Actual picture of me writing this post

In my fitness business I train a lot of moms. Including my own mom. It is one of the things I really  love about what I do. Moms continue to amaze me with what that they are able to accomplish.

 

I mean think where we would be without the patented "mom licking her thumb to get something off your face" move? We would be living like savages.

 

Giving birth is not a pretty scene, let's just put that out there. The beauty of childbirth is a myth along the lines of Bigfoot.

 

It is a miracle for sure, but an ugly miracle. There are also many changes that occur with childbirth, but there is one that continually crops up pertaining to exercise.

The peeing problem.

Yep, I'm going there. Because it is a real thing! Hardly a day goes by when I don't see a jumping jack turn into a flapping of the arms with no jump.

 

I don't even ask any more, I just know. There is about to be trouble up in here if she keeps jumping.

So I want to offer a fix for this problem in the form of a little something called Kegels.

 

What are Kegels?

 

They are exercises for the muscles of your pelvic floor that get their name from a doctor named Arnold Kegel.

 

I'm working on getting an exercise named after me one day. Hopefully a totally different muscle group will be involved.

The purpose of Kegels is to strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor. Just like any other muscle if you exercise it, the muscle will improve.

 

On the flip side though, if that muscle is not exercised or gets damaged it will not function like it used to.

Why so you need to do Kegels?

Besides, the main reason I mentioned earlier, there are several reason why you should do kegels. Lately I have talked to several people who have older parents suffering from incontinence.

 

It has been a horrible experience for both the parent as well as the child, as you can imagine. They want to help their parents any way they can.

It is not just age that can cause incontinence; the pelvic floor can be adversely affected by giving birth, a sedentary lifestyle, and being overweight.

 

Along with incontinence (of the bladder and bowels if you really want to know), weak pelvic floor muscles can cause prolapse of pelvic organs and decreased sexual enjoyment.

How do you perform Kegels?

Like all heartwarming stories, this one starts in the restroom.

 

Next time you are urinating, contract the muscles that stop the flow of urine. These are the muscles you are looking to work. Chances are you have done Kegels before and didn't even know it.

Have you ever been peeing, heard a suspicious noise, and cut the stream off? If so, then you have gotten your Kegel on! That looks much worse in writing than I imagined, but I'm still going with it.

Once you figure out the correct muscles to contract, don't do it any more while urinating. You can actually weaken these muscles by continuing to contract the pelvic floor muscles while urinating.

Start off by contracting these muscles for 10 seconds at a time, then build up as your muscles get stronger. You can do these every day and at just about any time of the day. You might get a funny look on your face, but who cares?

This is a simple, but effective technique that can really improve your quality of life. If you know of anyone this article can help, why not pass it on to them? Anyone can do them and they can help everybody.

 

PS- do you know what else helps? Having a stronger booty. Keep doing those squats, deadlifts, and bridges!