Amy Schemper explains why more Kegels can actually worsen pelvic floor problems. The muscles need to both contract and relax, coordinate with breathing and deep core, and over-activating an already tight pelvic floor can increase incontinence, diastasis recti, or prolapse. A responsive pelvic floor should release during everyday pressures like lifting, running, or sneezing.
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I know women have been told for years that if we want a stronger pelvic floor, do more Kegels. But more Kegels is not always the answer. And when we talk about it as squeezing, we often end up using more of our glutes and our hips over connecting to our deep core and pelvic floor. Your pelvic floor muscles are like any other muscle group. You need to be able to contract and relax. And they need to work together and coordinate during exercise and just in daily activities. Repeatedly tightening or trying to strengthen your pelvic floor when it's already overactive can actually make certain symptoms worse. And it could be affecting how you really connect or engage or don't connect or engage during your ab exercises. Pelvic floor training is never one size fits all. We talk about this a lot during pregnancy, postpartum, after an injury or a surgery. And if you're experiencing symptoms like incontinence, diastasis recti, or prolapse. But we also see this in midlife when strength and muscle mass changes naturally, and when many of us see and feel changes in our midsection. That includes your pelvic floor and deep core. So instead of overdoing the Kegels or just accepting our core changes and our pelvic floor symptoms as normal, these are the questions we should be asking. Can my pelvic floor both contract And relax. Try it with me right now. Contract and relax. Think about it while you're breathing. Can I lift and release? You can think of it like a fishing net or sucking through a straw, but along with coming in and up, we also want to drop down and fully relax. Can I do that while I coordinate with my breath and my deep core? Can my muscles work together? And can my core and pelvic floor respond to pressure changes? Like when I'm working out, when I'm lifting heavy, when I'm running, I'm jumping, Or just life things like sneezing or coughing or laughing. The goal isn't just a stronger pelvic floor, it's a responsive, coordinated pelvic floor along with our deep core that can contract when we need it and let go when we don't. This won't just help your pelvic floor, this is going to help you truly connect and engage during those core exercises. If you're someone who feels like you're doing a ton of ab exercises and you never feel the connection or you're not seeing that strength and definition you're working so hard to get, this kind of training can be a game changer. Do you have questions about your pelvic floor or deep core? Let me know below. We will be discussing and training our deep core, our pelvic floor, and all of the changes we see in midlife over in Unpause that starts in the BodyFit Athletic Club on Monday.
