What are Kegel Exercises?
Bridget Nalwoga, MPH
Exercises & Fitness
5 minute read
What Are Kegel Exercises?
Have you recently gotten interested in the world of kegel exercises? If so, then you’ll be glad to know that you’re in the right place because we’ve got just what you’re looking for!
The pelvic floor muscles help control the flow of urine and keep the bladder and bowel functions working properly. Kegel exercises are a type of pelvic floor muscle training that can help both men and women with urinary and fecal incontinence, prostate problems, and pelvic pain.
Additionally, Kegels can also improve sexual function in men and women. In men, Kegels can help delay ejaculation and improve erection quality. In women, Kegel exercises can help increase pleasure during sex, improve orgasm quality, and reduce the risk of urinary incontinence after childbirth.
Benefits of Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises are beneficial in a number of ways, many of which, you might not have expected. Here are some of the most prominent benefits of kegel exercises:
Kegel exercises can help you achieve better bladder control. This is especially helpful for women who experience urinary incontinence.
Kegel exercises can help you have more powerful orgasms. By toning the pelvic floor muscles, you can increase the intensity and duration of your orgasms.
Kegel exercises can help you recover from childbirth more quickly. Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles can help reduce the risk of incontinence and other pelvic floor problems after giving birth.
Kegel exercises can improve your overall sexual health. Strong pelvic floor muscles may lead to improved sexual response and greater satisfaction for both men and women.
Kegel exercises can help you get your mind off other matters, which can potentially aid with your anxiety and other mental issues.
How to Do Kegel Exercises Right?
Before you get started with kegel exercises, you need to understand that there’s a right as well as a wrong way of performing them. Keep in mind that if you’re doing them wrong, then it’s highly likely that you fail to achieve desired results for large periods, making your exercises completely ineffective and useless.
The steps below illustrate how you can perform kegel exercises the correct way:
Tighten the pelvic floor muscles, hold for five seconds, and release
Repeat 10 times, twice a day
If you can relate to any of the following, then you’re probably doing the exercise wrong and need to fix your technique in order to produce convincing results.
Tightening the stomach or thigh muscles instead of the pelvic floor muscles
Holding for longer than five seconds
Doing more than 10 repetitions at a time
Tips for Doing Kegel Exercises Regularly
You can further improve the effectiveness of your kegel exercises by following certain tips and tricks that have been listed below:
Find the right muscles: The muscles you need to exercise are the ones you use to stop yourself from peeing. To make sure you're targeting the right muscles, try stopping your urine midstream. Once you've got the hang of that, you're ready to move on to the actual exercises.
Do them anywhere: One of the great things about kegel exercises is that you can do them anywhere and no one will notice. So, whether you're at work, at home, or out and about, take a few moments to do a few reps.
Be consistent: Like with any exercise, the key to seeing promising results is consistency. Try to do your Kegel exercises every day, or at least a few times a week, and you'll start to see and feel the benefits in no time.
When to See a Doctor for Help with Kegels?
If you're doing Kegel exercises the right way and still not seeing results, then you’re recommended to pay a visit to your doctor. Your doctor can help you figure out if you're doing the exercises correctly and can give you feedback on your progress. He or she can also rule out other causes of incontinence, such as medications, prolapse, or nerve damage.
Lastly, don't be discouraged if you're unable to see results right away. It can take up to 12 weeks of regular exercise to see improvements.
Though they were originally created to help with bladder control and incontinence post-pregnancy, kegel exercises have a host of other benefits, too. The key is to find the exercises that work best for you and to do them regularly. These exercises are a great way to improve your overall health and well-being, making them an ideal choice for you!
Furthermore, if you wish to make your exercise routine more effective, then it’s a great idea to follow a suitable diet plan that goes along with your exercise plan. Clean Eatz Kitchen has got you covered with some of the best diet meal plans for beginners as well as fitness professionals. All you need to do is head on over to Clean Eatz Kitchen and build your diet meal plan to get started.
Summary Of What Are Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises train your pelvic floor muscles and are suitable for both men and women
They can help achieve better bladder control, more powerful orgasms, efficient recovery from childbirth, and improved sexual health
To do the kegel exercise, tighten your pelvic floor muscles and release after five seconds
Do not use stomach or thigh muscles, hold for too long, or repeat more than 10 times per session
To make your kegel exercises more effective, located the targeted muscles, perform the exercises anywhere and everywhere, and be consistent
If you’re unable to obtain results, get help from your local healthcare provider