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STRENGTH

7 Ways to Strengthen Your Pelvic

Floor
By Leoni Jesner, ACE-CPT Published on May 11, 2022

Medically reviewed by Erin Pereira, PT, DPT

Zmaster / Getty Images

Table of Contents

Why Strengthen the Pelvic Floor

Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises

Exercises for Your Pelvic Floor

Frequently Asked Questions

You've probably heard about your pelvic floor and doing your kegels in the
same sentence more than once. That's no coincidence, considering this
group of pelvic muscles and connective tissue play a monumental role in
supporting your core.

Although there's a tendency to associate the pelvic floor with women—

given disorders are more prevalent among this sex—it's also important
for males to maintain pelvic floor strength. From stabilizing your pelvis,
preventing pelvic organ prolapse, fecal incontinence, and even loss of
bladder control, the pelvic floor has many crucial functions. [1]

This group of muscles can also impact sexual function across both sexes.
Meanwhile, for women, a strong pelvic floor can help during labor and
recovery from pregnancy. [2] With advice from a pelvic floor specialist, we
explore the benefits of pelvic floor exercises and what movements to add
to your workout arsenal.

Why Strengthening the Pelvic Floor

Is Important
Your pelvic floor can weaken for many reasons, including the impact of
child birth, a loss of strength in the connective tissues, menopause,
weight changes, and surgeries (such as correcting a prolapse), all of which
can affect women. [3] As for men, there are many risk factors for pelvic
floor disorders, including aging, injury, obesity, surgery, trauma, and even
abdominal issues such as constipation. [4]

Related: Best oral supplements for constipation relief

When these muscles weaken, you may experience issues with

incontinence, painful intercourse, and even a dropping of organs into your
pelvic muscles, called a prolapse. This can have an effect on other parts of
the body that compensate for the imbalance, presenting with issues in the
abdomen or as back pain, for example.

"When considering your best course for pelvic floor exercises, it’s
important to understand what your goals are and if there are any
symptoms you hope to address," says Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, owner
of Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy in Los Angeles, and author of "Sex
Without Pain: A Self Treatment Guide to the Sex Life You Deserve."

For instance, focusing exclusively on strengthening your pelvic floor

might not be the best course of action. As with all of your muscle groups,
you want to strike a balance between strengthening and lengthening (or
stretching) your muscles.

"If your muscles are already tight or overactive, strengthening alone could
make any preexisting symptoms worse, such as urinary urgency, bladder
pain, or painful sex," explains Jeffcoat.

If you suspect that you have a weak pelvic floor, talk to a healthcare
provider for an official diagnosis. Depending on your diagnosis, treatment
options can include dietary changes, physical therapy, medications, or
surgery. [5]

Benefits of Pelvic Floor Exercises

Studies have found that pelvic floor muscle training helps combat many
disorders of the bladder, bowel and the pelvic organs themselves.

For example, a systematic review found that women experiencing stress

urinary incontinence who took part in pelvic floor muscle training had a
higher rate of improvement or being cured compared to the control
groups. [6]

As for before and during pregnancy, pelvic floor muscle exercises can
reduce or prevent the likelihood of urinary incontinence. [7]

Pelvic Floor Exercise Benefits

Improve bowel and bladder function
Increase sexual function
Provide pelvic organ support
Enhance postural support
Reduce the risk of prolapse
Improve recovery after surgery
 Increase quality of life

Exercises for Your Pelvic Floor

When most people think of pelvic floor exercises, they often think of
kegels. These exercises, which can be done anytime, help strengthen the
area around the uterus, bowel, and bladder. To perform a kegel, make sure
your bladder is empty and then practice tightening you pelvic floor
muscles— holding and releasing.

Once you have mastered the basic kegel, you can progress to more
challenging exercises. There are a number of impactful pelvic floor
exercises, some of which employ the foundations of doing a kegel
exercise.

Just make sure to keep the pace slow during each exercise and focus on
activating the targeted muscles for a mind body connection. In addition to
standard kegels, you can try these seven exercises to boost your pelvic
floor strength.

Quick Contractions
This muscle contraction isolates your pelvic floor muscles, which is
critical when your body needs to quickly protect against an increase in
intra-abdominal pressure, such as a cough or sneeze, says Jeffcoat. Here is
how you do a quick contraction.

1. Activate your pelvic floor muscles by imagining zipping upward, bracing

your abdominals at the same time.
2. Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as tight as you can for a second, before
releasing momentarily and repeating again.
3. Start by performing 8 to 10 repetitions for three sets.

Endurance Holds
As the name suggests, this type of contraction focuses a longer duration of
your hold, says Jeffcoat. These help support your posture and your pelvic
 organs during upright activities, which are two essential functions of the
pelvic floor muscles.

1. Isolate your pelvic floor contraction and hold as tight as you can for at
least 5 seconds, imagining you are creating a steady plateau with your
contraction.
2. Start by holding for 5 seconds and performing 6 to 8 reps for three sets,
every other day.

"You may notice you lose the intensity of the contraction right away, but
this is something you can work up to," Jeffcoat adds.

Descending Staircase
This is a more advanced exercise that works the eccentric control of your
pelvic floor, meaning a controlled descent, explains Jeffcoat. As a rule of
thumb, you should attempt this exercise only when you can maintain an
endurance hold of the pelvic floor for at least 8 seconds.

1. Start with a 3 to 4 second endurance hold at 100% of your effort, then

soften the contraction until you are holding at 50% for 3 to 4 seconds.
2. Release the contraction fully and repeat.
3. Perform five repetitions for one set, every other day.

"This is a great start for training your pelvic floor muscles to support you
when they begin lengthening," says Jeffcoat.

Combination Exercise

You can test your pelvic floor coordination by combining the above
exercises without a rest in between, suggests Jeffcoat. By working on
changing up your contractions, you are preparing your body for whatever
may come its way.

1. Perform six quick contractions, followed by a 5 second hold, and then five
more quick contractions.
2. Follow this with the descending staircase for one repetition.
3. Perform five total combination sequences in total.

Shoulder Bridge
 A classical Pilates exercise, the Shoulder Bridge strengthens your core and
glutes, in turn supporting your pelvic floor muscles through activation.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the mat, hip-
distance apart. Your arms can rest by your sides with palms facing down.
2. Engage the glutes and lift up the pelvic floor as your raise your bottom off
the ground, making sure to keep your spine long and aligned.
3. Hold at the top for 5 to 10 seconds, squeezing your glutes and contracting
your pelvic floor.
4. Lower the body back down slowly on an exhale, starting from the top of
the spine and resting your glutes on the mat last.
5. Repeat for 10 reps and three sets, with a rest in between.

Related: How to Do the Bridge Exercise: Proper Form, Variations, and

Common Mistakes

Bird Dog
The Bird Dog is a core strengthening exercise that also targets your glutes
and thighs. As a stability workout, your pelvic floor muscles are engaged
throughout the movement.

1. Start on all fours with your shoulders and wrists, and hips and knees
aligned and your spine in neutral.
2. Release any tension in your shoulders as your raise your right arm out in
front, elbow in line with your ear, and your left leg straight back, making
sure your hips are parallel to the floor.
3. Hold this position for a few seconds with your neck long and your gaze on
the ground before lowering your arm and leg back down to the starting
position.
4. Repeat for 8 to 10 reps on one side before switching for three sets in total.

Related: How to Do the Bird Dog Exercise: Proper Form, Variations, and
Common Mistakes

Deep Squat
As a functional exercise that mimics many of your daily movements (such
as bending down to pick something up), squats are also compound,
meaning they work multiple muscles at once. Squats will strengthen the
 muscles that are important for supporting your hips and pelvis, including
your glutes and hamstrings.

There are many squat variations. But holding a narrow deep squat can
help in the lengthening of your pelvic floor.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, keeping them flat on the floor and
toes slightly turning out depending on your mobility.
2. Push the hips back and bend at your knees to lower your glutes toward the
floor, keeping them in line with your toes.
3. Hold this position and try to lower your glutes below your knees,
maintaining a straight spine with a slight forward lean. You can hold your
arms out straight in front for more balance.
4. Squeeze your glutes and pull up your pelvic floor, holding this position for
5 seconds.
5. Push through your heels on exhale and continue to engage your glutes and
pelvic floor as you return to the starting position.
6. Repeat 10 reps for three sets.

As the exercise becomes easier, you can increase the hold time by
increments of 5 seconds.

Diaphgragmatic Breathing
The pelvic floor muscles and the diaphragm work in synergy with one
another. When the lungs fill with air, the diaphragm drops and the
pelvic floor also drops or lengthens. Exhaling as you contract your
pelvic floor can further assist in the lifting motion.

"Diaphgragmatic breathing is a type of deep breathing aimed at

pulling in more air into your lungs, causing the diaphragm to drop
and lengthen in the process," Jeffcoat explains.

A Word From Verywell

Your pelvic muscles are essential for supporting your pelvis, bladder, and
bowel. The stronger the muscles in this region, the less likely you are to
 experience disorders, such as urinary incontinence or discomfort during
intercourse.

Sometimes, strengthening this region with exercises can solve a minor

issue. However, if you are experiencing persistent problems, such as pain
when defecating, a constant urge to pee, or discomfort in your genitals,
you should speak to your healthcare provider who can investigate the
issue further and advise on suitable treatment options.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How long does it take to strengthen the pelvic

floor?

What is pelvic floor dysfunction and how

common is it?

How do you know if you are doing pelvic floor

exercises correctly?

9 Sources

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