Meet the Viral Kegel Coach Popping Up to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor

Ever peed a little when you laughed or leaked a little when chased your kid across the playground? You’re not alone—and one viral physiotherapist is here to help you fix it.

You're mindlessly scrolling on Instagram or TikTok when an upbeat Aussie woman appears on your screen and says, "Stop scrolling and squeeze your pelvic floor." Then, she walks you through kegel exercises, miming the motions your pelvic floor muscles should be making with her hand. "Hold, lift higher, remember to breathe," she says.

Meet Sarah Percy, a pelvic floor physiotherapist and the director of Female Physio Co., which has three locations in Queensland, Australia. Percy, who has a 16-month-old daughter, opened her business in 2020 and started making Kegel workout videos. The videos were so popular that her business took off, and she had to take a break from the now-viral social posts.

"I restarted them again in October 2024," she says. "One of my videos went viral on the 16th of January, and since then, we have continued to go viral with our videos. I get hundreds of DMs every day from people saying how much these videos are helping reduce their incontinence and boost their confidence." Female Physio Co. has 1.1M followers on Instagram and 830,000 on TikTok.

Comments on Percy's videos abound; many are rave reviews and success stories. "I love that you do the movements with your hands, so no matter where I am, I can follow along without the sound on! After 4 kids, it's a must and I never found motivation for it, until I found you. Thanks," says one follower on Instagram.

"Your clips are the reason I've corrected my prolapse without surgery. 🙌 💗 forever grateful," reads another comment. And those are just two of hundreds on her most recent video.

What are Kegels?

"Kegel exercises are pelvic floor muscle contractions designed to strengthen the muscles that support the bladder, uterus and bowel," says Percy. "They involve squeezing and lifting the pelvic floor muscles, as if trying to stop the flow of wind and wee, and then relaxing them."

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. Like other muscles, it can become weak or too tight, particularly during or after pregnancy, as we age, or if we don't exercise enough. Walking, yoga, pilates, and strength training can all contribute to pelvic floor strength, but Kegels specifically target the area.

How do Kegels help?

If you've ever peed a little while coughing, dashed to the bathroom after hearing running water, or avoided the trampoline park with your kids, your pelvic floor might need some love. Percy explains that Kegel exercises are important for preventing and improving incontinence, supporting the body during pregnancy and postpartum recovery, reducing the risk of pelvic organ prolapse, and enhancing sexual function by improving blood flow and muscle tone.

The beauty of Kegels for Percy? "I just love the idea that you can do it anywhere, anytime and get results." Her videos take place in her home, on the beach, in a car wash and in her kitchen while baking with her toddler. Besides the grimaces you may make while flexing your pelvic floor, it's not an exercise anyone else can see.

What's the right way to do a kegel?

While Percy says that anyone can follow along with her videos, she advises that you see a pelvic floor physiotherapist first to screen for any issues and check on your technique.

What are the most common mistakes people make when doing Kegels?

"They bear down instead of pulling up, they overactivate their abdominals too much which inhibits the pelvic floor or they squeeze their buttocks," says Percy.

Ready to start squeezing?

"You want to think about squeezing the pelvic floor like you’re holding in wind and wee [or], then lifting up like you’re lifting an imaginary tampon," she says.

Are there any reasons that someone shouldn’t do Kegels?

"If you have an overactive or high-tone pelvic floor where you struggle to turn it off, then you probably need to work on pelvic floor relaxation rather than strengthening first," says Percy. "This comes with things like pain with intercourse, vaginismus, vulvodynia, intense period pain and endometriosis."

How many Kegels should you do each day?

Once you've determined that you're ready to start strengthening your pelvic floor, Percy says, "Muscle strength takes around 12 to 15 weeks to build, but you should feel an improvement in symptoms by doing them around two to three times per day."

If you're a beginner, start with gentle muscle contractions and hold each for 10 seconds. Then, fully relax the muscles for 10 seconds. Do this ten times and repeat three times a day.

Try it now. Take a deep breath, squeeze like you’re stopping pee and lift. Now, check out Percy's beginner-friendly video.

Percy's final piece of pelvic floor advice?

Don't delay taking care of your pelvic floor. No one wants to pee their pants on the regular. "Pelvic health is important now," she says, "not in 10 years."