Kegels are Killing me

Hey guys,

I just did my first newbie routine today and noticed that kegeling is like the most exhausting thing I’ve ever did :e Is it just me or did something go wrong? Do I have to hold the tension throughout the whole 50 kegels, because I relaxed after each one and started over again. And is it normal that I had to urinate after like every 10-15 kegels? Sorry for those basic questions about it and thanks for your help.

Pagoda

Totally relax after each kegel. Also You can actually cause problems by going crazy with kegels. Build up to maximum clench of a few weeks, don’t do it straight away or you could make a muscle start spasming which you do not want.

Hey,

Thanks for the reply. What do you mean with ” Build up to maximum clench of a few weeks”? And is it ok if I urinate a few times during the exercise?

Pagoda

You should not be overly sore the next day. If your urine stream seems weak, reduce your reps. I personally don’t feel the need to urinate after but I can see why this may be, youre applying pressure to your bladder and prostate, these are physiological indicators for your body to signal urination. Maybe you should try them in several sets spaced throuhgout the day.

The reverse is true. Holding a kegel for a period of time (10 to 15 seconds on average) sends a signal to stop the need for urination.

Pagoda, take a towel and roll it up lengthwise. Sit down on it, with the rolled up towel going from front to back. Essentially your pelvic floor is on top of the towel. If you kegel now, you should feel it far more pronounced than you did before. You can start doing your kegels like this.

- Once you know what muscles to activate the next step is to do it without the towel. Lie down on a couch or you bed breathe in deep and breathe out again. You start the kegel just after you breathe out and end it after you’re done breathing out. (May take some practise).
- You can go even further and kegel in stages; kegel in, neutral position, kegel out, neutral position and kegel in again. (If you do this make sure the intervals are long enough, otherwise you’re stimulating your bowels).

I meant ‘over a few weeks’. So don’t clench as hard as you can right away.

I’ve never heard of anyone needing to urinate several times during the exercise. This suggests to me that some of your pelvic muscles are behaving weirdly. I suggest you go see your doctor and ask him about kegels. The pelvic floor is the most complicated muscular system in the body and dysfunction in that area is very common, a lot more so than people realize. And kegels can cause or make such dysfunction much, much worse.

If you’re feeling any pain while kegeling, stop doing them immediately.