Kegel Progression & Vaginal Weightlifting: Beginner to Dumbbell

Take your Kegels to the next level!

If my post about play­ing Pong/​Brick with your vagi­na wasn't enough, here's a more in-​depth guide into the wacky world of vagi­nal weightlifting.

Reap the profoundly pleasurable benefits of pelvic floor exercises, such as:

• Bigger orgasms
• Toned vagi­nal muscles
• A tighter grip
• More com­fort­able con­sump­tion of colos­sal dildos
• Increased sen­sa­tion

And pelvic floor health isn't just for cis­women! People with penis­es can also ben­e­fit from Kegels via firmer, more con­trolled erec­tions that last longer. This post is for peo­ple with vagi­nas, though.

Vagina boot camp?

I've pre­vi­ous­ly told the sto­ry about the time I lift­ed a buck­et of pen­nies with my vagi­na. It was an undoubt­ed­ly unortho­dox com­pe­ti­tion. At the same time, I don't want vagi­nal weightlift­ing to look like some­thing oth­er­world­ly and unapproachable.

So let's expand on my vagi­nal boot camp today! Find out how to get start­ed with Kegels at any lev­el, from sim­ple squeezes to full-​on dumb­bells FOR YOUR VAGINA. But first —

Safety guidelines before starting your vaginal weightlifting journey!

If you're hav­ing a spe­cif­ic pelvic floor prob­lem or are recov­er­ing from surgery, that's beyond the scope of this post. I'm here to talk about the plea­sur­able and fun side of Kegels — not give pro­fes­sion­al health advice.

If your issue is with tight­ness (which is dif­fer­ent from strength) and lack­ing flex­i­bil­i­ty, you'll need to prac­tice reverse Kegels, first. A dancer can do splits while still hav­ing strong hamstrings.

In that vein, also don't assume that more exer­cise is always bet­ter! An ath­lete uses an appro­pri­ate weight, trains, rests between sets, stretch­es, and takes time to recover.

Think of vaginal weightlifting as like any other fitness regimen:

• Remember to breathe.
• Don't push too hard or over-train.
• Rest between sets; don't stay clenched.
• Practice con­scious relax­ation afterward.
• Give it time and do small steps consistently.

Finally, if you're using vagi­nal weights, remem­ber to wash your hands and lay out a washed tow­el under you before you start.

That way, you keep your equip­ment clean and the yucky stuff out of your sys­tem. As well, you're cush­ion­ing the ground so there isn't any­thing clang­ing if you drop the weight — which might happen.

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Got it? Okay, let's get started.

Jump to a section

1. Beginner Kegels
2. Intermediate & advanced
3. The tl;dr version
4. Kegel weight com­par­i­son table

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Kegels for beginners

Some of my Instagram fol­low­ers asked me how to start doing Kegels. "Just clench?" one of them added. Well, yes, kind of.

For many readers, it's that simple:

• Squeeze like you're stop­ping your­self from going potty.
• Pull in and lift slight­ly, like you're pick­ing up blue­ber­ries with your hole.
• Hold. Experiment with dif­fer­ent dura­tions just enough for a challenge.
• Relax and release ten­sion for twice the length of time you squeezed. 
  • DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
• Repeat.

I usu­al­ly pair pelvic floor exer­cis­es with TV, a show­er, etc. to pass the time, with­out con­scious­ly keep­ing track. (Kegeling dur­ing a bor­ing col­lege lec­ture was one of my favorite pastimes.)

If you want more structure, keep reading.

A starting regimen suggestion (per KegelBell instructions):

• 10 sec­onds of clenching
• 20 sec­onds of relaxing
• Cycle through squeez­ing and relax­ing 5 min­utes a day
• Exercise three times a week

That's just a start­ing point, but you can do more. Just remem­ber to rest between sets for twice as long as you squeeze. As always, lis­ten to your body.

For others, it's not super clear *what* to clench.

Some peo­ple Kegel inef­fec­tive­ly, tens­ing their glutes or inner thighs instead of iso­lat­ing the pelvic floor. If that's you, I have some suggestions:

• A Correct Kegel — an arti­cle by Lindsey Vestal, Pelvic Floor Therapist
• Continue read­ing here for ways to make Kegels easier!

1. Keep your pelvic floor weights light

This tip is a giv­en, but worth men­tion­ing if you're a total begin­ner. Start with plas­tic or sil­i­cone Kegel exer­cis­ers that keep the met­al weights min­i­mal, like with the LELO Luna Beads. They move and tap around in their hard shell, adding a lit­tle resis­tance for your vagi­na to work against reflexively.

LELO Luna bead weights

• Pink (2 includ­ed) = 28g each ≈ 0.96 oz each
• Blue (2 includ­ed) = 37g each ≈ 1.31 oz each
• Purple (2 includ­ed in the Plus set) ≈ 59g each ≈ 2.08 oz each

You have lots of options for chang­ing the beads to a more mas­sive set. Some users notice a dif­fer­ence after a month of repeat­ed use, even with­out putting con­scious effort into it.

2. Try some Kegel exercisers that do the work *for* you

Electrostimulation devices like the MyStim vibra­tors and Cal Exotics Impulse line have metal­lic plates that send elec­tri­cal impuls­es to flex the Kegel mus­cles. That way, even if you can't squeeze hard on your own, you can still ben­e­fit from pelvic floor exercises.

Just don't get one that goes in so deep that it shocks your cervix. I hat­ed the Impulse G‑spot vibra­tor for that rea­son. Stick with Impulse's vagi­nal "bead" explic­it­ly made for Kegels. It's way short­er (3" long), which is far less like­ly to irritate.

As always, con­sid­er your indi­vid­ual needs. If you have a pace­mak­er or met­al IUD, inti­mate elec­tros­tim­u­la­tion prod­ucts prob­a­bly aren't for you.

Another perk is that, if a kegel exer­cis­er has a cord, you can mod­i­fy the exer­cis­es so that they're easier!

3. Do your Kegels while lying down or sitting first

If hold­ing a Kegel weight in while stand­ing is dif­fi­cult, try the exer­cis­es lying down instead:

• Insert a *cord­ed* bulb.
• Gently pull on the cord while squeez­ing to keep it inside.
• Relax for 20 sec­onds. Repeat.
• Pull a lit­tle hard­er every session.
• Move on to stand­ing Kegels with weights when you're ready!

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Intermediate Kegel progression

Bored with squeez­ing and relax­ing? Understandable. Ready for the next step? LET'S GO!

1. Try a Kegelbell Vagina Gym for customizable resistance

I men­tioned the Kegelbell in the pre­vi­ous sec­tion, but what makes this prod­uct so unique for begin­ners and inter­me­di­ates is that you can mix and match exter­nal weights for dif­fer­ent train­ing levels.

Use a weight that you can hold while stand­ing for 10 sec­onds. (If stand­ing is dif­fi­cult for you, you can also try kneel­ing with some­thing sup­port­ing your hips.) Rest for 20 sec­onds between reps. Increase the weight when you're ready!

Kegelbell vaginal weights

1. Bulb alone = 30g = 1.06 oz
2. With weight A = 60g
3. With weight B = 90g
4. A + B = 120g
5. C = 150g
6. A + C = 180g
7. B + C = 210g
8. A + B + C = 240g = 8.47 oz

A Kegelbell D exten­sion weight is also avail­able, tak­ing the weight range up to 480g — about a pound!

I disagree with some of their claims, though.

The mak­ers of the Kegelbell claim that, because their sys­tem is exter­nal, "You can add more weight than was pre­vi­ous­ly pos­si­ble." And that's just not true — with a lit­tle think­ing out­side the box (hah), you could have gone heav­ier before the Kegelbell's existence.

"You will nev­er plateau because you can always increase the chal­lenge," also says their pack­ag­ing. Nah. I can com­fort­ably walk around prac­ti­cal­ly indef­i­nite­ly with a fully-​loaded Kegelbell.

"WE DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE WOMEN'S STRENGTH." Well, you under­es­ti­mat­ed my strength.

That's why this guide to vagi­nal weightlift­ing goes so far beyond what the Kegelbell offers.

2. For discretion, try some balls of steel

Want some­thing more dis­creet to clench around, but with­in the Kegelbell's weight range? Try some of these Kegel balls. They don't jig­gle as the plastic-​shelled ones do, but the weight sure as hell arous­es me.

The perk is that you can use more than one at once to add to the weight. Plus, steel Kegel balls more afford­able than the Kegelbell. The down­side is that, if they're not already cord­ed, you may want to tie a con­dom around them for easy retrieval.

Metal "Ben Wa" ball weights

• Blush B Yours Gleam Stainless Steel Balls
  • 1.5 oz each ≈ 43g oz
  • 2 includ­ed
• Blush Wellness Kegel Training Kit
  • Light pur­ple balls = 0.6 oz each
  • Medium pur­ple Balls = 1.3 oz each
  • Dark pur­ple Balls = 1.8 oz each
  • 2 of each col­or included
• Fifty Shades of Grey Inner Goddess Silver Pleasure Balls
  • 221g = 7.80 oz
  • I dis­like the name and fran­chise but love the product.
  • This set is my top pick! I just love how dense it is!

3. Use a glass dildo for Kegel exercises

If you already have a glass dil­do with a bul­bous tip lying around, it may be an effec­tive place to start with­out spend­ing much extra cash.

I start­ed my vagi­nal weightlift­ing with a toy sim­i­lar to the Icicles 31, back in my ear­ly col­lege days. (I'd hold it while doing my hair and make­up!) This glass dil­do weighs about 7.5 oz or about 213 grams. That puts it at the same mass as the Kegelbell with weights B and C added!

4. njoy pure wand

Okay, now we're getting to the good stuff!

The njoy Pure Wand's weight is a hefty 24 oz or 680 grams — all in deli­cious stain­less steel. That may sound like a huge jump, so have some moti­va­tion­al reminders:

First, you can still start with a short­er dura­tion and move up from there. Just remem­ber to relax for twice as long as you squeeze.

The njoy Pure Wand's big end also might be wider/​more bul­bous than what you were using before. Switch to the small end for an added vagi­nal weightlift­ing challenge!

And yep, the njoy Pure Wand was a dil­do I held in my vagi­na while doing my hair and make­up every day.

You could try an even more sub­stan­tial stain­less steel dil­do, like the Le Wand Contour, but at that point, you might as well move on to the next sections.

5. Now repeat while squatting or climbing stairs!

If you want to make your Kegel exer­cis­es more chal­leng­ing, try com­bin­ing them with oth­er low­er body exer­cis­es! If climb­ing stairs with a Pure Wand dan­gling out feels too extra, I under­stand. You can step up and down on a chair or stool instead, to a sim­i­lar effect. This tip applies to play­ing games with the Minna kGoal, too!

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Try advanced vaginal weightlifting!

Now you're ready to go beyond pre-​packaged weights. If you have a kegel ball with a retrieval loop, that's per­fect for this step.

I'm par­tial to using the stain­less steel njoy Pure Plug for vagi­nal weightlift­ing. Your mileage may vary, though — if you have a long pubic bone and deep G‑spot, I'd say to stick to a looped Kegel ball set, so that there's no base dig­ging into you.

Get a cara­bin­er and attach it to a bag or con­tain­er with a loop, whether that's a buck­et or a dis­pos­able plas­tic bag. Either method works, if you're stand­ing up. And with what­ev­er weights you see fit for your fit­ness. Try dumb­bells. Or add pen­nies, one by one, for a con­test with a friend.

They may even be cheeky enough to drop in a 2L bot­tle of soda.

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Key takeaways from this guide to vaginal weightlifting!

Benefits of Kegel exercises include:

• Increased blood flow and arousal
• Bigger, longer, more intense orgasms
• Stronger squeezes around insertables
• Enhanced sen­sa­tion

Pelvic floor exercise technique

Squeezing for 10 seconds at a time is just a starting point.

The dura­tion of con­trac­tion is up to you, as long as it chal­lenges you. Rest for twice as long in between.

If you don't know what to squeeze, consider trying an electrostimulation device.

Your exter­nal mus­cles shouldn't be con­tract­ing. An e‑stim device can help you iso­late and the pelvic floor muscles.

If you can't hold a weight internally while standing, that's okay.

Lie down and gen­tly pull on a kegel ball's cord while you try to keep it in.

Weights to try for vaginal strengthening

Kegel exercise kits come with multiple weights for leveling up.

Examples include the Kegelbell, LELO Luna Beads, and Blush Wellness balls. See the next sec­tion for a com­par­i­son of weight­ed Kegel exer­cis­ers I've used!

You can totally use a bulbous weighted dildo to do vaginal weightlifting!

Glass toys with round tips and nar­row necks are great for this purpose.

For the ultimate Kegels, use a vaginal ball or plug with a loop and add your own weights.

Don't let a pre-​packaged prod­uct lim­it you. The vagi­nal weightlift­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties are endless!

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Kegel exerciser weight comparison table

	Bead Diameter	Weights Included	Minimum Weight	Material(s)	Jiggly?	Retrieval Cord?
Fifty Shades of Grey Inner Goddess Silver Pleasure Balls	1.10"	2 steel balls. Not adjustable.	221 g ≈ 7.80 oz	Stainless steel balls, silicone cord	No	Loop
Kegelbell Vagina Gym	1.25" & 1.5"	2 internal bulbs (30g, 40g). 3 external weights (30g, 60g, 120g).	30 g ≈ 1.06 oz	Silicone insert and cord, zinc alloy weights	Kind of — I can definitely feel the weight swinging	Straight
LELO Luna Beads Plus	1.37"	3 pairs of beads (28g, 37g, 59g)	28 g ≈ 0.96 oz	Metal balls, plastic shell, silicone harness, nylon cord	Yes	Loop
LELO Luna Beads	1.37"	2 pairs of beads (28g, 37g)	28 g ≈ 0.96 oz	Metal balls, plastic shell, silicone harness, nylon cord	Yes	Loop
LELO Luna Beads Noir (Mini)	1.14"	2 pairs of beads (28g, 37g)	28 g ≈ 0.96 oz	Metal balls, plastic shell, silicone harness, nylon cord	Yes, a little	Loop
Blush Wellness Kegel Training Kit	1.25"	3 pairs of beads (~17g, 37g, 51g)	0.6 oz ≈ 17 g	Silicone-coated metal	No	Straight
Blush B Yours Gleam Stainless Steel Balls	0.75"	1 pair of beads	1.5 oz ≈ 43g	Stainless steel	No	None

You can take 10% off your Kegelbell Vaginal Gym with my dis­count code, SUPER — or use the code on any­thing else!

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Thank you to Betty's Toy Box for sponsoring this post!

Want to col­lab­o­rate with me? Check out my ser­vices page!