6 pelvic floor exercises you should know!

Training pelvic floor exercises

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Are you looking for pelvic floor exercises that you can do at home? Then you've come to the right place! Today I'll show you which workout you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

Have you ever heard of Pelvic floor exercises Heard of exercises? Even if you can't see your pelvic floor, you should pay regular attention to it.

At the latest to the first Birth you will stumble across the term pelvic floor exercises. But it's worth starting earlier. You can use them as a preventative measure against incontinence. And this problem concerns many more womenthan you realize - especially when sneezing, coughing, laughing, lifting and jumping.

Women's pelvic floor exercises also help us to achieve a better love life. Do you understand what I mean? 😉

What is the pelvic floor and where does it sit?

The pelvic floor is the muscular floor of the pelvic cavity. It consists of the upper, middle and lower pelvic floor muscles as well as ligaments and connective tissue. The upper muscle layer is particularly pronounced, which starts from the Pubic bone to to Coccyx is sufficient.

You can compare it to a tightly stretched hammock that lies in the lower pelvis. The pelvic floor supports the organs of the abdomen and pelvis.💪🏼

The middle layer is like a fan that spreads out between the two ischial tuberosities. The lower layer follows a Eight-point circle around the orifices. It surrounds the urethra and vagina in women as well as the anus. The pelvic floor also includes the perineum, which runs between the vagina and the anus.

Pelvic floor muscles training

When should you start pelvic floor training?

Sonja Soeder, a Expert in the field of pelvic floor training, emphasizes the importance of addressing this important muscle area at an early stage.

"Everyone should become aware of and strengthen their pelvic floor early on in life," recommends Soeder, adding that, ideally, young people should already from 16 years should start with this.☝🏼

She points out that recognizing and strengthening the pelvic floor should be part of the process of understanding your body and its functions during pregnancy. Puberty discovered.

"Part of puberty is getting to know your body. Just like you get to know a Menstruation gets, or a Erection you need to know: What kind of muscles are these?"

The need for targeted training becomes particularly clear in the context of pregnancy. Soeder points out that "40 percent of all Pregnant women under Urinary incontinence suffer".😕

This underlines the importance of a Conscious pelvic floor training at the latest at this stage of life in order to prepare the body for the upcoming changes and counteract possible complaints.

For whom pelvic floor exercises make particular sense

For every woman it is worth exercising the pelvic floor. But especially if you

  • you suffer from bladder weakness,
  • you have just given birth,
  • very much sits,
  • want to have more fun in bed,
  • want to improve your posture.

Due to Lack of exercise and A lot of sitting the pelvic floor muscles are weakened. Also Overweight and a bad Posture can have an impact. Women are affected much more frequently than men. This is partly because the birth of a child can cause pelvic floor problems such as stress incontinence.👶🏻

As soon as your baby is born, the muscles are stretched to their limits. During pregnancy, the pelvic floor is pushed to its limits by the additional weight of the fetus and the amniotic fluid. With enough exercise, expectant mothers can regain control of their bladder and keep it healthy. Muscle groups ideally even before the pregnancy strengthen.

Like all other muscle groups in your body, you can also strengthen the pelvic floor with Exercises strengthen and train. This happens by tensing and relaxing the muscles. This triggers a stimulus that causes the muscles to grow.💪🏼

What are the causes of pelvic floor weakness?

Pelvic floor weakness affects both women and men and has real different Reasons. The big five reasons why the pelvic floor can be weakened are:

  1. Pregnancy and having children: It's clear that a lot is being stretched and strained. The baby brings weight with it, which presses on the pelvic floor, and the birth itself can really challenge the muscles down there.🤰🏼
  2. Overweight: More weight means more Pressure from above on the pelvic floor. This can lead to problems in the long term.
  3. Hard physical work or sportIf you regularly lift heavy weights or give your all in sports without thinking about your pelvic floor, this can backfire.
  4. Too little movementIf you sit a lot, you are not training your pelvic floor properly. This can weaken it because it not required will.
  5. Constant coughingChronic coughing, often caused by smoking or lung problems, puts stress on the pelvic floor.

In addition there are Smoking and Alcohol, that are bad for the pelvic floor. Smoking damages blood circulation and alcohol makes you run to the loo more often, which puts additional strain on the pelvic floor.🚭

Hormonal changes, especially during the menopause in women, can also be a reason why the pelvic floor no longer plays along.

What does a weak pelvic floor feel like?

You can recognize a weak pelvic floor by many signs.

The most common include

  • Pain in the pelvic area, especially when urinating
  • Feeling Incomplete emptying of the bladder or bowel
  • Bladder weakness
  • Pain during Sex or during orgasm
  • Pain in the lower Back or the hip

How you can learn to feel the pelvic floor

Whether it necessary is to train the pelvic floor, you can feel. Before you start training, you should learn how to tense and relax your muscles.

How you can test your pelvic floor muscles

  • Interrupt at Urination the jet. The pelvic floor muscles help you with this, to be precise: the PC muscle.☝🏼
  • Or pinch sitting or standing, simply use your Sphincter muscle together. Can you feel your muscles pulling slightly inwards and upwards? These are your pelvic floor muscles.

If you pull the pelvic floor up a little, you will feel as if the vagina is tightening. The area around the anus will also feel firmer. This feeling will become more intense over time. The more regular you do the gymnastics exercises, the stronger the muscles.💪🏼

If you even do not feel, then your muscles are very weakly pronounced. It's high time you did something about it.

You can use the Pelvic floor but also feel. To do this, lie on your back. Tighten it as much as you can, now you should be able to feel a change with your fingers - between your vagina and anus. You will notice a difference internally if you two fingers insert. When you tighten the pelvic floor, the vagina becomes tighter and the cervix pulls upwards.

What can support you in pelvic floor training

If you have very weak pelvic floor muscles, you should start building them up as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will.

Pelvic floor training aids

There are two possibilitiesEither tampon-like weights that you insert (love balls) or devices that work with electrical impulses.

More effective are Stimulation devices, that work with light electrical impulses. You don't need to be afraid of getting an electric shock. All you will feel is a slight vibration.

Hula Hoop

If you swing the hula hoop regularly, you will strengthen your entire core muscles and also the pelvic floor muscles. You can find out more about this topic read in this article.

Gym ball and seat cushion

They help you to Correct posture while sitting and staying upright. Most gynecologists recommend doing exercises with an exercise ball during pregnancy.🤰🏼

What is the best way to train the pelvic floor?

In addition to your normal exercises, you can also do sports that strengthen the pelvic floor. Endurance sports such as jogging, walking, swimming and cycling are excellent for this. Exercise, such as yoga and Pilates, also strengthens the pelvic floor.

Tip: A book with exercises

If you would like to have the exercises to hand at all times and - so to speak - have your own Pelvic floor coach in the house, I can recommend the book The little pelvic floor coach recommend.📖

There you will find exercises that consist of 25 years of physiotherapy that you will always have with you at home.

The little pelvic floor coach
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What are the best pelvic floor exercises?

Pelvic floor training starts with Sitting. If you are sitting incorrectly, i.e. with a hunched back, your pelvic floor muscles lower due to the weight of your internal organs. In addition, the sagging rib cage disturbs the body's mobility.

With upright spine and hip-width seat you do something good for your back, shoulders, neck and pelvic floor.😊

All clear? Then you can start with the pelvic floor exercises.

Important: The right breathing

The breathing technique is a crucial element of any pelvic floor training. This is because the diaphragm and the pelvic floor are closely connected. And this connection is the reason why the pelvic floor muscles can contract and relax with such force in the first place.🌬️

When you inhale, the Diaphragm and exerts pressure on the abdominal organs. As a result, the pelvic floor expands and lowers. When you exhale, the diaphragm rises, causing the pelvic floor to contract and return to its original position.

Tip: Empty your bladder directly from the training.

Exercise 1

You may already know this exercise from abdominal legs butt workouts. The starting position is the bridge.

Pelvic floor exercises for home

  • Lie on your back.
  • Angle your legs and lift your pelvis until your body forms a straight line.
  • Lift the right and left leg alternately 5 times in the air.
  • Make sure that the hips always remain at the same height and do not sink.

Make at least 3 passes.

Exercise 2

Beginners can also simply place their hands on their thighs for this exercise. This not only strengthens the pelvic floor, but also stretch at the same time your Thigh.💪🏼

Pelvic floor training

  • Kneel on the exercise mat. Place the top of your feet flat on the mat.
  • Straighten your upper body and place your hands on the back of your neck.
  • Now lean back 10 to 20 cm and then go forward again.
  • Do not forget to tighten the abdomen and buttocks!

Rocker at least 10x before you take a break. 3 passes.

Exercise 3

For relaxation times something simple, which is also suitable for beginners.

Pelvic floor exercises

  • Lie on your back and tighten your legs.
  • The arms are parallel to the body.
  • Tighten the abdomen and start cycling in the air.
  • To do this, alternately pull your knees toward your body and then bring them forward again. The movement is quite the same as on the bike.

Make 3x 30 seconds.

Exercise 4

It looks simple, but it's super strenuous. In addition to training the pelvic floor External rotators your hip.😊

Pelvic floor exercises at home

  • Lie sideways on the mat.
  • Place the head on the lower arm.
  • Bend the knees. Raise the upper knee as shown in the photo. The feet touch each other all the time.
  • You really just lift the knee and open the hip.
  • Perform this exercise very slowly.

12 repetitions and 3 passes.

Exercise 5

Attention: Danger of a hollow back! It is very important that you tighten your stomach so that you don't develop a hollow back!

Exercise pelvic floor

  • Place your arms under your shoulders and your knees under your pelvis.
  • The top of the feet rests on the mat.
  • Tighten the abdominal muscles.
  • Lift the pelvis off the floor. But be careful not to tilt forward, but keep your arms really straight.
  • Lower the pelvis again and raise it again in a moment.

12 repetitions and 3 passes.

Exercise 6

This exercise consists of two parts and is more suitable for advanced riders. You need good strength in your arms for this.

Pelvic floor gymnastics exercises

In the starting position, your hands are under your shoulders. The knees are off the floor and you stand on your toes.

Pelvic floor training at home

  • Now lean forward, bring your knees almost (!) to the floor and bend your arms.
  • The buttocks must now be higher than the shoulders.
  • If you tighten the abdomen, you will not get into a hollow back.

5 repetitions and 3 passes.

By the way, you can also use Trampolining strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. However, the not, if you just pregnant have had a baby or have moderate to severe pelvic floor weakness. Please be sure to talk to your doctor beforehand!

You can find more great exercises for the pelvic floor here:

What pelvic floor exercises you can do at any time

There are ways to train your pelvic floor that you can always and everywhere you can do. And nobody notices. Sounds good, doesn't it? 😊

1. exercise the pelvic floor in a sitting position

Sit down with right-angled legs and straight back as far forward as possible onto a chair.

Place your hands on your thighs and Breathe deeply in and out.🌬️

As you exhale, pull your pelvic floor further and further upwards. Can you feel how your sitting bones tighten and your bottom tightens?

Hold the tension 5-10 seconds and release it again with an inhalation.

2. strengthen the pelvic floor muscles when climbing stairs.

The Stairs at take, can quickly become a wonderful pelvic floor exercise. And that's if you do it consciously and purposefully.

Place the first foot on the step. Activate the pelvic floor. Tense the abdomen and back.

Go slow and try to keep the pelvic floor tense the whole time.

3. while waiting

Whether at traffic lights, in the elevator, at the checkout or at lunch - we can't avoid waiting. But we can use the Making good use of time.

Imagine your pelvic floor is an elevator. You breathe in, the doors close. The elevator goes up several floors. Once at the top, your Pelvic floor now completely fixed be tense.

The doors open and you can Exhale deeply. During normal breathing, the pelvic floor sinks again.

What you should do in everyday life

If you want to train your pelvic floor, you should have a few Avoid mistakes, that we all like to do in everyday life.

  • Lift Always keep your back straight and bend your knees. Tighten your stomach and pelvic floor before lifting and don't hold your breath. When lifting, always stand slightly more as wide as a basin.
  • Stand always with light bent Kneeling. If you stretch them all the way through, the pelvis and pelvic floor can tilt forward, which is very unfavorable.☝🏼
  • Try a Hollow back at avoid. Always keep your back as long as possible when sitting, standing and walking.
  • Press on the toilet as possible as little. The downward pressure puts a lot of strain on your pelvic floor.
  • Drink sufficient. Even if your bladder is weak, you should drink enough. If you never fill it properly, your pelvic floor muscles will remain untrained and become even weaker.

How long does it take to train the pelvic floor?

And it's best to start your workout right now. It can take a long time to train your muscles. It varies from person to person and mainly depends on your starting position. It can vary between two months and one year until you feel an improvement.☝🏼

From one day to the next you can No results expect. Just as the other muscles in our body can only be strengthened slowly, it also takes a while here. But it is important that you persevere. It is important that you do not stopif you notice an improvement.

Train at least 2 months long 2-3 times a week. Later, when you have already strengthened your muscles, a workout once a week will suffice.

Which sport is suitable for pelvic floor training?

Sports that specifically target the pelvic floor muscles are particularly suitable for effective pelvic floor training. deep-seated muscles and strengthen the pelvic floor without overloading it. Pilates is a real favorite.

The exercises focus on the Core muscles, including the pelvic floor, while improving flexibility and posture.

Yoga is also top, especially with postures aimed at strengthening and relaxing the pelvic floor.🧘🏼‍♀️

Swimming and Water gymnastics are also great because the water supports the body and provides resistance at the same time, which gently strengthens the pelvic floor.

Cycling and running are good cardio exercises, but when it comes to the pelvic floor, you should do some more cautious especially if you already have weakness. These sports can increase the pressure on the pelvic floor.

These sports are good for the pelvic floor

  • Dancing (but not jumping)
  • Golf
  • Climbing
  • Rowing
  • Inline skating
  • Pilates
  • Yoga
  • Cross Fit

What are the benefits of pelvic floor training?

Pelvic floor exercises are really great and have a lot of benefits. Firstly, it helps you to Bubble and your Intestine better under control, which can be particularly important after pregnancy or simply as you get older.😁

No one likes to talk about it, but a strong pelvic floor can prevent embarrassing moments and give you more confidence. Secondly, it can improve your Love life spice it up.

Yes, you heard right! A fit pelvic floor ensures a more intense feeling and more fun in bed.

When you pregnant are or plan, pelvic floor training is also a real plus. It makes childbirth easier and helps you get back into shape more quickly afterwards.🤰🏼

And as a bonus: It can even Relieve back pain and ensure better posture.

Our conclusion

For every woman, of all ages, pays it fromto train the pelvic floor. This workout will improve your sex life, prevent bladder weakness and uterine prolapse and do your body a lot of good overall.

In short: whether you are doing pelvic floor exercises as a preventative measure or already have problems, training is worthwhile always off.

Good luck with your training!

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