Kegels for Women
Kegel exercises won’t make you work up a sweat like your regular exercise routine, but they do provide strengthening for your pelvic muscles. Kegel exercises are often used during pregnancy to prepare the body for childbirth. The pelvic muscle exercises also benefit women after childbirth, but they are beneficial to all women.
Pelvic Muscles
The pelvic muscles are the ones you would use to stop the flow of urine. They provide support for organs in the area, including the uterus and bladder. Pregnancy and childbirth often weaken the pelvic muscles. Being overweight can also weaken the muscles. Urine leaking and pelvic organ prolapse are possible side effects of weakened pelvic muscles.
Benefits
Kegel exercises get the pelvic muscles back in shape by strengthening them. This can prevent pelvic organ prolapse, which simply means the organs descend. The exercises can also help relieve or improve urine leakage. Kegels don’t require any special equipment and can be done anywhere without anyone knowing about it, making them a convenient way to improve pelvic muscle tone.
Practice
Identifying the pelvic muscles is the first step to doing kegel exercises. While urinating, try to stop the flow, which requires you to engage the pelvic muscles. Pay attention to the sensation and the muscles you used. The tightening of these muscles, as you did to stop the urine flow, is the basic premise behind kegel exercises. A finger inserted into the vagina can also help you identify the correct muscles. Squeeze the muscles around your finger to practice the basic kegel move.
Exercises
Kegel exercises involve tightening and releasing the pelvic muscles several times. When you first start the exercise, try to hold it for five seconds before releasing the muscles. Repeat this at least five times if possible. When you become more proficient at kegels, increase the amount of time you hold the muscle contraction to about 10 seconds. You can also increase the number of kegels you do.
Time Frame
Daily kegel exercises give you the best results for tightening the pelvic muscles. You might begin to notice less urine leakage in two or three months, according to the Mayo Clinic. Don’t stop doing your kegels just because you find results. Continuing your kegel routine keeps the muscles tight.
