Thirty sesións.
Twelve minutes each.
A cylinder that holds.
Five phases, 180 different movements, no repeats — from finding the breath and the pelvic floor to heavy lifting and a tested return to running. Written for leaking, postnatal recovery, abdominal separation and general trunk strength. For women and men, including after prostate surgery.
Before you start
See a clinician before continuing with any of these: a feeling of heaviness, dragging or a bulge; new or worsening leaking of urine or bowels; pain on penetration or difficulty using a tampon; blood in the urine, pain passing urine or fever; after birth — heavy or increasing bleeding, fever, or a wound that is hot, swollen or leaking. And go to hospital today if bladder or bowel changes come with back pain and numbness in the groin, buttocks or inner thighs.
Postnatal: not before your six-week check, however well you feel. After that, start at sesión 1 whatever week you are at — whether that is week seven or year seven.
Leaking is common, not normal. It affects a large share of women and a meaningful share of men, and pelvic floor training is the first-line treatment with strong evidence behind it. It is treatable at any age.
The release matters as much as the squeeze. A floor held tight all day becomes overactive, sore and weak. If you have pain on penetration, difficulty with tampons, or a floor that never lets go, more squeezing makes it worse — Fase 1 has specific release work, and a pelvic health physiotherapist is the right next step.
Never hold your breath. Every lift in this programme is done with an out-breath. Pressure leaves upward through the breath or downward through the floor — you choose which.
Sesión 24 is a gate, not a workout. Six tests decide whether running starts: single-leg balance, single-leg squats, bridges, calf raises, a minute of jogging and ten hops each leg — all symptom-free. Guidelines put that no earlier than about twelve weeks after birth.
Kit: a chair, a wall, a step, a towel, a ball or pillow, and a loaded backpack or two water jugs.