About Pelvic Floor Toning Exercises

When Dr Arnold Kegel originally developed his now famous "kegel exercises" they were never intended to be performed on an empty vagina. He always intended that they be performed against some form of resistance device and he developed his own, which was somewhat similar to the simple sprung pelvic toners which you can see on this page.

Imagine a weightlifter trying to improve the strengths in his arms. Moving his arms up and down without lifting weights would have little effect. Add a barbell, and imagine the difference.  Your pelvic floor is like this-exercising against resistance ensures that the muscle is worked and maximum benefit is gained from the "workout".

As the years have gone by, this fact seems to have been lost and the standard advice given to women, particularly after giving birth, is to perform kegel repetitions on an empty vagina.



How Can Exercising The Pelvic Floor Help Me?

Pelvic floor exercises can help to strengthen the muscles so that they can function effectively once again. Like most muscles, the more they are exercised, the stronger they will become.  Stronger pelvic floor muscles are also of benefit during pregnancy, both supporting the additional weight and helping with the second stage of labour.  A strong pelvic floor can help to prevent stress incontinence, bladder weakness and prolapse in later life.

In addition, women with a strong pelvic floor are more likely to enjoy a more satisfying sex life, with better and stronger orgasms.

Traditional Kegel Exercises

Pelvic floor toning exercises are usually taught following childbirth. Women are generally advised to do them each day, and to incorporate them into everyday life, such as whilst driving or watching TV. 

In reality, it is not quite so easy, as many women are unsure that they are doing the exercises correctly, or that we have actually managed to isolate the right muscles.

The Correct Way To Do Pelvic Floor Exercises

  • Hold in the muscles around the vagina and back passage as if trying not to go to the toilet
  • Tighten these muscles and count to eight whilst holding. Release an repeat at least three times
  • Breathe normally throughout the exercises, whether tightening or releasing
  • Also try to do a number of fast squeezes and also "slow holds", where you maintain the "squeeze" for as long as possible. 
Repeat the above steps several times a day.

Just How Often Should I Exercise?

Ideally, you should perform your exercises daily. Depending on how weak your pelvic floor is, you should aim for 50 a day, building up to 120.  When you feel your muscles have improved, one good test is to perform several star jumps with a reasonably full bladder and check for leakage.   When you have achieved this, do not stop performing the exercises or the muscles will weaken. Indeed, you should perform pelvic floor exercises for the rest of your life.

What About Pelvic Floor Toners?

Many women find that they either lack the necessary motivation to continue with their pelvic floor exercises or are simply unsure whether they are performing them correctly. One simple way to check this is to place a finger inside the vagina and see if you can feel the muscles clenching around it.

As an alternative, an increasing number of women are using pelvic toners.  In these busy times, we need to be sure that we are simply not wasting time doing ineffective exercises.  Additionally, many women find that having a device which is guaranteed to help them perform the exercises correctly is the motivation which they need.

There is no doubt whatsoever that women using any kind of pelvic toning device will experience much better results than those trying to perform their pelvic floor exercises alone.  Indeed, one recent test showed that just over half of a group of women asked to perform a single pelvic floor contraction could not do this satisfactorily.  More worrying is the fact that a proportion of these women believed that they were doing the exercises correctly.

Which Type Of Pelvic Floor Toner Is Right For Me?

This is very much down to personal choice. It will partly depend on the severity of your pelvic floor weakness, your lifestyle and simply which devices you prefer. Many women prefer the certainty of using an electronic device, such as a toner from the Kegel8 range or the Athena where they can simply insert it, turn it on and forget about it for a few minutes while it does all the work.  Others may prefer to be actively involved, using a device such as the KegelMaster.  Others may enjoy using vaginal balls or a vaginal barbell, which, for some, bring a "fun" aspect into pelvic floor exercise. 

If you are interested in buying a pelvic floor toner, the best advice is to spend a good few minutes browsing all the available options, making sure you are happy with your choice before ordering.

About StressNoMore

StressNoMore offer a huge range of the bestselling pelvic toners all at highly competitive prices and offer free discreet delivery on everything over £60.00.  You can see detailed information about all the products sold by StressNoMore and read product testimonials by clicking on any of the product links on this website.

The discount code SNMAFF5 will give you a 5% discount on their already competitive prices. Simply use the code at the StressNoMore checkout.  In addition, under certain circumstances, you are entitled to claim the VAT back on many toners featured on the StressNoMore site. 

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