The simple 7-step workout for down there that promises to boost your sex life
LET'S face it - everyone's love life has taken a hit during the pandemic.
But if there's anything you can do to intensify sexual pleasure, it's to exercise pelvic floor muscles.
Strengthening the muscles that sit between the pubic bone and tailbone can be hugely beneficial for sex by increasing the ability to feel sensation.
Physiotherapist and spokesperson for the Amanda Savage, told Healthista: "Many women report they are able to reach orgasm more easily, and that their orgasms are more powerful, after focusing on pelvic floor muscle exercises.
"Sexual pleasure comes from the movement and build-up of friction against the vaginal walls.
"The vaginal walls are layered with the pelvic floor muscles.
"Pelvic floor muscle exercises tone and strengthen these muscles, improving blood supply and nerve activity, all leading to greater pleasure."
It's not just women who should be working their pelvic floor muscles.
Men will find strong pelvic floor muscles help to achieve erection and may prevent premature ejaculation, .
Not only are pelvic floor muscles the secret to better sex, they are also crucial for our health down there.
The NHS says after a few months, you should start to notice results.
But it is "not recommended that you regularly stop the flow of urine midstream as it can be harmful to your bladder".
2. Short, powerful squeezes
Building up your pelvic floor muscle is not only going to make you feel more confident in the bedroom but if you suffer from a weaker pelvic floor this exercise also has the power to make a huge difference to your day-to-day life.
Pelvic floor muscles kick in when we sneeze, pass wind or feel that our bladder might leak.
By practising short, powerful squeezes we can improve their capabilities and learn to squeeze them in time to cough, keeping our wee in our bladder.
Using the technique that you learned in exercise one Amanda explains: "Like all muscles in the body the pelvic floor muscles can perform in different ways.
"Practice short, powerful squeezes (10-15 in a row)."
Draw your muscles in quickly and release, repeating this in short bursts.
3. Hold while you're having sex
Now it’s time to put that endurance building squeeze and hold into practice.
Physiotherapist and PhD student, Kate Lough said: "It’s good to know where those muscles are and then when it comes to your sex life you can decide to have a bit of fun with it."
Speaking to women, she said: "During sex, you can squeeze and try and get your partner to feel it.
"Use those muscles for some effect, for some fun."
The more firmed and toned you are, the more you’ll feel yourself and your partner during sex and according to the professionals, this will help to improve your orgasms.
4. Don't hold too long
Christine explains that one thing that is incredibly important to remember is that releasing those muscles is just as essential as tightening them up.
Some women are unable to tighten those muscles, but other women may find it difficult to let them go.
"It’s like if you lift your arm and hold it with a weight to strengthen it – you don’t leave your arm up there, you bring it down again," she said.
"It’s very easy to store a lot of tension in your pelvic floor and you can get pains and your muscles can go into spasms."
It can be the result of urinary tract infections, bouts of cystitis or even stress and anxiety that causes your muscles to tense but one thing is for certain, it can have a huge impact on intimacy.
"There’s a group of women we see that have pain during sex and that can be due to an overactive pelvic floor."
While suffering from this may mean having to see a professional, there are ways that you can work on this in the privacy of your own home.
"On your own, you can practice releasing your pelvic floor," Christine said.
"Try and tighten up your pelvic floor and if you don’t feel much movement there, you may already be tensing.
"It gives you notifications to remind you to train," she said.
"If you know how to do an effective contraction and how long you can hold for you can individualise your training, although you may need an assessment for this, and it gives you really simple instructions on how to do your exercises.
"It costs a couple of pounds but it has a visual aid that goes up and down as you squeeze and you have to keep up with it – that will help you train your speed."
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It may also help to reduce the pressure on your pelvic floor muscles by keeping a healthy weight, drinking lots of fluids, stopping smoking and speaking to your doctor if you have a persistent cough caused by asthma or hayfever, for example.
This story originally appeared on and has been republished with permission.