Pelvic floor muscles are essential for far more than sexual health—they impact bladder control, bowel function, balance, and even longevity. Pelvic floor health affects every body on a daily basis, and it's time we actually talk about it.

In this bonus episode of Salad With a Side of Fries, Jenn Trepeck chats with Liz Miracle, a board-certified women's health physical therapist and co-creator of kGoal, the first smart pelvic floor trainer. They discuss everything from properly performed Kegel exercises to the surprising connection between pelvic floor strength and whole-body wellness, including relief from urinary incontinence  and constipation, and improved core stability for every body—not just women. Learn why these muscles deserve as much attention as any other muscle group in your body and how proper training can prevent falls, improve athletic performance, and enhance quality of life.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why Pelvic Floor Exercises aren't just about preventing leaks—they're connected to constipation relief, balance and stability, athletic performance, and even longevity and aging independently

✅ The difference between tight-and-weak versus loose-and-weak pelvic floor muscles, and why relaxation training matters just as much as muscle strengthening for issues like painful sex and bowel movement issues

✅ How to use smart kGoal trainer technology with biofeedback games to ensure you're doing Kegel Exercises properly—including which muscles to actually engage (hint: most people are doing it wrong!)

✅ The surprising lifestyle factors affecting your pelvic floor health, from carbonated water and bladder control to posture, stress, and why hovering over public toilets is sabotaging your progress

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.

TIMESTAMPS:  

00:00 Introduction to pelvic floor health and why kGoal exercises matter for more than sexual wellness

02:43 Signs you need pelvic floor strengthening: urinary incontinence, gas leakage, heaviness, and pelvic organ prolapse

04:02 How pelvic floor dysfunction affects men through erectile dysfunction and nerve compression

05:32 The kGoal smart Kegel trainer device: insertable and sit-upon versions for all ages, including pediatric use for constipation relief

08:02 Understanding tight-and-weak versus loose-and-weak pelvic floor muscles and why relaxation matters as much as contraction

12:32 kGoal device features explained: Bluetooth connectivity, biofeedback games, and how the app provides muscle strengthening through interactive play

17:24 kGoal games for different conditions: relaxation exercises for tight pelvic floors, moving target and pinball for bladder control training

23:09 Real-world impact: CrossFit athlete improves max lift significantly after learning proper core strengthening and pelvic floor activation

25:25 Longevity and aging: how pelvic floor weakness correlates with falls, nursing home admission, and maintaining independence

30:37 Lifestyle factors affecting pelvic health: carbonated water as a bladder irritant, squatty potty benefits, and avoiding hovering over toilets

35:35 Why doctors don’t talk about pelvic floor health

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

💎 Pelvic floor muscles support your bladder, uterus, and rectum while also functioning as a sump pump for circulation—meaning proper Kegel exercises can reduce swelling after surgery or childbirth, not just prevent leaks

💎 Most people squeeze the wrong muscles during pelvic floor exercises—you need to engage the superficial urethral sphincter (like putting your thumb over a hose), not just the deeper rectal muscles, which is why biofeedback devices provide crucial mind-body connection training

💎 Pelvic floor therapy addresses both tightness and looseness through down-training and relaxation techniques—if your muscles are too tight and weak, more contracting makes the problem worse, which is why learning to relax comes first

💎 Simple lifestyle changes support pelvic floor health: elevate feet during bowel movements with a squatty potty, avoid hovering over toilets, limit carbonated water to reduce bladder irritation, and manage stress since tension directly impacts muscle relaxation techniques

ABOUT THE GUEST: 

Liz Miracle is a board-certified women's health clinical specialist and physical therapist with 19 years of experience in pelvic floor physical therapy.  Liz helped co-create the first bright pelvic floor exerciser, kGoal.  She is currently Head of Clinical Quality and Education at Origin, the leading provider of pelvic floor and whole-body physical therapy for women, and an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco's PT program.  

RESOURCES: 

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About Uncomplicating Wellness

Text ‘Book’ to 833-801-0500

GUEST RESOURCES: 

Liz Miracle, MSPT, WCS - LinkedIn

Liz Miracle - Instagram

kGoal™ (@kgoal_world) · San Francisco, CA

kGoal - Website

Code TREPECK for 10% OFF

QUOTES: 

08:06 "Anytime we hear a conversation about pelvic floor or kegels, it's contraction. We also need to strengthen or exercise that relaxation piece." - Jenn Trepeck

34:42 "Think of it as an activity. Even with the exercise and the enjoyment and finding and doing it regularly to see the benefits so that we are doing both the strengthening and control." - Jenn Trepeck

35:28 "It is quality of life every single day when it comes to elimination of any kind and the activities and all of these other pieces." - Jenn Trepeck

37:50 "It is independence in our healthcare. It is knowing our own normal so that we know when something is off or different." - Jenn Trepeck

09:06 "If you have something that's too tight and weak and you go and contract it more and more, you're just adding to the problem." - Liz Miracle

25:19 "Pelvic floor health does have an impact for women on their longevity and their ability to live independently longer." - Liz Miracle

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