Are You Peeing On Yourself When You Work Out?
Anna Lepeley, M.S., CSCS, CISSN
View PDF to PrintIf you answered yes then that’s kind of gross and I’m sorry to hear that. It’s probably hard to find a workout partner (and a boyfriend) that way. All kidding aside, this is actually a natural occurrence among many women who regularly workout. It appears Scandinavian researchers are quite concerned with “young women leaking urine during exercise” and this concern has driven them to conduct a study finding a direct correlation between strenuous exercise and pelvic floor muscle fatigue. [1] I’m also going to assume this is a bigger problem among Scandinavian women and that their gyms are fully equipped and ready with mops at each corner of the facility and next to squat racks. Yuck! The study consisted of nalliparous (have never had babies) women who were kind enough (and comfortable enough) to allow researchers to stick balloon catheters in their vaginas for obtaining data. The findings found exercise to weaken maximal voluntary vaginal contraction pressure, therefore, causing less control of the pelvic floor muscles [1] that hold your pee in (you know, the ones that tighten up when you’re on a road trip with an urge and the next rest stop is 50 miles away).
I’d certainly hope you’re not going to give up exercise, therefore, you have two solutions: wear Depends or train your vagina like you do all your other muscles (just not in the gym with a spotter counting reps; do it inconspicuously at home or elsewhere [and count in your head please]). This means kegeling ladies, and interestingly enough, there are devices to add even more resistance to this quite unique (and sometimes awkwardfeeling) exercise! For one you have the Magic Banana (www.magicbanana.com) purported to "tone, strengthen and stimulate vaginal wall and pelvic floor muscles, massage gspot and enhance sexual pleasure". I get the impression girls might not see/use this device as an actual exercise implement but as long as your intentions are good that’s all that matters! Even if you prefer to do without the devices this is a great exercise you can perform without anyone knowing! You can do it while waiting in line at the grocery store, in class, at work, at church (don’t tell God), meeting your boyfriend’s parents and yes, you can actually do it discreetly in the gym between your traditional exercise (i.e. bicep curl, squat) reps. You can even hold a conversation during this mysterious exercise but practice ahead of time for it may be too intense/pseudoanxietyproducing for some. Some say it’s quite a peculiar sensation.
The benefits are consistently evident. Kegel exercises will not only prevent you from peeing on yourself (optimize your bladder control) when you exercise but also enhance your orgasms and overall sexual arousal. [2, 3] I hope you’ve already started kegeling by the end of this article. I’ll keep you posted on additional research the Scandinavians put out on this predicament. They claimed, “Further research is needed to understand the longterm impact of this finding.” Really? Or did you guys enjoy conducting the study that much? I think the take home message is pretty clear; kegel, kegel, kegel!
