While kegels and transverse abdominis (TA) contractions are popular in core and pelvic floor recovery, it’s important to understand both how to perform these contractions and when they should be used.
Like any other muscle group, the core and pelvic floor needs a balance of both strength and relaxation for optimal function. Consistently over recruiting the core and pelvic floor muscles can lead to an increase in symptoms – including incontinence, an increase in prolapse symptoms, pain with intercourse, low back pain, etc.
The kegel
How to do a kegel
A kegel is the term used for a pelvic floor contraction and its release.
When assessing yourself, you want a slight contraction and a lift of the pelvic floor with a kegel. You don’t want to see the bearing or pushing down on the pelvic floor. You also don’t want a contraction so hard that it brings in all nearby muscles, ex: you don’t want to be squeezing your abs and glutes. If you see that hard of a contraction, try doing less next time with your kegel and see what happens.
Internally, you want to feel an even contraction that gently squeezes all all around the vaginal canal and lifts inward into the body. Again, this doesn’t have to be a maximum level contraction. You’re looking for something gentle. After the contraction, you want to feel the muscles letting go and relaxing.
The relaxation portion of the kegel is an important step that many people miss. When you are dealing with stress and grief, you are more prone to pelvic floor tension. We don’t want to add to that tension with a constant contraction of a kegel without release.
When to do a kegel
Ideally, you aren’t going to be performing a kegel with every exercise.
Sometimes kegels while lifting help, and sometimes they don’t. It’s a matter of playing around with it and seeing what feels best and what helps you perform the best.
Before you kegel, try adjusting your breathing strategies as a first line of defense in getting your pelvic floor a little extra lift in your lift. Whether you go with exhaling through the whole movement or exhale on exertion (the “difficult” portion of the exercise) depends on what feels more natural and supportive for you.
Sometimes, especially at higher weights, early postpartum, or when newly diagnosed with a pelvic floor disorder, you may feel more comfortable and supported adding in a kegel as well.
When adding in the kegel, be sure to match the tension in your pelvic floor (the kegel) to the effort of your lift. Not every exercise will require a maximum effort contraction. For example, the effort of performing a body weight squat vs the effort of squatting with a 50lb kettlebell are different. The effort of the kegel should match that as well.
The transverse abdominis contraction
How to do a TA contraction
Take a big diaphragmatic inhale expanding your ribcage 360 degrees around. On exhale, GENTLY draw your hip bones together. Like a kegel, your goal isn’t maximum effort. You want a very gentle contraction and lift of the muscles.
To check yourself, place your fingers just inside your hip bones. Don’t press – that will cause too much pressure and have you likely over contracting to feel anything. When you do the exhale and TA contraction, you should feel the skin there sink in ever so slightly and move up. Again, these aren’t drastic moves.
When to do a TA contraction
The TA contraction is something that you’ll want to know how to do, but you don’t want to have to consciously think about it when exercising. We suggest TA contractions during the warm up breath work and core exercises throughout the recovery program.
Don’t be afraid to play around with kegels and TA contractions throughout your workouts to see what works best for you. There’s no requirement to contract with every single thing you lift just as there’s no rule that says that you shouldn’t add in an extra contraction if you find that it serves you better.
Casey Thomas-Hardesty, MS
Casey is the owner of Two Peas Wellness. She specializes in core and pelvic floor health as well as returning to fitness after pregnancy loss.
