This tiny little compact shaped container rocked the socks off of women in the 1960's. Finally there was a way to plan and decide when you wanted to have a baby. Now it seems to be regularly prescribed to every girl who gets her period. The pill, more formally known as oral contraception (OC), has come a long way since it was first developed. Here's the latest scoop.
In 1948, Dr. Arnold Kegel published a study about exercises to increase muscle tone of the pelvic floor muscles (specifically pubococcygeus) to treat women with incontinence (leaking pee) after childbirth. Scientists are super original so the exercises were named after him. Thus the birth of Kegels (Get it!? Birth... kegel!? Just LOL silently for me ok?)
Since then Kegels have become a magical, fix all cure.
Turn on the TV and I'm sure you'll see at least one ad for a female hygiene product. Something with gorgeous gal spinning around smiling or images of waterfalls to "make you fresher" and "rid yourself of odor". These ads imply that if we don't use the product then we are going to be dirty and smelly. Look at all these ads from the last few decades!
When it comes to fitness there are some pretty big lines drawn. You pick a camp and join their team. There's: Lifter (this is broken down further into powerlifter, bodybuilder), Crossfitter, Yoga Girl, and Runner/Cardio.
The big downside to choosing only one team is that you miss out on the benefits of crosstraining. In the short term this isn't always a bad thing- if you're getting ready for a powerlifting meet then doing hours of cardio isn't going to help you reach your goal. But from a long term health and fitness perspective you're going to predispose yourself to injury.
Recently breast self exams have become an important part of standard women's health practice and education. A pelvic self exam is still pretty hush-hush material though. We need to change that! You know what your toes and shoulders look like and which angle you can take the best selfie from. But do you really know what you look like "down there"?
Two weeks ago you were all "OMG I pee too much!" Or maybe you timed yourself and realized you're nowhere near the 8 second mark. And then you were like... wait now what.
Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging. Here's how you can work on increasing the length of time between pee breaks. (Psst- if you're confused then read about the bathroom do's & don'ts first!)
