The Boots how-to guide to kegel exercises
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Wellness
Reading time: 5 minutes
Why adding pelvic floor muscle training into your workout could make all the difference (& how to do them)
Unlike your quads, glutes and biceps, you might forget to flex your pelvic floor muscles regularly until you discover that they have become weakened – perhaps post-pregnancy or by childbirth, illness, weight gain or simply as you get older.
Kegel exercises (also known as pelvic floor muscle exercises) are simple muscle contractions and relaxations that can make all the difference to your below-the-belt health and wellbeing – and yet figures show there’s been no increase in the amount of women doing them since 1950.
But the recent #squeezealong TikTok trend – with a whopping 34.9 million views – could be a sign this is finally changing. It involves people clenching and releasing their pelvic floor to the beat of a song and it’s a great new addition to the world of online at-home workouts.
As with any exercise, the correct form and technique is key. So, we ask the experts to break down the basics for us, from how to do kegel exercises to how to use the correct muscles and why everyone should be incorporating them into their day.
What are kegel exercises?
"Kegels are the name given to exercises that contract and relax the pelvic floor muscles," explains Claire Brodie, women’s health physio and founder of Spring Physio. "The aim is to strengthen the group of muscles that run like a hammock from the pubic bone to the tailbone."
Maria Elliott, specialist postnatal chartered physiotherapist, clinical pilates instructor and founder of The Mummy MOT, expands on this: "When you do kegels, you contract the muscles around your anus, vagina and rectum to lift up and support the pelvic organs (the uterus, bladder and bowel). You can do fast lifts and releases or maintain holds for endurance."
What are the benefits of pelvic floor exercises?
According to the NHS, the main benefits of kegels are to help with urinary incontinence, relieve symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse and make sex better too.
Everyone can benefit from doing pelvic floor exercises and "the best part is that they can be done anytime, anywhere, without anybody knowing you’re doing them" highlights Maria. You don’t even have to put your trainers on!
Who are they important for?
Short answer: everyone! "A strong pelvic floor – that isn’t too strong or lax – is important for men and women, young and old, not just for those who have or are about to give birth," says Claire.
If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, you can start them straight away to help reduce your risk of experiencing incontinence after having your baby – but this isn’t the only group of people who can benefit.
"As women approach menopause, oestrogen decreases, which often weakens the collagen and support system in the pelvic area. This makes it very important to have a preventative daily programme in place," says Maria.
Men can also suffer from health conditions, such as incontinence. "A healthy pelvic floor is an important component in helping to manage this and if the pelvic floor is weak, then kegel exercises are a useful tool," says Claire.
And if they’re pre- or post-prostatectomy (surgery to remove part or all of the prostate gland), it’s "important to train the pelvic floor muscles so they can compensate if the sphincters have been damaged by surgery to help prevent bladder or faecal incontinence", says Maria.
"In addition, constipation and having a chronic cough can weaken our pelvic floor and cause us embarrassment, pain and functional day-to-day problems," she adds. All the more reason both men and women need to have a strong pelvic floor to help prevent any potential future problems.
How do you find your pelvic floor muscles & do a kegel correctly?
The NHS recommends trying to stop the flow of urine when you go to the toilet to find the right muscles – but doing this regularly is not advised, as it can be harmful to your bladder.
"Alternatively, imagine trying to stop yourself passing gas and peeing at the same time," says Claire. "Tighten the muscles to hold in these imaginary urges and then try and 'lift' the contraction. Performing the close and the lift together ensures all the muscles of the pelvic floor are utilised."
If finding your pelvic floor muscles is proving tricky, "you could place your hand on the muscles between your legs and hopefully feel the lift," suggests Maria. "Or lie down on your back with your knees bent and place a mirror between your legs and watch the lift activating from the back to the front."
How do you do kegels safely?
When doing your kegels, the NHS advises not holding your breath or tightening your stomach, bottom or thigh muscles at the same time. Clenching these muscles may result in you engaging the wrong ones, explains Claire.
Start slowly and build up your squeezes, building in a rest between sets. This helps you avoid overdoing it.
Patience is key. "Remember that all these sophisticated muscles in our body can take time to strengthen if you haven’t done this type of exercise before," says Maria.
Claire adds: "In an ideal world, you should be checked by a pelvic health physio who can do an internal examination to ensure your technique is correct.
"There are also biofeedback machines available that use an internal probe to assess your contraction."
It can be helpful to see a pelvic health specialist and do a full assessment, "if you have a history of urinary tract infections or endometriosis or pain from a fall on your tailbone, as doing pelvic floor strengthening work may exacerbate the problem", says Maria.
"Doing kegel exercises should never increase pain or make emptying your bladder or bowel more difficult," she adds.
According to Maria, symptoms that might demonstrate your pelvic floor is too tight, may be pain with sitting or sexual intercourse, straining to empty your bladder or emptying your bowel and bladder frequently and urgently.
"It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis of the cause of any symptoms from a medical professional before starting pelvic floor strengthening," says Claire.
How to do kegel exercises – a simple step-by-step
First up, make sure you’re sitting comfortably. "Strength in this area varies from person to person, but as a guide try and do 10 to 15 squeezes at a time, fully relaxing between each contraction," says Claire.
Next, manage your breath. "When you’re first learning to connect and strengthen your pelvic floor, I advise contracting as you breathe out and relaxing as you breathe in." This may seem counterintuitive, but as Claire explains, it makes it easier to contract the correct muscles as the diaphragm and pelvic floor are linked.
"When you breathe in, your diaphragm descends, as does your pelvic floor," she says. "When you breathe out, your diaphragm moves back up, as does your pelvic floor. The elevation of the pelvic floor during a breath out makes it easier to contract the muscles on the exhale than when the pelvic floor is lengthening on the inhale. This is especially important when the muscles are weak to make it as easy as possible to contract them."
When you get used to doing pelvic floor exercises, you can try to squeeze the muscles and hold them for a few seconds.
"Endurance contractions – building up to 10-second holds – are important," adds Claire. "Do some fast and some slow contractions and relaxes, as well as some longer endurance ones."
Kegel exercise tools to help build pelvic floor strength
So Divine Sensual Kegel Ball Set
• 3-step silicone kegel training set
• Includes how-to-use guide
• 3 weights from 36g to 96g
• Made from body-safe silicone
• Sent in plain, discreet packaging
• Recommended to use with the brand’s water-based lubricant
Designed to tone and strengthen your pelvic floor, this set includes three weights, ranging from from 36g to 96g. Like a workout regime for down below, the aim is to clench in order to keep the free-moving balls in place.
My Viv Kegel Trainer Blue
• 10 settings
• Made from body-safe silicone
• USB rechargeable
• Wireless remote included
• Sent in a plain box, or plain, heavy duty or padded envelopes
If it’s heightened sexual pleasure you’re searching for, this rechargeable, remote-controlled, body-safe silicone egg offers various strengthening exercises with 10 pattern and frequency settings. Used over time, these can help you improve control and give you a bit of an extra pleasure boost during intercourse. Feeling shy? All orders arrive in discreet, non-branded packages.
