Not all women are aware of the benefits of doing Arnold Kegel exercises, but they are very important for women's health. With regular exercise, you can solve many women's problems, for example, make childbirth easier, improve sex life.
Arnold Kegel is an American obstetrician-gynecologist practicing in the mid-20th century. He struggled with such a female problem as incontinence. To solve this problem, he developed a whole range of exercises that strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor.
It was also found that these exercises facilitate the process of childbirth, since during pregnancy, the pelvic floor muscles weaken due to the growing uterus, usually a woman begins to feel this weakening before childbirth.
This is especially noticed by girls who did not play sports before pregnancy. Also, as a pleasant bonus, the woman's sensitivity begins to grow, she starts to get aroused faster, gets brighter orgasms than before training.
The technique made Kegel famous all over the world.
The essence of gymnastics is very simple, and consists in tension and relaxation of intimate muscles, which leads to their pumping.
Benefits of Exercise:
- the muscles and organs of the small pelvis are strengthened;
- improves mood, well-being, appearance;
- the risk of hemorrhoids, which may appear before or after pregnancy, decreases.
- women recover faster after childbirth;
- the risk of tissue rupture during childbirth is reduced;
- discomfort and pain passes, if present;
- the body is felt better, the lady learns to control it.
Research shows that exercise makes childbirth easier and safer for a newborn baby.
After childbirth, the body will recover faster. In addition, gymnastics warns against hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence and other problems.
You can train not only during pregnancy, but also at any other time, gymnastics will help prolong female youth.
Also, training is shown for men, for the prevention of hemorrhoids and prostatitis, and to increase the duration of intercourse.
Why Pregnant Women Need Kegel Exercises
Childbirth is a complex physical process. During childbirth, the girl involves those muscle groups that are not used in everyday life. Therefore, childbirth requires preliminary preparation and muscle training.
Doing Kegel gymnastics throughout pregnancy, a woman, during childbirth, connects already trained muscles, this facilitates the baby's progress along the genital tract.
Particular attention should be paid to gymnastics for women who give birth after 30 years, as well as for women who have already given birth who undergo episiotomy or ruptures. These factors negatively affect the condition of the intimate muscles and often complicate childbirth.
Precautions and contraindications
Although training is shown to most women, there are exceptions:
- the possibility of miscarriage;
- discomfort and pain during exercise;
- the risk of premature birth;
- some diseases of the spine;
- toxicosis;
- preeclampsia;
- the occurrence of uterine bleeding.
In the supine position, exercise up to 16-18 weeks, since after the inferior genital vein can be squeezed. You can continue to do the exercises while standing or sitting.
How to do Kegel exercises for pregnant women at home
In addition to the great benefits for the body, the benefits of exercise also lie in being accessible to everyone, both financially and in a person's location.
You should start exercising after emptying your bladder and bowels.
If you have never practiced this complex before conception, do not try to do all the exercises to the fullest.
Start small, do not overload your pelvic muscles. Remember that the goal of your workout is to learn to control muscle tissue, not squeeze it as hard as possible.
Classes can be carried out in any position of the body, but it is better to start from a lying position. Then gradually come to a standing and sitting position.
A common problem for women is that they cannot determine which muscles need to be strained. You can determine them in a simple way; during urination, delay the flow of urine.
Those muscles that you used in this matter will be needed for subsequent work. Retention of urine, by the way, is also an exercise with which doctors recommend starting training.
The specifics of gymnastics in different trimesters of pregnancy
The first trimester is the laying of the organs of the future baby, the most dangerous period. The loads must be distributed so as not to interfere with the attachment of the fertilized egg to the uterine wall. Classes should be very simple, you do not need to strain too much. Begin training in a supine position, gradually moving to a sitting position.
The second trimester is favorable for gymnastics, as it is the quietest. You can train in any position.
The third trimester is the home stretch. At this time, expectant mothers relax, but this is wrong, you need to carefully prepare the body for childbirth. The fruit is already big, which means that it becomes more difficult to train. We perform gymnastics only while standing.
Any workout should be started with a warm-up:
- Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lean against the wall with your hands, slowly sit down, spreading your knees in different directions, freeze for a few seconds, keep your back straight. Rise slowly, stand on your toes;
- Get into the previous starting pose. Close your palms in front of your chest. Inhaling, squeeze your palms, while exhaling, relax;
- We do not change the pose. Hands at the waist. With the pelvis, and not the body, we move first in one direction, then in the other;
- Stand up straight with your feet together. Place one hand on the support. Standing on one leg, pull the other forward and back. Do this for each leg;
- Walk on toes, heels, and the outside and inside of the foot;
- Sit on the floor, cross your legs, stretch your arms, reach the floor and lean on them. Raise one hand up, it should form one straight line with your back. Stretch. Repeat with the other hand.
With the help of this warm-up, you will improve blood circulation to the pelvic organs, strengthen the muscles of the arms, chest, back, and waist.
A set of Kegel exercises during pregnancy
After warm-up, we proceed to the exercises:
Do not forget to breathe correctly, you need to do it naturally and evenly. The total amount of compressions must be at least 200 times per day.
You need to train regularly to get results. Make a schedule for yourself to manage your time and not miss classes.
The first results will appear after a month of training. Over time, the muscles will develop and the exercise will become easier to do.
Doctors note that training intimate muscles is important and necessary. They recommend adhering to the following guidelines:
- before starting, consult with a specialist in charge of your pregnancy;
- strain only the necessary muscles, otherwise, classes can harm you and the child;
- exercise only in a comfortable position;
- breathe correctly;
- if you are overworked, take a break, do not exercise through force;
- if discomfort or pain occurs during execution, you should stop exercising and immediately inform your doctor.
Following all the advice, a woman will receive only positive impressions and benefits from Kegel gymnastics.
Conclusion
Kegel exercises perform several functions at once:
- A woman learns to feel the vaginal and anal muscles, trains the pelvic muscles;
- Exercise prevents many diseases such as hemorrhoids, incontinence, and so on;
- Exercising regularly will not only make labor easier for yourself, but also improve your health and sex life later on.
You can endlessly talk about the pros and cons of training, but you will find out the truth only when you try it in practice.
For more information on the topic of the article, see the following video.
American professor Arnold Kegel became famous far beyond the borders of his country. In the middle of the last century, he developed a set of exercises for women. Thanks to these exercises, it became possible to solve many typical female problems that arise during pregnancy and childbirth.
- The most common problem for pregnant women at that time was the lack of control over the process of urination (in extreme form - lack of control). Many women suffered from urinary incontinence. The problem was usually solved surgically, with no guarantees of success and with a high degree of risk.
After the birth of the child, the first place in terms of the frequency of visits went to tissue ruptures caused by the passage of the child through the birth canal. Also, the patients complained of painful sensations during childbirth, the protractedness of the entire process.
Kegel found the root cause of this kind of disorder and studied it thoroughly in order to develop a set of exercises that could eliminate it.
Kegel found that a pregnant woman's pelvic muscles relaxed. Before pregnancy, the muscles lining the pelvic floor are also not taut. They become even more weak during pregnancy. The fetus grows, along with it the uterus, as a result, the control over urination weakens. After the baby is born, symptoms may persist as the stretching of the pelvic muscles during labor reaches its maximum. Fabrics are not returned to their original condition.
How to do Kegel exercises?
First of all, determine which muscles you need to train. To do this, try to delay the urination process in the toilet. Those muscles that have tensed are the object of our exercises.
First exercise. It can be done while standing, lying down, sitting. Start mastering it while lying down. Place a flat, thin pillow under your head and back. The arms are extended along the body. You need to tighten those muscles that help hold urination. Hold the tension for 10 seconds. Relax your muscles. Repeat 8 times. Increase the number of repetitions every day. Exercise can be done 20 or more times a day. Tighten the muscles inside the body, not the muscles of the buttocks, abdomen, and thighs. This is a basic exercise, all others are variations of it.
Second exercise. Aimed at mastering the gradual tension of intimate muscles. First, you need to slightly tense the muscles, fixing this position for 3-5 seconds. Then increase the compression, again hold the muscles in a tense position, increase the tension, stay in this position. When you reach the limit, repeat the exercise in reverse order, gradually relaxing the muscles.
Third exercise. Contract and relax the muscles in stages, as in the second exercise, just do it faster.
Fourth exercise. It is necessary to alternately relax and strain the entrance muscles of the vagina and anus. Keep a fast pace. Try to achieve a semblance of a "wave".
- The exercises are easy to learn and do not take much time. Try to do them as often as possible. Try combining the fourth exercise with breathing exercises. By doing Kegel exercises during pregnancy, you will prepare the body for work during labor attempts.
If you already have a baby, exercise to tone your vaginal muscles back, or even to tone them up. Toughened, strong vaginal muscles are not only important for childbirth, they enhance your sex life. If you are expecting a baby, talk to your gynecologist to determine if you can do Kegel exercises during pregnancy. It is possible that the doctor will find contraindications (low location of the fetus in the womb, uterine tone). In this case, Kegel classes will have to be postponed until the onset of childbirth.
Kegel exercises have repeatedly proven their excellent effectiveness. That is why they have become so popular all over the world.
Arnold Kegel- the famous American obstetrician-gynecologist, who developed a set of exercises for women and men, which later began to be used to improve the health of babies. Now we will talk specifically about those that are aimed at. Active training will help women during labor to activate the muscles to facilitate the baby's progress through the birth canal, and to relax and "block" those that interfere with this process.
Kegel exercises are essential for every woman during pregnancy. Indeed, at this moment the muscles of the pelvic floor weaken, and during and after childbirth it is very noticeably displayed. And if the muscles were not strong even before pregnancy, then the situation can be very negative.
But don't worry. Constant training will help you, how to set everything up and not only give birth easily, but also improve sexual intimacy and health.
Kegel exercises for easy labor
The meaning of the Kegel exercises is very simple. The effect is designed to alternately tighten and relax the pelvic muscles. Start by contracting the intimate muscles several times in a row. But do not forget, only the internal muscles in the perineum work - between the anus and the vagina. The muscles of the buttocks, abdomen and thighs do not need to be involved in the training process.
This way, you can check how your muscles are relaxed. Try to stop the stream while urinating. If it doesn't work out, then you still need to work. This procedure can be done in conjunction with others - described below.
First of all, you need to learn how to properly relax and tighten the pelvic muscles. The whole complex is built on a kind of exercise. Immediately, it is advisable to perform it in a prone position, and then switch to a seated or standing mode.
Practice
Hold. First, take the position of childbirth, namely, lie on your back: bend your knees and spread them to the sides, and lower your arms along your torso. Place a thin pillow under your back and head, then relax. Then in the perineum, tighten the muscles as if you want to stop urination, and hold this state for about 10 seconds. After that, relax, take a breath and repeat back. Start with eight sets, then gradually work up to 30.
Elevator. An interesting exercise with imagination. Imagine that your female vagina is a normal lift. To a large extent, this is so, because this "normal tunnel" consists of abutting rings that form the vaginal tube. So let's try to go up with this "unusual" elevator, lingering for a couple of seconds on all floors - the ring. Tighten the bottom e - this will be your first floor. Without letting go, increase your pressure and rise higher until you come close to the last. Here it is necessary to stay for longer. You also need to go down floor by floor, lingering at each stage until you are completely relaxed. The effectiveness and benefits of such an exercise cannot be described!
Waves. Their meaning is to quickly strain and relax the intimate muscles, but only in the indicated order: first of all, the vaginal, and then the anus. And you need to relax in the opposite direction.
Bulging of the pelvic floor. You need to take a seated birth position and relax your pelvic muscles. Then hold your breath and gently, gently push, as if deformed, while trying to push the vaginal muscles outward. Place your hand against the perineum to feel the effectiveness of your diligent efforts. Then inhale, contract the muscles. And so, several times.
Such an exercise is important during childbirth, that is, to teach how to push properly, helping the baby to move forward. Such exercises should be done with empty bowels and bladder.
Exercises for the Achilles tendons. Standing position, legs apart. The distance between the legs should be two feet. Now you need to squat down, adhering to certain conditions: it is forbidden to tear the heels off the surface, the back should be flat, and when landing, we transfer all the weight to the heels. It's great if you have a spouse to back you up. For example, it is convenient when your husband is sitting on a chair, and you, sit down between his legs and with your back turned to him, hold on to his knees, and at the same time lean your back into him so that your back is straight. This can be done near the wall, while creating some kind of support for the hands.
So sit down. If you can't sit at all without lifting your heels off the floor, or your feet turn inward, your Achilles tendons are poorly stretched or too short. You need to train. You can immediately spread your legs wider in the initial position or put on shoes with small heels before the exercise, for as long as there is such a need.
This is for training joints and aligning the birth canal.
To achieve a good result, you need to do the described exercises in various generic positions: lying, sitting, on cards and all fours.
Ingredients of Kegel Exercise Success
The main condition for the success of training is its regularity. Then you are guaranteed to feel the result after a month of daily exercises. You will see how your muscles reflexively do these exercises on their own.
Classes should be done from early gestation periods, doing 25 exercises every day.
A set of exercises designed to train the muscles of the perineum was developed in the middle of the 20th century by the American gynecologist Arnold Kegel. Until now, this special gymnastics helps millions of women around the world to get rid of, prevent the occurrence, and improve the quality of sexual life.
information The most effective Kegel exercises during pregnancy, as they help a woman to effectively prepare for the forthcoming, reduce pain in the process, avoid the appearance of breaks and other problems.
General principles
You can start training at any time when the baby is waiting, but it is better - at an early date. The frequency and intensity of exercise should be increased gradually to avoid muscle strain.
Despite the fact that the Kegel technique may seem simple enough, at the first stage, some women may have difficulty identifying the right muscles. To get a feel for the muscles to use during exercise, you must try to stop urinating while using the toilet. At the same time, some muscles will be tense enough - they should be used when performing exercises.
advice It is advisable to learn how to perform the following exercises in various positions: in a sitting position, standing, lying or on all fours. In this case, the effect of training will be much higher.
At the very beginning of mastering the complex, you can perform tasks lying or sitting, repeating each movement 3-5 times. In the future, the number of repetitions can be increased to 20-30 per day.
First exercise
When sitting or lying on your back, you should bend your knees and slightly spread them to the sides. Then you need to relax without losing the sense of concentration on the exercise. After that, you should tighten the muscles of the perineum for 5-10 seconds, as in the case of stopping urination, and immediately relax them. Repeat the exercise the required number of times.
Second exercise
When performing this exercise, you will need to use imaginative thinking. First, you should imagine your vagina in the form of an elevator shaft, dividing it mentally into "floors". Smoothly squeezing the muscles, starting from the entrance to the vagina, it is necessary to mentally linger at each site, "moving" from the bottom up. You should focus on the upper part of the vagina for a little longer, after which you can move downward, alternately relaxing the muscles of each "floor".
Third exercise
When performing this exercise, both the vaginal muscles and the muscles of the anus are trained. First, the muscles of the vagina should be tightened, then the anus, after which it is necessary to relax them one by one: first, the anal, then the vaginal muscles.
Fourth exercise
important This exercise should only be started if the bladder and bowels are completely empty.
You can take any comfortable position (sitting, standing), and in this position you should try to push yourself, as during a bowel movement, while also using the muscles of the vagina. After that, it is necessary to relax the muscles as much as possible. After a while, the exercise can be repeated. To check if the vaginal muscles are tense, you can put your hand on the perineum: if done correctly, you will feel the skin tension. This exercise is aimed at training the muscles, which will be involved in pushing c.
It is advisable to perform all of the above exercises daily, you can do several approaches a day, but with fewer repetitions.
Benefit
The set of Kegel training exercises is recommended for almost all pregnant women, with rare exceptions. Through regular exercise, the expectant mother receives the following benefits:
- Woman learning to feel the muscles of the vagina, can relax and strain them at will, which is very important in the process of future labor.
- Workouts are aimed at preventing partial and feces... A similar problem can occur in many women in childbirth soon after childbirth, so it is better to take the necessary measures in advance to prevent the appearance of these symptoms.
- The muscles and organs of the small pelvis are strengthened, due to which the danger of their sinking disappears.
- Exercise is effective for preventing vaginal and perineal tears during childbirth.
- When done regularly, the likelihood of inflammatory diseases is reduced female genital organs, the sexual function of a woman is improved;
additionally A pregnant woman may recommend some of the exercises from this complex for her spouse in order to reduce the likelihood of hemorrhoids or prostatitis.
By the way, it can occur both during pregnancy and after childbirth, therefore Kegel gymnastics effectively prevents the appearance of this unpleasant disease.
Contraindications to implementation
Before you start doing Kegel exercises, you should consult with your doctor supervising pregnancy. Although this type of training is recommended for most pregnant women, it also has some contraindications. Exercise is best postponed until the postpartum period in cases where there is:
- probability ;
- the appearance of pain or discomfort during exercise;
- some diseases of the spine;
- risk .
important In addition, starting with it is better to refuse to perform exercises in the supine position in order to prevent squeezing in the inferior vena cava.
Conclusion
Kegel exercises are doubly effective: with their help, you can learn to feel the vaginal and anal muscles, as well as train the muscles of the pelvic organs.
Classes effectively prevent the appearance of a number of diseases: from perineal ruptures to, therefore, they are recommended for a wide range of pregnant women. The only warning: you should consult your doctor before performing them.
Regular Kegel training will not only facilitate the process of future childbirth, but also later improve intimate life, as well as improve health.
In the middle of the twentieth century, the American gynecologist Arnold Kegel developed a set of exercises for men and women, the main goal of which is to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. In normal life, these muscles are not used and over time can weaken and lose elasticity. Because of this, prolapse of the pelvic organs may occur, urinary incontinence may occur, and the quality of sexual life will deteriorate.
The principle of Kegel exercises is to alternate contraction and relaxation of the intimate muscles.... How to "find" these most intimate muscles? It's very simple - during urination, you need to try to stop it without using your legs.
Can women do it during pregnancy and before childbirth?
It is possible and even necessary. Kegel gymnastics helps to facilitate childbirth and also promotes rapid recovery of the pelvic floor muscles in the postpartum period. It is recommended to start exercising from the earliest possible dates, and even better, before pregnancy. So intimate muscles will be better prepared for bearing the fetus and childbirth.
Benefits of such training:
- exercises for pregnant women avoid discomfort and pain while carrying a child;
- the expectant mother will learn to control the muscles that are involved in labor;
- pain syndrome decreases and the risk of perineal rupture during childbirth decreases;
- quick and easy delivery is ensured;
- the recovery of the body in the postpartum period is significantly reduced.
Contraindications
Pregnancy is an important and crucial period in a woman's life, when everything needs to be approached with extreme caution. But for most mothers-to-be, there is no reason to give up the miracle exercise.
Attention! Before starting training, you need to consult your gynecologist so as not to disrupt the course of pregnancy and not harm the fetus.
The main contraindications for pregnancy:
How to do it right at home?
Kegel exercises do not require a lot of effort and time. Plus, no additional hardware is required. You can even exercise at home, standing at the stove or sitting in front of the TV..
In order to achieve the desired effect and not harm your body, you need to know the features of performing Kegel gymnastics at home:
- Exercise should be started when the bladder and bowels are empty.
- No muscles should be involved in training, except for the muscles of the perineum.
- It is important that you breathe smoothly and evenly. You can't hold your breath.
- You need to start training while lying down. Over time, it will be possible to perform gymnastics while sitting and standing.
- Initially taking large loads is a mistake. For a start, 5 repetitions of each exercise are enough.
- The desired result will be achieved only if you adhere to daily training. Moreover, it is advisable to practice three times a day (morning, afternoon and evening).
Are there time limits?
From the 16th week of pregnancy, you should stop lying down so as not to put undue pressure on the vena cava. You can continue gymnastics only while sitting or standing.
Description of the complex
In no case should you overexert yourself during training. Increase the load and difficulty of the exercises gradually.
Remember that we are talking only about those women in the position who do not have any medical contraindications and feel good.
Moving on to a detailed description of the exercises to help train and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles:
- "Stop"
The very first and simplest exercise. During urination, it is necessary to alternately stop and release the stream of urine 4-5 times. In this case, only the muscles of the pelvic floor need to be involved. The use of hips or buttocks is not permitted.
- "Reduction"
The principle is expressed in the alternation of contraction and relaxation of intimate muscles. You should start with 10 or 15 repetitions, gradually increasing their number to 50. You can also carefully adjust the strength and intensity of your contractions.
- "Hold"
It is done in the same way as the previous one. The difference is that the muscles in a state of contraction must be held for 5 seconds. It is also worth starting with 10 repetitions, eventually bringing them to 50.
- "Elevator"
This exercise should be performed using your imagination. You have to try to imagine that the vagina is an elevator. There should be no difficulty, since the vagina itself is a tube of muscle rings.
Contraction of the vaginal muscles should be started from the lower ring (“floor”), gradually moving higher, while making small stops at each “floor”.
At the very top, you need to hold the tension a little longer. Then, in the same way, go down, alternately relaxing the muscles from top to bottom. Repeat 10 times.
- "Waves"
This exercise involves not only the vaginal muscles, but also the muscles of the anus. They should be contracted and relaxed in a wave-like manner: first, the vaginal muscles are strained, then the anal ones. Relax them in the opposite direction. After practicing, you can try to keep the contracted muscles in tension for 10 seconds or more.
- "Positioning"
After all these exercises have been mastered, you can try to perform them in different body positions: standing, sitting, lying, on all fours. You can use other positions as well, as long as they are comfortable and safe.
