Benefits Of Kegel Exercises For Men And Women

Kegel exercises are clench and release exercises that strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor contains muscles and tissues that form a sling at the bottom of your pelvis. This sling helps to keep your pelvis in place. Having a weak pelvic floor can cause issues with your bowels or bladder.

Many factors can weaken your pelvic floor. For females, it could weaken due to pregnancy, excessive weight gain, or childbirth. Males may end up experiencing a weak pelvic floor as they age. The best thing about Kegel exercises is that you can do them anywhere and anytime. Let’s take a look at the benefits of this exercise.

Benefits of Kegel Exercises for Women

Strengthens your pelvic floor

Regular Kegel exercises can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles help to support the uterus, bladder, and bowel. Strengthening of the pelvic muscles prevents issues like

Vaginal prolapse – a condition whereby the vaginal muscles become weak and sag into the vaginal canal.
Pelvic floor dysfunction.
Pain during sex.
Incontinence – the inability to hold pee or poop until you can visit a washroom.

Increases Sensation and Lubrication

Kegel exercises help to boost blood flow to the pelvis, which helps to increase sensation and lubrication to the vagina. Having an increased amount of lubrication makes sex enjoyable for both parties. Kegels also prevent pelvic floor dysfunction. This condition often causes low libido, low sexual satisfaction, and fewer orgasms. Relationships: Benefits Of Using Lube While Having Sex

Increases Orgasms

Kegel exercises teach you how to clench and release your pelvic muscles. Squeezing your pelvic muscles during sex can lead to incredible orgasmic sensations. 6 Tips To Have Better Orgasms

Make pelvic exams less painful

Learning to relax and contract your muscles help to reduce the risk of experiencing pain during a pelvic exam. Your pelvic muscles become freer, enabling you to open your vagina fully.

Health: Common Causes Of Vaginal Pain

Kegel Benefits for Men

Helps with Male Incontinence

Like in females, Kegel exercises help to reduce incontinence, especially for males who have undergone prostate surgery. Health: Male Urinary Incontinence

Improves Sexual Experience

Kegels increase blood flow to the penis, which helps to boost sensations. Kegel exercises can also help to deal with erectile dysfunction. What Is Erectile Dysfunction And The Best Ways To Treat It

How to Locate the Pelvic Floor Muscle for Women

When you head to the washroom to pee, stop urinating mid-flow.
Take note of the muscle that enables you to do that.
Insert two fingers into your vagina. Ensure they are clean to prevent bacterial infections.
Tighten your vaginal muscles around your finger.
Relax entirely until you feel the grip on your finger loosen.
Repeat the process as you get used to how it feels to contract and relax.
If you find it challenging to locate the muscle, you can make an appointment with your gynaecologist, who should be able to assist.

During this process, remember that this is only for learning purposes. Consistently stopping your urine mid-flow can put you at risk of contracting a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Health: 9 Things That Can Prevent A Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

How to Locate the Pelvis Floor Muscle for Men

Go to the washroom and try to stop urinating mid-flow as you notice the muscle that tightens.
If you fail to locate it, you can insert a finger into your rectum and try to squeeze it.
You can also try to locate the muscle that keeps you from passing gas.
If you fail to locate the pelvic floor muscle, you can make an appointment with your doctor, and they will be able to assist.

How to do Kegel Exercises

Once you have located the muscle, you can proceed to do Kegel exercises. The steps are the same for both genders.

Ensure you empty your bladder. Doing Kegel exercises with a full bladder can also increase your chances of contracting a UTI.
Relax your body, including the abdomen, thighs, chest, and buttocks
Contract your pelvic floor muscle and hold for 4-5 seconds. You can do this for the first two weeks. As the week’s progresses, you can increase the number of seconds until you reach ten.
Repeat this process 10-15 times at least three times a day.
For ladies, you can invest in Kegel balls (Ben Wa balls). These are used to strengthen vaginal and pelvic floor muscles. The small, weighted balls come in a variety of different weights and sizes to help you contract and release different muscles with ease. Here is how to use Kegel balls.

Tips to Remember

As you do the exercises, try to

Keep your abs, thighs, and butt relaxed. This helps to isolate the pelvic floor muscles.
Breathe normally; ensure you don’t hold your breath
Find time to do Kegels every day. You can even do them while doing random things like brushing your teeth.
Don’t be discouraged if it takes time for the results to reflect. They work differently for each person.

Kegels Exercises for Women – Complete BEGINNERS Guide