This episode gave me a cue called "the vaginal elevator."

It also gave me insight on how the pelvic therapy and performance worlds don't have to be at odds.

Dr. Sophia Veiras dropped more usable pelvic floor and lifting knowledge in an hour than a lot of us get in a whole con-ed weekend. She'd know. She sat through those weekends, spent her $1500, and not one of them talked about what happens when there's 300 pounds on your back.

Sophia is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, pelvic therapist, powerlifting coach, Barbell Rehab educator, and repeat national-champion powerlifter who came back to compete a year after having her son.

We talked belts, bracing, the fact that a little leakage while you're learning is okay, and how coaches and pelvic PTs can work together instead of past each other.

We cover:

• Why the cues for lifting belts is a time-and-place decision, and how to tell when it fits the athlete in front of you
• The Spider-Man rule of intra-abdominal pressure: more pressure means more responsibility for the pelvic floor to handle it
• Why a real brace is 360 degrees and full-body, not "abs," and the four players in the canister
• Valsalva vs. bearing down, and cues to actually feel the difference (yes, the vaginal elevator and the vending machine claw)
• Sophia's first move when a lifter leaks
• The modifiable levers most people skip with lifter pelvic floor issues
• Why "a little bit of pee" can be part of the learning process, and where the line is
• The underloading problem in rehab, on both the ortho and the pelvic side
• When to keep coaching it and when to refer out, plus the one screening question every ortho clinician should ask
• Pelvic floor issues in men, masters athletes, and post-prostatectomy
• Training and competing through pregnancy and postpartum, with a one-year-old refereeing your bench

Pop it on for the drive. You'll laugh, and you'll leave smarter.

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Follow Sophia: @soph.squats

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