Blow before you go.
(3 minute read)
This blog is about making your kegel work for you.
Now that you’ve learned the ‘inhale relax, exhale contract’ Kegel method (missed it? read more here), you can use the Kegel to your advantage by applying it to activity. Just remember to “blow before you go”. I stole this concept from Julie Wiebe DPT, a pelvic floor physical therapist and researcher.
Blow before you go to reduce pelvic floor symptoms.
In order to ‘blow before you go’ you are going to literally blow or exhale your breath and contract your pelvic floor before and during activities that you experience pelvic floor symptoms like leaking or fullness. Blow (exhale and contract your ‘hold in a fart’ muscles) and then go (complete whatever it is you’re trying to do).
Remember how the pelvic floor works to manage pressure? (missed it? read more here) The exhale let’s you do a challenging movement while letting some pressure off the pelvic floor by literally blowing it out. This way you can make challenging movements less symptomatic.
Here’s how to apply it in your day to day…
For example:
You normally experience leaking symptoms with goblet squats. Here’s how to apply ‘blow before you go’ to squats. Get ready to do your goblet squat holding your weight, from a standing position before you move into your squat inhale and relax your pelvic floor, then exhale contract your pelvic floor. Maintain that slow exhale and pelvic floor contraction and begin your squat. Let the exhale continue through the whole movement. When you return to standing inhale again and relax. Rinse and repeat.
Feel a sneeze, cough or laugh coming on? Let’s make ‘blow before you go’ work for that too'. Just before you sneeze do your best to initiate an exhale and contract your pelvic floor before/as the sneeze hits. Do your very best not to hold your breath during the sneeze. Breath holding puts extra pressure on your pelvic floor and right now we are trying to take pressure off. I’m looking at you people who hold your noses to make a quiet sneeze. This is no time for sneezing quietly, mute the zoom call and let that sneeze rip nice and loud.
Want to do some jumping jacks? When you go to jump, as your feet are hitting the ground let out a quick forceful exhale that coordinates with a quick forceful contraction of your pelvic floor. This takes focus but with some practice you can train your pelvic floor to improve tolerance to impact. Often, you are successful for the first few jumps and then less so as you keep going. This is ok! A few good reps is a great starting place. Leaking here is not bad, you are not broken, you’re pelvic floor is just saying ‘hey I’m tired I need a break’ not that ‘hey this is impossible’. Do as many reps as you can without symptoms. Then slowly add reps in as you can do more with no symptoms. In no time you’ll be able to take the money you’ve been spending on panty liners and invest in a new jump rope.
With practice, you have to think less and less about inhale relax and exhale contract during exercise/activity. You can just exhale (which becomes linked to your pelvic floor contraction) whenever your pelvic floor needs a little boost. Use it when you need it and don’t when you don’t. The goal here is not to be kegeling forever, but to build awareness and strength enough to get back to doing whatever it is you want to do without symptoms. Then, you just do that thing.
Have questions about specific pelvic floor symptoms you are having? Or ways to integrate ‘blow before you go’ into you activities?
Sign up for my 4 part virtual workshop on Wednesday’s at 1pm EST starting June 1st. This workshop is designed to give you the knowledge and the tools to get back to living life to the fullest without leaks. Over 4 weeks, we will cover pelvic floor 101, leveling up your Kegel, applying the ‘blow before you go’ to exercise and more! Register before May 14th and save $50 with our Mother’s day discount! Click here to sign up!
If you’d rather work with me 1:1, set up a consult here!
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