Your pelvic muscles are important for a number of daily activities. They help you remain continent, they support your internal organs, and they are engaged during sex. Strong pelvic muscles can help you feel more comfortable during your day-to-day life and help improve your sex life.
Your pelvic muscles can be weakened for a number of reasons, including childbirth, chronic constipation, age, or surgery. As a result, you may notice problems like incontinence when you cough or laugh, or frequent urges to urinate. Pelvic floor exercises, known as Kegel exercises, can help you strengthen your pelvic muscles and reduce these symptoms.
Exercises to Help Strengthen Pelvic Muscles
You can perform most Kegel exercises anywhere, but it’s important to perform them properly. Kegels are about squeezing your muscles, not pushing. Almost every Kegel exercise should feel like a clench, not like a bowel movement strain.
Once you know how to squeeze your pelvic muscles, you can practice them whenever you think about it. are invisible to others, so you can easily train your pelvic muscles during your commute, at work, or while watching a movie. That makes these exercises easy to incorporate into your daily routine.
Identifying Kegel Muscles
Before you can train your pelvic muscles, you may need to identify them.
Step 1: While sitting or lying down, imagine the sensation of urinating.
Step 2: Imagine the sensation of stopping your urine stream.
Step 3: Pay attention to the muscles that tense when you do this: they are your pelvic muscles that should be targeted during Kegel exercises.
Do not actually stop your urine stream as pelvic floor practice. This can lead to urinary tract infections. Other sensations you may imagine are squeezing an inserted tampon or avoiding passing gas.
Sitting Fast-Twitch Exercise
Your muscles have two important types of tissue: be painful. If you notice any pain during a Kegel exercise, stop immediately. If pain persists, reach out to your physician.