Is it normal to leak when lifting weights?

It is common, but it is not something you have to live with. See your GP, who can refer you to a pelvic health physiotherapist.

Can strength training help my pelvic floor?

Pelvic floor muscle training is what NICE recommends for the pelvic floor itself. Do it alongside your other strength work.

Strength training and your pelvic floor

Updated 29 October 2026

Pelvic floor training belongs in any strength plan for women. NICE recommends pelvic floor muscle training for women of all ages and encourages keeping it up for life. If you leak, or feel heaviness or a bulge, when you lift, cough or jump, see your GP. You can be referred to a pelvic health physiotherapist, who can tailor your training.

What the guidance says

NICE guideline NG210 recommends encouraging women of all ages to do pelvic floor muscle training to lower the risk of pelvic floor symptoms, and to keep doing it through life.
NICE also says that programmes for women with symptoms should be supervised by a physiotherapist or another trained professional and tailored to the woman.
The NHS advice for a weak bladder includes daily pelvic floor exercises.

We could not find good evidence on exactly which lifts are safe for whose pelvic floor, so we do not give a list. A pelvic health physiotherapist can look at your own body and plan.

Putting the two together

Learn the squeeze
Sitting comfortably, squeeze as if stopping wind and urine at the same time, then relax. Do not hold your breath or squeeze your bottom.
Practise daily
Short sets of slow holds and quick squeezes, most days, is the usual pattern in NHS advice.
Start strength work at a level with no symptoms
Choose loads and moves that do not cause leaking or heaviness, and build up from there.
Get help if symptoms appear
Leaking or heaviness with exercise is common and treatable. It is a reason to see your GP, not to stop moving.

Our home strength test uses low-impact moves. Stop any test that brings on symptoms.

Know your starting point: work out your daily protein with the protein calculator and check your strength with the home strength test.

Questions people also ask

Is it normal to leak when lifting weights?: It is common, but it is not something you have to live with. See your GP, who can refer you to a pelvic health physiotherapist.
Can strength training help my pelvic floor?: Pelvic floor muscle training is what NICE recommends for the pelvic floor itself. Do it alongside your other strength work.

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Sources

Ojafi gives general food and exercise guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose or treat any condition. See our medical disclaimer.