Renata Touma, a Brazilian weightlifter, has broken her silence after video footage of her urinating whilst at a competition circulated online.
The nutritionist and fitness trainer regularly posts her routines, which sees her lift incredible weights as she maintains a shredded body.
However, one of her most recent videos uploaded to her Instagram account appears to show the moments leading up to her accidental urination on camera as she captioned the clip with a defiant message to all.
During the competition, she was seen completing a heavy lift, and according to Total Pro Sports, she was attempting to lift 200kg at the time of the incident.
But seconds in, as she was beginning to drop the bar, you could see some droplets begin to appear below her parted legs.
Renata Touma was taking part in a competition when video seemed to show her urinating (Instagram/beyondlimitsgym_orlando)
At the time, people were quick to talk about the moment, with one person claiming: “Do they get extra points for p******.”
Another said: “Lift – 20% , Pee – 80%.”
However, many defended her, and some even shared their own stories of accidentally urinating whilst lifting.
“It’s normal for that much weight to cause your sphincters to relax,” said one person.
A user claimed: “This is pretty damn normal in women’s powerlifting.”
Now, two weeks after the video circulated social media, Touma took to her Instagram page to reveal her thoughts on the experience, and she isn’t ashamed for her body’s response.
The clip posted to her account was dubbed with an inspirational message that tells viewers that they are in control of their own path, as she wrote below: “You control your story. Nobody else.
“Strength is not just about the weight you lift. It is also about the choices you make, the discipline you build, and how you respond to challenges.”
“You cannot control everything that happens. But you can decide what to do with what is within your reach,” she added. “That is where your power lies: in your ability to act, persist, and keep building your own path. The question is: what will you do with what you have in your hands?”
Despite the comments on her original powerlifting video from the competition, according to health professionals, women can experience involuntary urine leakage during heavy lifting.
This is because, per Agile Physical Therapy, the act – known as ‘stress urinary incontinence – is involuntary and happens during ‘exertion and/or change in intra-abdominal pressure’.
The company states that even ‘activities such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping, lifting, running’ can lead it to happen as it notes that ‘it’s common, normal, and treatable!’.
Due to the nature of weightlifting creating ‘pressure downward on the bladder’ which may exceed ‘the body’s ability to match it and keep urine in using active and passive support mechanisms’, it’s easy for pee to escape.
To stop it from happening, the experts say to try pelvic floor muscle training to build up resilience in the area and stop it from allowing urine to leak during moments like what was seen in the video.
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