Kegels Are Overrated: 10 Exercises I’d Choose Instead for Pelvic Floor Strength

If you’ve been told that kegels are the answer to leaking, urgency, or pelvic floor issues—and they haven’t helped—you’re not doing anything wrong.

You are not the problem!
It’s that isolated pelvic floor contractions don’t train the pelvic floor to work the way it actually functions in real life. Kegels can be useful in specific situations, but they’re rarely enough on their own.

Why Kegels Are Overrated

The pelvic floor does not work alone.

It functions as part of an integrated system that includes:

• The diaphragm (breathing muscle under the ribcage)

• The deep core (including the 4 layers of the abdominal muscles and low back muscles)

• The hips and glutes

• The nervous system

In daily life, and especially during running, lifting, coughing, jumping, or changing direction, your pelvic floor’s job is to:

• Respond to pressure

• Coordinate with breathing

• React automatically, not consciously

The issue with isolated kegels

Kegels train:

• A single muscle group

• In isolation

• Without load

• Without movement

• Without real world demands like lifting, twisting, jumping, etc.

That’s like training your ankle by squeezing it while lying down in bed and expecting it to stabilize you on a trail run.

For many women, isolated kegels:

• Don’t translate to functional strength

• Increase pelvic floor tension (and say hello to a whole bunch of other problems!)

• Worsen urgency or pelvic pain

• Reinforce clenching instead of coordination

A pelvic floor that works well isn’t one that’s clenched all the time, it’s one that’s responsive. Read more about that in my blog post: Why Am I Leaking When I Run, Jump, or Sneeze? (Even Though I’ve Never Had a Baby).

Why Glute and Core Training Works Better Than Kegels Alone

When you strengthen your glutes and core, you’re:

• Improving load transfer through the pelvis

• Reducing pressure dumped downward

• Teaching the pelvic floor to respond automatically during movement

This is especially true with:

• Single leg exercises

• Anti-rotation and stability based core work

• Hip hinge and extension patterns

These movements force the pelvis to stabilize, expose asymmetries, mimic the demands of walking, running, and lifting, and reduce compensatory pelvic floor gripping. This is why runners, athletes, and active women often improve their pelvic floor health without doing a single kegel.

Top 5 Glute Exercises I’d Choose Instead of Kegels

1. Bulgarian Split Squats

Why I like it:
Truthfully, I have a love-hate relationship with this exercise. Mostly because it’s so challenging! This is a high-value single leg exercise that demands hip stability, pelvic control, and glute strength. The split stance exposes imbalances quickly and forces the pelvis to stay coordinated under load.

Common mistakes:

• Front knee collapsing inward

• Over-arching the low back

• Using momentum instead of control

Best for:

• Runners

• Leaking during single leg tasks

• Strength imbalances side-to-side

A Tip:

There are two main ways to perform this exercise, including one that biases the quadriceps on the front of your thigh and one that biases the glutes. There’s no wrong way.

To bias the quadriceps: keep the torso upright as you squat down and up. Think elevator.

To bias the glutes: bend at the tips and lean the torso forward as you squat down and up. Think escalator.

2. Cossack Squats

Why I like it:
Cossacks challenge hip mobility, strength, and frontal plane (side to side) control—areas many women lack. Most of our lives are spent in the sagittal plane (front/back), so exposing our bodies to movements in different planes can be just the challenge our pelvic floors need.

Common mistakes:

• Shifting weight into the knee instead of the hip

• Losing heel contact. Make sure you push through your entire foot!

• Rushing through the movement

Best for:

• Athletes

• Hip stiffness with pelvic symptoms

• People who feel “tight but weak” at the inner thighs (so basically everyone)

3. B-Stance Romanian Deadlifts

Why I like it:
This introduces a single leg bias while reinforcing the hip hinge pattern, which is critical for load management. Strong hinge mechanics increase glute recruitment and reduce pelvic floor over recruitment that can lead to pelvic tension. Using the second foot as a balance point allows you to push the weight without balance holding you back.

Common mistakes:

• Turning it into a squat

• Excessive spinal movement

• Weight shifting off the working leg

Best for:

• Runners

• Lifting-related leakage

• Anyone struggling with hinging mechanics

4. Copenhagen Planks

Why I like it:
Adductors are often overlooked but play a huge role in pelvic and hip stability. Copenhagens strengthen the inner thigh–pelvic floor connection and improve frontal plane control. These are deceptively hard so I often cue patients to modify by supporting your leg at the knee rather than at the foot.

Common mistakes:

• Dropping or bending at the hips

• Holding breath

• Over-tensing the pelvic floor

Best for:

• Runners

• Groin or inner-thigh weakness

• Pelvic instability or asymmetry

5. Elevated Single Leg Bridges

Why I like it:
Elevated bridges reinforce hip extension strength without excessive spinal loading. These are also a great opportunity to practice coordinating the breath, core control, and glute strength. Elevating the legs helps increase the range of motion for more glute activation!

Common mistakes:

• Over arching the low back to try to get higher (hello, back pain)

• Pushing through the toes instead of the whole foot (Check out my blog post on the foot-pelvic floor connection here)

• Letting the pelvis tip left or right

Best for:

• Early postpartum return to strength

• Posterior chain weakness

• People who grip their pelvic floor during glute work

Top 5 Core Exercises I'd Chose Instead of Kegels:

1. Deadbugs with Overpressure

Why I like it:
Deadbugs train core stability while the limbs move, which mirrors real life demands. The additional overpressure with opposing hand and knee improves awareness and control while providing an extra strength challenge.

Common mistakes:

• Flattening the back aggressively (Read Top Mistakes Made While Training Abs)

• Holding breath

• Moving too fast

Best for:

• Urgency

• Postpartum

• Core-pelvic coordination deficits

2. Side Planks from Knees + Hip Abduction

Why I like it:
This combines lateral core strength with hip stability, which are two areas critical for pelvic floor load management. It also trains the core and glutes to fire together, which is critical for functional pelvic control. Remember to breathe through this one!

Common mistakes:

• Dropping the hips

• Letting the top leg drift forward

• Neck tension

Best for:

• Pilates lovers

• Hip instability

• Pelvic asymmetry

3. Single Leg Stance + Around the Worlds

Why I like it:
This exercise challenges single leg balance, core stability, and hip flexor strength all in one. Your core is responsible for keeping the trunk stable while moving the arms around the head, but is also assisted by the glutes keeping the pelvis steady and stable while standing on one leg. The pelvic floor must manage rotational forces during daily movement all the time (dishes, reaching, etc.).

Common mistakes:

• Allowing the spine to move as you rotate around the head

• Letting the pelvis tip one direction

• Losing rib-pelvis alignment

Best for:

• Athletes

• Getting glutes and core to fire together

• Functional core training

4. Bear Plank Hovers + Leg Lifts

Why I like it:
This challenges core stability while removing and reintroducing limb support—excellent for reflexive pelvic floor engagement without clenching. This one trains the pelvic floor without even having to think about it!

Common mistakes:

• Holding breath

• Shifting weight excessively and letting the trunk twist

• Over bracing, sucking the stomach in

Best for:

• Postpartum

• Dynamic stability training

• Pelvic floor over grippers

5. Weighted Sit-Ups

Why I like it:
Despite what social media may tell you, the rectus abdominis (6 pack muscle) needs to be trained and needs to be strong. Sit-ups train trunk flexion and load tolerance, and when done well work wonders for pelvic floor dysfunction. Do not listen to the Instagram fear-mongering!

Common mistakes:

• Momentum based reps

• Poor breathing coordination

• Excessive pelvic gripping

Best for:

• Everyone!

• Return-to-sport

• Building true abdominal strength

The Takeaway

Kegels aren’t useless, but they’re not usually enough.

A strong pelvic floor isn’t built by squeezing harder.
It’s built by:

• Improving hip and core strength

• Addressing asymmetries

• Training movement patterns

• Letting the pelvic floor respond automatically

If you’re leaking, feeling urgency, or frustrated that kegels haven’t helped, this doesn’t mean your pelvic floor is weak. It likely means it needs better support from the system around it.

Inside The Pelvic Reset, we focus on restoring that system so your pelvic floor can do its job without constant effort.

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