Why You Need to Work Out Your Pelvic Core Muscles

Pelvic floor muscles are often overlooked in fitness but play a crucial role in our overall health and well-being. These muscles, which support the bladder, uterus, rectum, and small intestine, can weaken due to aging, childbirth, surgery, and inactivity. Strengthening them can have a range of benefits for both men and women, from improved bladder control to reduced risk of prostate problems in men.

Why Are Pelvic Core Muscles Important?

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles responsible for supporting the pelvic organs, controlling bladder and bowel function, and providing stability to the spine and pelvis. Weak pelvic core muscles can lead to a range of health issues, including incontinence and pelvic pain.

Exercising Your Pelvic Core Muscles

Pelvic core muscle exercises are simple and can be done anywhere, anytime. To start, you want to take a big breath in and, on your exhale, lift the pelvic floor like you are drawing a small blueberry in and up the vagina. We want to ensure we aren't squeezing too tight - don't make blueberry jam ;) Then, you want to release your pelvic floor muscles and completely relax on your exhale. This is just as important as the lift. You can do this for 10-20 repetitions a few times daily. But don't forget, just like we don't want highly tight back muscles, we don't wish to have extremely tight pelvic floor muscles. The release and relaxation are just as important as the strength.  

Benefits of Exercising Your Pelvic Core Muscles

For women, pelvic core muscle exercises can help during pregnancy and childbirth, reduce the risk of prolapse, and improve bladder control. For men, it can help to reduce the risk of prostate problems.

Incorporating Pelvic Floor Exercises Into Your Fitness Routine

Pelvic core muscle exercises can be done anytime, making them easy to incorporate into your fitness routine. They can be done while sitting, standing, lying down, watching TV or working at a desk. Gradually increasing the intensity and duration of the exercises can help to improve your pelvic health and overall fitness.

Pelvic core muscles are a crucial part of our body, and it's essential to exercise them to maintain and improve their strength and function. By incorporating pelvic floor exercises into your fitness routine, you can improve bladder and bowel control and reduce the risk of various health problems in both men and women.