{"id":547298,"date":"2026-07-18T07:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/547298\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T07:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:28:15","slug":"i-stopped-training-around-my-pelvic-floor-dysfunction-and-started-training-for-it-a-40-year-old-doctor-of-physical-therapy-and-mom-of-three-shares-her-typical-weekly-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/547298\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI stopped training around my pelvic floor dysfunction and started training for it\u201d\u2014a 40-year-old doctor of physical therapy and mom-of-three shares her typical weekly workout routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Caroline Packard<\/a> is a doctor of physical therapy with more than 15 years of clinical experience and a specialism in pelvic floor health.<\/p>\n

A certified yoga instructor and lifelong athlete, it\u2019s a topic she cares passionately about, having gone from patient to pelvic floor advocate since the birth of her first child.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where my own story started, with leaking and prolapse after my first pregnancy,\u201d the mother-of-three tells Fit&Well.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From<\/p>\n

Stress incontinence and prolapse are often a consequence of pelvic floor dysfunction, when the supportive muscles and ligaments spanning the base of the pelvis become too weak, tight or uncoordinated.<\/p>\n

These symptoms can occur after pregnancy and in the postpartum years, she explains, \u201cwhen your body is managing huge changes in load and pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

However, pelvic floor dysfunction can also affect women during perimenopause and menopause<\/a> too, as tissue and hormones shift, as well as men recovering from prostate surgery.<\/p>\n

It can also affect younger men, accompanied by side-effects that are \u201cless talked about\u201d, such as urinary urgency, erectile dysfunction and pelvic pain.<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The loss of pelvic floor function] is not just an aging issue. Heavier lifting demands can play a role at any age,\u201d she says, and symptoms can be exacerbated by exercise.<\/p>\n

For Packard, that resulted in the workouts she had long relied on to manage stress suddenly \u201cmaking everything worse\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rejecting surgery, the young mother discovered a kinder solution through advanced pelvic floor rehabilitation techniques combined with strength training, yoga and breathwork.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u201cI stopped training around my pelvic floor dysfunction and started training for it\u2014and that shift changed everything,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Having navigated her own experience, Packard went on to build Connect Pelvic Floor Fitness<\/a> to help women understand the root cause of their pelvic floor symptoms and how to manage them with exercise.<\/p>\n

Caroline Packard\u2019s weekly workout routine <\/p>\n

Today, Packard tends to work out six days a week, with each session lasting between 30 minutes and an hour. She integrates exercises that rebuild and maintain pelvic floor function with activities she\u2019s always loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a pelvic floor physical therapist and someone who lives with dysfunction myself, I don\u2019t just treat this condition, I train with it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery workout I program for myself is intentional: built around optimizing strength, stability and rotation as an integrated system, not isolating muscles or avoiding the hard stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, she\u2019s able to manage symptoms while continuing to run, practice yoga and keep up with her three young children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 40, a mom of three, a triathlete and a runner. My week is full. So the way I train has to work\u2014not just for my fitness goals but for my body to function well long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday
Lower-body unilateral strength, involving single-leg squats with hip stability and glute loading to directly support pelvic floor function.<\/p>\n

Tuesday
30-45min run at an easy to moderate effort. \u201cRunning isn\u2019t separate from my pelvic floor training, it\u2019s an expression of it,\u201d says Packard.<\/p>\n

Wednesday
Upper-body unilateral strength, complementing Monday\u2019s workout, and keeping the ribcage moving.<\/p>\n

Thursday
30-60min run or active recovery with walking or yoga, depending on how her body feels. \u201cRecovery is training too,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Friday
A third unilateral session targeting the lower-body hinge pattern, adding in lateral and rotational loading, which Packard says most programs skip entirely.<\/p>\n

Saturday
Final strength day of the week built around upper-body overhead pressing. \u201cBy now my body knows what to do, so these sessions feel strong, efficient and purposeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday
Rest. Something Packard describes as non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

Caroline Packard\u2019s advice on how to build your own pelvic floor plan1. Pick two days a week to exercise and never skip them<\/p>\n

Whether managing symptoms or looking to maintain pelvic floor function to head them off, Packard recommends committing to two exercise days a week to build consistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cChoose two days you will absolutely not miss\u2014no matter what\u2014and anchor your week around those,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsistency will always beat optimization. The perfect program you skip is worthless. The imperfect one you show up for every week? That\u2019s the one that changes your body.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Train unilaterally before you go heavy bilaterally<\/p>\n

We often perform exercises that work both sides of our bodies at the same time, like squats and overhead presses, then progress to single-side work.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the wrong way round, according to Packard.<\/p>\n

\u201cSingle-leg and single-arm work reveal imbalances that lead to injury, leaking, prolapse symptoms and pain,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Unilateral exercises are \u201cmore functional than almost anything else you can do\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your goal is a body that performs and functions well, unilateral training is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Stop training your core separately<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t think of your abs as an afterthought.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery strength session is a core session when you’re breathing correctly and loading with intention,\u201d she says, pointing to a three-minute breathing drill<\/a> she uses to restore good pelvic floor foundations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the root-cause approach\u2014and it\u2019s exactly why isolation abs work isn\u2019t in my program,\u201d adds Packard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation. Neither should your training.\u201d<\/p>\n