Kegel exercises are aimed at improving potency and strengthening the sexual health of men. They strengthen the superficial and deeper muscles of the pelvic floor. These are the same muscles that are responsible for the correct position of the pelvic organs and control all processes in this area.
Intimate gymnastics for men at home using specially prepared methods has already helped thousands of men.
What are Kegel exercises
There are more than 600 muscles in the human body, but we do not use all of them in everyday life. Some are undeveloped even among athletes who, by definition, work hard and purposefully on themselves. In particular, the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder, uterus, urethra and rectum often remain overlooked. At first, this does not affect our well-being in any way, but with age, when muscle tone noticeably decreases, internal organs may sag and their blood circulation may be disrupted, which leads to the appearance of various diseases. In addition, without special exercises, the walls of the vagina lose their elasticity, turning the intimate life of both the woman and her partner into a rather dull experience.
The complex, compiled by gynecologist Kegel on the basis of ancient practices and his own knowledge of female anatomy, is aimed at developing muscle groups that are inaccessible to traditional exercise, and is recommended both for preventing the development of diseases associated with the reproductive and genitourinary systems, and for treating existing ailments, and also to achieve stronger sensations during sexual intercourse. In certain cases, regular “intimate exercise” can replace vaginoplasty (reduction of the size of the vagina through surgery) or TVT surgery, which is one of the methods of treating incontinence. Even men use Kegel exercises to improve their prostate health and restore sexual function!
Kegel exercises allow you to tighten muscles that are not subject to regular exercise.
At the same time, Dr. Kegel’s technique should not be taken lightly. Despite all the health benefits, it has its contraindications and side effects. But more on that below.
Differences between training complexes
Arnold Kegel
Initially, Kegel developed a system of exercises for women to non-surgically eliminate urinary problems after childbirth. Subsequently, other indications for performing exercises were added. With their help, they began to prevent hemorrhoids, treat and prevent prolapse of the pelvic organs, and also solve specific women's problems. For example, to prepare for childbirth, restore the tone of the vaginal muscles, and reduce the volume of the uterus.
Later, taking into account the peculiarities of the anatomy and physiology of the stronger sex, Kegel gymnastics was developed for men. It is based on training the pubococcygeus muscle, so a number of exercises for men differ from those created for women. To prevent the development of sexual dysfunctions and diseases of the genitourinary system, to improve their sex life, men need to do gymnastics created specifically for them.
The success of training depends on the individual characteristics of the body, the correctness of the exercises and the regularity of exercise. Obvious results appear after 4-6 weeks. But it is important to remember that it is not enough to restore the tone of the pelvic muscles; it must be maintained with daily exercise.
Indications for performing intimate gymnastics
First of all, an unusual set of exercises will come in handy:
- pregnant women - to maintain muscle tone, which bear a considerable load during the 2nd and 3rd trimester, to make labor easier and prevent ruptures;
- for ladies over 50 years of age - for the prevention of age-related health problems, as well as as part of the treatment of existing diseases;
- for new mothers - to restore tissues that have undergone significant stretching and return intimate muscles to their prenatal state;
- for those who are faced with the problem of incontinence - to strengthen the corresponding muscles (note that initially Dr. Kegel’s gymnastics were conceived as a way of conservative treatment of incontinence, and only years later they began to be practiced for other purposes);
- for patients with uterine prolapse - to bring this organ to its normal position without surgery and prevent its prolapse;
- women who complain about the lack of orgasm, the reason for which may be not only psychological reasons or any diseases, but also the banal underdevelopment of the intimate muscles, since it is the elastic, elastic, narrow vagina that can not only give special pleasure to the young lady’s sexual partner, but also inflate her own chances of experiencing previously inaccessible sensations to new heights.
Kegel exercises help tidy up the most intimate and delicate area on a woman’s body.
Less commonly, Kegel exercises are recommended for women with diseases of the rectum or who have undergone surgery to remove the uterus. Gymnastics is also used to prevent various types of inflammation in the pelvic organs, counteract the aging process and preserve women’s health, regardless of age.
Final words
Kegel exercises are beneficial for both men and women with urinary incontinence and other bladder problems. Plus, they can help improve your sex life by providing more pleasure and stamina.
However, it is best to consult a doctor before trying new exercises to properly evaluate your pelvic floor.
If your doctor gives the green light, the most important thing is to be patient with the process and your body's reaction . Listen to his needs to avoid injury. Although you won't see results overnight, over time, Kegel exercises will strengthen your pelvis.
Whether you're using exercise to combat incontinence and bladder problems or to enhance sexual pleasure and performance, consistency is key to achieving the best results.
Contraindications
Since Kegel exercises involve active muscle work and serious tension, they are contraindicated when identifying:
- various types of neoplasms;
- ovarian cysts;
- fibroids or uterine prolapse;
- sexually transmitted diseases;
- inflammatory processes and other ailments associated with the pelvic organs.
It is not advisable to start doing Kegel exercises during your period.
Women who have had a difficult birth or cesarean section must be given permission to exercise by their attending physician. Pregnant women will also have to visit a specialist: although in general gymnastics have a beneficial effect on the body of a potential mother, in some cases it can cause a miscarriage, so you should not start training without the permission of a specialist. However, even if you are completely healthy and do not expect a new addition to your family, a consultation with a gynecologist will not be superfluous .
But virginity is not a hindrance to Kegel exercises. The only thing is that young ladies who have not yet begun to be sexually active will have to do without introducing foreign objects into the vagina (finger, exercise balls, etc.) As for the youngest members of the family, in theory, gymnastics can be used to treat urinary incontinence in children, but in practice this rarely happens due to the difficulty of explaining the essence of the exercises to a child. In any case, the decision about whether the baby needs therapeutic exercises should be made by the doctor.
General Tips
In addition to learning the steps above, it's important to keep the following five general tips in mind when doing Kegel exercises.
Tip 1: Be patient
Although Kegel exercises are beneficial, they do not provide immediate results. Be patient with the process. They may take several weeks to several months before the effects begin to appear.
Tip 2: Stop if it hurts
The goal should be to improve your sexual health, not harm it. If you begin to feel pain or discomfort in your abdomen or pelvic area while doing Kegel exercises, stop immediately.
Tip #3: Don't hold your breath
Kegel exercises may seem different from other workouts because they involve your private parts. However, pelvic muscle training should be treated the same as any other workout. This means checking when you squeeze and stretch to make sure you're not squeezing awkwardly or holding your breath.
Tip 4: Relax completely between sets.
Improvement of the pelvic muscles depends on periods of relaxation as well as strengthening movements.
For this reason, it is important not to ignore the release step of squeezing and releasing. With concentrated movements, allow your pelvic muscles to feel the burning sensation.
Tip 5: Address Specific Areas to Solve Specific Problems
When you do Kegel exercises to correct urinary incontinence or other bladder problems, you will often experience urine leakage that gets worse in certain positions, such as standing or sitting.
If this is the case, perform Kegel exercises in these positions to increase support for your pelvic muscles.
Kegel exercises for women
If the preparatory work has been done correctly, it’s time to move on to the actual exercises. We will move from simple to complex.
Compression
Gently, slowly, trying to feel every effort, squeeze the vaginal muscles - the same ones that were used to interrupt the stream of urine in the toilet - and freeze for 3 seconds.
Ripple
The execution technique remains the same, the pace of the exercise changes: you need to contract and relax the muscles as quickly as possible 10 times in a row, and then lie down, relaxing, for another 5-10 seconds.
Hold
Squeeze your intimate muscles as hard as you can, and do not release the tension until you count to 10. Allow yourself a short break and repeat the entire procedure 5-7 more times, increasing the hold pause by a couple of seconds with each new approach.
Pushing
Inhale, and as you exhale, imagine as if you are trying to push something out of yourself. Physically, this action will be similar to pushing during a bowel movement.
The quieter you go, the further you'll get
At a leisurely pace, tense and relax your intimate muscles. In this case, the main task is not the speed or strength of compression, but the duration - for some it reaches 20 minutes.
Elevator
This is an exercise for “advanced gymnasts,” so don’t be upset if you don’t succeed right away. Imagine that a miniature elevator is moving inside you: first squeeze the muscles of the “lower floor,” then rise a little higher, even higher, and so on until your maximum limit. Trained women count up to 10 “floors” in this way, but at first 5 will be enough. Important: the “descent” (relaxation) should be just as gradual.
Some women find it more convenient to perform certain gymnastics exercises on all fours, sitting and even standing
Ladder
Do the previous exercise, but with longer pauses on each “floor” - from 1 to 5 seconds.
Flashing
Engage new muscles: alternately tense and relax the vaginal walls and the anal sphincter.
Simultaneous voltage
Now do the same, but this time do not alternate the load: squeeze both the vaginal muscles and the sphincter as tightly as possible at once, hold the tension for 1 minute and relax.
Half bridge
Still lying on your back, place both feet and shoulder blades firmly on the floor and lift your pelvis up, while simultaneously tensing your intimate muscles. Count to 5 and take the starting position. By the way, this exercise perfectly strengthens the buttocks!
Butterfly
Sit on the floor, approximately repeating the famous lotus pose from yoga: knees apart and lowered to the floor, feet joined together, hands on hips. Pull your heels towards your perineum - as close as you can. Take 5 leisurely breaths in and out, each time squeezing the vaginal muscles as you exhale and relaxing as you inhale.
Samba
Stand up straight, place your palms on your hips and begin smooth sliding movements of your pelvis from side to side. An important addition: whenever your hips are at the extreme right or left point, squeeze your intimate muscles.
The familiar exercises “Cat”, “Swallow”, “Scissors”, “Birch”, “Bicycle” and “Boat” also partly involve the muscles you need and have a beneficial effect on the body as a whole. If you wish, be sure to include them in your workout, you will get double the benefits.
Several recommendations for performing Kegel exercises for women:
- Don't overdo it. In the first lessons, it is enough to repeat each exercise 5-6 times, and here’s why: by taking on the task too diligently, you can overload the muscles and partially shift their work to the buttocks and thighs, which in this case is not at all necessary.
- Increase the load gradually, with each new week adding another 5 repetitions for each exercise - and so on until their number reaches 30.
- Exercise regularly. Ideally, the entire complex should be repeated three times during the day, and it is better to do this at certain hours to make it easier to develop a useful habit.
Arthur Kegel himself strongly recommended that patients use exercise machines for intimate muscles.
After all the exercises have been mastered to the proper extent, all three approaches will take you no more than 30 minutes a day. At this stage, you can connect special intimate simulators to the case - balls, cones, vibrators and similar devices that will make training even more effective.
Video: Kegel exercises and other ways to train intimate muscles
When will the result appear?
Don't expect instant results from training. It is also necessary to remember that each person’s body is individual and reacts differently to stimulation of muscle fibers.
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The first noticeable changes in a man’s body appear after about 3-6 weeks. The obtained result is consolidated and improved over 4-6 months.
During this period, you can achieve the necessary training even for the most weakened muscle, but in order to maintain it in “shape” you must not stop exercising.
The effectiveness of gymnastics
When can we expect the first noticeable results from “intimate gymnastics”? This depends on two factors:
- regularity of training - starting exercises three times a day, you will achieve more than doing the same thing once a day or a couple of times a week;
- the condition of your muscles. If a woman had everything in relative order before training, the results of gymnastics will make themselves felt within 1–1.5 months. If the muscles have weakened due to age, difficult childbirth or other reasons, you will have to be patient and wait at least 3 months.
If, despite your efforts, no positive changes are observed after 1.5, 3, or 5 months, visit a gynecologist. Perhaps you are doing the exercises incorrectly or your problem requires more serious treatment. Alas, not everything in the world can be corrected with exercise.
Checking muscle strength
You can check the strength and tone of the PC muscle at home yourself:
- Optimal strength and elasticity of the muscle is indicated by the fact that you can achieve a stable erection of the penis at any time without much strain.
- A towel can be easily held on the erect penis.
- The penis, with a little extra weight, moves freely.
- A man can easily delay the moment of ejaculation during intimacy.
With a certain constitution, physical strength and endurance, only young men can boast of muscle fitness.
Over time, due to age-related changes and hormonal imbalances, it weakens, which negatively affects the quality of sex and causes a lot of other problems.
Kegel exercises help you cope with changes and achieve muscle elasticity and strength.
Possible problems when doing Kegel exercises
The body’s natural reaction to regular exercise can be:
- mild, quickly passing pain in strained muscles in the lower abdomen or in the tailbone area;
- more heavy bleeding during menstruation, which noticeably decreases after the first 2-3 days.
All these are normal phenomena, and they should not embarrass you. You should only worry if the pain becomes more noticeable, interferes with concentration on everyday activities and does not go away for a long time, and your periods fail. This is where you definitely shouldn’t delay visiting a doctor, otherwise your training could result in some serious illness.
Benefits for the body
A decrease in the strength of the pelvic floor muscles is caused not only by age-related changes, but also by accompanying factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, excessive physical activity or, conversely, lack thereof, obesity, and bad habits.
Regularly performing a set of exercises using the Kegel technique:
- Prevents male diseases. Gymnastics improves blood flow in the veins and arteries, thereby reducing the risk of developing prostatitis, adenoma, hemorrhoids, and urethritis. For existing pathologies, training speeds up recovery and helps avoid disease progression.
- Restores normal control over urinary function. Urinary incontinence in adulthood can be caused by various factors. Kegel exercises allow you to avoid involuntary urine discharge during laughter, sharp coughing, and physical activity.
- Improves the course of hemorrhoids, enuresis, and fecal incontinence. Exercising the muscle improves blood circulation in the pelvic area and at the same time provides support for the bladder and intestines. This allows you to get rid of the unpleasant symptoms of the diseases listed above.
- Improves night sleep. With prostatitis and other problems with the prostate gland, most men suffer from nocturia, that is, from frequent urination at night. Accordingly, this interferes with getting enough sleep and negatively affects mood and performance. Kegel muscle training eliminates this problem.
- Positively affects intimate life. After only 2-3 months of training, men note an increase in libido, maximum erection stability, the absence of “notches”, prolongation of sexual intercourse, brightness of orgasm and prolongation of the sensations caused by it.
- Improves the production of the main male hormone – testosterone.
Gymnastics for the intimate muscles using the Kegel method gives men not only excellent potency and the opportunity to lead a full sex life until old age.
Exercise prevents the development of serious pathologies, helps maintain good physical shape, and has a beneficial effect on mental health and ability to work.
Crunches
You need to lie on the mat, raise your legs and bend them at a right angle, bring your knees together as if a coin is sandwiched between them and cannot be dropped. Extend your arms to the sides. From this position, lower your legs to the left and turn your head to the right, then return to the starting position and lower your legs in the other direction. Repeat 5 – 6 times on each side.
If you can’t touch the floor with your feet, you need to lower them to a comfortable level.
Bends towards the navel
You need to lie on your stomach, stretch your legs and place them on your feet. Lean on your hands and smoothly lift your body without lifting your shins from the floor. Then tilt the front of your body so that your gaze is directed at your navel. Stay in this position for 5 – 10 seconds.
Repeat the exercise 5 - 6 times, and when it becomes easier to do it, increase the number of repetitions to 10 - 15 times.
How to increase duration
In the early stages, a weakened pelvic floor can tire quickly. Not everyone can withstand 5 seconds of tension, especially to the end of the lesson. But gradually the muscle fibers will become stronger, and Kegel exercises will be easier. As a rule, by this time the woman is already making progress: she more easily reaches a state of arousal and orgasm.
The relaxation time between episodes of tension should be no shorter than the periods of contraction.
After this, you should move on to the next stage: increase the execution time of the complex. In this case, the count is no longer carried out to 5, but to 6, 7 and so on. The ultimate goal is a tension of 10 seconds.
Kegel exercises. How to do it correctly and what techniques exist. Gynecologist Olga Sergeevna Gorodetskaya tells. Candidate of Medical Sciences, Chief Physician of the Family Health and Reproduction Clinic NIKA SPRING, Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Gynecologist-Endocrinologist, Ultrasound Doctor.
Advantages
The technique has become so widespread because of its obvious advantages:
- With a non-surgical method and without the use of heavy medications, excellent results can be achieved.
- Few contraindications.
- Lack of strength training and cardio stress.
- The method is accessible and easy to use - no training equipment or gym equipment is needed.
- Improving libido and a woman's well-being.
Minimum investment of money and time are two main advantages that go along with efficiency.
Using techniques in bed to prolong intimacy
In bed with your loved one, using the Kegel muscle long-term contraction technique helps delay the finish.
- Tension with maximum force . When you feel that the herd of horses is being carried away into the distance, and the finish is inevitable as the train approaches the final station, you begin to tense the pubococcygeus muscle with all the maximum strength that you have. Exactly the way you learned during training. About 20-30 seconds will be enough, some people need more.
- Know how to recognize when you are approaching a critical point . When a critical point is reached, someone's eyes begin to roll. In this case, as a rule, your prostate begins to contract intensively, and such vibrations appear in the genital organ. Everyone should clearly understand the scale of arousal of their body and understand the onset of this critical moment in advance. Many have not learned to recognize that peak when the locomotive takes off into the distance, and therefore they often ask why a man quickly finishes his job.
- It is better to start compression earlier than usual . You never lose the seed, no matter how much you want, and continue to hold one tension of the pubococcygeus muscle, do not give in and do not relax for a second. It's better to hold the long squeeze a few seconds early so it's not too late. Do exactly as was already mentioned in the article and shown for beginners in the video lesson about Kegel exercises for men at home. When the vibrations stop, you can relax.
- Pull it out at the right time . They make the technique easier in that it is better to pull out your dignity and thus maintain the compression. The friction continues after it is released and there is no need to tense the muscle.
- Use little tricks . If during training you worked with the pubococcygeus muscle in isolation, then with your partner in bed you can cheat and help yourself turn on other muscles in order to preserve the seed (someone strains the abs, someone buttocks, legs, mouth muscles, jaw or toes). But this is only in bed in order to prolong intimacy. During training, be sure to do compressions separately from other muscles, as described in step 2. After all, this is the only way to truly pump.
