How I Stopped Peeing When I Squat

A Physical Therapist's Journey Fixing Stress Urinary Incontinence

I never had an issue peeing when lifting, until one back injury changed it all.

It was 2022.

I had been doing CrossFit for almost 3 years.

I had never worried about peeing with heavy lifts.

Now, I don’t trust a heavy squat without a pad.

Here’s what happened:

We were in the middle of a CrossFit competition when our team plan fell apart. The event had one athlete swimming while the other two did squats and thrusters with the Worm (if you know, you know).

I swam in college, and my teammates had no swimming experience, so it only made sense that I’d do all the swimming while they did all the work on the Worm. So in training, I never touched the Worm or practiced it with my teammates.

But as it happens in SO many competitions, the plan fell apart as fatigue from the day set in.

My team was GASSED getting through their reps while I was rested and waiting in the water, so of course I got out to help. But if you know the Worm, you know it’s unforgiving and MUST be practiced to get the timing down with your teammate, and I ended up tweaking my back pretty bad.

(Important context for this next piece of the story: it was after this competition I switched to powerlifting. Not because of this injury or because CrossFit is “too dangerous,” I actually still really enjoy CrossFit style workouts. But because I enjoy powerlifting MORE. These short arms were built to bench press!!)

This back injury set off a whole host of pelvic floor and bracing issues for me. Suddenly I was peeing with squats and getting dizzy with deadlifts when I never struggled with that before.

This injury is the reason I pursued pelvic floor certifications, and why I always consider the pelvic floor and brace with my back pain clients.

And what I learned with those courses WORKED. I learned what was wrong in my brace and how my pelvic floor wasn’t engaging correctly, then learned drills to fix it. For the first time in over a year I was able to go through a squat day without a pad!

And then I got lazy with it. (physical therapists, we’re just like you!!)

I stopped doing my drills. I was training for competitions. Pelvic floor and brace strengthening variations got put on the back burner while comp lifts took center stage.

Despite helping many of my clients with their pelvic floor and brace, I hadn’t worked on my own in probably 2 years.

And it showed, I was peeing more than ever.

Usually, I struggle most with endurance, so volume tends to be the biggest problem for my pelvic floor and I usually have no issue at meets. My most recent meet in Sept 2026, it had gotten so bad that I overflowed my pad on squats and deadlifts.

I knew I had to take a step back and change my training.

So here’s EXACTLY what I did:

No lifting belt, no knee sleeves on anything

Week 1-3:

Anderson Squats

Farmers Carries

Sandbag Over Shoulder

KB Swing

Week 4:

Anderson Squats

Farmers Carries

Sandbag Over Shoulder

KB Swing

Zercher Squats

Week 5-6:

SSB Squats

Farmers Carries

Sandbag Over Shoulder

KB Swing

Zercher Squats

Week 1: I wore a pad, I was leaking a little and REALLY had to move slow to stay locked in on my brace and pelvic floor

Week 2: wore a pad, leaked a little less, less focus needed but still moving slower out of caution

Week 3: wore a pad, but no leaking!!! Still moving slightly slower for intentionality

Week 4: wore a pad, no leaking, moving quick and Anderson squats felt like they weren’t challenging to the pelvic floor anymore (I had originally planned a full 6 weeks with them, but switched to SSB after this week)

Week 5: no pad, no leaking, but moved a little slower on the SSB squats since it was a new variation

Week 6: still no pad and no leaking, moving quicker and able to challenge myself with heavier weights

Does this mean I’m “fixed”? NO. This week I add back my lifting belt, which will test my pelvic floor under HIGHER intra-abdominal pressure. I will probably wear a “just in case” pad, because this is where it will get more challenging again.

Will this exact plan work for you? Maybe! It really depends so much on what your issue is and where you’re struggling. Think about it this way, when has saving random programs and exercises ACTUALLY helped the issue?

(Shameless plug- I’m hosting a live, virtual workshop where we’ll discuss exactly this. I’ll help you figure out where we’re struggling and give you drills to help. Nov 4th, 7pm, click here for the link!)

Once you master pelvic floor bracing, with a belt, does that mean you’ll never leak again? I think the lesson from this story is that it WILL be something you need to continue training. Much like if you stop training your back, your back will get weak and more prone to injury; your pelvic floor will do the same thing. BUT. If you keep up your training, it will certainly help!

My one caveat here is: You will always have a weakest link. If that weakest link is your pelvic floor, you will continue to break down at your pelvic floor with high fatigue and 1RMs. THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT’S NOT WORKING.

If your triceps were your weakest link, and you ALWAYS fail your bench 3in off the chest, would you say “oh well that’s not working, I might as well just stop training my triceps”? NO. So why would you treat your pelvic floor any differently??

If you’re struggling with your pelvic floor and brace and choosing to neglect it, you’re choosing to have a weaker brace and leaving kilos off your PRs. It’s something you can help, and you can do it WITH your training. You just need to have some guidance from someone who understands the demands of heavy lifting and how they affect your brace and pelvic floor.

And if you’re ready for a little help here? Let’s chat! I’d love to help you!!