What Happens If You Do Kegels Wrong?
Kegel exercises are one of the most popular ways to improve your pelvic floor.
They’re easy, they don’t take up too much time, and there’s no risk of injury or side effects.
The only problem is that you could be doing them wrong! But don’t worry – we’ll teach you how to do it right.
The post will go on to explain what Kegels are and why they should be done correctly for maximum benefit.
It will also talk about how women can tell if they are doing their Kegels incorrectly and give tips on correcting the mistakes in order for a person’s pelvic floor muscles to get stronger.
Kegel Exercises
Kegels are pelvic floor exercises that work by strengthening your pubococcygeus (PC) muscles.
The PC muscles run from the pubic bone to the tailbone and they surround your urethra, vagina, and anus. They help keep you continent and assist in sexual arousal and orgasm. Cue the TENS machine and panties with a pocket for a wee sponge, we’re going to talk about Kegel exercises!
There are two main reasons you would want to do your Kegels:
(1) you want stronger pelvic floor muscles;
(2) you’ve had babies and now it’s time to get back to sexy-times
Kegels are sometimes done to help with urinary incontinence, but more commonly just as a way to prevent it.
To do your Kegels correctly (and this is the part where I say DON’T KEGELS HURT), you squeeze and tense your pelvic muscles like you’re trying to stop the flow of urine, but don’t actually do that.
Imagine you’re urinating and you want to squeeze so your wee doesn’t come out. Just don’t go through with it! If you do this right, stopping the flow of pee is an involuntary action not under your conscious control. Just squeeze, relax, and breathe.
Why Do Kegels Matter?
Well, for starters pelvic floor muscles are responsible for how you’re able to feel sexual pleasure. They also have a major role in the ability to orgasm during sex or masturbation.
Just as important is how they affect the bladder. Strong pelvic floor muscles help keep the bladder from leaking.
In doing this, you prevent urinary incontinence which can be a very embarrassing and inconvenient problem.
Kegels for Beginners
So how do you know if you’re doing Kegels right? Here are some simple tests to help you get started:
(1) You should be able to stop the flow of urine midstream. If you can’t, your PC muscles are too weak for this exercise.
(2) You should be able to do around 3-5 contractions in a row without getting tired and 10 is the golden number.
(3) Any discomfort you feel means your PC muscles are too weak and you aren’t doing them right! The exercises should not hurt, only slightly tire your muscles.
I know. This sounds like a lot of work and for many people, it’s one of the things that puts them off Kegels. But with practice, you’ll get used to doing your Kegels without thinking about it and the benefits will be worth the effort!
Related Post: Do Kegels Really Work For Urinary Incontinence?
Incorrect Kegel Exercises
Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes people make with their Kegels. Most of these problems stem from not understanding what you’re trying to do and how the PC muscles actually work.
Don’t hold your breath or tighten your stomach or buttock muscles. You want to try and isolate the contraction to only the pelvic floor muscles. Also keep your stomach, buttock, and leg muscles relaxed.
Don’t part your thighs or let your belly protrude. You should be squeezing your pelvic floor muscles like you’re trying to stop the flow of urine (but don’t actually do that). This is not a muscle contraction in any other part of your body.
Don’t push down or bear down like you’re having a bowel movement. This is way too much pressure for the area and it hurts!
Don’t hold back when doing Kegels because this will cause your muscles to get even weaker while preventing you from building up any strength.
Kegel Exercises for Strength
Now that you have an idea of how to do Kegels, let’s talk about the different exercises you can do to strengthen your muscles.
Each of these movements will help you maintain or improve your bladder control so keep them in mind as you work with your pelvic floor muscles.
Once again, try not to hold your breath or tighten any other part of your body while doing these exercises. You want to focus only on the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles.
(1) Squeeze and hold. Squeeze and hold like you’re trying to stop the flow of urine (but don’t actually do that). It should take you around 5 seconds to squeeze and the rest of the time, relax. Hold as long as is comfortable up to 10 seconds and complete 3-5 repetitions.
(2) Squeeze and release. Just like number 1, except now you’re going to hold for a second or two and then release for a second or two. Repeat this 5 times and do 3-5 sets.
(3) Kegel balls squeeze. Instead of squeezing your pelvic floor muscles, you are going to squeeze a “kegel Balls” or Ben Wa Ball throughout the movement.
(4) Quick squeezes. This is the same idea as number 1 except instead of holding, you’re just going to squeeze and release over and over again for around 5 seconds.
(5) Long squeezes. This is like number 2 except instead of squeezing and releasing quickly, you will hold the contraction for 10 seconds. Hold it for 10 seconds, relax for 10 seconds, and repeat 5 times.
(6) Slow long squeezes. This is like number 5 except you will hold the contraction for 20 seconds instead of 10. Repeat it 5 times and do 3-5 sets.
I hope this helps you work on your pelvic floor muscles!
Remember that your pelvic floor muscles play a large role in your health and so if you have any questions, be sure to ask your doctor!
Related Post: Pelvic Floor Strong Review
