How do you do Kegel exercises? | Exercise.com Learn: Your Fitness Business Resource

How do you do Kegel exercises?

Tyler Spraul is the director of UX and the head trainer for Exercise.com. He has his Bachelor of Science degree in pre-medicine and is an NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist. He is a former All-American soccer player and still coaches soccer today. In his free time, he enjoys reading, learning, and living the dad life. He has been featured in Shape, Healthline, HuffPost, Women's...

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UPDATED: Aug 25, 2020

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  • By simply tightening and holding certain pelvic muscles you are effectively doing Kegel exercises.
  • While much fuss has been made over Kegel exercise in women, men can also share in the benefits of Kegel exercises.
  • Some research that suggests that strong pelvic muscles, like the PC muscles, can help in maintaining healthy erections and can lower a man’s likelihood of developing any physical erectile dysfunction issues in the future.

By simply tightening and holding certain pelvic muscles you are effectively doing Kegel exercises.

However, the real question that people have is how can doing these Kegel exercises actually benefit anyone.

Many women first learn about Kegel exercises due to incontinence after childbirth; however, these exercises can benefit men too.

The thing that many people do not know is that with Kegel exercises, these exercises do not strengthen the Kegel muscles because there are no Kegel muscles.

This is a common misconception (the idea of Kegel muscles, that is).

Another thing that might surprise people is that while much fuss has been made over Kegel exercise in women, men can also share in the benefits of Kegel exercises.

Because these pelvic muscles are not unique to women only, Kegel exercises are capable of being done by women and men and they produce different benefits!

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What Are the Benefits of Kegel Exercise?

What many people are totally unaware of is that Kegel exercises have many benefits and are not just for women. The truth is that there are many practical benefits that people regularly doing Kegel exercises will enjoy.

  • For both men and women, better control over the urinary system is one very important benefit of Kegel exercises. While this can be an issue for men as they get older, it is especially important for women who are either pregnant or have just given birth.
  • Another benefit that women have with Kegel exercises is that it helps to strengthen the walls of the uterus and helps them to facilitate stronger pushing when in labor. It has also been proven that stronger pelvic muscles can make labor easier.
  • In addition, women with stronger pelvic muscles as a result of Kegel exercises can contract these muscles during sex, which may increase pleasure during sex for both men and women.
  • On a much different note, men can also benefit from Kegel exercises in the bedroom as well. With stronger Pubococcygeus (PC) muscles being responsible for urine flow and ejaculation, a man with very strong PC muscles will often notice a significant improvement in this area.

In addition, there is some research that suggests that strong pelvic muscles, like the PC muscles, can actually help in maintaining healthy erections and can lower a man’s likelihood of developing any physical erectile dysfunction issues in the future.

These can also give men better self-control when it comes to ejaculation. Many experts agree that if a man uses Kegel exercises, he will be able to last longer without ejaculation by using these muscles while having intercourse.

Kegel exercises may also benefit regular workout routines. If you have ever heard a trainer or coach say to engage your pelvic floor, they are talking about your pelvic muscles. Tightening these muscles helps you to maintain the ideal position to make your exercises benefit you the most.

What Muscles Are Most Affected by Kegel Exercises?

Basically the pelvic muscles are the ones most affected when doing Kegel exercises. These muscles do not typically require any resistance, but they are extremely helpful in very specific situations with both men and women.

  • For women, these pelvic exercises are especially helpful during and after pregnancy. In addition, they have also been known to improve sex.
  • For men, doing Kegel exercises can often help in the health of the prostate and it has been known to reduce the risk of urinary or erectile difficulties.

One of the reasons that these exercises are highly touted is their sexual benefits. While those benefits are real, the actual medical necessity for doing Kegel exercises is to improve urinary control and help conditions when bladder control has been compromised.

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What Are Kegel Exercises?

These Kegel exercises are actually very simple to do and can normally be done by simply tightening and either holding or tightening and releasing the muscles continually. These exercises are simple because they don’t take much time to do and they can be done while standing or while sitting.

  • The first method when it comes to Kegel exercises is the clinch and release method. There are several sets of different Kegel exercises that call on you to tighten and quickly release these muscles over and over again for a period of 5 to 30 seconds.
  • The next approach to Kegel exercises is the tighten and hold method. This is actually the more advanced method of Kegel exercises and basically it consists of tightening the pelvic muscles and holding them for 5, 10 or 30 seconds at a time.

The great thing about Kegel exercises is that it doesn’t take a lot of work to get these pelvic muscles into shape. After a while, you don’t have to do Kegel exercises more than once or twice a week to keep them in great shape!

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