Did you know that having strong pelvic floor muscles are super important to prevent incontinence in both men and women! Yes gentlemen you too have to switch them on, it’s not just for the ladies!!
Holding onto a full bladder too often and for too long will cause extensive damage further down the track.
The pelvic floor muscles are like a hammock that sits in across your pelvis supporting your internal organs by lifting and compressing. Pregnancy, being overweight and aging will put strain on these muscles and create some rather tricky… and lets be honest awkward moments where wee comes out when its not meant to!!
It can happen during something as simple as sneezing, coughing or laughing or during exercise like skipping, running or weight training.
Most women are be told to do pelvic floor exercises after giving birth as these muscles have to hold immense amount of pressure for 9 months as well as in the last trimester having a little person sit, roll around and head butt them!
But its men also need to learn how to strengthen these muscles!! Men who hold on for too long or are overweight are at high risk of being incontinent at an early age.
The good news is that it is so easy to do and only requires learning how to and remembering to do it!
(Sorry the instructions are a tad graffic.. we’re all adults.. I hope.. try not to laugh at the explanations involving your rude parts!)
Do this every time you are on the toilet or waiting in traffic or laying down…(obviously don’t wee when your waiting for traffic or laying down that would just be silly!)
For Men:
A) Practice by holding urination mid-stream
B) Practice by imagining it is cold and you are ‘sucking your testicles up’
C) Practice by lifting the base of your genitals, shaft and anus up
For Women:
A) Practice by holding urination mid-stream
B) Practice by imagining you are lifting your internal vaginal canal and anus up
C) Practice by contracting as it would during/after climax/orgasm
It is also easy to make them work by squeezing your knees together while doing the above list!
Why?… Well have you ever noticed how little kids run up and ask for a toilet while they stand there squeezing their knees together!? It’s because it switches the pelvic floor on, lifts the bladder and prevents urination! How clever is the human body!!
So go on, switch them on right now!!!
Breathe…
Oxygen… with out it we die! Remembering to breathe properly when you exercise is vital to get the best benefit! Wether you are doing cardio or resistance training if you fail to breath you’ll fail to achieve.
When you are strength training you shouldn’t be grunting or squealing to excess, if you are then unfortunately your not doing it right and in fact you could be doing damage!
By exhaling forcefully/breathing out at the top of any movement (Going UP in a squat, Pulling UP in a Chin Up, Pushing UP in a Push Up) when you do exercise switches your abs on, supports your back and strengthens your core.
If you’re swimming up on a squat, squirming up on a chin up or fall straight down on a push up then change your breathing, slow it all down, focus, control and breathe.
Correct breathing technique with Cardio exercise like boxing or running it vital for you to be able to keep going, avoid fatigue and avoid dizziness from lack of oxygen to your brain!
One of the reasons we hold our breath is because it stops pain messages getting to our brain!! That’s why women during labor try to hold their breath.. But it denies oxygen to them and the baby and that’s why they have to do funny breathing classes!!!!
When boxing you should aim to breathe out with every hit, yes you’ll sound like a little steam engine but you will get more power and much more benefit!
When running it is important to keep your shoulders back and your rib cage open, when people start to get tired and fatigue during a run their shoulders round forward and they start to hunch over, limiting the room in their chest cavity for their lungs to expand and take in oxygen which really defeats the purpose!!
It is also important to take breaths through your nose as frequently as possible, when running approximately every 4 breaths. The nose filters the air and makes it the right temperature for your lungs to absorb, oxygen taken through a gaping mouth will make your lungs burn and is not as readily absorbed.
Yes breathing is a science, its so easy to take for granted as it is done for us with out having to think about it!
Remember to breathe next time you train and see what a difference it makes to your performance!!
