How to Perform Kegel Exercises

Kegel exercises tighten the muscles in the pelvic floor of a woman's body. These exercises were designed by Arthur Kegel, M.D. Kegel exercises can help women strengthen and tone the pelvic floor muscles to help relieve incontinence and also to enhance sexual pleasure during intercourse.

Instructions

• 1

  Find the muscle that needs to be exercised using kegel exercises. This muscle is called the bulbocavernosis muscle and is found inside the vaginal walls. Locate this muscle by pretending that a tampon has been inserted and that it is falling out. Tighten the muscle in the vagina that would hold the tampon, keeping it from falling out. This is the muscle that will be exercised using kegel exercises.

• 2

  Sit on the toilet after disposing of any urine in the bladder and practice tightening the bulbocavernosis muscle. Hold this muscle in a tightened state for six seconds. Relax it for six seconds. Repeat this method for 25 contractions. This should take approximately five minutes. After the first kegel exercise soreness may be felt. This is normal reaction muscles have to beginning an exercise regiment. Repeat this exercise three times spread out over the first day for a total of 75 contractions.

• 3

  Relax the bublocavernosis muscle the day after kegel exercises are performed. A day off will give the muscle a chance to recover from fatigue. Soreness and fatigue are commonly felt after a vigorous work out. Kegel exercises are a vigorous work out of the pelvic floor muscles.

• 4

  Repeat the process in step two of the kegel exercises, following the day of rest. This can be done anywhere not just on the toilet or after urination. For the first week of doing kegel exercises keep to the limit of exercising the pelvic floor muscles in six second intervals (six seconds of tightening, six of relaxing) three times a day for a total of 75 contractions. Kegel exercises are done internally so it is not necessary to have a place or area to perform them in. They can be done while talking on the phone, washing dishes, sitting at a red light, typing on the computer or even during sexual intercourse.

• 5

  Build up the number of contractions in the kegel. The second week of kegel exercises build up the contraction number to 150 by tightening the pelvic floor muscles for six seconds, relaxing for six seconds and adding five minutes. The goal is to build up the kegel exercises to 200 contractions. On week three, add another five minutes to the kegel exercises and then on week four add another five minutes.

• 6

  Continue maintenance of the pelvic floor, after succeeding with the kegel exercises for a month ,by doing the exercises every day. The number of contractions can be reduced after the first month---100 to 150 contractions spread out over a day can keep the bulbocavernosis muscle in the good condition it needs to be in to prevent urine leakage, incontinence and also to increase sexual pleasure during intercourse.