THE EASY ANSWER TO A BETTER SEX LIFE
It’s free, you can do it on the bus without anyone being the wiser and it can dramatically improve an orgasm, so why aren’t we doing our Kegels?
According to continence and pelvic floor physiotherapist, Annabelle Citroen the most common response she hears is: ‘I forget!’.
“I think because it’s an internal muscle, there’s no physical reminder in front of them to do it. Whereas someone will look at their abdominal muscles and say: “Yeh, I can see my six-pack getter better!’.
And while many women have heard of doing kegel - or pelvic floor - exercises, they often don’t know if they’re doing them right.
“So there’s a little bit of: ‘I’m not sure if I’m doing it correctly, therefore, am I wasting my time?’ and it falls to the bottom of the priority list,” says Annabelle.
The easiest way to test if you are doing them to make a difference is a urine stop/start test.
“See if you can stop your urine flow midstream,’ says Annabelle. “You should feel the contraction happening around the openings of the urethra, vagina and back passage and with that sensation you shouldn’t have any feelings of pressure travelling down [or you’re not performing them correctly]. It’s an upwards and inside movement without excessive use of the muscles around the area of the buttocks, the lower tummy, the inner thigh.”
Performing kegel exercises correctly will not only strengthen the muscles that support the bladder, so no more leaks, but it can also ramp up your sex life at any age.
“An orgasm with intercourse comes through having a greater strength of the pelvic floor muscles,” says Annabelle. “Ultimately an orgasm is a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, so the stronger they are the stronger the orgasm.”
However to reap the benefits, you need to commit to the practice every day.
“Like any muscle, if we don’t actively try and maintain some form of strengthening, they weaken with age,” says Annabelle.
Other factors that can worsen the pelvic floor strength include constipation and the straining to have a bowel motion and also too much heavy lifting.
“These are factors that can actually work against us over time, so we definitely need to maintain them, sometimes even do a little bit more to make them better,” she says.”
Since they are stealth exercises that no one notices but you, you can sneak in a few when waiting at a stoplight, riding an elevator, or standing in a grocery line.
A misconception surrounding a weakness or dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles is that it’s most common with mums who have given birth, but that’s not correct cautions Annabelle.
“We are seeing a large number of younger women who are having sexual dysfunction as a result of pain and we often find they are the ones whose pelvic floor muscles need to be down-trained - or taught to relax better - before we look at strengthening them. Also the high-impact, gym-based training that’s so popular now can cause a strain on muscles if they are not in good condition to start with so ladies need be careful and make sure they do their Kegels regularly.”
An easy kegel:
Contract your pelvic floor muscles for 3 to 5 seconds.
Relax for 3 to 5 seconds.
Repeat the contract/relax cycle 10 times. Then, work your way up to 10-second contractions and relaxations. Ideally three rounds a day.
