How Many Kegels Should You Do A Day

How many Kegels you should do a day with Physical Therapist Michelle Kenway from https://www.pelvicexercises.com.au Don't waste your time doing too many Kegels.

Kegel exercises were first introduced by the American Gynaecologist Dr Arnold Kegel. He recommended women do hundreds of Kegels daily to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles.

Scientific research now tells us that we don't need to do hundreds of Kegels daily however there's still confusion about how many Kegels to do daily.

Research-based guidelines for how many Kegel exercises you should do every day*

For stronger pelvic floor muscles:
1. Use the correct Kegels technique which involves squeezing your pelvic openings and lifting inwards at the same time
2. Doing up to 8-12 consecutive Kegels
3. Holding every exercise for 3-10 seconds
4. Practice 3 sets of Kegels daily

Physical Therapy Tips for Kegels Strengthening

-Use the correct technique
-Do your exercises early in the day before your muscles are fatigued
-Do the number of Kegels you can comfortably manage when starting out
-Gradually progress the number of exercises you do as your strength improves
-Aim for a total of 24-36 Kegels daily
-When you've achieved your goal, maintain your strength by doing your Kegels 2-3 times per week
-Avoid doing too many Kegels which can make pelvic floor problems worse.

* Bo, K & Ashehoug A (2007) Strength training. In: Bo, K Berghmans B, Morkved S & Van Kampen M (Eds) Evidence Based Physiotherapy for the Pelvic Floor, Philadelphia, Elsevier pps. 119-132.