By now you should have heard from a million places how good Kegels are, and how you should be doing them all the time. But sometimes it just isn’t that simple. Finding the right muscles when you’re trying to exercise your pelvic floor can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Doing Kegel exercises incorrectly can sometimes be just as bad as not doing them at all, so it’s important to make sure you’re using the right muscles. Luckily, if you’re struggling you aren’t completely out of luck. There are a wide range of tools available to help you work your pelvic floor. Sometimes they even stimulate extra parts of your body to give you the extra push to keep up with your Kegels.

Kegel Balls

Kegel balls are the most common and basic kinds of Kegel exercise tools. They are small balls which you insert into your vagina and hold in place using your pelvic floor. These can come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and sometimes even vibrate. Check out our article on types of Ben Wa Balls for more information on these.

Vaginal Cones

Sometimes called Vaginal weights, Vaginal cones are devices similar to Kegel balls which are specifically designed to assist with the health of the pelvic floor. Unlike Kegel balls, Vaginal cones are actually classified as medical devices and are often prescribed to help women deal with incontinence. While Kegel balls are usually inserted into the vagina and used during Kegel exercises, Vaginal cones are inserted with the intention to just hold them in place for the duration of the session. Usually this is for around 15 minutes a day, several times a day. When they are inserted, the pelvic floor muscles will contract to hold the weight in place, called a passive contraction. Occasionally this isn’t enough and women will need to actively contract the muscles further to make sure the weights don’t fall out.

Electrical Simulation Devices



If you’re really struggling to isolate the pelvic floor muscles, sometimes you might be recommended a variant of Electrical Stimulation. These devices apply small electrical shocks to the area which cause the muscles to involuntarily contract when stimulated. It might sound a little scary, but people who have undergone the courses usually say that the feeling is actually quite pleasurable. The downside to this is that it usually needs to be administered by a doctor, so this one isn’t one for you to do at home.

Resistance based Kegel devices

These are much less common, but still worth mentioning. Resistance based Kegel exercisers are similar to vaginal cones, but they contain medical grade springs inside the device. Once it is inserted into your vagina, you turn a knob at the bottom of the device which activates the springs. This slightly stretches your pelvic floor muscles open and then when you perform your Kegel exercises, you squeeze the device closed again. Many people claim the extra resistance from the springs makes your Kegels much more effective.

Kegel Exercisers

This isn’t a great term, but Kegel exercisers are basically electronic devices which you place inside your vagina or anus, and they monitor you performing your Kegels. Kegel Exercisers are probably the most common kind of tool you’ll find to help you with Kegel exercisers. There are many different kinds out there but for the most part they all work the same.

How do they work?

Most Kegel exercisers consist of a pod which is inserted into the vagina, much like Kegel balls, or a probe which is inserted into the anus. On the vaginal exercisers, an arm usually attaches to the bottom of the pod and wraps around the front of your vagina, touching the labia. These tools will either connect wirelessly to an app on your phone, or have a wire coming out of the bottom which is attached to a monitoring piece. The pods you have inserted detect how you squeeze them when performing your Kegels, and give feedback to either the app or monitoring piece, letting you know whether you’re doing the exercises correctly and giving feedback on how effective they are.

Get a buzz from your Kegels

While these devices are primarily designed to give you feedback on your Kegel technique, the ones designed for the vagina usually come with a little added bonus. The arm which wraps around the front of your vagina tends to contain a small vibrator. When you perform good Kegels, it will vibrate, stimulating your vagina and giving you more incentive to carry on. The better you perform your Kegels, the more fun you’re going to have!