Many mums want to tighten their pelvic muscles, including uterus, bladder, and bowel. Especially after childbirth where those muscles tend to loose up. Most experts and doctors recommend Kegel exercises to tighten up those muscles and help them recover postpartum. We bet you are curious to know more. Therefore, we gathered up everything you need to know on those exercises in this article
All You Need to Know on Kegel Exercises
Why are Kegel Exercises important?
Giving birth takes a toll on your pelvic muscles. But in addition to it, there are many other factors that might weaken those muscles. Such as weight gain, gynecologic surgeries for women, and prostate surgeries for men. So it is not something that only mums need, but dads can do Kegel as well. And you need Kegel exercises to help tighten them up and help regain their strength.
In addition to that, Kegel exercises help mums in many things, such as:
- – Urine leakage when sneezing, coughing, or laughing.
- – Preparing for labor.
- – Getting rid of bloating and gas.
- – Gaining better control over bowel movements.
- – Making pelvic muscles stronger and tighter for both men and women.
How to do Kegel exercises?
1| Finding the right muscles.
The right muscles to target when doing Kegel exercises are the ones that help you urinate. So, try to hold it, and you will feel the muscles you need to work on. So, when you urinate, stop mid way and you will feel the muscles that you need to tighten. In addition, keep in mind that your thighs, buttock muscles, and abdomen should remain relaxed. Writing about it can be confusing, but once you do the hold and release exercises, you will understand where those muscles are.
2| Practicing the right technique.
First, lay down. And make sure your bladder is empty. Tighten up your pelvic floor muscles for about 3 seconds, then relax them for another 3 seconds. Repeat this every time you do those exercises. While you are doing your exercises, make sure your stomach, thigh, buttock, and chest are relaxed. Once you master this, and gain control over your pelvic floor muscles. You can do those exercises standing up or sitting down.
3| Maintaining focus and concentration.
When taking up Kegel exercises, many mums cannot tell the difference between their pelvic muscles and their abdomen muscles. Therefore, it is important to know the difference. As well as how to tighten up the right muscles before moving on to more advanced exercises.
4| Repetition.
To get the best results, keep repeating those exercises. Do 10 sets 3 times a day; morning, noon, and night.
When can you do those exercises?
You can start doing Kegel exercises whenever you want. As you can tell, those exercises are easy to do. So, when you start is not as important as actually starting. Also, committing to do it as we mentioned above is just as important.
Tips for doing Kegel Exercises
- – Start at first laying down. When you know you are doing it right, you can do it sitting down or standing up.
- – Do more sets gradually. For instance, start doing 5 sets 3 times a day for 3 seconds. Then increase those sets to 7 then to 10.
- – Focus on your breathing. Do not hold your breath while doing those exercises.
- – Make sure you are not tightening your thighs, hips, or stomach muscles. If you are, then you are not doing those exercises correctly.
- – Stick and commit to doing those exercises. They only take a minute, and there are many mobile apps to help you do them daily.
- – If you just had a baby, or you are pregnant, it is best to consult your doctor before taking up Kegel.
- – Kegel exercises are not painful. So, if you feel any pain then you might not be doing it right. If the pain is unusual, we advise you to consult your doctor.
- – Make sure your bladder is completely empty before doing those exercises.
- – Do not overdo it. As that might make vaginal muscles tighten too much.
When to expect a result?
You can get the best results by only committing to those exercises and doing them on a daily basis. The results are not instant, but with repetition, you will start noticing results after 4 to 6 weeks.
