Finally Fearless with Dr. Mel

Ever feel like you've tried everything under the sun when it comes to "closing the gap" of your diastasis recti, reducing your leaking during workouts, or just getting stronger? Today we are talking about things to consider when we've tried so many things to help with our fitness/conditioning and not much to write home about. Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navig...

There's a myth going around that lifting weights is dangerous for your pelvic floor. The truth is, you're essentially lifting every day of your life: your kids, your dog, your latest Costco haul. And guess what? Your core and pelvic floor are absolutely involved in that conversation as they play essential roles in ANYTHING you lift: whether that be in the gym or in your life. So why aren&#...

You've decided to stop shrinking your body and using this as the sole outcome measure of whether your exercise program is working for you. But now that you're not focusing on losing weight, how do you know whether you're doing the "right" kind of workout for your body? How do you know if it's effective? If it's helping you reach your strength, mobility, endurance, and...

I stepped out of my comfort zone last weekend and attended a workshop where we learned how to discover joy in our lives. It's wild (and sad) to me that so many of us are walking around, going through the motions of our lives without actually realizing what joy means to us. Today's conversation touches on different ways joy can show up in our lives: ways that we might not even realize. But...

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the best piece of fitness advice I have for you: today we are talking about the best piece of pelvic floor advice I have for you when it comes to strengthening your pelvic floor. And you'll be surprised at how closely the 2 are related! Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left feeling dismissed and unheard, our con...

It's absolutely wild to me that people get offended when someone calls a penis or vagina by their "actual" anatomical names. Beyond the embarrassment that's apparent here, today we will dig a little deeper in realizing how the ways in which we talk about our bodies affect their performance: especially when it comes to the pelvic floor! Healthcare is a difficult territory for wome...

"What should I be mindful of when recovering from ____?" You can insert anything here: injury, surgery, giving birth... ...and this also applies to whether you're not really recovering from something other than what diet culture's telling you exercise "should" look like... In today's episode, we are uncovering the main piece of advice I will give when it comes down...

Something that is (mind blowingly) common in my line of work is when MDs and healthcare providers tell people to "wait and see" whether their leaking or pelvic pain or prolapse get worse before agreeing to give them a referral to pelvic rehab. I don't understand it, and I don't think I ever will. Today we are talking about why the "wait and see" approach is utter trash,...

Have you ever pushed through pain or leaking or just not feeling "right" in your body during a workout? Maybe you're not sure when to push through discomfort and when to stop and modify. Maybe you're not sure of the difference between discomfort and pain. Maybe you're worried that if you see someone like a physical therapist, they're gonna tell you to stop working with yo...

"How can I make my sex life better?" This is a question I get asked very often. And exactly what we are answering on today's episode! Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left feeling dismissed and unheard, our concerns being chalked up to being a "crazy woman" who just needs to lose weight (BARF). That shit ends here and now. Today,...

Thinking about joining a gym to gain more consistency with your workouts? Today we are talking about the points you may not have considered when it comes down to becoming a gym member, helping you to get some insight into better ways to think about working out and exercising for YOUR life. Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left feeling dismissed and unhea...

You're newly postpartum and you make the mistake of sneezing. All of a sudden, you really wish you didn't decide that today was the day you went without a pad. "Welcome to the mommy club, where peeing your pants is normal," is the echoed reaction from your mom, your best friend, and everyone in your local mom group. I call bullshit. I get that people who say this mean no harm. Th...

A question I get very frequently is "when should I see a physical therapist vs. a personal trainer?" For many of my clients, they work with both at the same time! In today's episode, we uncover when a PT might benefit you over a CPT, what the main differences are between CPTs and PTs, and why good physical therapy sometimes looks insanely similar to what you would see inside a traini...

This episode is seasoned with a lot of salt! Today, we are touching on the new social media pastime of accusing people of "not supporting women" any time someone calls out trash behavior exhibited by a woman, how I've been called out multiple times for "not supporting women" (LOL), and the time I was actually called a misogynist on reddit. Shit is wild out there! Healthcare...

According to the CDC recommendation, we should be getting 150 min of "moderate intensity" exercise + 2 strength training sessions in each week in order to be fit & healthy. But what if you're just starting out? What if you're recovering from an injury? What if you're newly postpartum? What if you're leaking (especially if you're leaking with exercise)? What if you...

Grifters are ALWAYS gonna grift. In today's (salty) episode, we are covering all the trash rhetoric surrounding (and preying on) people who have given birth. These range from, at best, things that waste your time, money, and energy and, at worst, compromise your health, both mentally AND physically. Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left feeling dismi...

How many times do you feel like you're just coasting through your workouts or your life in general? We are oftentimes told what we "should" be doing, so we check out just to get the damn things done rather than check IN. In today's episode, we are talking all about how you can use your life experiences to check in with yourself to help improve your stress AND fitness levels: beca...

Pelvic organ prolapse happens in 35-50% of postpartum people, yet no one ever talks about it. Even more mind blowing is people don't realize that it can also occur in those who've never been pregnant. But it sounds scarier than it is! Today we are talking all things prolapse: what it is, what you can do about it (beyond surgery and wearing a pessary forever), and how you can prevent it in the firs...

"Are you eating enough?" This is a question I ask most private clients, regardless of the body standing in front of me. Oftentimes, our healthcare system/providers perpetuate this idea that larger bodies = eating more (or too many) calories. That is hardly ever the case in my experience. In today's episode, we explore exactly WHY eating "enough" is imperative when you're looking to heal your body:...

Who would've guessed that Rihanna's Super Bowl performance would have brought so many women's health issues to the forefront (and hence finally help me flesh out this topic of being "enough," something that's been brewing in my brain for almost 4 months now). The constant go-go-go coupled with societal expectations placed on women may have us feeling like we are running around constantly with no r...

Ever wonder whether you "should" be doing planks or squats because you've heard they're bad for your pelvic floor? Today we are hashing out what exercises you might want to take caution with and how to work your way up to doing more difficult workouts while keeping your core and pelvic floor strong and resilient AF. Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left...

Ever feel like you're spinning your wheels when it comes to your workouts? Like, no matter how consistent you are, not matter how much you work, you just feel like you're never getting any stronger? Back when I was a baby PT, if a new client came in and was a seasoned exerciser, I would want to poop myself because I thought that I couldn't teach them anything about exercise since they were already...

If you've been on IG or TikTok over the past couple of months, you might have seen the hype videos circulating around a woman bodybuilder who was leaking on her lifts. Some used this asa way to normalize leaking with lifting, and other used it as a cautionary tale to infer that lifting "heavy" causes pelvic floor dysfunction. Both are trash takes. Today, we uncover why people are prone to leaks wh...

I'm not really a resolution type of person; instead, I like to look back at thoughts and habits that didn't serve me very well in the current year and vow to work on leaving them behind as we head into the upcoming one. Then I started thinking: we can apply this to the pelvic floor too! There's no reason to continue to buy into BS, outdated rhetoric that isn't serving us. Join me in today's episod...

How long should an "effective" workout be? We are talking all about it on today's episode! Healthcare is a difficult territory for women to navigate, as many of us are left feeling dismissed and unheard, our concerns being chalked up to being a "crazy woman" who just needs to lose weight (BARF). That shit ends here and now. Today, we take back our health and speak up: because no one else is gonna...