5 pelvic floor muscle exercises to increase sexual health that women should do

Postpartum women will notice that their pelvic floor muscles become much weaker. How to improve? Hello Bacsi will tell you 5 pelvic floor exercises.

Pelvic floor exercises help strengthen the muscles around a woman’s bladder, perineum, and vagina. Strengthening pelvic floor muscle exercises can help reduce urinary incontinence, treat pelvic organ prolapse. In particular, pelvic exercises will effectively support a better sexual experience .

Before learning the 5 most effective pelvic floor exercises for women. Let’s learn about pelvic floor muscles and the benefits of exercises to strengthen these muscle groups!

What are pelvic floor muscles? How to determine

The pelvic floor muscles are located between the coccyx (tailbone) and the pubic bone in the pelvis. The pelvic floor muscles support the bladder, uterus, and intestines. As they contract, these organs are lifted and the openings to the vagina, anus, and urethra are tightened.

Role of pelvic floor muscles

Pelvic floor muscles also play an important role in sexual performance. If you have strong pelvic floor muscles, when you have sex, you will reduce pain in the pelvic area and improve your ability to enjoy sex. When a woman is pregnant, the pelvic floor muscles will assist in supporting the fetus as well as the subsequent birth process.

Pregnancy and childbirth can weaken the pelvic floor muscles. In addition, other factors such as age, obesity, frequent heavy lifting or chronic cough will also affect the pelvic floor muscles. When these muscles weaken, it leads to:

• Unable to control urine
• Can’t control farting
• Pain during sex

Pelvic floor muscle training has been shown to be a good way to prevent herniation of the pelvic organs. Research shows that regular exercise of the pelvic floor muscles reduces the frequency and severity of symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse.

Benefits of pelvic floor exercises

As such, pelvic floor kegel exercises can help:

• Improve bladder and bowel control
• Reduce the risk of uterine prolapse
• Improve recovery after childbirth and gynecological surgery
• Increase sexual sensation and orgasm potential

Before you start working out your pelvic floor muscles, it’s important that you correctly identify your pelvic floor muscles.

Try these 5 exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

1. Pelvic floor exercises Kegel

Kegels are exercises that help contract and relax the pelvic floor muscles. Kegel is a very good exercise for those of you who have symptoms of urinary incontinence when coughing, sneezing, laughing or running, or can’t control the urinary tract when urinating.

Muscles involved in the exercise: Pelvic floor muscles

1. Accurately identify the pelvic floor muscle area. The easiest way to do this is to stop urinating midstream. You will then determine exactly where your pelvic floor muscles are located.
2. Get into a kneeling position on the floor, placing your butt on your heels. Keep your back straight.
3. To do a Kegel, simply inhale deeply, contract your pelvic floor muscles for 5 seconds, and then exhale, relaxing your pelvic floor muscles for 5 seconds. Then repeat the action.
4. Repeat the movement 10 times. Do it 3 times a day.

>> Learn more: Kegel exercises: 4 extremely important things to know

2. Squat – pelvic exercise

The squat is a movement that requires the participation of the major muscles in the body. This is also one of the moves to help improve the strength of the body. At the beginning of the exercise, make sure your standing position is stable and then start. In addition, squat is also a pelvic floor muscle exercise for women that you should try.

Muscles involved in the exercise: Buttocks, hamstrings, front thighs

Equipment needed: dumbbells

Here’s how to work your pelvic floor muscles with squats:

1. Stand upright, feet apart slightly wider than shoulders, toes apart pointing outward. If using barbells, the bar will be behind the neck. If using small dumbbells, keep your arms straight with your shoulders and grab the dumbbells.
2. Bend your knees slightly, pushing your hips and butt back as if you were going to sit on an imaginary chair. Keep your head and chin in the same position, neither looking up nor down.
3. Slowly lower until thighs are parallel to the ground, keeping body weight centered on heels, knees facing forward.
4. Stand straight and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat the movement 15 times.

>> Read more: Pictures of squat exercises with correct posture and mistakes when doing squats at home

3. Bridge pelvic floor exercises

Not only is the pelvic floor exercise for women, Bridge is also a very good exercise for the glutes. If done correctly it will also help activate the pelvic floor muscles. You can feel this in every push and stop of the exercise.

Muscles involved in the exercise: glutes, hamstrings, pelvic floor muscles

Here’s how to work your pelvic floor muscles with the Bridge exercise:

1. Lying on the floor. Spine close to the floor, legs bent 90 degrees, feet on the floor. Extend your arms straight out, placed at your sides, palms facing the floor.
2. Inhale, press into your heels, and push your hips up off the ground by squeezing your glutes, hamstrings, and pelvic floor muscles. At this point, your body will put pressure on your upper back and shoulders. Your upper back, shoulders, and knees should form a straight line.
3. Pause for 1–2 seconds in this position and then return to the starting position.
4. Do 10-15 reps for 1 set. Do 3 sets for one workout. There will be a 30-60 second break between sets.

4. Pelvic floor exercises with Split tabletop

Tabletop is a footwork that serves as the foundation for other Pilates movements. By adding leg splits, you also help activate your hip and pelvic floor muscles.

Muscles involved in the exercise: Abs, hips and pelvic floor muscles

Equipment needed: Exercise mat

Here’s how to work your pelvic floor muscles with the Tabletop exercise:

1. Start by lying flat on the mat, legs bent so that the thighs are perpendicular to the floor while the shins are parallel to the floor. Extend your arms straight out to your sides, palms facing down.
2. Squeeze your abs, putting force into your thighs to keep your legs together.
3. Applying force into the thigh muscles, slowly separate the legs out to a comfortable position. Be careful not to let your legs relax and your knees to separate too far.
4. Slowly bring your legs back to the starting position.
5. Do 10-15 reps for 1 set. Do 3 sets for one workout.
6. During the exercise, remember to squeeze your abs for the best effect. Work on your hips, pelvic floor, and thighs to control your legs.

>> Learn more: [Video] Beautiful double yoga poses from basic to advanced

5. Pelvic floor exercises with Bird dog

This is an exercise that focuses on balance and stability. Bird dog is a full body exercise that works many muscles in your body at the same time, including the pelvic floor muscles.

Muscles involved in the exercise: Abdomen, back, hips and buttocks

Here’s how to exercise your pelvic floor muscles with the Bird dog exercise:

1. Start in a kneeling position with your hands on the floor. Two wrists below the shoulders and two knees below the hips. Keep your back straight, keep your head at shoulder height, neither high nor low.
2. Tighten your abs, drawing your shoulder blades down your back toward your hips.
3. Slowly straighten your left leg and raise your right arm. Keep your pelvis and shoulders together in a straight line. The head remains the same, neither raised nor lowered. Hold this position for 2 seconds.
4. Bend and lower the leg with the arm back to the starting position while keeping the body stable. Then switch sides, bringing your right leg and left arm up. This is a practice session.
5. You repeat 10 times will get 1 set. Repeat 3 sets of this exercise for each exercise.

>> Read more: What is Pilates? The sport of keeping the shape of top stars

Pelvic floor muscles are an important muscle group for women. It affects not only the process of daily living, childbirth but also the sex life of women. Hopefully these exercises will help you improve and strengthen the good pelvic floor muscles. Some movements like Kegels can be incorporated into your daily activities so that you can work your pelvic floor muscles at all times.