Let focusing on your pelvic floor strength be your focus in 2022.
Eat more veggies. Get on your spin bike more regularly. Save money. These are all pretty common New Year’s resolutions. In fact, chances are you’ve committed to one (or all) of these things at some point in the past. But this year, challenge yourself to something a little fresher—and equally important. Resolve to focus on your pelvic floor health!
The pelvic floor is a hammock-shaped group of muscles that extend from the pubic bone to your tailbone. These muscles help you in a variety of ways—most notably they help you hold in pee and can help boost sexual pleasure. But these muscles can weaken over time, and pregnancy, age, and repetitive, high impact movements don’t help.
When your pelvic floor weakens, you can begin leaking with every sudden, sporadic movement that exerts pressure onto the region. That’s stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which affects up to 35% of adult women. The best way to deal? Strengthening your pelvic floor (See, we’re back to square one.)
So, without further ado, here are four tips that will help you actually stick to your pelvic floor resolution so you can have a dry 2022 and for years beyond.
KEGEL KEGEL KEGEL
Recognize that there’s no shortcut. One of the best ways to strengthen your pelvic floor is through Kegel exercises. You can do them manually by slowly tightening the muscles—as if you were sitting on a blueberry and lifting it—until you feel your muscles rise. Hold for 10 seconds and then relax and release. Commit to doing these regularly so that your pelvic floor gets stronger and your pee problems subside.
Make a List
One study found that 23% of people bail on their resolutions within two weeks. And only 19% of people stick to their goals for the long run. One thing that can help from the start? Being super clear on exactly why you’ve set the goal to improve your pelvic floor strength.
Write down a list of all the ways that no longer leaking will benefit your life. For example, you’ll be able to workout without worrying about wetting your leggings. Or, you may feel more comfortable getting intimate with your partner. Clearly, seeing all the ways your life will improve if you no longer deal with leakage can be a great motivating factor. Plus, you can pull this list out anytime you find yourself slipping.
Keep it Simple
One thing to know: Many women do Kegels incorrectly and that can make SUI even worse. And if you notice your pee problems getting worse, it’s going to be impossible to stick to your resolution. So, the goal should be to make doing kegels as easy (and effective!) as possible on yourself.
This is actually one of the reasons that Dr. Ruth Maher created INNOVO. It’s a safe, convenient treatment for SUI clinically-proven to treat urinary incontinence. Seriously, what’s easier than slipping on a pair of shorts? In just 30 minutes you’ll get 180 kegels delivered right to your pelvic floor muscles with every session. Use INNOVO for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for 12 weeks as a proven way to treat bladder weakness. You may even see results in as little as four weeks.
Set a Schedule
If you know that you just need to use INNOVO for 30 minutes a day to effectively strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, the next step is to build that time into your daily routine—that way you won’t forget.
Since INNOVO simply involves slipping into a pair of shorts, you don’t have to carve out time in your busy schedule to focus on Kegels. You can simply incorporate it into your routine. Do you sit down and read the paper every morning over breakfast? That’s a great time to slip on your shorts. Or you can wear it while cooking dinner at night. By folding INNOVO into something you already do daily, you’re making it less likely that you’ll forget to do it and you’ll find it way easier to stick to this important resolution.
If you can stick to the tips above, you’ll start noticing less leakage and overall pelvic floor improvement in as little as four weeks. Bask in this—and use it as motivation to continue sticking to your resolution. Oh, and don’t forget to reward yourself for your hard work. As your leaking minimizes and disappears, allow yourself to do the things you may have been afraid to do while you were dealing with pee issues. Laugh with abandon, have spontaneous sex with your partner without fear, workout however you want. Living your life to the fullest is the best reward after committing to this New Year’s resolution.
