Many of us put in serious time at the gym and home trying to get toned muscles and a tight tummy. While you may be rocking those squats or pushups, chances are you are neglecting one really important group of muscles: your pelvic floor muscles. You can’t see them, but without your pelvic floor to support your pelvis and internal organs, you’d be in a heap of trouble.

Here’s the deep dish on your pelvic floor and what you can do to make it stronger.

3 Benefits of Whipping Your Pelvic Floor into Shape

1. Iron bladder control

Your pelvic floor muscles are a group of internal muscles that stretch like a hammock from your pubic bone (anterior) to your tail bone (posterior). They help stabilize your spine, give you better core strength, and also perform a very important role: bladder control.

As uncomfortable as it might be to talk about, one in four women experience leakage, especially when they exercise. (Try giving birth and then running a mile.) Chances are your pelvic floor muscles could use a little strengthening. Whip those babies into shape for maximum bladder control.

2. Flatter belly, stronger core

You can do dozens of sit-ups and still have a weak core and here’s why: while ab exercises might give you definition in the external core muscles, few people remember to work their pelvic floor. That’s most likely because the pelvic floor is tough to target. Crunches and sit ups don’t hit the internal pelvic floor. If you want an overall stronger core, work pelvic floor exercises into your routine. Strong muscles on the inside support your core, making it easier to strengthen abdominal and back muscles on the outside.

3. Better quality of intimacy

Research suggests that increasing pelvic floor muscle strength can also improve sexual function for both men and women. Kegal muscle exercises improve blood circulation and improve internal muscles tone that can lead to a better quality of intimacy.

The Best Pelvic Floor Exercises

Work these great pelvic floor exercise into your core routine for overall core strength inside and out.

• Kegal exercises
• Wall pushups
• Arm and leg lift on all fours
• Standing balance on a Bosu ball
• Single leg extensions
• Leg lift while sitting on an exercise ball

A strong pelvic floor provides important health benefits so don’t neglect it!