Endurance refers to your ability to hold a pelvic floor contraction.
This is very useful to:
Protect your organs when they face prolonged abdominal pressure from your upper body: laughing is one of them!
Helping you hold a pressing need to pee.
Experience another level of sexual pleasure during penetration and clitoris stimulation.
The endurance indicator computed by Perifit is the maximum time you can sustain a contraction of at least 75% of your maximum strength, divided by the time the game asked you to.
A score of 92% means that you're able to hold the contractions of 75% of your maximum strength 92% of the time requested by the game.
Note that Endurance is a sub-part of the indicator Control. Control is your overall ability to reach targets during games. You can see Endurance as your ability to reach targets that are above 75% of your maximum strength.
2 key ideas to know about Endurance
1. Breathing has an impact!
Even though we're asking you to hold a contraction, you should definitely not hold your breath. You want to breathe in and out through the contraction and relaxation of your pelvic floor.
Do you find it difficult? It's totally normal!
Start by synchronizing your breath to your contractions this way:
Inhale when you relax your pelvic floor
Exhale when you contract your pelvic floor
The first time you are asked to hold a contraction, make sure that you exhale slowly by the nose at the same time. It will make things easier!
Of course, it's not always possible to inhale and exhale at the same time as the games request you to contract and relax your pelvic floor and it's not the ultimate goal for your daily life: accidents can happen at any time and you must be able to contract or relax your pelvic floor on timing, no matter if you're currently inhaling or exhaling. It's only a starting point that could help your body acquire a smoother synchronization.
2. The target is not "Hold as long as you can".
It's not a competition of who can hold the longest and you don't have to hold a contraction for a long time every time you contract.
The goal is for your pelvic floor to be reactive in adequacy with the situation:
Being able to contract strongly and quickly when needed (A sneeze)
Being able to contract on timing and hold it when needed (During abs exercises!)
Tips to improve pelvic floor's Endurance
Work on Strength at the same time. They complete each other! As you're gaining more strength, your endurance will get better.
Respect resting time. It's better to hold a contraction for 5 seconds, 3 times in a row than attempting a 15 seconds hold and stopping at 10. It's an old trick from running: to train running 5 miles, start by running 2 x 2.5 miles with a break in between.
Work on breathing. If you have difficulties breathing during pelvic floor training or find yourself exhaling when relaxing (which should be the opposite), head to the Practice Lab and practice the synchronization we mentioned above: exhale while contracting your pelvic floor and inhale while relaxing. Try to breathe with your nose and from the upper part of your chest (diaphragm).
Top games pick to work on Endurance
Flappy Bird
Golden Lotus
Under the sea
Exercise in Practice Lab to practice Endurance
Start relaxed. Take your time if you need to.
Contract your pelvic floor strongly and immediately hold for 3 seconds. You want to be exhaling at that moment.
Release slowly while inhaling and take a 10 seconds break.
Repeat 5 times and get back to a relaxed state. You can do it only twice? Don't worry, you'll get there with training. Twice is good already!
Contract your pelvic floor slowly & progressively until your max, then hold for 5 seconds. You want to be exhaling at that moment.
Release slowly while inhaling and take a 10 seconds break.
Repeat 5 times and get back to a relaxed state. You can do it only twice? Don't worry, you'll get there with training. Twice is good already!
As you progress, you can start aiming for longer times.
I've read all that but I still can't improve my Endurance...
You might...
Be worrying about that too early: Just like you won't be able to run 10 miles on your first running session, you won't be able to hold your contractions for quite a long time at first. It takes time, consistent & regular training.
Giving it a bit too much during calibration: endurance is your ability to hold a contraction of 75% of your max strength. If you gave it all during calibration, the game will be harder and you will have a harder time holding contractions. Note that you can do a new calibration at any time during any game by hitting Pause > Recalibrate.
If all our tips do not help, it might be a good idea to book an appointment with a pelvic floor specialist. She'll be able to draw a full diagnosis with you and usually have a broad set of tips to offer. What's more, they usually know about Perifit Care and will be able to give you tips to get the maximum benefits of its use.