We know it’s important to do our Kegels, but most women don’t have any idea what they are. So we’re here to break it down for you - the who/what/where/why of Kegels. So, let’s start from the beginning. What exactly is a Kegel exercise?
Kegel exercises (also known as pelvic floor exercises), are the repeated action of contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor. They’re done in order to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles - muscles that tend to weaken as we age and can lead to incontinence in women. Doing our Kegels is incredibly important at any age, but particularly for pregnant women or aging women, it’s all the more vital. At INNOVO, our patented wearable technology delivers 180 perfect Kegels in a 30-minute session, building and re-educating your pelvic floor muscles with every use.
Who Should Do Kegel Exercises?
All women should be doing Kegel exercises. Not only is it a preventative measure against urinary incontinence, but particularly for those with weak pelvic floor muscles, it can help rebuild muscles to stop incontinence and general bladder leakage. But how do your pelvic muscles weaken over time? A whole host of factors can contribute. Some of them include:
- pregnancy and childbirth
- exercise
- surgery recovery (think menopause)
- general aging
- excessive straining from constipation or chronic coughing
- being overweight
- genetics: some people are born with a heightened risk to develop weakness in the tissues that support the pelvic floor
What Are The Benefits of Kegels?
Kegels are especially important and effective if you suffer from stress urinary incontinence (i.e leaking urine while sneezing, laughing, coughing, exercising, or simply going about your daily business).
Other benefits include; muscle support for the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum.
Kegel exercises can also help improve your sexual health and pleasure by relaxing and opening your vaginal muscles. (This is especially helpful if you have painful intercourse.) Practicing Kegels also improves blood circulation to your vagina and pelvic floor, which can help increase sexual arousal and make it easier for you to reach orgasm through increased vaginal lubrication.
Examples of Pelvic Floor Exercises For Women
There are a few ways to do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor. We outline them below.
Squats
Squats engage the largest muscles in the body (aka the glutes, hamstrings and quads). This exercise pays off big-time when it comes to improving your pelvic floor strength. When performing this move, make sure you’ve got proper form to minimize risk of injury.
Bridges
The bridge is a great exercise for strengthening your pelvic floor and you can do your kegels at the same time. With or without added weight, we love its pause and pulse effect and activation of the glutes, hamstrings and pelvic floor.
Tabletop
We love a good tabletop that’s rooted in the foundation of the Pilates workout. By adding the split to this classic leg move, you’re activating your hips and pelvic floor muscles in addition to your abs.
What's The Best Way to do Kegel Exercises?
You can certainly do Kegels manually, but you no longer have to. With INNOVO, our Multipath Technology deploys varied pulses to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles with the simple press of a button, and all without causing muscle fatigue. INNOVO is clinically proven to eliminate leaks in 12 weeks, treating the root cause of bladder leaks from the comfort of your own home. And 80% of women see results in just 4 weeks.
Conclusion
Kegels are incredibly important for women’s sexual and pelvic health. Not only do they improve bladder control and stop leakage from happening, but they can improve sexual health and muscle control. If you’re suffering from incontinence, you’d benefit from a regular Kegel regimen.
Build your pelvic floor muscles over 12 weeks and become leak-free. With INNOVO, you can strengthen your pelvic muscles to treat your bladder leaks from the comfort of your own home, in as little as 4 weeks. Discover INNOVO and how it works today.