Most women have heard their doctors tout the benefits of Kegel exercises on their nether regions, and what they can do for their sexual health. However, since all pelvic floor muscles are often controlled subconsciously, we are unaware if we’re doing this discreet activity correctly. Instead of lying in bed and doubting if we’re giving our vagina a good workout, the folks over at Minna Life in San Francisco, Calif., have devised a FitBit for our lady parts — the “kGoal” — to monitor and guide our performance in Kegel exercises, squeezing our way to better sexual health.

Dubbed as “the world’s first interactive training system for pelvic floor exercises,” it consists of both a device and a smartphone app that can communicate wirelessly. It provides users with an interactive platform to guide, measure, and track our Kegels using realtime biofeedback. This combination of health and technology provides better ways to understand and manage their bodies. “It’s like having a personalized gym, physical therapist, and tracking system in the palm of your hand,” according to kGoal’s Kickstarter page.

Kegel exercises should be done by women to help prevent or control urinary incontinence, says the Mayo Clinic, and other pelvic floor problems. It also plays an important role in sexual health when it comes to healthy sexual response for women, enhancing arousal and improving sensation, orgasm quality, and the overall sexual experience.

"The device can be used by all women," Lux Alptraum, in charge kGoal’s of strategic marketing, told Medical Daily in an office in SoHo, N.Y. “It is completely safe. You can do as many sets a day as you want.” Women should aim to do three sets of 10 repetitions a day.

Holding the kGoal device and using the smartphone app
Photo courtesy of Sabrina Bachai. Sabrina Bachai

Although Kegel exercises could become monotonous, Alptraum expresses the kGoal can make these discreet exercises fun. “We created an interactive interface so users can either track their progress with a smartphone app, or with just using the squeezable pillow device," she said. When used in conjunction with the smartphone app, the strength of your pelvic muscles will be based on how hard you squeeze on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest. For those who do not wish to use their smartphone, they can switch the kGoal to “green mode,” where vibrations will let users know the strength of their pelvic muscles. Vibrations will become more intense the harder you squeeze your muscles.

kGoal in vibration mode
Photo courtesy of Sabrina Bachai. Sabrina Bachai

The smartphone app and the device in the demo will not be what users will see. Currently, the company is working on improving the app’s interface to make it more user friendly. Akbar Dhanaliwala, the software developer for kGoal, says while there may not be an Angry Birds-like themed app, there will be games women could play that will sync with the Kegel exercises. The color of the kGoal has yet to be announced.

“We still haven’t decided on a particular color, but we’re going to have a vote with our Kickstarter backers to decide on one or two colors for the first batch, and then build on that,” Dhanaliwala told Medical Daily. "We've been working on the device since the first quarter of 2014." Originally, kGoal pledged a goal of $90,000 for Aug. 4, but they quickly surpassed their goal to an astounding $139,996 with 25 days still left to go. They have approximately 1,177 backers. The company has scome a long way since, and manufacturing is expected to start in September 2014 to be shipped to backers in December 2014.

The kGoal costs $175 and includes free delivery within the U.S. International backers are required to pay a $25 fee to cover shipping costs, along with taxes, duties, and customs fees appropriate for their country. For those who do not have an extra $200 lying around, Kegel exercises can still be achieved by practicing both short contractions and releases, and longer ones. These exercises can be done at any time whether you’re sitting or lying down.