A tight pelvic floor is a weak pelvic floor!
Have you noticed that we are often told to "squeeze" and "tighten" our pelvic floor muscles in order to improve pelvic floor strength?
🚨Newsflash: A “TIGHT” pelvic floor isn't the same as a “STRONG” one!
Tightness and weakness actually go hand in hand. I always say that they are best buds. So if you haven't had any luck with your usual pelvic floor exercises, then it may be time to reassess a few things.
So what's the difference between “tightness” and “strength”?
For decades, women have been told to "just do Kegels" as a way to "tighten" our pelvic floor. But it's actually not tightness we are looking for. It's STRENGTH. Two VERY different things.
The way Kegels are taught typically encourages pelvic floor "squeezing". Which creates tightness. But when a muscle is too tight, it can't work correctly.
Just like any other muscle in the body, the pelvic floor muscles must be able to lengthen and relax, as well as contract. Isolated tension and tightness are not useful for any muscle group!
Kegels do one thing for the pelvic floor. They tighten it. This tightening causes the delicate pelvic floor muscles to shorten, but they don’t encourage lengthening of the muscles, which is equally important.
If you want to have a truly strong pelvic floor, you must be able to BOTH lengthen and release, as well as tighten and strengthen. Kegels don't do this.
So here's the difference in a nutshell:
- A tight muscle is a weak muscle - It can’t do its job properly and is often painful.
- A strong muscle can both fully contract and fully release.
Take your hamstrings as another example. When you tell me "my hamstrings are so tight. I've been stretching and stretching and stretching them, but it never seems to make any difference". That's because a tight muscle is also a weak muscle, and stretching an already weak muscle will actually make it worse. So it's no good stretching, if you aren't also putting in the work to strengthen. It might feel counterintuitive, but it's how the body works. More strength = more flexibility.
Now it can be a little tricky to strengthen if you can't get the muscle to relax enough to achieve the range that you need in order to strengthen. So that's why I created my two best selling programs. The full body approach (Postpartum Protocol), and the just pelvic floor and core approach (Restore). Both of these programs will teach you everything you need in order to both RELEASE AND STRENGTHEN your pelvic floor.
- Release a tight pelvic floor
- Strengthen a weak pelvic floor
- Eliminate leaking
- Eliminate low back pain
- Eliminate pelvic pain
Everything that Restore does
PLUS
- Flatten mummy tummy and loose inches off your waist
- Reduce prolpase symptoms
- Repair diastasis
- Lift and strengthen your "mum butt"
- Eliminate sciatica and SPD pain
- Eliminate shoulder pain and reverse rounded "nursing shoulders" and rounded upper back
Now I know what you’re thinking:
1. “I don’t have time”. Have you scrolled for longer than 10 minutes today? You have time!
2. “I want to try for another baby so I think i’ll wait until after”. Your pelvic floor supports your growing uterus, so it’s always a good idea to make sure it’s strong before TTC and also during your pregnancy. Having a strong PF also reduces the risk of things like incontinence and prolapse during pregnancy, and increases the likelihood of a smooth labor. So it’s a no brainer!
I hope this was helpful! Be sure to check out these IG posts for more tips:
“Am I engaging my pelvic floor correctly?”
My 3 fav pelvic floor release techniques
How to release your pelvic floor
In pelvic floor health, Emma xo
