I am a huge advocate of women doing Kegel exercise for Pelvic Floor strength, and the first thing I want to mention is that you don’t actually have to have a product to do this! You can do it anywhere, anytime, without anything – its just that having a product can make it easier to learn, increase the difficulty when you are ready, and in the case of jiggle balls, make it pleasurable. Not sure what a pelvic floor muscle is, or how to exercise it without using kegel balls? Read the bottom of this post.

Kegel? Ben Wa? Its all marketing!

The only difference I have found between the differently labelled ball options out there is marketing. Balls labelled as Kegel Balls seem to be focused more on increasing pelvic floor strength, whilst balls labelled as Ben Wa seem to focus more on pleasure. In reality though, they are interchangeable.

They are small, weighted balls, with or without a string attached, and are usually made of metal or silicon. There are different weights and sizes, and ones that jiggle and vibrate which Ill go into below.

They are also sometimes labelled as Venus balls, Geisha balls, Orgasm balls, Love balls, Pleasure balls, Jiggle balls, Love eggs, Duo Balls, and with different spelling of Kegel (Kegal) and Ben Wa (Ben Wah). Its all the same, its all marketing, you should choose the right size, weight and material for you!

Why you should use them

When you do your pelvic floor exercise often, you can master it pretty quickly. Just like exercising any muscle, it helps to increase the weight or difficulty, which is where the balls come into play! Starting with a light weight ball, you add a little bit of extra weight that your body needs to try to hold. As you get used to that, you can look at increasing the weight or decreasing the size of the ball you use. 

Which one is right for me?

Most intro level balls come in around the 50-70 gram mark, and vary up to the heaviest I have found being 221 grams. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it really is! You also need to consider the size and material they are made from when it comes to difficulty.

A large ball is easier for your body to hold than a small one, and a silicone one has more friction than a  metal one so is easier for your body to grip. So, a large, silicon ball is much easier than a small metal one! If you are looking for more of a challenge, using lube will help. You can also get single ball designs, where the ball is much bigger, which if its silicon and light, would be really good for beginners. Most of the training sets (scroll down!) are like this.

If you are a beginner, these are the sort of ball you should try first. Something silicon, reasonably large (but not too large!), and light:

If you are looking for a challenge, I highly recommend these ones. They aren’t as small as I would like, but they are heavy, and metal, and definitely a challenge! You’ll want to cut the silly metal tag off the end though, that just gets in the way. 

You can also get training sets, that have a few different size and weight options, if you are looking at slowly increasing the weight and difficulty, which is really what you should be doing. Don’t try to go from nothing to the 221 gram balls. Thats a good way to hurt your self. All the sets I have seen at a reasonable price are all silicon, and all the single ball style with the long tail:

Jiggle Balls? Vibrating balls?

So now we get into the pleasure zone! Now, its pretty unlikely that these are going to make you cum. But they can help get you in the mood! Jiggle balls use your own bodies movement to cause a gentle jiggling sensation. They have a smaller ball inside a larger one, that rolls around when you move. They are particularly fun in a car – just don’t wear them when you’re driving, lets not cause a car accident please!

Here are a few jiggling options. My first jiggling set was actually one of the really cheap ones, I think they were around $10 from our local adult store, they look exactly the same as the Lovehoney $4.48 ones below. They are plastic, and you get what you pay for… so as you can see, the metal ones below from Wildsecrets cost more, because theyre metal, whilst the silicon ones are a good mid price point option:

Vibrating ones are battery operated and use a motor to cause movement, just like a vibrator does. They’re fun, but again, I don’t think they are likely to make you cum – they don’t for me anyway. They are a fun addition to anal sex though, just like using a g-spot vibrator, if you have these in your vagina your partner can feel the vibrations whilst in your anus. So yes, they are fun, but no, you don’t have to have vibrating ones if your goal is just to get a good workout. 

Here are a few vibrating options. You can get app controlled, remote controlled, there is so much variety!

You also have the option of string or no string. Personally, I like the security of a string. I like to know I can just grab them and take them out, I don’t have to go digging around to retrieve them!

Here are some with no strings attached (pun completely intended):

What is the pelvic floor and why should you exercise it?

“The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that stretch like a hammock from the pubic bone at the front, to the tailbone at the back. A female’s pelvic floor muscles support her bladder, bowel and uterus”

https://www.continence.org.au/who-it-affects/women/female-pelvic-floor-muscles

Lots of things can cause it to become weak, and a weak pelvic floor muscle can lead to incontinence, prolapse, even less pleasurable sex. It’s not a good time. We want to avoid it! So it’s important to consciously try to exercise this muscle whenever you can. 

How do I exercise the pelvic floor muscle?

First you want to identify what muscle you are trying to use. The easiest way to do this is try to stop your wee midstream. The muscle you tighten to do that? Thats your pelvic floor muscle! It can be hard to do if you have a weak muscle or just haven’t done it before. Always talk to your doctor if you are worried or want more help!

Now that you’ve found it, you are going to want to practice tightening and releasing it. Try to tighten and lift it up, and hold it for a count of 10, or as long or little as you can, and build up that strength. Release it, and you should feel the relaxation. 

Here is a video on how to do this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_JAoaM6pU

You can also get more info here, for both men and women: https://www.pelvicfloorfirst.org.au/