Kegel Exercises For Men

Kegels have also been shown in studies to be effective for many men who struggle with premature ejaculation.

- By Dr. Hernando Chaves

Every person on earth should know what a Kegel exercise is. They are nature's wonder exercise that offers important health benefits without the cardiovascular strain of most exercises. Dr. Arnold Kegel first discussed the importance of Kegel exercises in 1948. But the importance of his work was realized well after his discovery. Kegels are strength-building exercises that contract, flex and release the pubococcygeus (PC) muscles of the pelvic floor. The PC muscles stretch from your anus to your urinary sphincter.  The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that help hold your internal organs in place. If you imagine your body, around your waist is a bone called the pelvic bone, which has a hollow center. Your pelvic floor muscles work like a netting system in the hollow, pelvic bone center and hold up all your inner organs and intestines.

But pelvic muscles do more than hold your internal organs inside your body. They serve a number of important functions from a medical and sexual health perspective. Let’s start with medical benefits of Kegel exercises. For many men, urinary and bowel incontinence is a big problem, especially for those who are mature in age or with poor muscle tone. Many men struggle with leakage after a cough, a sneeze or a laugh, and with overnight accidents or difficulty holding in their bowel movements. Kegel exercises have been linked to improved bladder control. Kegel exercises are also used in the treatment of male prostate difficulties such as prostatitis and BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia).

In addition to urinary and bowel incontinence benefits, women who have experienced pregnancy or cesarean sections have found strengthening their PC muscles to be extremely helpful to improve vaginal and pelvic muscle tone. Kegel exercises can produce strong pelvic muscles that can help prevent pelvic prolaspe, which occurs when organs such as the uterus move or shift out of place.

Having strong PC muscles and doing Kegel exercises also has sexual health benefits for men. Studies have shown they help improve the strength of your erection, circulation and have been used for decades as a standard technique with erectile dysfunction concerns. Kegels have also been shown in studies to be effective for many men who struggle with premature ejaculation. In addition, strong PC muscles have been associated with stronger, more intense ejaculations.

Learning how to squeeze and contract your PC muscles is easy

For women, strong pelvic muscles have been associated with more intense, frequent and stronger orgasms. For some women who can ejaculate, Kegel exercises can also increase in the strength and intensity of ejaculation. Kegel exercises strengthen vaginal muscle tone and help create a tighter vaginal canal. This can aid in the woman's pleasure as she feels the fullness of girth. Also, a tighter vagina while the penis is inside can increase the man's pleasure as well.

Learning how to squeeze and contract your PC muscles is easy. The most common way to find out is to cut the flow of urine while urinating. Another way to identify these muscles is to squeeze out the last drops of urine after you finish urinating. A good Kegel exercise only squeezes the PC muscle. There shouldn’t be other muscles involved like flexing the buttocks, thighs and abdomen. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll learn to contract your penis and anus sphincter muscle separately or at the same time. For more advanced muscle building, you can place a light towel over your erect penis and squeeze to “lift” the towel.

A good regimen for doing Kegel exercises is three workouts per day -- morning noon and night. You can start with doing 3 sets of 15 repetitions (rep) per workout. A rep can vary and it’s perfectly all right to make up your own routines. A few examples can be one squeeze/contraction as a rep, holding a squeeze for 3 seconds as a rep, alternating a quick contraction and a long squeeze as a rep, or holding your squeeze for a long period of time, such as 30 seconds. You can do your workouts with clothes on, during commercials, at work or in bed. Some couples do Kegel exercises together. He gets erect, penetrates her, and they alternate doing reps. For those of you who haven’t yet tried, it’s a lovely feeling to have a vagina do a Kegel exercise with your penis inside.

Start practicing. Strengthen your pelvic muscles. With all the positive medical and sexual health benefits, everyone should be doing their daily Kegels.

There’s no reason not to, and your medical and sexual health will increase in the long run.