Kegel exercises help us build or maintain a strong and healthy pelvic floor - that net of muscles that acts as an internal trampoline to hold our pelvic organs in place. Maintaining a strong and healthy pelvic floor is vital through all stages of life to prevent issues like prolapse, light bladder leakage and incontinence, and keep our organs stable and functioning as they should.
Living an active lifestyle helps our pelvic floor stay in good shape, but it can become weaker as we age, due to pregnancy and childbirth, being overweight or as a result of surgery like hysterectomies. Activities like heavy lifting at the gym, chronic coughing or sneezing and even straining due to constipation can weaken the pelvic floor over time too. This is why it’s so important to establish a regular Kegel routine to help you keep on top of your pelvic floor tone from your twenties, all the way through to old age!
The good news? Kegels are effective, super easy to do, and only take a few minutes a day. The exercises and completely invisible, so you can do them during your daily commute, while you watch TV… you could even do them while you’re out to brunch with your girlfriends! Nobody will be able to tell (unless of course, you choose to tell them). Here’s the rundown on how to do Kegel exercises.
- While standing, laying down or sitting, start by relaxing your thigh, bottom and lower abdominal muscles.
- Like you’re stopping yourself from peeing, draw in your muscles around your vagina, focusing on lifting internally. Keep breathing normally, and make sure all other muscles in your body are relaxed.
- Hold for 3 - 10 seconds depending on your strength. You can build this up over time.
- Relax your muscles, and repeat - it’s that easy!
How many repeats?
This really depends on where you’re at in practising Kegels. Generally speaking, you should aim to do at least 10 repetitions in one Kegels set, and do three sets throughout your day - maybe one in the morning, one at lunch and one a night. No need to overdo it, as an overly tight pelvic floor can also lead to more problems like painful sex, constipation, general pelvic pain or trouble urinating.
Taking Kegels to the next level
Once you’ve become familiar with doing Kegel exercises, consider adding some weights to your routine! Think of it like lifting at the gym. Adding weights gives your pelvic floor some resistance to train with and help with building more strength.
Laselle weighted kegel balls by Intimina are a great way to gradually add weights to your routine. They come as individual weighted kegel balls or as a set of three and can be easily connected together to add more weight to your routine as you progress. You simply insert the kegel balls into your vagina, do your Kegel exercises, then remove, clean and store away for your next session.
Yoni eggs are another option. These carved crystal eggs help you connect with your pelvic floor during your Kegels and some even report healing benefits from the crystal itself. Learn more about how to choose the right yoni egg for you, and refer to our guide on how to use a Yoni egg to get started.
If you consider yourself a bit of a tech-lover want to track your Kegels progress, consider a device like the KegelSmart Intelligent Pelvic Trainer. It gives you a personalised Kegel routine and even provides feedback through gentle vibrations, so you can track your improvement and stay motivated.
So go on - get out there and Kegel your way to a strong and healthy pelvic floor!