Pelvic floor exercises are mostly recommended to those women who have recently given birth. This is because pregnancy and childbirth usually cause pelvic muscles to weaken. When your pelvic floor is weak, this may lead to various conditions where the organs located in your pelvic area can sag. What you should know is that pelvic exercises, or Kegel exercises, can help you strengthen these muscles. Exercises for the pelvic floor muscles can actually be done anytime and anywhere, as long as you know how they should be done.

To do these exercises properly, it is important to determine the right muscles to exercise. Exercising the wrong muscles will not be helpful at all. In order to identify the right muscles, you can start by sitting on the toilet bowl with your feet lying flat on the floor. Be sure to keep your hip width in between your feet. Do this when you need to urinate and half way through urination, try to stop the urine flow. The muscles you use to stop the urine flow are the ones you need to exercise. Take note that these exercises are often included in tips for losing weight, as this exercise is also helpful in weight reduction after pregnancy.

To start with these exercises, you must tighten the pelvic floor muscles as hard as you can and hold them contracted as long as you can, up to about eight seconds. When you tighten or hold the muscles, you will then feel the muscles lifting up inside you. Make sure to squeeze the muscles hard enough and repeat the procedure as often as possible during the day. Give yourself a pause after every two contractions, then repeat the cycle until you feel you need to stop.

Important: Do not over-strain yourself, especially if you have a Caesarian incision that is still healing. Ask you doctor if your condition allows you to begin any form of exercise after pregnancy.

The next type of exercise is similar to the first one. You also need to squeeze the muscles in your pelvic region, but as fast and as strong as possible. Do rapid repetitions until you feel you need to stop. Rest for a moment, then repeat. You may continue to repeat these exercises until you feel that your pelvic floor muscles are fatigued. Again, don’t risk too much strain.

When doing pelvic floor exercises for women, do not forget to avoid holding your breath. Continue to breath rhythmically while doing the bladder exercises. Also, to be sure you’re targeting the right muscles, avoid squeezing your legs together and the muscles in your abdomen should not be tightened. It may take some practice to isolate and only contract the right pelvic muscles — and to train yourself to continue breathing while exerting yourself. With persistent effort, your technique will improve.

To be able to achieve positive results, you have to do these exercises daily. If you are having any difficulty, you can ask for the help of a physiotherapist.