In some cases, stronger vagina muscles could even lead to bigger, better orgasms, according to Gaither. Come on, who wouldn’t want that? If working sets of kegels into my strength-training routine meant stronger Os, then I was completely game for the challenge.
So, for seven days I committed to a rigid kegel routine prescribed by Gaither: three sets of 10 to 20 reps every day.Here’s how it went down.
Day 1
Since Gaither said that you can do kegels anywhere, I did my first two sets of the day from the comfort of my couch. She suggested I start holding each kegel for three seconds and work up to five. I squeezed for three seconds then released it, repeating this 20 times. By the end of my second set, I felt the burn that was similar to completing three minutes of inner thigh exercises at a barre class. Yeah. Ouch.
But out of nowhere, I also felt a mild orgasmic sensation. “Is this supposed to be happening?” I thought. So, naturally, I consulted my personal kegel trainer (a.k.a. Gaither), who assured me that it was perfectly normal for some women to feel pleasure during kegels. Bring it on! I was more than happy to finish off my last set before bed.
Day 2
Despite my successful first day, the second day felt too easy. I wondered if I was even doing this right. After chatting with Gaither, I learned that the best way to tell if you’re doing kegels correctly is by contracting your muscles in the middle of peeing to stop the urine from coming out or sticking a finger inside to feel the vaginal muscles contract. I chose to do my morning session using the second strategy to ensure that I was actually doing it right. I stuck with 10 reps and held each kegel for three to four seconds. Once I knew I was on the right track, I did the next couple of sets while doing laundry and riding on the subway. No one had a clue! I felt super shady, but I kind of liked it.
Day 3
Almost halfway through my training plan, I decided I was ready to increase the amount of time I held each kegel. I squeezed in my first set during breakfast, holding each contraction for five seconds and completed 10 reps. Crushed it. (Spice up your sex life with these lubes from the Women’s Health Boutique.)
That night, I was ready to test-drive my newly toned vagina. During our kegel consultation, Gaither told me that performing kegels during masturbation can intensify an orgasm, so I decided to go for 20 reps while getting down with my bad self.
I whipped out my vibrator and put the theory into action. Maybe it’s just me, but holding a few squeezes before using my vibrator got me excited super quickly. I continued holding, squeezing, and buzzing until I felt an orgasm coming closer, stronger ah… but thanks to my vibrator losing power it wasn’t successful. NOOO. I tried to finish off manually, but losing momentum made it too tough. I decided it was an experiment for another day. (Like tomorrow.)
Day 4
My kegel routine was starting to feel as basic as crunches. To keep the excitement going, I started looking for new places to get them done. During a strength training class at my gym, I decided to get my vagina involved in between squats. Squeezing while squatting made me feel very badass. I wanted to yell, “I’m doing kegels and working my booty, how do you like me now?” but, obviously, I didn’t. That would be weird.
That night, I continued Operation Orgasm with a fully-charged vibrator. With my kegel game on fleek and vibrator buzzing full speed ahead, I felt something climatic happening, but I couldn’t reach the finish line. Though I normally achieve a grand finale when I maturbate, the pressure to have an earth-shattering orgasm must have gotten to me. That, and the fact that my vibrator was not nearly as strong as it was when I first bought it. Womp.
I ultimately gave up and went to bed sans orgasm. Win some, lose some.
Day 5
Kegels and coffee had become my new morning routine. During my vag-strengthening session before work, I noticed my kegels didn’t feel as challenging as they did during days one and two. The burn had left the building.
Later that night I decided to try getting to O-town again with my vibe, and I noticed that my vagina was definitely tighter and a little sore. But I was ecstatic. It seemed like my hard work was actually paying off—even if I hadn’t gotten off yet. (Writer’s note: Later on, Gaither told me that soreness could also mean that I was overdoing my kegels. Oops.)
Luckily, I ended my solo session on a high note. Finally! But the orgasm wasn’t the knock-my-socks-off feeling I was hoping for. To be honest, all the hype about kegels creating better orgasms set the bar pretty high for me. I thought if my orgasms were great before kegels, these babies were going to amp it up times 1,000.
Day 6
That tingly orgasmic sensation that I felt while doing kegels on day one was long gone, and the whole routine was getting old. But there was no way I was backing down from rest of the challenge. Instead, I did some research on kegel exercise variations and decided to do my kegels while in a bridge pose. While I did get that orgasmic feeling back, I wasn’t totally convinced that it made that much of a difference.
One annoying thing about kegels is that I didn’t feel the burn consistently, like when I work other muscles. So it was hard to tell if I was actually making a difference in my muscle tone.
That night I decided to ditch my vibrator, hoping that a little break would help me finish strong tomorrow (literally and figuratively).
Day 7
My morning of kegels and masturbation didn’t end in the grand finale I’d hoped for. My vagina was no longer sore (thank goodness), but all the kegels I did this week didn’t seem to magnify my big O.
That night, I gave it one more go. Ten minutes and a decent orgasm later, it was all over. Apparently, a strict kegel routine wasn’t enough to take my orgasm game to the next level. Instead, I wound up having pretty standard Os. However, since I’m not currently getting busy with a dude, it’s hard for me to say whether all those kegels could have ended in more amazing P in V action, which is definitely possible.
While my vagina strength has improved, based on my ability to complete three sets of 20 reps held for five seconds, I don’t think I’ll continue my rigorous vagina-training regime.
It wasn’t super time consuming, but I did have to remember to do it three times a day. And since it didn’t really do much for my sex life (and my bladder control is strong at the moment), I’m not sure it’s a necessity for me. But, hey, it’s worth giving it a shot if you want to try this challenge on your own.
It’s been real, kegels.
