When you think of the exercise hierarchy, deadlifts, squats, and bench press are probably the first ones that come to mind. But lo and behold, one of the most important exercises any dude can do involves the tiny muscles around your butthole.
We’re talking about Kegel exercises, which strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Doing kegels won’t turn any heads on the beach, but they can help you control your bladder and help you last longer in the bedroom. If you ask us, those are way more impressive than six pack abs or bulging biceps.
Kegel exercises were developed in the 1940s by Dr. Arnold Kegel to help women struggling with urine leakage. Fast forward to the 2020s and kegels are having a renaissance, particularly for men.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t teach Kegels to at least five guys for various conditions,” says Brian L. Steixner, M.D., director of the Institute for Men’s Health at Jersey Urology Group.
This article covers everything you need to know about kegels, including the benefits, how to do them, and when you can expect to see results.
4 Benefits of Kegel Exercises for Men
Kegel exercises strengthen your pelvic floor muscles—AKA your pubococcygeal (PC) muscles—which is a wall of muscle between your pubic bone and tailbone. These pelvic muscles support your bladder, bowel, and prostate.
Weak pelvic floor muscles can cause all sorts of problems for men, from the bathroom to the bedroom. Luckily, kegels can solve some of these problems without drugs or a doctor’s visit.
1. Kegels Improve Your Sex Life
A strong sex life starts with strong pelvic floor muscles. Here are a few ways Kegels can improve your sexual function:
- Avoid premature ejaculation: Strong pelvic muscles can give you more control over your ejaculation so you can last longer. In a 2014 study by Therapeutic Advances in Urology, 82% of men who suffered from lifelong premature ejaculation increased their latency time after just 12 weeks of Kegels.
- Prevent erectile dysfunction: Kegels strengthen the bulbocavernosus muscle, which allows the penis to get hard. A 2005 study found that kegels helped 33.5% of men get stronger erections.
- Have more intense orgasms: Kegels also strengthen the muscles that eject semen when you ejaculate, which can make your orgasms more intense.
2. Kegels Give You More Bladder Control
An overactive bladder (OAB) gives you a frequent and sudden urge to urinate. It can also cause urinary incontinence, AKA peeing your pants.
Pelvic floor exercises address these issues by strengthening the muscles around your bladder. This gives you more control over your urine stream and reduces the chances of leakage when you sneeze, laugh, or do heavy lifting.
Kegel exercises can be especially important if you’ve recently had prostate surgery.
3. Kegels Treat Fecal Incontinence
Holding in your poop isn’t as much about willpower as it is about science. The weaker your pelvic floor muscles are, the higher your risk of crapping your pants. Fortunately, kegels strengthen the muscles around your rectum, which is responsible for holding in your poop.
Kegels also come in handy if you need to get better at holding in farts. After all, ripping ass at the wrong time comes with serious consequences.
4. Kegels Prevent Constipation
Cleveland Clinic notes that up to half of people with chronic constipation have pelvic floor dysfunction. That’s because weak or uncoordinated PC muscles make it difficult to have healthy bowel movements. Fortunately, doing kegels keeps your pelvic floor muscles fit so you can poop like a pro.
How to Do Kegel Exercises for Men
You can crank out Kegel exercises any time, anywhere. All you have to do is remember a few easy steps.
1. Find the Right Muscles
The easiest way to locate your pelvic floor muscles is to pretend you’re stopping your flow of urine midstream. You’ll feel your gooch, balls, and butthole tense up—that means you’re activating the correct muscles.
Dr. Sandra Hilton, a Chicago physical therapist, recommends standing naked in front of a mirror and lifting your nuts to your guts by flexing your PC muscles. The tightening motion will engage your pelvic floor.
2. Contract Your Pelvic Floor Muscles
Once you’re familiar with your pelvic floor muscles, contract and hold them for 5-20 seconds at a time, then release. You can do Kegel exercises standing up, sitting down, or lying on the floor. Start with 10 reps, three times per day.
Kegels are harder than they sound. You’ll probably feel shaky at first while you build up your endurance—that’s totally normal.
3. Work Your Way Up
As your PC muscles get stronger, try increasing the volume of your exercise. For example, work your way to 20 reps instead of 10. Or do them four times per day instead of three.
You can also add some variety to your Kegels. One idea is to contract and release the muscles quickly, like a rapid-fire. Or you can contract them very slowly.
How Long Does It Take for Kegel Exercises to Work?
If you do Kegel exercises every day, you can expect to see results in about six weeks. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t turn into a stud overnight. The timeframe can vary depending on how strong (or weak) your PC muscles are to begin with.
Think of it like traditional exercise at the gym: you don’t turn into the Hulk after a few bicep curls. You gotta pay the cost to be the boss.
Here are some signs that Kegels are working:
- You feel more control over your bladder
- You’re pooping and peeing more consistently
- You get stronger erections
- The Kegel exercises are getting easier
Clean Up After Your Kegels
Feel a bead of butt sweat dripping down your crack after a Kegel workout? Grab a DUDE Wipe and do a clean sweep of your third pit. The only thing more important than a strong ass is a clean ass.
