If you’re pressed for time, or just a well-hydrated person who pees a lot, you might be tempted to hold all that liquid in for a while — and then beam it out fast when you finally hit the toilet. But this kind of fire-hose-style peeing, a.k.a. “power peeing,” can, well, backfire.

It’s just the opposite of how we were designed to pee, which is by relaxing the pelvic floor, or the sling of muscles that runs from your pubic bone to your tailbone, Sara Reardon, a board-certified pelvic floor physical therapist, author of Floored, and founder of pelvic floor workout app The V-Hive, said. Read on to learn the problems with power peeing and how to break the habit and embrace a gentler flow.

Why you shouldn’t power pee

Understanding what happens in your pelvis in a normal peeing scenario can help illustrate why power peeing is so counterintuitive — and problematic. When you sit to pee as usual, your pelvic floor softens, allowing your urethra (a.k.a. pee tube) to open. At the same time, your bladder muscle naturally fires, squeezing urine down and out through that channel. But if you’re pushing, you interrupt that chain of command: Your pelvic floor muscles can’t fully relax, so you’ll wind up forcing pee through a partially closed urethra, Dr. Reardon explained.

That act creates a surge of pressure in your abdomen, which can, over time, “stress and weaken your pelvic floor muscles and the surrounding ligaments,” Dr. Reardon said, “increasing your risk of incontinence [pee or poop leakage] and pelvic organ prolapse,” which happens when one or more pelvic organs slip downward and bulge out of your vagina or butt. (It’s one of several reasons you also shouldn’t strain hard to poop, BTW.)

Because you’re trying to funnel pee through what is essentially a half-closed door, you also might not completely empty your bladder — which could mean you need to pee again soon, negating any time you might’ve initially saved by hurrying things along. While it’s normal to have up to 50 milliliters (mL), or roughly three tablespoons, of urine left in your bladder after any given pee, if more than that remains in there due to power peeing, you could also be at higher risk of a urinary tract infection (UTI), Dr. Reardon points out. Extra residual pee allows for a potentially greater bacteria count in your bladder, she explains.

How to pee properly to avoid pelvic issues

Your best bet is to let nature quite literally run its course. Sit fully on the toilet — hovering, like pushing, won’t allow your pelvic floor to relax — and just chill out for a few seconds, Dr. Reardon says. After all, it might be one of the few moments of the day when you get to be alone and at peace. Your pelvic floor and your psyche will appreciate you taking advantage.

If your stream seems reluctant to start, rather than bearing down, try leaning your torso forward a bit and take a few deep, diaphragmatic breaths, Dr. Reardon said. (Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth for five seconds each.) That will naturally help the muscles in your pelvic floor relax and the floodgates open.