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.

___________

Follow Sophia: @soph.squats

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Let's work together! Book a call here.

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Struggling with your own exercise consistency? Get the Consistency Catalyst here

Trigger warning: This episode discusses disordered eating, body image, and anxiety.

My old bodybuilding coach called me a pig.

I emailed him after the 4th or 5th binge. First year of PT school. The most anxiety I'd ever had in my life up to that point. I was stuck in a cycle I couldn't break and I reached out for help.

That email is what came back.

It's also one of the two or three reasons I became the coach I am today.

Nobody asked me why I wanted to bodybuild in the first place. They probably should have. Instead, what I got was blame and shame piled onto someone who was already flagellating himself daily.

This episode is about that email, what it cost me, and what I've come to believe any good coaching relationship is built on.

In this solo episode, I get into:

• Why shame fails every single time to create lasting change, and why that's especially true for high-achieving perfectionists
• What my coach should have asked when we started working together, and what it cost when he never did
• What a year's worth of client responses says about what changes people most, and why constant communication ranked above everything else
• What trust, relationship, and communication look like when they're done right
• What I need you to know if you've had a toxic or damaging coaching relationship and you're still carrying it

You didn't fail your coach. Your coach failed you.

And that's not a reason to stop yourself from having hope and reaching out for help again, my friend.

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1

Dr. Kate Sneddon didn't choose to be diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at age 2.

But she did choose to be a college athlete, run a half marathon while coughing up blood at 19, become a PT, build a practice, and dedicate her career to helping ACLers come back better than before.

Kate's one of my favorite people, and not just because she's a sharp clinician with quick wit and a Long Island accent. There's something you notice when someone's been through the wringer and uses it as fuel to help others. Kate's that kind of person.

In this episode we get into:

• What it actually looks like to grow up with a chronic illness that nobody talks about, and what that taught her about showing up when your body isn't cooperating
• Why she chose ACLers, and the parallel between her CF journey and what her athletes go through
• Why criteria beats the calendar every time in ACL rehab
• The 55% stat we don't talk about enough for ACLers, and what's actually behind it
• The emotional toll of your ACL patient getting reinjured
• The dope-ass testing network she's building so no other ACLer gets failed by a clinic that doesn't know how to test them
• And what to say to yourself when you're in the worst season of your life

If you work with ACLers, make this your next listen or Kate and I won't be mad...we'll just be disappointed.

If you're going through something that's rocking your sense of who you are, Kate's got a word for you too.

Find Kate:
Instagram: @heliosaclproject | TikTok: @heliosaclproject | YouTube: Helios ACL Project

Links:

Book a free consult call with me: https://calendly.com/unbreakablestrengthonline/firestarter-call-1

Trying to get consistent with your own training? Get a free copy of the Consistency Catalyst guide: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/cac1abf5af

Wanna be more confident working with athletes in your practice? Get a free copy of the Confident Sports Clinician's Checklist: https://unbreakablestrength.kit.com/35c376acac

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.unbreakable/

Follow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jared.unbreakable

Follow me on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unbreakablestrength1