Pelvic floor exercise for beginners

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The pelvic floor is part of your deep core. It should work in harmony with your back and abdominal muscles and diaphragm but this doesn’t always happen.

Very few of us instinctively know how to execute pelvic floor exercises to better align those muscles and train them to work in harmony.

So for most of us, it starts with the basics.

What are pelvic floor exercises?

They’re a way of training your pelvic floor by tightening, holding and relaxing. The exercises enable you to have more command over your pelvic floor.

At the beginning pelvic floor exercises can be really tough. It’s not something we’ve trained in and it’s not exercise as we know it. There’s no buzz or rush of endorphins.

Nonetheless, we recommend the Magic Bean exercise. And we recommend, at least at first, doing it on your own in a room with the door shut. It’s vital you feel safe, unobserved and relaxed.

The Magic-Bean-in-a-Lift pelvic floor exercise

You’re about to imagine you pick up a bean with your anus and vagina. You take it in a lift up to the third floor and then let it go.

Check out Baz’s 10min video guide.

Your first time? Here’s how it’s done:

• Get into a lying position
• Relax all other body parts: your tummy, your glutes, even your face
• Pick up the Magic Bean with your anus and vagina and pull it up towards your belly button for two seconds
• Drop it, relax and let go
• Repeat x 10

Once you’re comfortable doing it lying down, progress to standing.

Given the heightened risks on athletes and active women, we suggest netballers practice this exercise (lift-drop-relax x 10) at least once per day.

And if you’re experiencing symptoms, aim for three times (lift-drop-relax x 10) per day.