Abstract:

Kegel exercises for women are great for multiple reasons. There are also numerous Kegel exercise benefits that women gain when performing the exercises. Read the article to know more about the same.

Introduction

Pelvic floor muscles are those muscles that support your small intestine, bladder, uterus, and rectum. While they are already working on what they need to keep, your pelvic muscles also need their workout to be done. Especially with ageing, it is pretty standard that there might be a weakening of pelvic floor muscles. Hence, to keep your pelvic floor muscles strengthened, you need to incorporate some Kegel exercises for women. This can help you prevent any physical problems such as incontinence. To understand more about the Kegels for women, here are some of the Kegel exercise benefits and how to do these women's Kegel exercises.

What are Kegel exercises?

Kegel exercises are also called pelvic floor exercises for women as they mainly target the pelvic floor muscles and help strengthen them. Your pelvic floor muscles help hold all your organs in place while also assisting in various bodily functions such as pooping, peeing, and even during sex. Kegels help in tightening and then releasing the pelvic muscles to the pelvic floor to strengthen them well. By doing Kegel exercises, you can reduce the following issues:

  • Urinary incontinence
  • Urge incontinence
  • Fecal incontinence
  • Pelvic organ prolapses

Kegel exercises also help in improving your sexual health while also helping in orgasms.

How does Kegel exercise?

In order to do the Kegel exercise, you need to find out your pelvic floor muscles initially. Here are 2 easy methods with which you can find your pelvic floor muscles.

Method 1 – By stopping or slowing the flow

This is the first method where you will be either trying to stop or slow down the flow of urine midway while you empty your bladder. Stopping the flow of urine while on the toilet is not a type of exercise but a way that will help you identify the pelvic floor muscles. This should be done only to identify the muscles that help in bladder control. If you can, then try to stop the flow of urine for about one or two seconds and then relax and finish emptying while not straining. This stop-test that you conduct will help you identify the muscles that control the passage of urine. However, this is not recommended as a regular exercise.

Methods 2 – Visualization

The second method to identify your pelvic floor muscles is by imaging the stopping of the flow of urine and holding it in your flatus at the same time. This can be done by either standing with your legs at shoulder width, sitting, or lying down. The following steps will help you in the same:

  • Relax all the three muscles of your bottom, thighs, and tummy
  • Now squeeze in all the muscles around the front passage as if you are trying to hold in your urine
  • Squeeze the muscles surrounding your vagina and suck upwards inside the pelvic
  • Secondly, squeeze the muscles at the back passage to have in your passing wind
  • The muscles will not both be squeezed up towards the pelvic
  • Now identify the muscles that help in squeezing and then relax them once you get them right.

Now that you have been able to identify the pelvic floor muscles, here are the rest of the steps to conduct the Kegel exercise for women:

  • Step 1: Properly identify the pelvic floor muscles
  • Step 2: Squeeze the pelvic floor muscles for about 3 seconds and then relax all the muscles for about the next 3 seconds. This will be considered as one Kegel
  • Step 3: Now conduct this same exercise 10 times, and this will be your one set,
  • Step 4: Do one set in the morning and one set in the night.
  • Step 5: As you keep on gaining strength, you can increase the number of sets of Kegels you are performing. You can also choose to increase the seconds for which you can hold each Kegel; for example, you can increase it to 5 seconds and then 8 seconds, and so on.

Benefits of doing Kegel exercises

There are multiple Kegel exercise benefits that women are probably unaware of; however, here are some of them listed below:

Improves overall fitness

Various repetitive movements and continuous sitting posture can all take a toll on our bodies. A prolonged sitting position can tend to affect both aerobic fitness and strength very severely. The stretching of abdominal muscles during the pregnancy period can also lead to damage to your core muscles. The pelvic floor muscles get affected during all these events. Regular exercise is what helps to get your health back. It is, hence, essential that women include various pelvic floor exercises that help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles apart from also improving overall fitness.

Improves pelvic health during menopause

During menopause, it is possible to have fluctuating levels of estrogen and a lowered amount of blood flow to the pelvic areas. Kegel exercises for women, however, help improve the blood flow to the pelvic organs, hence keeping them vital and strengthening them.

Reduces Pelvic organ prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition where one or more of the pelvic organs tend to get pushed towards the vaginal walls. This usually occurs when there is pressure on the muscles, such as during pregnancy or after childbirth. While pelvic organ prolapse is not life-threatening, it can lead to lower enjoyment in life. However, with Kegels exercises for women, it is possible to reduce the prolapse of organs and strengthen the support of pelvic organs.

Cures bladder leakage

Another one of the main Kegels exercise benefits would be curing bladder leakage. When the muscles around your pelvic areas are not strong enough and coordinated, it could lead to such problems. It is hence recommended to add Kegels exercise for women to reduce any bladder leakage issues that are commonly faced.

Develop hip and back support.

The pelvic muscles are a part of the inner core, which means they also support the trunk and hip. It is hence needed that these muscles work in coordination and create better hip stability. When the pelvic muscles do not have optimal strength, there are chances of lower back pain problems or even urinary leakage issues.

How often should women do Kegel exercises?

Women can follow Kegels exercises about 10 times a session. Doing about 2 to 3 sessions of Kegel per day is the best way to get results. However, ensure that the sessions are spread out properly. The results for Kegel may take weeks or months, and hence, making Kegels a part of your daily routine is a must. If you want to see the right results, then doing Kegel exercises for about 15 weeks is the right way forward.

Conclusion

While Kegels are not for everyone, it has their own Kegel exercise benefits. These bladder exercises for female makes sure your pelvic muscles are strengthened. However, do not start with a high amount of time when you are just beginning with Kegel exercises for women. You might want to take it slow and then gradually work your way up and see that there are no signs of a weak floor anymore. Lastly, if you do not feel comfortable at any time doing these Kegel exercises, you can take a break from them.

FAQs

Can Kegels make a woman tighter?

The answer is yes; working on Kegels exercise almost regularly can make your pelvic floor muscles strengthened while also tightening your vagina.

How long should a woman hold a Kegel?

If you are a beginner, then a woman should only hold a Kegel for three seconds and then relax for three seconds. However, if you are already practising, then you can gradually lead your way up to more time, like 5 seconds and then 8 seconds, and so on.

Can Kegel exercise be done during periods?

While you may not feel like you can do it, it is possible to do Kegels even when you are on your period.

 

 

Related tags :