Thirty sessions.
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 session 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 — Phase 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.

Session 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.

Phase 1Find and feel

AFind the breath. Find the floor. Let both go.Six drills that connect the breath to the pelvic floor and teach the full release — which matters as much as the squeeze. BQuick. Slow. Then completely let go.Both fibre types trained — fast flicks and long holds — with a dedicated release drill between them. CSitting. Kneeling. Squatting.The same skill in every position — and the deep squat that teaches a tight floor to let go. DStanding up. Where it matters. And it is harder.The pelvic floor works hardest upright — so the training moves there, alongside the first hip work. EHips on. Floor on. Breath moving.Hip strength shares the load with the pelvic floor — so the two are trained in the same session. FSix sessions in. Time the hold. Check the midline.Phase 1 check-in: the two pelvic floor tests, the abdominal separation check and the first balance measure.

Phase 2Coordinate

GThe knack. Tighten first. Then cough.Phase 2 opens with the single most useful habit in this programme — and it takes ten seconds to learn. HPressure goes somewhere. You decide where.Matching the breath to the load — the skill that keeps pressure going up and out rather than down. IWatch the midline. No ridge. No dome.Progressing trunk work while checking the belly on every rep — the signal that tells you the load is right. JFlick under load. Hold while moving. Both at once.The pelvic floor trained while something else is happening — which is how it is actually used. KPrepare for impact. Long before you jump.Calves, legs and carries — the strength that impact will later be built on. LTwelve in. The knack works. The midline holds.Phase 2 check-in: the knack tested properly, the floor retested and the midline rechecked.

Phase 3Build the core

MResist movement. Do not create it. That is the job.Phase 3 opens on the trunk's real work — holding still while everything else moves. NResist the twist. Load the hips. Keep the breath.Anti-rotation and posterior chain — the two things a strong trunk needs behind it. OLonger levers. Not more reps. That is progression.Progressing by lengthening the lever — the most precise way to raise trunk demand. PCarry it. Hold the line. Keep breathing.Loaded carries and anti-rotation holds — the trunk trained upright, the way life uses it. QOn the floor. On the hands. Everything working.Crawling, hollow work and the hardest side-line holds in the programme. REighteen in. Hold longer. Still no dome.Phase 3 check-in: the plank family timed, the midline rechecked and the carry retested.

Phase 4Load and prepare

SStrength is what makes impact safe.Phase 4 opens on real load — the entry ticket to the running phase, and the thing that makes it hold. THeavier hips. Longer steps. Overhead too.The heaviest hip loading of the programme, plus pressing overhead — the real pressure test. UUnder real load. Check the floor. Every set.Heavy work with a deliberate pelvic floor check built into it — the habit that keeps this safe. VMove it faster. Same control. Same breath.Speed added to the concentric — the last thing before impact, and the first test of whether control holds. WEverything heavy. Everything clean. One session.The heaviest session of phase four — and the rehearsal of the tests that come next. XThe gate. Six tests. All or wait.Not a workout — the return-to-impact criteria. Pass all six without symptoms and phase five opens. Any fail means repeat phase four.

Phase 5Return to impact

YWalk. March. Then jog.Phase 5 opens with the smallest possible impact, built up in steps you can repeat. ZA minute at a time. Then two. Then five.Building running volume in small steps, with the form drills that make each step cheaper. AARun and walk. Then run more. Alternate days.The run-walk progression, with lateral impact and stairs added — the loads real running includes. ABUnder fatigue. The floor still holds. That is the test.Everything already built, done tired — because that is when symptoms actually appear. ACFull session. Full load. Full control.The hardest session: heavy lifting, real impact volume and the trunk still holding at the end. ADThirty sessions. Every number. Written down.Graduation: the pelvic floor tests, the midline, the trunk, and the running readiness — all measured against where you started.