Many of us spend the early part of the new year (re)committing to a fitness routine: hitting the gym or the Pilates reformer to make sure our body is healthy and fit. But many of us aren’t devoting this attention to a key set of muscles that make up a big part of our overall health picture: our pelvic floor muscles. These muscles play a major role in our sex lives, as well as our continued wellbeing as we age. If you aren’t doing regular kegel exercises, you may be neglecting your pelvic floor — here’s how to get your kegel exercise routine down and strengthen your pelvic floor.

What are kegels?

Kegel exercises are designed to strengthen your pelvic floor — the set of muscles and connective tissue that hold important organs in place and also support key bodily functions, like sex, childbirth, urinating and bowel movements. Your pelvic floor muscles are also involved in actions that involve your core and torso, like coughing or lifting heavy things.

Because your pelvic floor muscles are inside your body, you can’t exercise them exactly the same way you would your biceps. Instead, kegels work by learning how to intentionally contract these muscles internally.

Why do kegels?

There are some immediate benefits to doing kegels regularly. First, many people feel it makes their sex life better. Many say they have more intense orgasms thanks to regular kegels; people with vaginas and people with penises may both feel that kegels help their sexual performance with partners as well.

For people who are going to give birth, having done kegels can make delivery easier and more efficient. For people who have given birth (including people who have had a c-section), kegels can help mitigate incontinence and leaking urine during recovery.

Kegels also help with a huge range of long-term issues that we may think nothing of if we’re currently young and able-bodied, because for most of us they’re bodily functions that work as intended without any active effort from us. As we age, however, and encounter illness and disability, kegels help safeguard us against incontinence, issues with leaking urine, and even prolapse.

How to do kegels, step by step

In the simplest terms, kegel exercises involve clenching or contracting the muscles of your pelvic floor. This can be tricky if you aren’t familiar with those muscles and how they feel. One way to make sure you’re targeting the right muscles is to practice stopping and starting the flow of urine while you’re going to the bathroom (this is true for both people with vulvas and people with penises).

Don’t do this habitually, or make this the primary way you regularly do kegels — stopping and starting while urinating can put you at risk for urinary tract problems. Instead, use this as a way to make sure you’re targeting the right muscle group. You’ll know you’re doing it right when it feels like your inner muscles are drawing up into your body, without your thighs, glutes or ab muscles tensing at all.

Once you know you’re using your pelvic floor muscles, practice contracting them for 3-5 seconds at a time, and then releasing for 3-5 seconds. Once you can hold comfortably for this long, repeat holding for 3-5 seconds at a time and then relaxing for a few seconds 10 times in a row — this is one “set” of kegels. Try doing one set of 10 kegels three different times a day, spaced out throughout the day. If this feels too easy, you can try increasing the length of time you contract your muscles for, up to 10 seconds at a time. Don’t increase the number of kegels you do — overuse can strain your pelvic floor muscles.

Kegel variations for different bodies

Everyone has a pelvic floor, regardless of gender or genitalia, and can benefit from strengthening it. The basic motion and the set of muscles you’re targeting are the same no matter what, but the best way to make sure you’re doing the exercises right may be a little different depending on your body.

• If you have a vagina, you can gently insert one finger and try a kegel to see whether you can physically feel your vagina tightening around your finger. If you don’t have a vulva, you can gently insert one finger in your anus and feel for the same thing.
• If you have a penis, doing kegels correctly will make your testicles rise or lift up slightly.
• If you have a vulva, you can imagine drawing a pretend marble up into your body with your pelvic floor muscles; it may also feel like the opening to your vagina is tightening or drawing closed.

Common mistakes to avoid when doing kegels

• When doing kegels correctly, only your pelvic floor muscles should be involved; make sure you aren’t also contracting your thighs, glutes or stomach.
• Breathe deeply and normally as you practice your kegels, rather than unintentionally holding your breath.
• Once you know the right muscle group to target, don’t try practicing your kegels while peeing.

Incorporating kegels into your daily life

Much like flossing or filing quarterly taxes, it can be hard to remember to keep up with kegels in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The good news is they’re easy to do any time, anywhere, without any special equipment. Try “habit-stacking” your kegels to other parts of your routine that happen every day at the same time: for instance, while you brush your teeth in the morning, or drive your commute home.

Recommended Books:

Floored

Your Pelvic Floor

Power to the Pelvis

 

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