If you sometimes experience urine leakage, whether it’s the odd dribble or larger leaks, Kegel exercises for men can help you reduce or even totally prevent incontinence.
With a consistent Kegel exercise program for men, you can not only reduce urine leakage, and improve your sex life, but also reduce stress and anxiety caused by . Kegel exercises for men aim to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are used to support effective bladder control. Kegel exercises are easy to do discreetly while sitting, and there are a range of techniques you can use.
Let’s look at the benefits of Kegel exercises for guys and how to use them to improve and develop bladder control..
What are Kegel exercises for men?
Male pelvic floor exercises, commonly known as “Kegel exercises”, involve repeatedly clenching and releasing the muscles which support the bladder and bowel. These repeated muscle activations gradually strengthen them, leading to a range of benefits including preventing urine leakage.
There are several reasons why male pelvic floor muscles can weaken including:
-
Ageing
-
Weight gain
-
Constipation
-
Smoking
All of these are potential causes of bladder weakness, especially if the man has prostate problems. Male pelvic floor exercises are easy to do and can help strengthen the muscles around your bladder, enabling you to control urinary incontinence dribbling after urination.
It's also important to note that while ageing can increase your risk of urine leakage due to weakening , this is not normal, and not something you need to accept as a part of ageing. Strengthening the pelvic floor with Kegel exercises can counteract the weakening of these muscles due to ageing, reducing this as a potential cause of urine leakage.
Do men have a pelvic floor?
Yes – while pelvic floor disorders are more common in women, men have a pelvic floor too. When the male pelvic floor is not working properly or weakened, it can lead to bladder and bowel problems, such as incontinence, as well as genital issues such as erectile dysfunction and male dyspareunia (painful sex).
The male pelvic floor muscles are found at the base of the pelvis and stretch from the pubic bone at the front to the tail bone (coccyx) at the back. They sit below the bladder and bowel, and contract and relax to control the bladder and bowel.
What are the benefits of Kegel exercises for men?
There are many benefits of Kegel exercises for guys, most of which involve greater control of the bladder. The stronger the pelvic floor, the better you can control your bowel and the urge to urinate.
Male pelvic floor exercises are recommended for men with overactive bladder symptoms especially for men experiencing urinary incontinence after prostate surgery. Repeated clenching of the male pelvic floor muscles can suppress bladder contractions, helping to manage overactive bladder.
Kegel exercises can also help to treat nocturia, reducing the urge to urinate frequently at night and thus improving sleep quality.
exercises for males may also help with managing erectile dysfunction, as the help to increase blood flow to the groin and are active during sex. This means that strengthening the pelvic floor muscles may also improve sexual performance.
How to Strengthen the Pelvic Floor in Men<
How to find your pelvic floor muscles
Before starting a Kegel exercise program for men, you need to know how to find and activate your pelvic floor muscles. We don’t often consciously engage these muscles, so it can take a bit of practice to understand how to ‘flex’ these muscles.
-
One way to do this is by imagining you’re trying not to break wind, and focusing on the muscles that contract at the base of your pelvis as you do this. These are the Kegel muscles, or .
-
Another method is to try to stop or slow down the flow of urine whilst (midstream) urinating. The muscles you use for both methods engage your pelvic floor muscles.
However, it’s important to know that stopping or slowing down the flow of urine is not a pelvic floor exercise, and shouldn't be used as an exercise, as it could disrupt the normal emptying reflex and could exacerbate urinary health issues if done too often.
This is simply a way to help locate and feel the right muscles. If you have trouble controlling your Kegel muscles, you can consult a physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic floor muscles for assistance in how to engage them as part of your routine.
Kegels for Men: Advice for Beginners
If you're new to male Kegel exercises you can do them lying down to make things easier. Initially your Kegel muscles might not be strong enough, so you can exercise them using gravity. Lying down also makes it easier to feel that the right muscles are working and that they're clenched to the maximum. It also allows you to fully focus on the Kegels instead of trying to balance or hold a more complex position.
Try to find the position in which you are most comfortable. You can lie down with your knees bent and feet on the floor, or with your legs resting on a pillow or chair seat.
Best Male Kegel Exercises and Methods
Strength
This method involves clenching and holding your pelvic floor muscles for a second or two. After clenching, relax the muscles for 10 seconds and then repeat, building up to 10 repetitions. Try not to squeeze your buttocks or tighten your thighs or stomach while doing this exercise, and try to only engage the pelvic floor itself (as we described above).
Perseverance
Use the same technique as for the previous strength exercise, but this time instead of repeating short (1 to 2 second) clenches, clench for 10 seconds at a time, building up to 10 repetitions. Relax for 20 seconds between each repetition. This is a more advanced exercise, and maintaining a clench for 10 seconds, or completing a full 10 reps may be difficult at first. If you want to increase your difficulty but can’t quite get to 10 reps yet, just aim for 5 and try to add an extra repetition each time you attempt your routine.
Pro Tip: You can do Kegel exercises for men while sitting down and no one around you will be able to notice. This means you can get some repetitions in during your commute in the car or on the train, while brushing your teeth or even during a work meeting. This means you can squeeze them into your busy life wherever you can!
Resistance
Kick it up a notch by adding abdomen resistance when you do the strength and perseverance exercises.
Pro tip: Hard contractions
Feel like you've mastered the exercises above? Try using faster, harder contractions to squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as hard as you can and then let go straight away. Repeat up to 10 times.
Remember, good results take time, and it may take several weeks before you notice an improvement. Until then, make sure you do these exercises daily as often as you can.
Related Articles
Kegel Exercises for Men: Common Mistakes
When performing Kegel exercises for men, common mistakes include:
-
Engaging the wrong muscle groups. This can include muscles such as the abdomen, buttocks or thighs
-
Holding the breath while exercising, which can reduce the effectiveness of male Kegel exercises. It's important to breathe normally during each contraction.
-
Overdoing the exercises by performing them too frequently or holding contractions too long, which can lead to muscle fatigue, which might impede progress.
To avoid these mistakes, beginners should start slowly, ensure they are isolating the correct muscles, and possibly seek guidance from a healthcare professional or physiotherapist specialised in pelvic floor health
Kegel Exercise Program for Men: Tracking your Progress
To effectively track progress with Kegel exercises, men can maintain a journal or bladder diary, noting the frequency and duration of exercises, alongside any changes in symptoms such as reduced urine leakage or improved bladder control. Additionally, noticing qualitative improvements, like fewer nighttime trips to the bathroom or enhanced sexual function, can serve as encouraging milestones.
Technology such as apps designed for pelvic floor exercise tracking might offer reminders and progress indicators, helping reinforce commitment and consistency. Regularly reviewing this information can help men adjust their routine if necessary and discuss tangible improvements with healthcare providers.
Kegel Exercises for Bladder control
Regain control of your bladder by scheduling your toilet visits and keeping track of the amount of liquid you drink. For example, if you drink a litre and a half of water a day, it's perfectly normal to visit the toilet up to 8 times a day. If you need to urinate more often, use the pelvic floor exercises above to regain control. Also limit the amount of caffeinated drinks and fizzy drinks as these can irritate the bladder. Stopping smoking is also recommended.
If you’re struggling with urine leakage or find using male Kegel exercises difficult, it's important to speak to your doctor to determine what more can be done to assist you and the root cause of your urine leakage. It’s important to address urinary health concerns early, as they can be a warning sign of other health issues such as diabetes, over active bladder (OAB), or bowel issues, and these can worsen over time.
Doing pelvic floor exercises for men regularly should help to manage the symptoms of urinary incontinence, although they may take a few months to have an effect, and work differently for each person. For more information on how to keep control of urine leakage, visit our top tips and advice, or discover our best products to help you manage male incontinence.
References
https://www.medicinenet.com/urinary_incontinence/article.htm#urinary_incontinence_ui_introduction
https://www.continence.org.au/who-it-a ffects/men/male-pelvic-floor-muscles
https://www.healthline.com/health/kegel-exercises#for-men
https://www.uclahealth.org/urology/prostate-cancer/kegel-exercises-for-men
Pelvic floor involvement in male and female sexual dysfunction and the role of pelvic floor rehabilitation treatment: A literature review. Talli Yehuda Rosenbaum Journal Sexual Medicine 2007 Jan 4 (1) 4-13
