Kegel Exercises (+ Better Exercises for Pelvic Floor Health)

Health

How to Do Kegel Exercises:

Dr. Grogan offers this advice for doing a proper Kegel exercise:

Lie on your back or on your side. Lying down takes gravity out of the picture and gives your pelvic floor muscles the greatest advantage for a strong contraction.
Visualize your pelvic floor muscles. They sit at the base of your pelvis and surround your vagina and your anus. Try to squeeze and lift these muscles toward your head. Imagine that you’re using these muscles to pull a marble into your vagina. I know, I know … it sounds strange. But this visualization works.
Now relax the muscles and imagine that you’re letting the marble roll out. You just completed a kegel!
Do another kegel, but this time hold the contraction for 5-8 seconds before relaxing. Complete 5 to 10 repetitions. These “slow hold” kegels are great for increasing strength and endurance of the pelvic floor muscles. This is important for preventing incontinence and prolapse, and – bonus – can amp up your sex life as well.

If a weight or stone egg is added, the same process is followed, but with the weight or egg inserted vaginally during the exercise.

How to Improve Pelvic Floor Strength (With or Without Kegels)

For women without pelvic floor dysfunction, there are more ways—better ways—than isolated kegels to keep your pelvic floor muscles strong and supple.

Note: If you have a specific women’s health condition or concern such as incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, please seek the care of a licensed women’s health physical therapist who can help identify your particular needs and come up with an individualized plan of care which may—or may not—include kegel exercises.

Here are three ideas Dr. Brianne suggests for optimal pelvic floor and core exercises (that don’t involve Kegels):

Move More Throughout the Day, Every Day

Humans were designed to MOVE … not sit in front of a computer all day long (I’m guilty of this myself!). Thus, first and foremost, we ALL must focus on increasing the quantity and quality of our movement throughout the day. Take movement breaks. Stand up, sit down, bend, get high, get low, lift things, and carry things. Just move! Park in the farthest parking spaces. Walk whenever possible. Take the stairs! Go for a hike!

And add more total-body strengthening into your daily life by attaching a quick fitness routine to something you already do multiple times a day, every day. I call this “Bathroom Fitness.” Give it a try!

Squat!

Squats are finally getting the attention they deserve. Biomechanists like Katy Bowman are helping spread the word about the many benefits of squats and why we should all be squatting more.

Moving into and out of a squat naturally activates your pelvic floor and core muscles, and most importantly strengthens the booty (thereby balancing the length and the work of the pelvic floor muscles). I like doing air squats (these are also described in the “Bathroom Fitness” video above) and deep squats. Particularly great when folding laundry!

Move Like a Lady

From Dr. Grogan: “Those who know me well know there’s nothing I like better than shakin’ my booty and moving my hips. Talk about a great total core exercise … And fun! Hip circles, figure 8’s, etc., activate all of the muscles in your core including the pelvic floor, hips, back, and abs. Side benefit? Daily gentle hip circles keep the hip and spinal joints lubricated and pain free.”

Of course all of these exercises must be done with the foundation of proper posture and alignment. There are other great strengtheners including core breathing, planks, and more.

Zip It Up

Often, when we think of both posture and core strength we focus on the abdominal muscles. We stand tall and “suck in” our bellies. But in order to truly and safely engage the muscles of the core (which helps protect your back, prevent prolapse, and keep you looking trim) you need to start at the base of the core—the pelvic floor.

Instead of isolated crunches or Kegels, the key is to engage the entire core as a whole.

Imagine a zipper that starts at the pelvic floor. Think of engaging—or starting—the zipper and begin a gentle Kegel. Next, think of pulling the zipper up as you contract your abdominal muscles, gently drawing your belly button in and up. Finally, stand tall with your shoulders drawn gently back. (Don’t let them round/hunch forward!)

Remember to zip up before you prepare to do a task that requires extra balance, control, or spinal support. A few examples: Vacuuming, taking out the garbage, and lifting weights at the gym. Zip up to prepare for the challenging task, and hold the “zipped” position while you’re completing the task. After you have completed done the task, relax! But remember to “zip it up” when you need an extra dose of deep core control.

Kegels & Pelvic Floor: Bottom Line

Plugging away on the elliptical is fine, going for a walk or a run is great, lifting weights is fantastic, but strengthening and toning the middle part of the body—the core—is just as important as exercising the arms and legs.

As females, it is essential to incorporate the muscles of the core and pelvic floor into our fitness routines. This may mean using Kegels with or without weights, but it also means moving more, squatting, walking, stretching and moving our bodies as a whole.