Pelvic Floor and Core Exercises

Hi ladies!

Can you believe its already April? Where does the time go? I thought 2019 just started! Oh well, at least spring is here, or almost. We had 80 degrees this weekend but now its back to cold again. Hopefully it'll warm up properly soon.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite core exercises, as these have helped me tremendously with my back recovery. Usually when you injure your back its because you have a weak core. The core is your abs, back and glutes. My weakest area has always been my abs so in a way this back injury was a good thing, because it forced me to work them. A lot! However, I'm not talking about crunches, but rather pelvic floor exercises. You pelvic floor are the muscles in the floor of the pelvic area. They support the organs in the pelvis, and you contract them when you stop your pee midstream (or pretend to, if you're not peeing right this moment :)). Pelvic floor exercises are also called Kegel exercises, and its recommended us women do them throughout our life - especially after having kids. A weak pelvic floor can lead to incontinence, less sexual pleasure (weaker or no orgasms), and back issues, to name a few.

Here are some exercises you can do a few times a week:

1: Back Mat Press: Lie on the floor with your knees bent, legs hip width apart. Keep your arms by your side, or put them on your tummy to feel the movement. Press your lower back into the floor, engage your pelvic floor, and hold for 3-10 seconds. Do this this 5-10 times and repeat for 2-3 sets, depending on your current strength. This is not a big movement, you can hardly see it - but its all about that inner contraction and really pressing your back into the floor.

2: Toe taps. Lie on your back with your knees bent 90 degrees. Press your lower back into the floor, engage your pelvic floor, and slowly tap one foot after the other, just with the toes so keeping your feet pointed. Do 5-10 on each side, and repeat for 2-3 sets.

3: Glute Bridges: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Arms by your side. Slowly engage your glutes and come up into a ridge. Hold for a few seconds before lowering down. Do 10-20 of these and repeat for 2-3 sets.

4: Modified Side Plank: This is a great modification if you're not able to do a proper side plank to to injury, strength, etc. Lie on your side, on your elbow with knees bent 90 degrees. Slowly lift your butt up towards the sky while really lifting from your abs. Do this one 5-10 times on each side, for 2-3 sets.

These are some of my absolute favorites and I do them almost every day! Let me know if you try them or if you have any questions!