Did you know that 1 in 4 women experience incontinence at least once in their life?
Whether you want to gain control of your bladder, have better sex, or take care of yourself during and after pregnancy, there are plenty of reasons why pelvic floor muscle exercises can help you.
Want to know how to get started? Keep reading to learn 5 pelvic floor exercises for women.
1. Beginner Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women: Finding Your Pelvic Floor
If you’re unfamiliar with your pelvic floor, you can locate it when you go to the bathroom. As you urinate, squeeze a little until the flow stops. The muscles that you’re squeezing to control your bladder are your pelvic floor.
After you locate your pelvic floor, you shouldn’t exercise the muscles when you go to the bathroom. Instead, you can squeeze your muscles for as long as you can and release anytime throughout the day. For the best results, aim to complete a total of 10 minutes every day.
2. Advanced Pelvic Floor Exercises: Weighted Kegels
If you want to take the previous exercise up a notch, you can add some weights to your routine. There are all kinds of tools like the Rosie Rees’ yoni eggs that are designed to tone the pelvic floor.
All you have to do is insert the egg and try to keep it in place by squeezing your pelvic floor muscles. The more weight, the better the workout is. It’s always a good idea to start slow and build your way up as your muscles get stronger.
3. Pelvic Toning with Donkey Kicks
If you’ve never heard of a donkey kick, the exercise sounds just as simple as the name implies. In order to do a donkey kick, you’ll have to get on your hands and knees and kick one leg back at a time.
There are tons of variations for donkey kicking. Not only will your pelvic floor muscles get a good workout, but so will the rest of your body!
4. Lower Body and Pelvic Floor Exercise: Squats
A good rule of thumb is if an exercise works your glutes, it also tones your pelvic floor muscles. Squats are a simple exercise that can give you sculpted glutes, thighs, and pelvic floor muscles.
If you’re a beginner, you can start slow by only using your bodyweight to squat. As you gain stamina, you can squat with light dumbbells. For the ultimate workout, you can strength train with a squatting rack by going to the gym.
5. Glute and Pelvic Exercises: Bridges
In order to do a proper bridge, lay flat on the floor, bend your knees and plant your feet shoulder-width apart. Push into your heels to lift your lower body off the floor, squeezing your glutes and abs as you move.
Once you lift as high as you can, keep your muscles engaged and hold for 10 seconds. For an intense variation, keep pulsing up and down without letting your body touch the floor.
Want More Health Tips?
With these 5 pelvic floor exercises for women, you’ll be in control of your feminine health.
If you want more tips for living a healthy lifestyle, be sure to check out our blog for all the information you need.