How do you know if you need to train your pelvic floor and if you're doing it right?

We train just about every muscle group in our body, but the pelvic floor muscles are not often discussed.

Wrongly, because the pelvic floor muscles are important muscles. About a million Dutch people walk around with pelvic floor complaints. And just to be clear, that's not just women. Time to pay attention to the pelvic floor muscles. Because that is not only important before and after childbirth. Did you know, for example, that sitting a lot does not have a positive effect on your pelvic floor muscles?

The strength of your pelvic floor muscles is partly genetically determined. After a pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles can often use some extra training, but with age and especially from the menopause, the support tissue in your pelvis deteriorates and even then a short training twice a week can help to strengthen the muscles.

This is what strong pelvic floor muscles are good for

• To prevent or reduce problems such as prolapse or low back pain.
• Strong pelvic floor muscles are important in preventing incontinence.
• It helps to maintain your natural moisture production.
• It can improve your sex life. This is because your sexual awareness improves, some women experience more sensation during sex and have more intense orgasms.

How do you train your pelvic floor muscles?
Retract the entire pelvic floor, ie front, middle and back at the same time. Try to withdraw subtly at first, about 25 percent of your maximum. Pull the pelvic floor in further, now 50 percent. And finally, you make a peak by tensing the muscles 100 percent. Then you go back to 50 percent tension and finally you relax completely. Your breathing can help you:tighten your pelvic floor muscle when you exhale and relax when you inhale.

A tool if you're not sure you're doing it right
You can train your pelvic floor muscles very well without aids, but if you are not sure whether you are contracting the right muscle, Ben Wa balls (they are also known as kegel balls) can help. You can insert the balls, because of the weight you automatically tighten your pelvic floor muscles. This way you train your pelvic floor muscles while you continue with your daily activities.

Which Ben Wa balls are suitable for you and which exercises can you do with them? That's what The Purple Empress tells.

This article is a collaboration with De Purple Empress. More inspiration and products for a lifetime of love? Check out the website of The Purple Empress.