because I'm so interested in breathwork in general. I'm very into yoga myself.
00:15:21
Speaker
Like, you know, just exploring like a friend of mine is a breathwork teacher now. And I'm just, I just find this fascinating, just kind of the healing benefits of it. And even just a to be honest, the mental clarity and the mental health benefits of it. So just to learn that,
00:15:35
Speaker
Actually, it you know the physical benefits of in relation to yet into to your core strength and your pelvic floor as well is amazing. to And the best part too is that if you're going back to persona number two, you're having dysfunction of any sort.
00:15:49
Speaker
Breath work can actually activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which you're probably aware of with breath work. We love down training the nervous system, feeling good, resting, calmness, right? Like we want to tap into that nervous system when we are experiencing dysfunction.
00:16:06
Speaker
Because oftentimes when women are in pain or they have bladder issues, they're running to the restroom constantly. It's often a nervous system dysfunction. So it's like two birds with one stone, like Yes, you're getting range of motion of the pelvic floor, you're breathing, you're in a calm environment, it's peaceful.
00:16:23
Speaker
And then also you're down training your nervous system, which lowers your sensitivity, like kind of like benchmark to pain, right? So there's a there's so many good benefits of yoga poses and breath work all in one. Yeah, that's amazing.
00:16:38
Speaker
I'll give you a little bit of kind of background of my own kind of journey as well, because I know we talked a little bit before we we pressed record. So I have three kids. I had my first kid when I was 23. Still to this day, with the health system in Ireland, you're not given any postnatal physio care at all. Like anything that you that you go to get, it will be done privately.
00:17:00
Speaker
But I remember I went to an antenatal class. I was 23 years old. i was the youngest person in the room and I was, you know, due to have a baby. And I remember the midwife saying, make sure you do your pelvic floor exercises. You'll thank me when you're 40.
00:17:13
Speaker
And that was it. That was my pelvic floor education. But I... Didn't know what a pelvic floor was then when I was 23 years old. I wasn't in health and fitness then. I was a teacher.
00:17:23
Speaker
Like I didn't know. And that was fine. I went home, had you know, had my baby eventually. And, you know, I had two more kids after that. So when I had my third child, I ended up with like kind of a pelvic injury. So I basically, the you know, the joint in your pubic bone, it inflamed.
00:17:40
Speaker
Like I couldn't move my legs at all. Like I had to, and I went to physio, I had to go on crutches and kind of, it just was like a really slow process of, you know, getting back to to normal. But anyway,
00:17:52
Speaker
As I move on in the journey here, I'd only really started getting into fitness before my last child. So we're talking 2017. So when he was born and I was able to exercise again, I got back to training and like my pelvic floor was not good after after three kids and after, I think probably after the injury as well.
00:18:11
Speaker
So like, you know, I noticed things like when I went to the gym and I was in CrossFit, like and if we were doing skipping, I couldn't skip. Without, like you were saying, yeah, like this get in the gym, without like leaking basically. Or, you know, if I was on with my older kids on the trampoline, I couldn't bounce on a trampoline because I would leak.
00:18:27
Speaker
And yeah any little bit of running, same thing, I would leak. But then what I noticed, okay, was over time as I got stronger. So I was doing a bit of yoga. was doing yoga once a week, like, but I was going to CrossFit a few times a week and it got better.
00:18:40
Speaker
And eventually I was able to do double unders and I was able to do box jumps and my pelvic floor got better from strength training. But what I've noticed now in recent months is it's getting worse again.
00:18:52
Speaker
and I started running. I trained for a 10K and I'm not a runner. like it's not It's not my strong point. But i I started in September and I did my couch to 5K and worked up to 10K race.
00:19:03
Speaker
And I noticed that when I'm running, not all month, okay, but just the week before my period, like I will leak when I'm running. And to the point that like embarrassingly amount on my trousers, like, and I don't feel, it's not like a big gush. It's like I'm running and it's just like, trickle, trickle, trickle. And I don't feel it until suddenly I'm like, oh my God, I'm like saturated.
00:19:25
Speaker
Yes. And it's like, I i think because I'm 39 years old now, now you can correct correct me if I'm wrong. I'm like, because I'm 39, I'm still doing the same things as like that I did before. But now suddenly it's just, this seems to be a little bit more of an issue. So I don't even know where to start with it. Like, what do I want to be what I'm like? Oh, I felt like I thought I had fixed this, you know?
00:19:46
Speaker
Yeah. Well, oftentimes, like the fixing is helpful, but as we age, like there are so many fluctuations and and especially like hormonal changes around your cycle leading up like the luteal phase, your hormones are going to be a little bit different and your body's going to respond a little bit different.
00:20:05
Speaker
Comparatively, like when you are in the luteal phase like and you're approaching your cycle, like your organs do start to drop a little bit and des descend in the pelvic cavity, which can then get more. There's more pressure maybe on your bladder, for example, which can then increase the chances of leakage.
00:20:21
Speaker
Also, you're a little bit more fatigued. There's that hormonal fluctuation as well right before your cycle. But really, like you're kind of approaching the perimenopausal age group, right? In the 40s. um Some people hit it sooner. Some people hit it really, really late, right?
00:20:34
Speaker
um So there's other factors with that. Like you did mention like, oh, I thought I fixed this. So the things that I would be focusing on now going into perimenopause, or if you are listening to this in your and you're in perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, like still prioritizing those little small muscle groups, right? Your deep core muscles, your tiny hip stabilizers, your hip flexors, right? Like I think oftentimes as trainers, like we are really good at the basic exercises and we always preach basics always work, which is good. But I think as trainers ourselves, and even, you know, people that are not trainers, and then they love working out,
00:21:14
Speaker
we focus on a lot of the basics and not the smaller muscle groups. And so this is like kind of obviously a little bit more rehabby as a PT. Like we focus on the little guys, like the little tiny stabilizer muscles around the body, like your hip joints and your core that like supports your low back. Like those are the tiny little muscle groups that I would really, really start to focus on.
00:21:36
Speaker
I also would maybe look at your gait. Like, how are you running? What's your foot strength like? Are you pronating, right? Like, is your hips not going into good internal and external rotation? there's a couple of things that we could like actually assess to figure out, okay, is this really just a hormonal issue or is this more so a mechanical issue as you're running? Or is this like a global issue where it's like, okay, she does have a lot of weakness in her hips.
00:22:00
Speaker
This is happening all the time. Like not that the leakage is happening all the time, but Are you like squatting and compensating a little bit? Are you shifting out of that right side ah or the left side a little bit? Like those are, there's a bunch of things that I would look at as a, as a physical therapist treating you.
00:22:15
Speaker
And that's where usually I would recommend and start because oftentimes it's not just one thing, right? There's a couple of things going on and then you clean up a couple of things and typically its symptoms usually go away.
00:22:28
Speaker
It's not something that you're like, oh, I'm just destined to have this because I'm 39 now. Like definitely not. Yeah. And I think as well, like we spend a lot of time in the gym. The last thing we want to do is those core exercises or those rehabby things. You're like, you're in, you just like, get my session done. And then you're like rushing off.
00:22:43
Speaker
And it's like, we really do need to prioritize. Yes. And... Let's talk a little bit about that core kind of core exercise that we need to be doing. Cause I'd imagine you're not talking about what everyone's thinking, like in relation to like crunches and. and setups Yeah. and Getting those abs. What core exercises do you really recommend for women who are looking to, yeah, to yeah look after their.
00:23:07
Speaker
There's two types of like core exercises and. When we talk about core, like I think ah we we have to identify what core is, right? Like your core is not a six pack of abs.
00:23:18
Speaker
Like your core is the four groups of muscles that I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, right? Like it's your transverse abdominis, which is your deep, deep layer of your core. Your pelvic floor is in your core. You're breathing. Your diaphragm muscle is in your core and your back muscles are in your core.
00:23:34
Speaker
That's the core. So if we're training the core, we need to be able to make sure we know how to activate that deep transverse layer and good breathing and allowing that pelvic floor to move.
00:23:45
Speaker
Once we can solidify, okay, I understand those three pieces of the puzzle. Your back muscles are pretty much just stabilizers. So I i don't really talk a lot about those. But if you understand those three muscle groups and how they move, then any exercise is a core exercise, right?
00:24:00
Speaker
Because if you're squatting, you need to be able to engage those muscles, breathe correctly and allow your pelvic floor to move. It's a core exercise. So really plain and simple, everything is a core exercise. Like I don't always, for myself, like I don't train a lot of deep core because, and you know, every once in a while I'd throw in something like a dead bug or a bird dog, which are your very typical deep core exercises.
00:24:23
Speaker
But I don't really train them myself a lot because I'm really, really cognizant of how I'm breathing. Is my pelvic floor moving? And is my core engaged as I deadlift or as i single leg RDL or you know overhead press, whatever the exercise is.
00:24:39
Speaker
But back to your question, sorry, I was a little tangent. Other core exercises, right, like trans are not transverse abdominis, so maybe like your obliques and your rectus abdominis, which are your global muscle groups, like your bigger guys, like your superficial ones on top.
00:24:54
Speaker
Those exercises to tap into those is anything with like spinal flexion. Right. Like as you're going into like a crunching motion, as you're twisting, those are pretty much the main movement patterns of those muscle groups because that's the fiber direction.
00:25:07
Speaker
Right. If you're going to want to activate those muscle groups, you're going to want to do things like your sit ups, your Russian twists, your leg, leg lowering exercises.
00:25:19
Speaker
Nothing wrong with doing those. We just need to understand the goal. So I always like classify those exercises like ab exercises. Like those are your abs, right? Like I'm trying to get a six pack.
00:25:31
Speaker
I'm going to be doing some crunches. If you want to do deep core exercises, then that's what the four or three or four muscle groups that I kind of mentioned. So to delineate the differences, usually from like a um physical therapy kind of perspective, we classify them as like low pressure and high pressure exercises because the core is all about managing pressure. And this is a whole rabbit hole that I can go down to down if you want me to, but I'll wait if you want me to.
00:25:59
Speaker
So you have low pressure and you have high pressure. High pressure exercise are gonna be like your sit-ups, your crunches, your Russian twists. Your low pressure exercises are going to be dead bugs, bird dogs, payoff presses, farmer's carries, chops and lifts, like all of those exercises that are not super ab intensive.
00:26:21
Speaker
Yeah. Right. That's kind of the main differences between
Strength Training During Menopause
00:26:24
Speaker
the two. And my favorites, you know, are the basics, the dead bugs, the bird dogs, because there's so many great variations to those. But if I'm going to advance somebody, um just going to get them back into regular exercise.
00:26:36
Speaker
Like I'm not going go foo-foo around with all of these core exercises when they should be lifting barbells and dumbbells with their legs and their arms, because that's how you train the core.
00:26:47
Speaker
The core doesn't work in isolation. The core is connected to the rest of your body. And if you only isolate, you're missing huge part of the puzzle.
00:26:58
Speaker
I love that you've said this. This comes right back to the topic then of women lifting weights. And it's so interesting because you when you talk about this area of like perimenopause and menopause, this is where lot of people listening are are dealing with this at the minute. and I actually had a live event there last weekend and we had to speaker, Beatrice Caffrey, and she was talking about menopause and you know health and fitness during menopause.
00:27:23
Speaker
And she said something really, really that's really stuck with me where she's like, if you're someone in your 40s or 50s and you're trying to just lose a few pounds, if you only have like five, six, seven pounds to lose, she's like, stop trying to be in a deficit and stop trying to lose weight and just focus on getting stronger. Focus on strength training.
00:27:44
Speaker
And I was like, that is so true. We're so fixated on like tiny little numbers on the scales and dieting and depriving ourselves rather than just Right. Let's actually start getting strong. I just wanted to interrupt the podcast for a moment to talk to you a little bit about Kate Hamilton Health online coaching.
00:28:03
Speaker
So we have two coaching options available. We have our elite coaching and we have our group coaching service. Our elite coaching service is bespoke individualized coaching, which will help you to finally break free from diet culture with one to one, anytime support from your coach and with access to a safe, supportive community.
00:28:25
Speaker
This is a higher ticket coaching option. And the coaching is by application only. If you go to my website, KateHamiltonHealth.com, you will be able to apply for elite coaching through there and we will be in touch to organize a call and to get you up and running.
00:28:40
Speaker
In relation to our group coaching, our group coaching starts on the first Monday of every month. When it's full each month, we do close the doors. With the group, coaching is about building the habits, body and energy of the healthiest version of yourself and finally make it stick.
00:28:58
Speaker
We include personalized calories and portions, food lists, recipes, meal plan ideas, step goals, home or gym based workouts, depending on what you want, changed every eight weeks.
00:29:11
Speaker
Mindset work, app access. So that's the Kate Hamilton Health app, which will be your hub for everything. Weekly yoga classes, WhatsApp group community, weekly group Q&A with myself, fun challenges, daily habits form, weekly self check in. fortnightly check-ins with your coach, a library full of lifestyle guides, a library full of lessons, seminars, and all of this is updated regularly.
00:29:37
Speaker
We have weekly group Zoom calls with myself and the team, regular guest seminars where we get experts on to talk more to you about different topics that we need experts on for.
00:29:48
Speaker
And then we have in-person events twice a year that you will get at a major discount as being a member of the Kate Hamilton Health community. So as I said, this starts the first Monday of every month. If you go to my website, KateHamiltonHealth.com, you will see when the next group coaching intake is starting for you. So we close the doors as soon as that intake is full or the Monday before the group coaching starts. So usually that last Monday of the previous month.
00:30:19
Speaker
So if you head over to Kate Hamilton Health dot com, all of that information that I've talked through is on the website. You'll be able to book your spot for the next intake there. And I will chat to you all then.
00:30:35
Speaker
It's so important during perimenopause, menopause, like, oh my gosh, strength and like strength training and jump training specifically are so beneficial. Like that's the time of your life where you're really wanting to do like the box jumps, the running, like even though it doesn't feel in alignment for what you think you should be doing, that's for longevity, that's for heart health, for bone health. Like you need to defy the odds, right? Like you're only getting closer to losing more bone density, losing muscle mass, right?
00:31:07
Speaker
Those are the things we want to preserve as long as possible because that's what brings us youth. So during that timeframe, that's what you should be majorly focused on. That's so interesting that you say about jump training.
00:31:20
Speaker
I'll ask you like to kind of elaborate a little bit more on that. So obviously, you know, that women are being recommended to yeah to lift weights and not to be afraid to lift heavy weights with good form, slow and controlled, building some muscle, using compound lifts so that we're, you know, yeah, using or we're working our core and our whole body.
00:31:38
Speaker
Quite often women can be told to stay away from things that will cause like, you know, high intensity training so that can cause spikes in cortisol. So I think sometimes women are like, oh, afraid to go and do a CrossFit class or to do, I don't know, to do different types of training that they might actually enjoy because they're terrified of spiking their cortisol, which will stop them losing body fat. And so I'd love if you just share a little bit about when you say jump training, I know you said box jumps there. What kind of things are we talking about and what yeah what is the benefits?
00:32:08
Speaker
Yeah. High intensity interval training is not only jump training, right? High intensity interval training is going from one thing to the next with short amount of rest time in between. Right. You're going through like five 10 of maybe 15 minute classes. You're thinking of like maybe your orange theory, your burn book camps, your maybe CrossFit a little bit like that's high intensity training.
00:32:28
Speaker
Jump training can be something as simple as plyometrics, right? lateral hops, bounding, rebounding on a trampoline, box jumps, right? Doing things that not necessarily are high intensity because you don't have to have that short, short, short rest time.
00:32:48
Speaker
You can do a set of eight to 10 jumps and take a two minute break if you want. Like yeah there's a difference between the two. So jump training, and Not necessarily something that can like really mess with your cortisol. And that's a, that's a whole Ted talk, you know, but, um, but jump training is like, for my example, for my clients who are maybe perimenopausal perimenopausal, I don't really worry too much about like programming, that kind of stuff for them and menopause. And maybe if they're in their sixties, I'm going to put that into their programming.
00:33:21
Speaker
Because one, if they're seeing me for fixing their leakage, I wanna make sure that they can jump and not have leakage. So gonna put those graded exposure exercises into their program. And that looks like two sets of five, two sets of 10. That's not something that's gonna spike your cortisol.
00:33:37
Speaker
Right. And that's a couple days a week. There's a difference. Right. But even if you are somebody who is like wanting to do something like that, plyometric training, like it is fantastic for muscle growth and speed and power. Like nobody trains those things unless you're doing ah CrossFit class or like Orange Theory. But there are so many variables that you're training in those high, high intensity interval training classes versus just jump training and conclusive with maybe your strength training program.
00:34:09
Speaker
There's a lot more room for gains in those aspects without like overtiring your system and really spiking cortisol and running on fumes through like a 60 minute class. So just different.
00:34:20
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think this is so refreshing to hear for everyone listening to hear that it doesn't have to be your standard boring. ah like There seems to be this culture where it's all kind of bodybuilding style training at the minute.
00:34:35
Speaker
And yeah I'm really trying to kind of bring things back towards let's train for longevity. Let's train for health. how we want to feel. and Let's train for fun as well. Let's stop.
00:34:47
Speaker
Train for whatever it is that's important to you, but let's stop training to look good. like And just because someone looks fit and toned doesn't mean they can run, doesn't mean they can jump, doesn't mean that they can deadlift any decent weight.
00:35:01
Speaker
Just looking fit it and being fit is very, very different. Yes. I've been exploring this option as well lately. and I'm not a runner either. Just like you mentioned earlier, I laughed at that. I was like, I am not a runner either, but I've been going to group training, like boxing.
00:35:15
Speaker
Like I'm like, I, well, i used to be a boxing instructor when I was in college. So was kind of, it's kind of like a full circle moment, but boxing, I'm like, I don't plan to be a boxer and I'm not boxing to look good. Like once a week is not enough to, you know, really shed some, some pounds boxing, right?
00:35:32
Speaker
I'm going for power and speed and cardiovascular training because in it, because it's fun and it's with my friends and it makes me feel good. I'm not going for aesthetics, but am I getting in way better shape than I would if I don't go to boxing?
00:35:47
Speaker
Yes, because I'm doing it for a different benefits. And I tell people that all the time. I'm like, you should still train for sport, even if you don't have a sport. If you want to run and play soccer with your kids in a field, you should be able to do that.
00:36:01
Speaker
You shouldn't have barriers preventing you from doing that. Right. So many women are like, i wish I could jump on the trampoline with my kids. I'm like, you can. You definitely can. You're just choosing not to.
00:36:12
Speaker
So there's so many barriers out there that are limiting people from being able to train for sport. I also too like to think about like, remember when we were growing up and like we played sports, like we weren't bodybuilding in the gym as like a, I mean, I think I started weights maybe like my senior year of high school, but like think about all of the things you did when you were playing sports.
00:36:35
Speaker
You ran, you did hurdles, you you did like cones on the ground, like you did jumping. Like we had training that like wasn't necessarily anything to do with like strength training.
Fun and Play in Exercise Routines
00:36:49
Speaker
And we looked good when we were, obviously we were younger, but like... okay didn't have ah all of the menstruating hormones that we do now. But like, we did different types of training.
00:37:00
Speaker
And as we grow older, I feel like we just gravitate towards the easier training. And I'm not saying trying training is easy. It's not easy. But like, it's the way that people are just like, yep, that's all you should do. And it's like,
00:37:13
Speaker
And then you just never train for speed and power ever again. And it's like, well, that's not- you're just doing it because you're ticking a box. you like, oh, I have to do it because I have to build muscle. I have to be stronger. Oh, I'm heading towards perimenopause.
00:37:24
Speaker
I have to get like, and it's it's a chore. Whereas it's like somewhere along the line, we stop playing. We stop having fun. We stop having hobbies. And I think back to and myself, I was having a conversation with someone about this in a different context recently.
00:37:37
Speaker
And it's like i gave like I gave up all my hobbies when I finished school. But when I went, yeah like I just i stopped dancing. I stopped playing piano. i stopp I just didn't have any hobbies. And I just like went out like drinking with my friends and, you know, how like swing was the new one and like catapulted into adulthood and motherhood. And then it's only in recent years that it's like taking exercise back for fun.
00:38:02
Speaker
It's a missing part for a lot of people. Yeah, and that's why I'm like, I'm gonna go box again because like I was a boxing instructor in college when I had a hobby and now I own businesses and I'm like, okay, I have no hobbies. I better pick something up. And of course it's something with fitness, you know, but it's just for fun, you know, like I don't expect to get any major goals out of it.
00:38:22
Speaker
But I like doing it. It's with my friends and it's playful. That's a great thing. Like you can be everything. So like, I to know about it in the US, I presume it's the same, but in like in Ireland, there's so many options for incorporating, getting your strength training and your cardio and your fun with your friends all in the one classes. There's loads of small group personal training classes, gym classes.
00:38:44
Speaker
There's so many different options. So even anyone listening who's like, oh, I hate classes or I hate strength lifting weights or hate... There's so many different ways to do it And there's so many different types that like when people ask me, what should I be doing?
Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Strength Training
00:38:57
Speaker
I'm always like, whatever you're going to do consistently because find something you enjoy. And if you haven't found something you enjoy yet, keep searching because you will find something. Yep, absolutely. i agree.
00:39:08
Speaker
Let's talk a little bit about some of the issues as well then. So kind of talk a little bit about leakage. And it's funny, what I was training for this run. I was talking in the gym about about the leakage that was happening. And the met or I talked to a few different people in different circumstances. I even talked about it on my stories just so you know to normalize it.
00:39:26
Speaker
But then it was like, people were saying, oh, you can get these pants that you can buy in the supermarket, you know, like basically like nappies, like just, you know, like absorbent pants. And they're like, you can get these and you put them on for your own and they're great because they'll hold up, you know. and then And I was actually to the point was like, oh, maybe I'll check them And then like, hold on a second.
00:39:46
Speaker
I don't want to have to wear those pants. I don't want to have to wear something absorbent when I go running or when I'm exercising. Like it's not normal. We should be able to change it. And so everything you've been saying has been like really helpful in relation to where to start.
00:40:02
Speaker
Would you recommend like yoga is really, really beneficial to be doing alongside whatever other sports and strength training you're doing? for pelvic floor dysfunction. I like yoga. I'm a big yoga fan. Some people are not. I love it.
00:40:16
Speaker
I don't think it's like the solution by any means for like pelvic floor issues, but it's something to incorporate within because a lot of people ah especially a lot of athletes, they're doing sports or they're doing strength training and they're not doing enough stretching mobility.
00:40:32
Speaker
So there is a good component. I feel like you should add it in because if, if whether it's a class or it's just stretching on your own, like that's a huge benefit that you're missing out on for having good pelvic floor dysfunction or not having pelvic floor dysfunction. And with the breathing that comes with it as well, I would imagine. Yeah.
00:40:48
Speaker
Really, really helpful. Yeah. There's a lot of things that I don't like about yoga and Pilates sometimes, and that just comes instructor to instructor. And that's really just cueing, right? Like if they're cueing something that is not really favorable, like a lot of times they'll cue, tuck your tailbone and like,
00:41:08
Speaker
flatten your back as much as possible onto the ground. I don't love those cues because that actually can like deter your ability to utilize your breath and your pelvic floor.
00:41:20
Speaker
So I don't love some of the cueing. I'm not a fan of tuck the tailbone because I can actually just shorten the pelvic floor muscles and it can lead to like glute gripping and pelvic floor gripping. We don't want to do that.
00:41:31
Speaker
All in all, like I love the sport itself. I just am very cautious, like with my own patients, for example, if they're going to a class, I'm like, hey, just be mindful. You have these symptoms. You know, if they tell you to tuck your tailbone, just, you know, do what I tell you, like, you know, don't do that. Like, just do it the right way kind of thing. Is that counterproductive if they do, if you're tucking your tailbone?
00:41:53
Speaker
Yes, because it shortens your glutes, your pelvic floor, all of that. It can also like disengage kind of like the transverse abdominis a little bit because now you're in a posterior pelvic tilt versus a neutral pelvis.
00:42:06
Speaker
Then if you're talking about things like, so let's, if we talk about prolapse, what is prolapse? So pelvic organ prolapse, or some people will call it like pop pelvic organ prolapse is one, if one or more of the pelvic organs. So your bladder, your bowels, your cervix, your uterus, if one of those de descends into the pelvic floor cavity.
00:42:30
Speaker
There's four stages of it. you know Stage one is like the least severe and that's usually within the cavity. It just kind of like descends a little bit all the way to stage four and that's where one of the organs can come outside of the body.
00:42:42
Speaker
So ranging of those stages, someone's is usually, someone is usually, you know, within there and with prolapse, like you can have quite a bit of symptoms, right? so you can have leakage, you can have pressure issues, feeling like something's falling out, constipation issues, pain, urgency to urinate all the time, frequency of urination.
00:43:03
Speaker
inability to like wear a tampon thing. It'll just come right out. Often the sensation that most people will complain of is pressure or heaviness. It just feels like a bowling ball is like coming out of my body.
00:43:15
Speaker
That's usually the big one. And with prolapse, there's a lot of fear around it. A lot of fear, rightfully so. It is a very, very uncomfortable sensation.
00:43:26
Speaker
It's like one of those conditions that really get somebody feeling like their body is broken more so than any other symptom in the body. Like when you have like back pain, you're not really like ashamed of it, right? Like, or if you have a shoulder injury, like there's a lot of people that are really ashamed of those things because it's just like normalized.
00:43:47
Speaker
But when you think of like pelvic organ prolapse, a lot of women have a lot of fear and shame around it. only because it's a vulnerable part of the body. And oftentimes women, it's hush hush.
00:44:00
Speaker
We don't talk about it. It's very taboo, right? And we don't speak about it. No one around us has it. So we're not going to speak up about it. And those lingering thoughts around prolapse can actually really hinder your success of getting better.
00:44:16
Speaker
Oftentimes, because the fear is so heavy, it outweighs the benefits of like doing something about it. Does make sense? It's kind of like women are so fearful of doing anything to actually get it better.
00:44:31
Speaker
They do nothing instead. Yeah. And exercise and movement and strength training is like, oh my goodness, I will shout this until the day that I die. It is the one thing that actually gets it better.
00:44:47
Speaker
It is not surgery. It is not Botox. It is not... Pesseries, those things are aids. Those things can help.
00:44:58
Speaker
But strength training, nothing will get your prolapse better than strength training. Even if you have surgery, even if you're a stage four, it's outside of the body, that's typically surgery warranted for sure because it's Your pelvic floor cannot do its job in stage four, but if you have surgery, strength training on the docket, you have to strength train to prevent it from getting worse, coming back all the above.
00:45:24
Speaker
It is one of the number one things I recommend for prolapse. Yeah. So I presume go to your doctor anyway, but then regardless what your doctor says or tells you to do or go about next or your physio or your physical therapist, strength train regardless.
00:45:41
Speaker
Yeah. Yes. Strength training. Like I just got off a patient call yesterday and she was like, My symptoms are are worse again, but she's been walking 15, she's about four months postpartum, walking 15,000 steps a day and baby wearing like three to four times a day and baby wearing while she's walking. She goes for like two to three walks a day.
00:46:03
Speaker
And she's like, my symptoms just came back. they They came back out of nowhere. They're a lot worse. And I was like, okay, not a big deal. But the problem is, is with prolapse,
00:46:15
Speaker
pressure mismanagement of doing all of the things all throughout the day. Like there's so many things that can make your symptoms feel worse. And the thing that she said that stuck out to me the most was, no, actually my exercise, cause was like, you know, is it your exercise routine? Like, or the workouts that were giving you not feeling good? Like, do you feel better? And she's like, yes, actually, like I feel the best that I do all day after i work out and do the workouts for 45 minutes to an hour.
00:46:44
Speaker
And I'm like, music to my ears, because that's so confirming that if we can get our glutes stronger, our core stronger, our entire, all the muscle groups that attach to the pelvis, if we can get those muscles stronger via strength training, it's so confirming that that can actually help your prolapse.
00:47:02
Speaker
So if you're not doing that There's not an alternative. What is the alternative, right? It's like... Yeah, surrender. The other alternative is surrender to inactivity. and Yeah. Yeah.
00:47:13
Speaker
And injury. Yeah. And then you do nothing. And then when you do nothing, there's the detriments of inactivity, sedentary lifestyle. And there's so many things that we'll go down a rabbit hole talking about with that.
00:47:28
Speaker
And then it's surgery because it's like, well, there's nothing else I can do. it's I might as well just have surgery. And then it's like, well, your surgery is not going to fix your pelvic floor muscles. so what are you going to do about those?
00:47:40
Speaker
Have to strength train. Yeah, back to strength training again. And quite often then as women as well, which I think a lot of women are not aware of. As women, we tend to be quad dominant as well.
00:47:51
Speaker
So we naturally now obviously generalizing tend to have weaker glutes and hamstrings. And yeah because we use our our quads more, so anyone who's not familiar with the muscles, that we use the front of our legs a lot more than we use the back of our legs.
00:48:06
Speaker
It's only kind of in recent years that I've really discovered how weak my glutes were. Because I work with a physical physical therapist as well, and he would be getting me too. like you'd He'd be doing different movements with me and he'd be like, right, like I want you to just use your glutes.
00:48:20
Speaker
And I'd be like, I can't remember what he had me doing, but I'd be like, okay. And he's like, no, you're using your hamstrings again. You're not using your glutes. And I didn't realize how much I actually wasn't using my glutes. And I think that going back a few years beforehand, I was having kind of knee issues with a different time I was running and it was due to weak hamstrings.
00:48:40
Speaker
So anyone who's having issues like that, not going to get better unless you actually train them. Listen, like that part you just said about the hamstrings and glutes, like...
00:48:51
Speaker
your pelvic floor muscles are tiny muscles. They can't do everything. And when you have prolapse already, like your pelvic floor muscles need a little support.
00:49:02
Speaker
Like they need a little bit more than just Kegels, right? And because your pelvic floor muscles don't work in isolation, your pelvic floor muscles work with the glutes, the hamstrings, the core, the hip flexors, your breath, your quads, like and They work together as a complex unit.
00:49:22
Speaker
And oftentimes when I'm strength training women, and never am I giving them Kegels. That's number one. I don't give Kegels at all. Because if I can strengthen their glutes and strengthen their hamstrings and their hip flexors and their core and everything else that surrounds their pelvis and their upper body,
00:49:39
Speaker
their symptoms just go away because their muscles get stronger. And those muscles, specifically like the glutes, can provide support to the pelvic floor. Also, when you're strength training everything else around the pelvis and you will understand pressure management, you don't have as much pressure going down into the pelvic organs.
00:50:00
Speaker
So your pelvic floor muscles can actually work really well. Right? Like there's actually getting good range of motion because when you're doing regular movement patterns like lunges or squats or deadlifts, your pelvic floor is moving because you go back to the basics of what we talked about at beginning, which is if you know your pelvic floor is moving and you're breathing,
00:50:20
Speaker
any exercise is a core exercise. Your breathing is going to allow your pelvic floor to move. And so now your pelvic floor can do its dang job when you're exercising. And then your glutes come in your core comes in and it's just like one big happy party for the pelvic floor because the pelvic floor can finally just be like,
00:50:37
Speaker
okay, can take a break, glutes got core's got it but and it can recover and it can do its job. Like it's so important to strength train the full body when you're dealing with and rehabbing, specifically rehabbing like a prolapse.
00:50:54
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. That's so helpful. And then just in relation to general weakness down there, it's never too late, I'd imagine. So like someone my age or older, it's never too late to fix this through getting stronger.
00:51:09
Speaker
It's never too late. It's literally never too late to strength train.
Revisiting Fundamentals and Body Interconnectedness
00:51:14
Speaker
First of all, you can strength train up until your day ah and end of your life. But if you have pelvic floor issues, specifically prolapse, the number one thing to do is strength training through the rest of your life.
00:51:26
Speaker
Like I work with women who are in their sixties and seventies, strength training them because At that age, like you don't want surgery. like Surgery is not a really good option for you. And oftentimes, you're not a good candidate for surgery, even if you did want to have surgery.
00:51:42
Speaker
And again, if you want to have surgery, great. You still have to strength train afterwards. And a lot of times women will kind of start discovering symptoms of prolapse around perimenopause, menopause, but specifically if they maybe had it earlier in life, didn't have it earlier in life.
00:51:57
Speaker
There's like ah so many different like kinds of like personas that are like the people that had no idea what the pelvic floor was until they were 50 years old, or they had an idea of what the pelvic floor when they were 25 and they had kids, but they didn't have any issues.
00:52:09
Speaker
And now the issues show up when they're 55. because they're now in menopause, right? There's so many different like types of people that discover the pelvic floor at different stages of life, but whatever stage of life you're at, like it's literally never too late to work on your pelvic floor.
00:52:25
Speaker
And I think a lot of people convince themselves and gaslight themselves out, oh, it's, I'm aging, it's what it is. Like, I'm just gonna accept it. Like, it's one of those things that You don't have to accept it. You don't have to have all these symptoms for until the day you die. You don't have to be 75 years old wearing a diaper or wearing pads.
00:52:43
Speaker
It's just up to you to start changing your life and making better decisions and lifestyle habits. And you can work on these things at any age. What does someone do like me then who has been strength training and has just noticed that things have gotten a little bit less good?
00:53:00
Speaker
that like that That's not even not not even good English, but yeah, just a little bit less good. Yeah. Back to the basics, right? Back to the tiny little stabilizer muscles, making sure that your core can activate your breathing with every exercise and or every rep really.
00:53:14
Speaker
And your pelvic floor is moving. Like I said, if you go back to the core system, those four muscle groups and you optimize your core system, there's really no reason you're going to have a lot of pelvic floor issues or risk of developing worse pelvic floor issues.
00:53:29
Speaker
Because once you manipulate this, the core gets really, really good and strong. Then you focus on maybe strengthening your glutes, strengthening your hip flexors, all of like the muscle grips around the pelvis, especially lower body.
00:53:41
Speaker
And then maybe you look at mechanics of how you're lifting, right? Like if you're in the gym and you're like, am I deadlifting correctly? Am I activating my core? when Am I losing my core at the bottom of my squats? Am I squatting too heavy? Do I not have good mind and muscle connection when I'm actually working out?
00:53:55
Speaker
And then the same thing with like running and jumping. Do you not have good mind muscle connection when you're running? Are you not paying attention to these things? Are you just like running with no idea on good running form? It's the same thing with lifting.
00:54:08
Speaker
Running should be treated the same. Jumping should be treated the same. There's there's a good and there's bad. i mean, i don't really love saying good versus bad movement. You understand what I'm saying with that? Like mind to muscle connection, and intentionality, all of those things. But movement is movement. And, you know, I'll take bad movement over no movement, of course. But...
00:54:25
Speaker
Yeah, no definitely. Yeah, no, that makes so much sense. And even yet just like and I learned this from working with a physical therapist, even just my alignment and the way. ah Yeah, like just and a lot of it.
00:54:38
Speaker
stems from postpartum, from my pelvis being tilted after having kids and, you know, like that we have, we can have all these tilts and imbalances and, you know, things that we're not even aware of.
00:54:49
Speaker
I went to him because I had like a pain in my heel and the heel pain was due to my pelvis. Oh yeah. And my really tight hip flexors and my really weak glutes.
00:55:01
Speaker
And it was like, wow. Okay. Mind blown. So it's, it's just, it's such, it's definitely worth anyone listening, going to a physical therapist anyway, and just learning these things about your body. Cause it is it's becoming more intentional with your body.
00:55:14
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And when you understand the connection of how it's all connected, that's when things really start to click. Right? Like it starts at the feet and it goes all the way up to the head.
00:55:25
Speaker
And if you think that your feet have nothing to with your pelvic floor, you're wrong. Yeah. It's amazing. And we do, we look at body parts as separate things, you know, and again, back to, um back to that bodybuilder lifestyle. It's like, oh, well, it's, we're training glutes today and we're training biceps and we're, you know, it's like everything's separate. Whereas it's like, it's actually not. We, we like in general, we're using several, several, but several parts of our body while being in different movements all the time.
00:55:53
Speaker
I tell people like the pelvis is like the grand central station of the body. So if you have anything going on at the pelvis, whether it's a tilt, whether it's like it's crooked, it's you have issues from a pregnancy and postpartum, like it's the grand central station of your body that connects lower body to upper body and trunk.
00:56:10
Speaker
If there's something going on with the pelvis, like that should be like your number one priority to fix that. Because generally whatever's going on up the chain or down the chain from the pelvis comes back to the pelvis.
Empowerment in Pelvic Health
00:56:22
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Courtney, thank you so much for coming on to me today. i really, really appreciate it. And it's been so interesting to kind to hear your perspective and and your advice.
00:56:35
Speaker
Yeah. I'm just, so i I love this stuff. I'm just like a little bit different in my philosophy and my treatment approach. And ah have to be just a little bit because the typical medical system wherever you are in the world like it's just not looking at all of these things so I'm really glad I got to share more about all of the fun things that go on in my head so no it's no it's so good and it's really empowering because quite often I think for women and for women who are getting a little bit older it can feel quite disempowering all these different things we have to look forward to as women and it's so great to i'm just always searching for the empowerment narrative in different areas yes and absolutely oh if people after listening to this would like to find you reach out to you where is the best place to do so
00:57:23
Speaker
Yeah, my Instagram is the femaleathletedoc, D-O-C at the end. And that's pretty much my handle for like all social media platforms. The best thing that I have is obviously my YouTube channel.
00:57:34
Speaker
And then the second thing is my academy, my free school group. It's kind of like a Facebook group and a Kajabi and they had a baby. There's a bunch of resources in there. There's a bunch of videos I have like... so many different like five day, two day, 14 day challenges with exercises, healthy habits, menstrual cycle, like reset your menstrual cycle. There's like so many good women health things inside of that group that I would love for everybody to take advantage of. Like there's a lot of time and energy that gets put into that. So I'm using, I'm using,
00:58:07
Speaker
I'll give you the link, but it's called the Pelvic Wellness Academy on school. S-K-O-O-L. Pelvic Wellness academy Academy. We will put these details into the show notes anyway, so people can check it out. And, you know, I'm familiar with school. It's actually a really great app. Yeah. Great resource. left Thank you so much. Of course. Thank you. thank
00:58:31
Speaker
just want to say Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. It really does mean so much to me that there are people out there listening to what I have to say and to the conversations that I'm having with others. So thank you so much.
00:58:42
Speaker
If you are enjoying the podcast, could you please make sure that you are subscribed? And if not, if you could hit that subscribe button, it really does make that much of a difference. Also, if you would like to leave a review on any of the episodes that you listen to that you particularly enjoy, i would love to hear what you have to say.
00:58:59
Speaker
And also, if there's an episode that you've enjoyed, please do share it on your social media, in your WhatsApp groups, with your friends. If you're sharing it on your stories, please tag myself in it. And whoever I'm interviewing, this it would be greatly appreciated.
00:59:13
Speaker
Also, if you're interested in working with me and my wonderful team, please do you contact me about applying for coaching. So you can contact me at Kate Hamilton Health at gmail.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all Kate Hamilton Health.
00:59:29
Speaker
and you will be able to comp apply for coaching. We can organise to have a chat and see if it's a good fit for you and get you moving towards goals.