How to Do Pelvic Floor Exercises

Lay on your back with your knees bent. Perhaps you've never exercised your pelvic floor before, in which case, you should begin by locating and isolating these muscles. Place your hands on your pubic bones in a "v" formation.

·         Your thumbs and forefingers should touch, with the outline of your hands laying along your hip bones and pelvic mound.

·         This particular method for locating your pelvic floor can work for both men and women, but may be easier for women.

Push your mid-back into the floor. As you press your lower back into the floor, think about tightening your lower abdominal muscles. Hold this position for 3-10 seconds. Relax your muscles and repeat this exercise a few times.

·         Your fingers should still be on your pubic bones, and they should drop a few centimeters as you press your back into the floor.

·         If possible, try to relax your glutes, upper abs, and legs.

Change the positioning of your hands and repeat this exercise. Now open your legs and place two fingers on the space between your urethra and your anus (your perineum). Press your lower back into floor once again, and try to feel a squeezing and tightening in this area.^[3]

·         Your fingers should move upward toward your pelvic muscles as you tighten your abs.

·         If you still do not feel these movements, you can try stopping the flow of urine when you are urinating. Feel the work that goes into that action, lifting muscles near your bladder, and try to mimic this movement when you do the exercises above. This is only recommended to try once as you are learning about the muscles. Do not repeat this as an exercise, or it can actually cause urinary problems.

Look in a mirror if lying down doesn't work. If you are a guy, the lying on your back method for locating your pelvic floor muscles may not work. An alternative is for you to stand in front of a mirror naked. Look at your body as you attempt to flex your pelvic floor muscles. If you are contracting the muscles correctly, you should be able to see your penis and scrotum lift up. When you relax your pelvic floor, you should see these parts drift back down.

Go to the bathroom before you try to perform pelvic floor muscles. It can be helpful to do these exercises with an empty bladder, particularly if you are prone to incontinence. Fortunately, if you keep doing these exercises, you may be able to reduce instances of incontinence in your life.