Improve your pelvic floor with these five exercises
Lift and squeeze.
By Brooke Turner, founder of Balance Fitness & Nutrition
Having a functional pelvic floor and incorporating pelvic floor muscle training into your overall fitness routine can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, as well as reduce the severity of symptoms of incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse.
Pregnancy and childbirth can compromise these muscles, as can age, menopause, surgery, repeated heavy lifting, chronic coughing, constipation and excessive weight. The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles and other connective tissues that stretch like a hammock, that attach to the bones at the bottom of the pelvis.
The pelvic floor plays an important role in supporting the bladder, uterus, intestines and bowel and in the function of these in addition to sexual health and function.
Most can benefit from incorporating regular pelvic floor exercises into their daily routine, particularly those who are experiencing incontinence or prolapse. Signs and symptoms include:
- Leaking when you sneeze, laugh, cough, jump, run
- Urgency to go to the toilet
- A lump bulging out of your vagina that you can see or feel
- A heavy sensation or dragging in the vagina
- Difficulty emptying your bladder or bowel
- Lower back pain
- Weak urine stream
Pregnancy and childbirth can compromise your pelvic floor.
For women who may have a tight (hypertonic) pelvic floor, relaxing, lengthening and down training these muscles, rather than working them, would be preferable. Signs of a hypertonic pelvic floor include:
- Incomplete or straining when emptying the bowels
- Pelvic, low back and/or hip pain
- Painful sex
- Vaginismus
- Urinary incontinence
- Urinary urgency, urinary frequency, or slow flow of urine
One of the simplest ways to find the pelvic floor is to lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
- Inhale, on an exhale contract your muscles like you would if you were trying to stop the flow of urine whilst on the toilet, hold for 5-10 seconds. This is your front wall.
- Inhale and think about lengthening and relaxing those muscles.
- Exhale again and this time lift and squeeze like you would if you were in an important meeting and trying to stop passing wind. Hold that contraction for 5–10 seconds and release.
- Inhale and visualise lengthening and relaxing those muscles.
- Now visualise how a jellyfish moves through the water. On a full pelvic floor contraction you want to SQUEEZE the front and back wall together and LIFT like you’re going up an elevator.
- On an exhale squeeze and lift both front and back wall, hold 5–10 seconds and release.
- We also want to think about activating our transverse abdominis which is our deep layer of ab muscles that acts to support and stabilise the lower back and surrounding muscles.
Incorporate the below exercises into your regular workout or daily routine to build a more functional pelvic floor, exhaling to activate on the effort phase of each movement.
The founder of Balance Fitness & Nutrition, Brooke is a qualified nutritionist, exercise scientist and personal trainer, specialising in exercise and nutrition for pregnancy and motherhood.
5 exercises to improve your pelvic floor
Pelvic floor isolation exercises
Using the coaching cues covered, in a sitting or lying position perform your pelvic floor contractions. Incorporate a mix of long holds (endurance), and short pulses (strength). Remember to breath and relax fully between each rep of longer contractions.
- 5x 10 second holds
- 2x 15 pulses
- Repeat 3 x a day
Single leg lying leg extensions
Lying flat on your back, bend your knees to bring your feet to the floor. Raise your left foot, making sure the knee is in line with the hip and shin is parallel to the floor. Inhale and extend your left leg out with control. Exhale, tuck your pelvis to activate your lower abdominals and pull your leg in. Repeat 8 – 12 reps and then swap sides. Focus on your breathing and engaging your pelvic floor and abdominals throughout the exhale on each repetition.
Modification: If you are in your second trimester of pregnancy, prop your elbows underneath your shoulders, as seen in this image, to elevate your chest. If your lower back arches off the floor, keep your foot on the ground for each extension to perform heel slides.
Glute bridges
Lying on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor, tuck your chin to your chest, exhale as you drive pressure through the balls of your feet, squeezing your glute to lift your hips. Maintain a neutral spine return your back to the floor. As you exhale through each repetition be conscious of activating and lifting through your pelvic floor. Relax & lengthen on the inhale.
Modification – pelvic tilts, back remains on the floor.
4 point kneeling with arm & leg extension
Take your hands directly under shoulders with arms extended & knees under hips. On an inhale extend your right leg and left arm keeping a table top position. On an exhale pull your arm and leg back to centre, recruiting your transverse abdominis and lifting through the pelvic floor. Complete 8 – 12 a side.
Modifications: Arm or leg extension only
Narrow squats
Take your feet underneath your hips and stand tall. Inhale and push your hips back and down like you’re about to sit on a chair to come into a squat with your hips above or to parallel. Keep your chest lifted and weight through your heels. Exhale and drive through your heels, squeezing your glutes to stand and repeat for 10 – 15 reps x 3 sets.
Brooke’s top tips
Add them in regularly! Try to habit stack your pelvic floor exercises to build them into your daily routine. Maybe you do them whilst you are making or ordering your morning coffee or whilst doing your skincare or make up routine.
Always train with a suitably qualified fitness professional! When it comes to exercising, always opt for a trainer or group fitness instructor who is qualified in pre and post natal exercise. Find a certified trainer near you so that you can move with confidence and in a way that you enjoy, that is both safe and effective for your journey.
Book an appointment with a Women’s Health Physiotherapist. They are the eyes on the inside and can determine if you are activating your pelvic floor correctly, your strength, endurance, if you need to work on down training your pelvic floor (hypertonic pelvic floor), prescribing a program specific to you and any other pelvic and musculoskeletal concerns.
Utilise Brooke’s Returning to Exercise and Nutrition for PostNatal Recovery eBook for more pregnancy and motherhood friendly workouts, recipes and tips to help stay healthy, strong and happy during your journey.
