5/10/2016 3 Questions And Answers About Kegels

Health(/health) INCONTINENCE(/TAGS/INCONTINENCE)

3 Questions And Answers

About Kegels
You officially no longer have any excuses not to do your
Kegel exercises
SEPTEMBER28,2012 By AMANDAFIRST(/AUTHOR/AMANDA-FIRST)

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What'stherightwaytodoKegels?

To get a sense of which muscles you're

working, try to stop urinating mid-
stream. That's the area you want to
target during Kegel exercises.
Imagine squeezing a pebble with your
vagina.
Try your Kegels in front of a hand
mirror. If youre doing them properly,
your perineum, or the skin-covered
area between your vagina and anus,
should contract with each rep.

Ideally, each rep should last 10 seconds, but

that's no easy feat. Start with at least 4 or 5
reps of 2-second holds, 2 or 3 times a day,
and increase your hold time week by week.

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5/10/2016 3 Questions And Answers About Kegels

MORE: 12 Hip-Opening Yoga Poses

(http://www.prevention.com/fitness/yoga/
12-yoga-poses-open-your-hips)

WhatifIneedmorehelp?

PHOTOGRAPH BY LIAM NORRIS/GETTY IMAGES

If you're not sure Kegels have been working

for you, consider booking an appointment
with a pelvic floor physical therapistfor
women who have trouble isolating their
pelvic floor muscles, physical therapy can
make an enormous difference, Dr. Brucker
says. Your physical therapist will prescribe
a personalized exercise program to
strengthen your pelvic floor over time.

"Just like the way a physical trainer works

with you on reps at the gym, we increase
the length of each Kegel from two seconds
to five or ten seconds as you get stronger,"
says Amy Stein, MPT, the founder of
Beyond Basics Physical Therapy in New
York City and a practicing pelvic floor
physical therapist. The muscles in your
pelvis affect your legs and abs as well, and
vice versa, so after helping you isolate and

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5/10/2016 3 Questions And Answers About Kegels

exercise your pelvic floor, a physical

therapist will introduce core-strengthening
exercises. "If your abdominal or leg muscles
are weak, your pelvic muscles may be
working overtime," Stein says. Try Pilates
for a core workout that extends to your
pelvic floor.

HowdoIknowifmyKegelsare
working?
Your gynecologist/urologist or pelvic floor
physical therapist may also suggest
biofeedback, an electronic sensor system
that maximizes the effectiveness of each
Kegel session. The sensors detect the
strength of each contraction and where it's
coming from, so you and your doctor can
see whether or not you're using the correct
muscles. Of course, you should practice
every day at homeor at work, or in the
car, or at the supermarket... You can do
"the invisible workout" anywhere, but Dr.
Brucker suggests making them a part of
your daily routine. "Do your Kegel exercises
right after you put on your clothing, or
when you're sitting and reading the
newspaper, so you remember to do them
every day," he says.

MORE:9 Yoga Poses for Better Sex

(http://www.prevention.com/fitness/yoga/
yoga-moves-yoga-better-sex)

Tags:

INCONTINENCE (/TAGS/INCONTINENCE)
BETTER SEX (/TAGS/BETTER-SEX)
EXERCISES FOR SEX (/TAGS/EXERCISES-
SEX)
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5/10/2016 3 Questions And Answers About Kegels

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