Many women have asked recently, "What is a Kegel?" When that question is
answered, more questions invariably follow: "Should I be doing this?" and,
"How on earth do I do a Kegel?" The answer to the "Should I be doing this?"
question is a resounding "Yes", and that applies to men as well as women.
But I should begin at the beginning: The act of toning the muscles of the
pelvic floor is called a Kegel Exercise. To better describe the muscles
involved, they are the ones used during urination and sexual intercourse.
Toning and strengthening these muscles can lead to increased muscle control
(pleasure) during intimacy, and can help prevent uterine prolapse and
bladder incontinence from occurring later in life. While men don't share
the risk of uterine prolapse, bladder incontinence is a possibility for
them; hence the recommendation that men exercise these muscles, too!
For some who have never entertained the notion of exercising these muscles,
it is confusing to isolate this muscle group, let alone exercise them. To
find the muscles involved, make your first attempt at Kegelling while
voiding (urinating). When voiding, you must relax the muscles of the pelvic
floor. If we were to STOP the flow of urine, those muscles are tightened.
A feeling of "pulling up and in" will accompany this act, and you will feel
the rectum (and, for ladies, the vagina as well) pull up and in while
stopping the flow. To begin urinating again, simply relax the muscles, and
the flow resumes. You will feel the rectum and vagina return to a resting
state as you do this. That's a Kegel, simple enough! Now that you know HOW
to do it, it's probably best NOT to do it while urinating (as a general
rule), as it can lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder and we don't
want to encourage that. Occasionally checking your muscle tone by doing one
Kegel while voiding isn't a bad idea, though, as it will let you know if
your muscle tone is good: basically, if you can stop the flow rather
quickly, your muscle tone is good.
There are various ways to do the Kegel exercise, and no one way is the only
way for all women or men. Find a few ways that you prefer and "just do it". Several times a day. Work up to sets of 10 repetitions, say, three times
a day. Also, do the exercise in different positions. You will notice that doing a Kegel while sitting feels one way, while the same exercise done
while lying down feels another way entirely. This is good; feel free to vary your position and your specific exercise as you wish. Do them while
riding in the car; while standing in line at the grocery; while sitting at the computer; while lying in bed at night. Any time you can remember to do
them: do them. Post a "K" sticker on the computer monitor to help you remember.....
Some variations of the exercise are as follows:
- Slowly: slowly tense the muscles, hold for a count of 3, then relax. This is the most common and probably the easiest Kegel of all, and does a nice job of things.
- Quickly: Just tighten and release the muscles, as quickly as possible.
With this one, a set of ten goes by rather rapidly. This should probably
not be the ONLY Kegel you do, but can be one of the many types done
throughout the day.
- The Elevator: Tighten the muscles slowly, pulling up and in, imagining
that they are an elevator. Start out (relaxed) at the first floor. Slowly
pull up to the second floor, the third, and even the fourth floor. Stay
there a moment, then slowly go back down, past the third, second, and
finally at the first again. Some suggest "making a quick trip to the
basement" as well.
- Pull-n-Push: Similar to the Elevator, simply pull the muscles up and in,
hold a moment, then push out, as if drawing in and then expelling water from
the vagina. The push-out portion will also utilize abdominal muscles as
well. Use this in conjunction with other types of Kegels.
- Pulse: A little more advanced, this one consists of tensing the muscles,
drawing them up and in, then pulsing them a little tighter at the apex of
the contraction. Pulse perhaps three times, then relax totally. This one
is rather fatiguing, so probably only three or four of them is necessary at
a time.
Some sources will suggest doing sets of 100 Kegels; this merely fatigues
the muscles, and that's not our objective. Sets of 10 is sufficient, but we
should do several sets of 10 each day. Again, you can 'check your progress'
by stopping the flow of urine. It's heartening to see how much more easily
the flow is stopped after you've been Kegelling for awhile! If you find
that you do three or four "normal" Kegels and the muscles are tired, stop
for now, and return to them a little later. I will confess that when I
first began doing these, the muscles were tired after about 4 slow ones.
Stop when the muscles are tired. You will find that tomorrow you can do
another one without the muscles being so fatigued, and just work up to 10.
One last word of caution: for some reason, our faces want to instinctively
contort when we tighten the pelvic floor muscles. This is unnecessary and
can be quite 'telling' if you are Kegelling in the grocery line! Relax that
face, smile, and Kegel away.....
Hopefully, this has inspired you to begin Kegelling daily. It is an EASY
exercise, and one that reaps immediate benefits. DH could expound on the
benefits of having a wife that regularly Kegels..... I am sure you will
find benefits as well.
Blessings of Good health to you, and Happy Kegelling!
