{"id":13805,"date":"2026-05-25T13:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=13805"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:31:00","slug":"5-pelvic-floor-exercises-to-strengthen-your-pelvic-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=13805","title":{"rendered":"5 Pelvic Floor Exercises to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Published May 25, 2026 07:17AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

You use your pelvic floor all day, every day. But you probably don\u2019t spend much time thinking about it, or even know<\/i> what it is, until something\u2019s not working right, says Sara Reardon<\/a>, a pelvic floor physical therapist.<\/p>\n

The number one misconception about pelvic floor health is that it\u2019s solely a woman\u2019s issue, says Alex Hill<\/a>, a board-certified pelvic health and oncology physical therapist and spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association. But everyone, regardless of sex or gender, has the same pelvic floor muscles. That means women and men can experience pelvic floor dysfunction, she explains. In fact, pelvic floor issues are more common than people realize\u2014especially among men, says Hill, who shares that about half of her patients are men.<\/p>\n

A common cause of pelvic floor issues is weakness in this muscle group. Incontinence, erectile ejaculation, and pelvic organ prolapse<\/a> are some of the signs that your pelvic floor isn\u2019t as strong as it needs to be. While no one wants to deal with these problems, pelvic floor dysfunction is \u201cnot something you have to suffer with in silence,\u201d Hill says.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because there are lots of things you can do to bolster your pelvic floor\u2013including simple, at-home exercises. Below, we dig into everything you need to know about this often-overlooked muscle group and the five best beginner-friendly moves to strengthen it.<\/p>\n

What Is the Pelvic Floor?<\/h2>\n

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that sit at the bottom of your pelvis and support your pelvic organs, Reardon says. For women, this includes the bladder, rectum, ovaries, and uterus. In men, it encompasses the bladder, rectum, and prostate, she says.<\/p>\n

In female bodies, the pelvic floor muscles have three openings: one for urine to exit the body; one for bowel movements; and one for vaginal intercourse, vaginal birth, and menstruation, Reardon says. Male bodies have just the first two openings.<\/p>\n

As a muscle group, the pelvic floor really does a lot, helping with everything from bladder and bowel function to spinal and core support to sexual function, and reproductive health in women, Reardon says.<\/p>\n

How Common Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ll start with a sobering statistic: more than 50 percent of women will experience pelvic floor issues at some point, Reardon says, adding that she believes this number to be \u201cvery under-reported.\u201d And research<\/a> suggests pelvic floor dysfunction impacts 16% of men.<\/p>\n

Important callout: a common, long-held narrative with pelvic floor issues is that they\u2019re caused only by weakness in these muscles and that the solution is to do a bunch of kegels, Reardon says. But a lot of people\u2014including women and men\u2014have too much tension in their pelvic floor muscles, she says. That tension can prevent these muscles from functioning optimally across a host of scenarios, including contracting when we cough, sneeze, laugh, run, or jump, and relaxing during intercourse, bowel movements, and childbirth, Reardon says.<\/p>\n

That said, in women, it\u2019s more common to have pelvic floor weakness than tightness (though it\u2019s possible to have both issues at once), Reardon says. In men, it tends to be more of a tension issue rather than weakness, Reardon says, though men can absolutely experience weakness, too.<\/p>\n

What Causes Pelvic Floor Weakness?<\/h2>\n

A bunch of factors can contribute to pelvic floor weakness. Here are some of the major culprits.<\/p>\n

Working Out and High-Intensity Exercise<\/h3>\n

High-impact activities like running, jumping, tennis, basketball, and volleyball, Reardon says. Think of your pelvic floor muscles \u201clike a trampoline,\u201d Reardon explains. Every time you run or jump, the muscles sink down to accommodate the pressure. If you apply repetitive pressure to the muscles without training them to withstand it, they can weaken over time, she says.<\/p>\n

Resistance Training and Lifting Heavy<\/h3>\n

The same goes for heavy weightlifting, Reardon adds. Lifting heavy weights without proper posture or breathing patterns can impair the function of your pelvic floor muscles, leading to weakness, she adds.<\/p>\n

Health Issues and Aging<\/h3>\n

Chronic coughing and constipation can play a role, too, she adds, since the straining associated with these activities can gradually weaken the pelvic floor muscles.<\/p>\n

Simply getting older can affect the pelvic floor as well. \u201cPelvic floor muscles are still muscles, so just like any other muscle in the body, they can weaken as we age,\u201d Hill says. Nerve damage and neurologic conditions\u2014such as Parkinson\u2019s, multiple sclerosis, and strokes\u2014can impact pelvic floor strength as well, Hill adds.<\/p>\n

Pregnancy and Childbirth<\/h3>\n

For women specifically, pregnancy and childbirth are two big contributing factors. \u201cPregnancy itself weakens the pelvic floor,\u201d Reardon says. Certain elements of a vaginal birth, such as pushing for a prolonged period of time, can lead to weakness. \u201cAnother one is menopause,\u201d Reardon adds. That\u2019s because estrogen helps keep the pelvic floor muscles in the vagina strong, so when estrogen levels drop due to menopause, women become more at risk of pelvic floor weakness, Reardon says.<\/p>\n

Prostate Conditions<\/h3>\n

For men, pelvic floor weakness can happen after, or become more apparent after, a prostatectomy, which is when the prostate is removed to treat prostate cancer, or with other procedures, such as a transurethral resection of the prostate (aka a TURP, which is used to treat an enlarged prostate), Hill says. These procedures can affect the pelvic floor muscles as well as their nerve supply (meaning how nerves connect to the muscles and help them work), she explains.<\/p>\n

What Happens When Your Pelvic Floor Is Weak?<\/h2>\n

A host of not-so-great things can happen when your pelvic floor muscles are weak. A really common one? Urinary leakage. This could be as small as a little dribble of pee coming out as you cough, or it could be as severe as fully peeing yourself when you\u2019re walking to the bathroom with a full bladder, Reardon says. It could also show up as a little dribble of pee coming out after you already finished urinating, Hill adds. You could also experience fecal leakage or incontinence, Reardon says, which can range from leaking a little bit of poo onto your underwear to totally pooping your pants.<\/p>\n

For women, there\u2019s also pelvic organ prolapse, which is when the hammock of muscles can\u2019t quite support the pelvic organs and they start to push into the vaginal walls, Reardon explains.\u00a0 \u201cIt feels like something\u2019s heavy or falling out of your vagina,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For men, pelvic floor weakness can lead to sexual dysfunction, including difficulty maintaining an erection and reduced ejaculatory force, Hill adds.<\/p>\n

Do Kegel Exercises Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor?<\/h2>\n

Yes, and the Kegel is probably the most well-known pelvic floor exercise. To do it, pretend like you\u2019re trying to stop your urine flow. Doing this helps you figure out which muscles you\u2019re targeting. Once you do that, you can contract those muscles and squeeze them briefly, then release them.<\/p>\n

While Kegel can boost pelvic floor strength, \u201ca Kegel is not a holy grail of pelvic floor strengthening by any means,\u201d Reardon says. Instead, she recommends the following beginner-friendly exercises.<\/p>\n

5 Exercises to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor<\/h2>\n

If you have a weak pelvic floor or just want to keep yours strong, incorporating certain exercises into your routine can help strengthen it and possibly alleviate your symptoms.<\/p>\n

How to Do This Pelvic Floor Workout<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re new to these moves, do them as a standalone routine or as part of a warm-up to your main workout, Reardon advises. Once you feel more confident with the engagement, breathwork, and posture, fold them into your regular strength-training routine, she adds.<\/p>\n

Start with a single set of ten reps, then gradually work your way up to three sets of ten reps, Reardon advises. Once that feels easy, add weights or a resistance band to the movements to increase the intensity, she says. The ultimate goal is to add enough load that you finish a set of ten feeling like you\u2019re close to failure (meaning, you couldn\u2019t manage more than another rep or two)<\/p>\n

A few other tips to keep in mind as you do the moves below:<\/p>\n