the truth about the pelvic floor

You mean...down there? Yup, it's the fear of jumping jacks and sneezing...I mean really who wants to walk around with wet undies?

Girls, it's just ANOTHER fun part of being a mom. Good news, we can strengthen our pelvic floor with exercise.

There are two types of muscle in the pelvic floor. We are interested in the fast twitch fibers that have (or used to have) extra closing force. That force prevents leaking from the bladder when you jump around or laugh really hard at your what your teenage wants to wear out of the house.

When these fibers are damaged during childbirth, our body may turn them off allowing them to recover. When a muscle isn't used, it becomes weaker. They don't get stronger on their own unfortunately, we've got to use them. This is also the reason many women have this less than fabulous issue return later in life. So, how do we build them back up to full closing force?

photo by alyson viducich photography

Table top (shown at right) is a great abdominal exercise to strengthen your deepest abdominal muscle, the transverse abdominus. Add a ball between the knees and squeeze, you've got a pelvic floor exercise too. no ball? Use a towel, a stuffed animal, anything you can squish.

Inner thigh exercises are also a mutlitasker that build pelvic floor muscles. At the gym you can use an inner thigh machine, just be sure to pull that pelvic floor in and up as you do the reps. No gym? Add a ball between the thighs while standing with feet together, then squeeze. Release, squeeze, repeat 10 times. up to 3 sets.

Sitting tall at your computer, the table or on a park bench looking at your iphone, secretly add in a few pelvic floor squeezes. Remember those kegals from your childbirth education class? That's the ticket!

Now give them a try over the next few weeks. And look forward to returning to jumping jacks with no fear.

Keep movin mama,