First, a little background: Kegels tone and strengthen the pubococcygeal (PC) muscles — three sets of muscles that run like a hammock from your back to your pubic bone, encircling the openings to the vagina and the rectum. “During orgasm, these muscles contract rhythmically. The stronger they are, the more intense the sensation,” says urogynecologist Hilary Cholhan, M.D., director of the Rochester Regional Continence Center in Rochester, NY. Another sex bonus: A woman with strong PCs can grasp her partner’s penis and heighten his sensations by contracting and releasing her muscles.

Locate the right muscles by stopping your urine stream the next time you’re in the bathroom. (Don’t routinely do Kegels while urinating or with a full bladder, though, because this can actually weaken the muscles.) You can also find your PC muscles by inserting a finger into your vagina and trying to squeeze your finger. Make sure you’re not tensing your thighs, buttocks, or anal muscles. Then try these exercises:

The basic Kegel: Slowly contract your muscles, drawing inward and upward. Hold for a count of three; then slowly relax for three seconds. Repeat as many times as you can, working up to 25 or 30 three-second squeezes.

Flutter Kegels: Squeeze and relax the PC muscle rapidly, in a pulsing motion. In the beginning aim for consistency of pulses, rather than speed; that will come with time and practice. Work up to 25 or 30 pulses.

The Kegel push-out: After releasing the contraction, gently push down and out with your PC muscles (no bearing down!). Create Kegel sequences that combine long and short repetitions with push-outs — for example, 10 short squeezes, 10 long squeezes, and five push-outs (any sequence will do).

Elevator Kegels: Picture your vagina as an elevator shaft, with the elevator car at the opening of your vagina. Slowly tighten your muscles as you imagine raising the elevator, pausing at the top, and then lowering it again. Repeat 10 times.

Finally, to really work the PC muscles, do Kegels in various positions — while sitting, standing, lying down, or kneeling — two or three times a day. If you do them regularly, you’ll feel the difference in eight to 12 weeks.

You might not know that seven out of ten women have disorders of the pelvic floor. It’s not surprising, given that the pelvic floor supports the bones in the spine; structures the abdominal cavity — muscles and organs included; controls the passage of urine and stool; facilitates the childbirth process; and contributes to a woman’s sexual pleasure and ability to reach orgasm. What is surprising for many of us, however, is that problems with the above are avoidable.

As a midwife, I have seen what strength and flexibility in the pelvic floor can do for women. Yet many of us think our only option for these muscles is to practice Kegel exercises. Dr. Arnold Kegel discovered in the 1940’s that you can actually strengthen the vaginal muscles by — get this — resistance strength training. These squeeze-and-hold vaginal exercises known as Kegels were specifically designed to target pelvic floor strengthening.

Kegel’s research has certainly helped lots of women over the years, but we’ve learned so much more since then! So whether you’re already having pelvic floor issues or want to avoid problems down the road, there’s a lot you can do to strengthen those elusive vaginal muscles, and many compelling reasons why you should.

Tips for Personal Program Success

Timing is everything. Take your first packet of nutrients with your breakfast, when your body can best metabolize the rich ingredients and benefit from the energizing boost they provide.

Let’s explore the pelvic floor and why it’s so important.

What is the pelvic floor?

It may be helpful to visualize your pelvic floor as a hammock that supports all your lower organs. The flexibility and strength of this hammock come from a set of muscles and ligaments interwoven into the bowl-like pelvic walls, closing in at the base to form the pelvic and urogenital diaphragms. Entirely encasing the pelvic floor is a thin wall of fascia, or connective tissue, that covers, connects, and further supports the muscles and organs of the pelvic region.

Here is a simplified drawing of the pelvic floor. This part of our bodies is amazingly complex, and most anatomy texts devote a dozen or more drawings to its explication — it’s miraculous how all the elements work together to serve their multiple functions. It’s also the case that the pelvic floor varies from woman to woman, so no two are exactly alike!

Written by Carrie Levine, CNM, MSN