Love them or hate them, you should be doing Kegel exercises. Over time, our pelvic floor muscles can become weakened by pregnancy, childbirth, aging, or being overweight. This type of exercise strengthens the pelvic floor muscles, which support the uterus, bladder, small intestine, and rectum. Sexy stuff, right? I’ll tell you what’s not sexy, peeing in your pants and the myriad of other symptoms that go along with weak pelvic floor muscles. Let’s file this under "been there, done that!" and "no thank you!" Muscle training of the pelvic floor can be done just about anytime, anywhere, which means you can become a Super-Sneaky-Kegel-Ninja!
How? Thanks for asking. Firstly, remember to empty your bladder before you start—we don’t need mommy having an accident. Next, you need to isolate the right muscles. You can do this by pretending to stop the flow of your urine. Yep, you’ve found the right muscles. Now avoid contracting other muscles, like your glutes, abdominal muscles, or thighs. As always, remember to breathe.
Here are a few exercises you can try:
Stop the Flow - Pretend, but PLEASE don’t actually stop the flow of your urine, this can cause a urinary tract infection. Hold your contraction for 5 seconds. Release for 5 seconds. Repeat this 5 times. Work up to a 10 second contraction over time.
Take the Elevator - Imagine that your lady-parts are taking an elevator up to the 10th floor, so you’re progressively increasing the contraction. Now slowly release that contraction, floor by floor. I’ll tell you that after one baby, my elevator does NOT go up to the 10th floor. These days, I’m enjoying the view from the 5th floor. But a girl can dream.
Super-Sneaky-Kegel-Ninja - Once you’re a pro, give this one a try. Isolate and hold your contraction for 30 seconds, and release. Be aware of your contraction and renew the intensity if it releases.
Knowledge is power. If you feel powerful, choose any combination of these exercises up to three times per day. Go forth Lady-Ninjas, and train your girly parts!
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