Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women – Why it's so important and how to do it right

A strong pelvic floor can also or especially during physical exertion hold urine better. Therefore, regular training sessions for the core of the body are a good and important basis for many sports.

Woman does yoga exercises specifically as pelvic floor training (Image source: PAUL HARTMANN)

Pelvic floor exercises for women

A stable pelvic floor muscle provides the necessary support for your bladder during sports and can alleviate symptoms of existing bladder weakness. And the good thing is that even five to ten minutes of pelvic floor training a day have a positive effect. And on top of that, they can be easily integrated into your everyday life and your training plan. Start training today – we'll show you the right exercises in this article.

Why is pelvic floor training important for women?

Women are particularly likely to have weakened pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy or after childbirth.1The reason: During pregnancy, the pelvic floor and the surrounding muscles play a supporting role and support the uterus and the baby. At the same time, pregnancy hormones prepare the pregnant woman's body for birth and ensure that the muscle group in the lower pelvic area relaxes.2

This is also greatly stretched and stressed during birth. Therefore, appropriate training is very important, in which the muscles are trained through special breathing exercises and targeted tension even before pregnancy.

Correct breathing during pelvic floor training

An important part of any pelvic floor exercise is the breathing technique. The diaphragm and pelvic floor are closely connected. And it is only through the interaction of the two that the pelvic floor muscles can contract and relax again powerfully.

When inhaling, the diaphragm lowers downwards and thus exerts pressure on the abdominal organs. As a result, the pelvic floor expands and sinks downwards. When exhaling, the diaphragm rises, the pelvic floor contracts and moves upwards again.

Learn more about pelvic floor muscles

The pelvic floor muscles are one of the most important muscle groups in the body. It is located between the pubic bone in the anterior pelvic area and the coccyx and consists of three superimposed muscle layers.

What is the function of the pelvic floor muscles?

Supports the bladder and the bowel
Promotes bladder and bowel function
Prevents unintentional leakage of urine (incontinence)
Supports sexual function

Feel the pelvic floor

Before you start training, you should know where the pelvic floor is located in the woman and how you can target it.

Here's how to do it:

What women should pay attention to when training pelvic floors

With the help of targeted exercises, you can alleviate existing incontinence symptoms. Therefore, regular training of the pelvic floor is recommended. In order to keep the motivation for this as high as possible, you should make your training program as pleasant as possible: Choose a time and a place of rest, especially at the beginning, so that you can fully concentrate on the correct execution of the exercises.

What women should pay attention to when training pelvic floors

With the help of targeted exercises, you can alleviate existing incontinence symptoms. Therefore, regular pelvic floor training is recommended.

To maintain motivation, you should make your training routine as pleasant as possible. Especially in the beginning, choose a quiet time and place so you can fully focus on performing the exercises correctly.

Choose loose training clothing.
Avoid eating at least one hour before training.
Empty your bladder before training.
Perform the exercises as instructed and repeat each exercise three to five times.
Each exercise consists of a starting position and an active position. Hold the active position for 3–10 seconds depending on your ability.
With practice, you can gradually increase the duration.
After each repetition, relax for twice the duration of the active hold.
The exercises should never feel painful.
To achieve results faster, regular training is essential.
Important: Pelvic floor exercises are not a substitute for regular check-ups with your gynecologist or urologist.