Pelvic floor health is experiencing a renaissance as women around the world are beginning to take full control of their fitness. Kegel exercisers, such as Elvie, claim to build pelvic strength more effectively than traditional kegels. We decided to test that claim for ourselves! Today, we’re bringing you our review of the Elvie Trainer, complete with everything you need to know before you make a purchase!
To test the new Elvie wearable technology, five women here at Gynie committed to using the device as recommended by the manufacturer. For the next three weeks, we’ll be training according to the instructions. That means that we’ll train 3 days per week, spending 5 minutes per day utilizing the games in the mobile app. Throughout the journey, we’ll take some screenshots to bring you all along with us!
Going into this experiment, we all have different levels of pelvic fitness. Two women have given birth, while three of us have not. At Gynie, our whole team is passionate about pelvic health. In fact, we worked together to develop the Gynie Trainer, a brand new, patented kegel exercise device. We wanted to do this review to see how the Elvie kegel exerciser would stack up!
So, let’s get started!
About the Elvie Brand
The Elvie Trainer is currently based out of the UK, but it’s gaining popularity in the US. The Elvie Trainer is a small Bluetooth-powered pelvic floor training device that is designed for women. Since it is a Bluetooth device, it comes with a charger, USB charging cable, and a small guide that helps you set up the mobile app. Elvie is mainly marketed as an easy way to train your pelvic floor on the go – anytime, anywhere. With the help of Elvie, their website claims that you can achieve better bladder control, faster postnatal recovery, and enhanced intimacy in as little as 4 weeks.
To begin using Elvie, you must download their mobile app, which is currently available for both Android and iPhone devices. (Keep in mind: The app is free, but you can only access the games with the purchase of the Elvie Trainer.)
The Elvie app contains 6 different games, each 5 minutes long. As you feel more comfortable, the instructions tell you to progress through the various Training, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced levels.
In addition to the Elvie trainer, women can now purchase the kegel exercisers with the Elvie Pump. This is a silent wearable breast pump that can fit in your bra, so moms can pump anytime, anyplace.
Based on the Elvie website, our initial impression is that their kegel exerciser is built for mothers, particularly those suffering from incontinence. (Of our test group, two women are mothers, but neither have current incontinence problems). We weren’t able to find much information on their website about the benefits for everyday women. Because of that, we’re curious to find out how the Elvie Trainer will work for us!
Elvie Kegel Exerciser Specs/Features
Elvie is made out of medical-grade silicone and weighs 25g (about 0.06 of a pound).
The main feature of the kegel trainer is that you can receive real-time feedback, so you are able to stay motivated. By using the companion mobile app, you can set your goals, track progress and start to see real results. The app is also supposed to help you correct your technique. Every time you push outward (performing a kegel the wrong way) it is supposed to send a warning.
Elvie’s website promises results in as little as 4 weeks while their Amazon page and product packaging says results will appear in two weeks. To figure out the timeframe for our experiment, we did some research on what real customers are saying about Elvie.
Looking at the latest reviews on Amazon, there was a mix of opinions. Some stated it helped them cure their urinary incontinence and that their husbands are “over the moon” excited about their progress. Others were upset because the sensors are unreliable, and they had a hard time connecting to the app. The most extreme reviews say that the product never worked from day one.
With such mixed reviews – we settled on using the kegel trainer for 3 weeks.
Our Experience Testing Elvie
Once we received Elvie in the mail, we noticed that the packaging said: “a strong pelvic floor helps prepare the body for pregnancy, aging, and impact sports”. That information grabbed our attention because it was more applicable
So how does Elvie work exactly? According to the directions, the first thing you want to do is charge the device. In the meantime, we decided to set up the mobile app.
Once you download the Elvie Mobile App, you have to create an account and answer three simple questions. These questions revolve around why you chose to use Elvie and what you expect to gain from it. From this point, you are given brief instructions about how to proceed. Simply Connect -> Insert -> Practice -> Set Targets.
Day one of training with Elvie wasn’t difficult! The Elvie Trainer stays in place in your vagina super easily and none of us needed the extra sleeve for support. Additionally, we did find the games to be easy enough to be able to perform the 5-minute session of workouts at least 3 times.
Just for testing measures, we each pushed down on our pelvic floor to test if it really did send a warning message to the app. However, instead of a warning, the sensors indicated that we were performing better than ever! This happened pretty consistently, with only one member of our team receiving a warning during her technique test. Although this wasn’t too harmful for us, it would be a bit concerning for someone relying on the Elvie app to develop their kegel exercise technique.
After three weeks, we’d completed 9 workouts. At this point, we only had 2 workouts left before progressing to the Intermediate Level. Although the packaging doesn’t state the exact number of workouts needed to reach each new level, as you train, you’ll be able to see your progress in the app.
We used Elvie 3 days a week (some of us even more than the recommended 5 minutes) and didn’t notice any changes in strength or in our sex lives. We made it a point to ask our partners if they could feel a difference, or if they’d spotted any changes. None of them noticed a difference enough to mention.
So, is Elvie really the best kegel exerciser on the market? To answer that question, we decided to compare the Elvie kegel exerciser to the Gynie trainer. The Gynie trainer has been evaluated by medical experts, fitness gurus and everyday women – so we had all the information we needed to make an informed comparison.
How Does Elvie Compare to Gynie?
There are several differences between Gynie and Elvie that really stand out. We’ll go over them in more detail in the next few paragraphs, but this chart can help you visualize the differences at a glance.
Elvie teaches you how to squeeze your PC muscles. Essentially, this is teaching you how to perform basic kegels. There is no weight resistance component, which makes it difficult to truly sculpt the muscle. Although Elvie provided us with different training levels, it didn’t actually seem to be any more challenging. At the end of our experiment, we were getting better scores in the mobile games, but didn’t feel a difference in strength.
Gynie’s strategy is completely different. It was modeled after the training programs used by top athletes as they work to build muscle. Gynie incorporates progressive weight resistance, range of motion, and concentric/eccentric training styles. Our product is designed to train the PC (Pubococcygeus) muscle, which controls our bladder and even the intensity of our orgasms. The kegel device comes with three resistance levels, providing an exercise opportunity for the beginners and advanced users alike. Gynie provides approximately one inch of range of motion, helping you grow stronger with every single workout!
The other major differentiator between Gynie and Elvie is the amount of information that is provided with the product. When training something as intimate as the pelvic floor – it’s helpful to understand what’s happening inside the body. The Elvie website doesn’t offer many educational materials and their language is often vague. For example, Elvie promises enhanced intimacy. It was difficult for us to test that claim because intimacy is such a broad term that can mean anything from better orgasms, amount of orgasms, increased wetness, sexual confidence, or feeling closeness with your partner.
In contrast, Gynie deals in specifics and acts as a resource for pelvic health information. We take pride in educating women because we know that education helps deliver results. Whether you want to recover after childbirth, improve your sex life, or achieve full-body fitness – we’ll show you how Gynie can benefit you. Training with Gynie doesn’t just benefit your pelvic floor, it also helps you build mental strength. It takes serious concentration and effort to isolate individual muscles while remaining still. The Gynie trainer helps you build that mental strength with real techniques used in Pilates, yoga and the Mula Bandha practice.
Final Verdict
Elvie is best suited for women with previous kegel exercise experience. If you’re having problems locating your pelvic floor muscles, the product may not deliver the best results. For us, the sensors did not always register incorrect kegel techniques. On the contrary, our game scores actually increased, which encourages users to push down on the pelvic floor. Over time, this can cause lasting damage to the pelvic floor.
By contrast, Gynie offers that same guidance, but instead, it’s built into the design! We want you to train with the correct mindset, so the product design encourages you to play out each repetition with total control of the movement. To be specific, this means that you’ll avoid the temptation to swing your body and utilizing that force, rather than your pelvic floor alone.
Although we love the technology integration with Elvie, we would have preferred an option to use the device without the mobile app. Occasionally, you may find yourself wanting to close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and meditate while training. This is an effective training technique, but it’s not possible with Elvie, which require the mobile app to function.
Ultimately, the technology that initially captured our attention is now the reason for our mixed review. Elvie is built for convenience and multi-tasking. It gamifies the kegel training experience, rather than treating it with the seriousness that you might train another muscle. This can be engaging at first, but we found ourselves feeling limited after a few sessions.
The truth is, you need the right kegel exercise device to make the most out of your training. When you strengthen the PC muscle, you also strengthen your core. A strengthened core encourages stability, empowers vitality, and enhances sexual function. You deserve to become the best you can be! Gynie can help you achieve that by embracing one key principle – Strength Begins Within