Why You Pee During Box Jumps (and What to Do About It)
- Morgan Meese
- Mar 27
- 4 min read
Let’s talk about something a lot of athletes deal with… but almost no one talks about:
Leaking during workouts.
Specifically? That fun little surprise pee during box jumps, double unders, or anything high impact. You hit the jump. You land. And suddenly… your underwear’s not so dry anymore.
First off — I want you to know: you are not broken and you’re definitely not alone. It’s one of the most common pelvic floor symptoms I see in my practice, especially in active women who lift, jump, run, and participate in CrossFit. But just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal. And the good news? There are ways to fix it.
Why Is This Happening?
When you’re jumping — especially something explosive like a box jump — there’s a lot of force going through your body. That pressure has to go somewhere and during something like a box jump, that pressure is going to go downward. If your pelvic floor isn’t coordinating well with your core and breath… guess where the pressure ends up? Right on your bladder.
Leaking is often a sign that your pelvic floor and core aren’t managing that pressure well. It could be because your pelvic floor is too tight, too weak, or just not timing its contractions properly with movement. Unless you're a trained professional in this body region, it's going to be almost impossible for you tell determine on your own what your main issue(s) is. This is probably a sign that you need to seek out help.
To learn more about the signs you may need to see a pelvic health physical therapist, read the blog post here.
What You Don’t Need to Do
You do not need to stop doing box jumps forever. So don't panic! You may need to curb them for a little bit while you work on things though.
You also don’t need to “just do more Kegels” and hope it goes away. Hot take: Kegels aren’t always the answer — especially if your pelvic floor is tight or overactive. In some cases, they can actually make things worse. So if you happen to reach out to a provider for help and the first recommendation they have is for you to do Kegels... run. There's so much more that comes into play when addressing this body region and this specific problem of leaking. Will Kegels be in the lineup sometime? Probably. But they are not the end all be all to solving pelvic health related issues and probably won't be the first thing you start with on your journey to recovery.
To touch more on this subject, I've written an entire blog post about it. You can find it here.
So What Can You Do?
If you’re leaking during box jumps, here are a few things to start with:
Check your breath: Are you holding your breath when you jump or land? Try exhaling during the takeoff and landing to help manage pressure. Incorporating your breath into each movement can be game-changing.
Try a modification: Step-ups, lower box height, or even jumping onto a plate instead of a box are great ways to keep moving while you retrain your system. It won't be like this forever, but it's important you meet your body where it's at as to not worsen your symptoms.
Focus on timing: Practicing connection breath work (breathing with a gentle pelvic floor contraction) outside the gym can help your brain and body sync things up better. Just like any other skill, this connection takes time and effort.
See a pelvic floor PT: A pelvic health physical therapist (like me!) can help assess your pressure strategy, muscle coordination, and movement patterns — and help you get back to jumping without symptoms. To be completely honest, if you are experiencing symptoms at all, seeing a pelvic health professional would be where I suggest you start first!
What Progress Actually Looks Like
Addressing pelvic floor dysfunction, just like any other issue, takes time. There's no quick fix and I always tell my clients that there's no way to "cure" their problem in one session. Progress with pelvic floor symptoms is usually gradual, and that’s totally normal.
The important thing is that you do start to see progress. This can show up in various ways and maybe not always in the way you want it to at first. You might start by experiencing leaking less often, or only at the end of a workout instead of the beginning. Maybe you can do three rounds of box jumps before symptoms show up — instead of leaking on the first rep. This is progress.
Over time, your brain-body connection with your pelvic floor improves, your pressure management gets better, and the coordination of your pelvic floor muscles starts to become second nature to any movement you do. Before you know it, you're back to doing box jumps, and any other high impact movement, without leaking at all.
And for a little bit of proof that things will get better, check out Lauren's story at the blog post here.
The Bottom Line
Peeing your pants during workouts, especially high impact activities like CrossFit is incredibly common. But althought common, it's not normal and it you don't have to live with this frustrating issue.
With the right tools and a little strategy, you can jump, lift, and move confidently again.
So if you’re tired of wearing dark shorts “just in case,” or skipping movements in the WOD that you used to love… it might be time to get some support. And if you’re in the CrossFit world and want to work with someone who gets it, I got you. Ready to stop leaking and start lifting confidently again, book a consult here!
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