HOW LONG TO HOLD?? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Our pelvic floor muscle is like any other muscle in the body, it is made up of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers. Both types of muscles fibers need to be trained and strengthened through different types of PF lifts.

We need our fast twitch functioning optimally for our short, sharp contractions (i.e. think ‘the knack’ from last weeks WHW) when we sneeze or cough and then our slow twitch fibers of the PF for our more endurance based exercise/exertion activities.

So how do we strengthen both?

1. FAST TWITCH

- Think fast, strong 100% contractions that hold for 1-2 secs

- Fully release between each contraction

- Start with 5 - 10 contractions and gradually build in sets as you get stronger

- Timing is important here, as discussed last week in the knack, we need to be able to turn our PF on just before a sudden cough or laugh so we need to be able to turn it on quickly and sharply!

2. SLOW TWITCH

- Think slower, longer contractions

- You can practice your contractions at different levels/intensities Level 1 - 25%, Level 2 - 50%, Level 3 - 75% and level 4 - 100%

- Due to the need for longer holds, holding for a long time at 100% will be very challenging hence why levels are important for your ST PF fibers

- Think of your slow twitch fibers just like a marathon runner, who doesn’t sprint but paces themselves through a race so they can last the distance.

Once you have a good foundation of strength, there are progressions such as increasing length/reps/sets, incorporating some variety such as pulses, waves and even mini weights you can get to use for your pelvic floor. The options are endlessI

These are general guidelines only, we ALWAYS recommend seeing a specialist women’s health physio who can give you a specific strengthening program tailored to your individual needs, based on a full assessment of your pelvic floor function.

Happy activating!! 👊🏽

B R E A T H 🌬💨

How important are our breathing patterns in relation to our pelvic floor and core health?

SUPER important!! A lot of us have a natural reaction to hold our breath when we are doing something that challenges and exerts us such as jumping, lifting weights, holding planks etc And often we do it without even realising it!!

Holding your breath creates what we call intra abdominal pressure, which in turn puts stress on your pelvic floor (bearing down) and core (pushing out and doming 🔺 through the linea alba). Years of repetitive breath holds with exertion can add up to a lot of stress through our PF and core whether you’ve been pregnant or not!!

Focus on breathing out during the exertion phase of a challenging action to help you to decrease that intra abdominal pressure to help protect your PF and core. For longer isometric holds (e.g. planks) focus on normal breath as you hold.

Happy breathing!! 💨💨💨