Simple pelvic floor exercises to help beat embarrassing leaks and have amazing orgasms
Have you ever sneezed and felt some pee come out? How about when doing a star jump Let’s not mention the time you took the kids to the trampoline park. The unspoken truth is that many women of all ages are secretly dealing with leaks caused by a weak pelvic floor.
“Stats show urinary incontinence affects one in three women, but I suspect the numbers are much higher,” says Jane Simpson, a continence specialist and author of The Pelvic Floor Bible. “People have busy lives so they just find ways around it, like wearing a pad when working out, but we shouldn’t accept that.”
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that work like a sling, keeping your lower organs in place. It’s crucial for helping you control bodily functions such as going to the loo, and even helps with orgasms, which involve a rapid contraction of the superficial pelvic floor muscles.
“Plenty of factors can weaken the pelvic floor muscles, including pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and high-impact sport,” explains Jane. The good news is that these muscles can be strengthened with exercises at home in just five minutes or less a day. Sounds like our kind of workout!
Test your strength
A simple way to see if you’ve got control of your pelvic floor muscles is to try to stop the flow of urine midstream. “This is recommended as a test, not an exercise, as it’s bad for your bladder to keep stopping and starting,” warns Jane.
“If you succeed, your muscles are engaging, although they may still need strengthening. Alternatively, insert a finger and see if you can squeeze it, or try tensing around your partner’s penis during sex. If you feel a dragging sensation or heaviness, you may have a prolapse, where the pelvic floor isn’t supporting your organs well enough.”
Start early
Leaks are no fun and having a prolapse can be tough, so prevention is key.
“Younger women are increasingly doing high-intensity exercises such as HIIT, which put huge stress on the pelvic floor,” says Jane. “More women are also having their first baby when they’re older, which studies show increases their likelihood of major pelvic floor injuries during birth.” Research has found that pelvic floor exercises before conceiving or in the early stages of pregnancy helps prevent bladder weakness in the future.* You’ll definitely thank yourself later.
KEEP REGULAR
Around 50% of people with chronic constipation suffer pelvic floor problems. You can keep things moving by upping your fibre (by eating foods such as wholegrains), drinking plenty of fluids and doing regular exercise.
Five-minute workout
Most of us exercise the rest of our body regularly (well, ish) and clean our teeth every day, but because our pelvic floor is out of sight, we tend to ignore it – even when it’s behaving badly.
“Like any muscle, the key to keeping it working well is to repeatedly contract and release it through exercise,” says Rosie Stockley, personal trainer and founder of Mamawell, which specialises in pre- and postnatal fitness. She suggests trying this daily five-minute quick fix:
- Sit on a chair with your feet on the floor or lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Take three deep breaths to relax – you don’t want to be holding in your tummy.
- Pretend you’re trying to stop a wee, while at the same time trying not to fart. Make sure you’re not squeezing your buttocks.
- Hold for 10 seconds while breathing normally.
- Let everything go and take a deep breath before tensing again.
- Repeat 10 times. If you’ve recently had a baby, try this at least twice a day.
PT for your PF
At £169 it may be spenny, but if you want a high-tech personal coach for your lady regions try the Elvie Trainer.
This kit has a silicone wand that you insert with the tail remaining outside (like a tampon), before it connects via Bluetooth to an app on your phone that will guide you through a series of five-minute exercises. It can also track your symptoms and progress. There are four levels to try and you can set goals and schedule reminders.
“Always read the manufacturer’s instructions or ask your GP first,” advises Rosie. “You can’t use it if pregnant or if you’ve had cancerous cells in the cervix.”
’Appy squeezing
Finding it hard to remember to do those exercises? There’s an app for that.
“Giving my younger clients a piece of paper with exercises on rarely works, but tech has been shown to be helpful in forming regular habits,” says Jane.
Squeezy (£2.99) is recommended by the NHS and is designed by women’s health specialists. It has guided pelvic floor exercises with regular reminders to do them, and it even bleeps during the routines so you know you’re doing them for long enough. You can also customise your workout and track your progress.
TAMPON TRICK
An exercise hack if you’re a tampon user is to insert one and pull gently on the string whilst at the same time trying to contract your muscles to stop it coming out – a bit like a tug of war.
Games of cones
Vaginal cones are small weights made from silicone or plastic-coated metal that can be used to help train your pelvic floor muscles. “They’re not good if you’ve got a prolapse, so speak to your GP or a women’s health specialist,” warns Jane.
Kegal8 vaginal cones, £34.99, are a similar shape to a tampon, and once you’ve inserted one, you contract your pelvic floor muscles to stop it from slipping out.
They come in different weights (usually 5-20g) and you can increase the weight as your muscles strengthen over time. Always follow instructions carefully.
Build it up
Getting back into exercise is daunting, but if you’ve just had a baby there’s an extra obstacle to worry about.
“No matter how sporty you were before, always focus on your pelvic floor first,” says Rosie, who recommends building exercise up slowly.
Start with running for one minute then briskly walking for one minute. In that time, consider whether your pelvic floor feels heavy. If not, run for one more minute. If you experience leaking or heaviness, stop and use the time to exercise your pelvic floor again.
Try to do one minute of pelvic floor exercises before you start in order to get those muscles working. When doing high-intensity exercise, don’t contract your pelvic floor constantly as it’ll put the muscles under too much strain.
See a physio
“If after three to six months of daily exercise you can’t feel any difference, see a women’s health physiotherapist,” says Jane. “They can offer treatments such as bio-stimulation using electrodes in the vagina, and advise on advanced exercises.” Ask your GP about referring you to an NHS physio.
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