Kegels

surprise!

Back in the 1930s, Dr. Joshua Davies theorized that strengthening the pubococcygeal muscles (PCs) might help women deal with incontinence. In the 40’s Dr. Arnold Kegels created exercises to do just that. As a side effect, a number of patients reported having better orgasms or having orgasms for the first time.

We now know that his exercises work the pubococcygeal muscles (PCs). The stronger your PCs, the better your orgasms. It’s easier to have an orgasm and they tend to be stronger.

how to identify them

The PC muscles run from the pubic bone in the front to the coccyx (tail) bone in the back. The muscles lie about an inch beneath the surface and look a bit like a hammock (holding up the pelvic organs).

Dr. Kegel used 3 different methods to identify the PC muscles in women:

external examination – if you have fairly strong PC muscles, pulling up (as if to hold in urine) and pushing down (as if having a bowel movement) will cause the perineum (the space between the vagina and the anus) to move in and out.

digital examination – By pressing against the vaginal wall with a finger, you should be able to feel a ring of muscle that is about 1-2 inches in from the entrance of the vagina. The muscle may be anywhere from pencil-thin to 3 fingers thick.

use of a perineometer – a device that measures the strength of PC contractions.

Other things that are helpful when identifying the PCs:

Stop and start the flow of urine – the muscles used to do this are the PCs.

While examining the ring of muscles internally, try contracting around the finger (as if to hold in urine). You can also insert two fingers into the vagina, spread them apart, and contract your PC muscles to bring them back together again.

Be aware of other muscle groups, so you are not tensing stomach, buttocks or thigh muscles instead of the PC muscles.

exercise your PCs

Contracting and relaxing your PC muscles is the basic exercise. Once you identify your PCs you can exercise anytime anywhere. It’s helpful to exercise at a set time and make it habit or associate the exercise with a specific action (like do your PCs in the shower or just before you go for a daily jog).

A simple way to start is to

Squeeze 3 seconds, relax 3 seconds. Do this 10 times (if 3 seconds is too hard, begin with contractions of 1 or 2 seconds) and do not skip the “relax” part of the exercise. As you are comfortable with the exercise, you can increase the number of sets of ten and increase the actual exercise to “squeeze 10 seconds, relax 10 seconds.” Consistency is an important factor as you’re working on developing a set of muscles.

Another exercise:
Do short flicks, squeeze and release as quickly as possible for a few minutes.

more kegel

Like any other muscle, it’s good to move it, but you gain greater strength if you exercise against some kind of resistance. Squeezing around a finger or object of similar size is a simple solution.

Another option is using a perineometer. It offers resistance, helps you identify the PC muscles, helps you stay on track with your exercise, and enables you to measure your growing PC strength.

For most people, it takes three to four weeks to begin to notice results. You will experience greater strength and control during exercises, and you may find sexual response becoming easier. Often your spouse will become aware of changes.

image credit
woman holding heart © takasu / Adobe Stock
perineometer courtesy of © Amazon.com