The PC, or pubococcygeus muscle, supports the bowel and bladder in both men and women. For women, the pubococcygeus muscle also supports the uterus. This muscle is also known as the pelvic floor muscle.
Strengthening the PC muscle can help combat urinary and fecal incontinence in both men and women. According to the University of California Santa Barbara SexInfo website, strengthening the PC muscle can also improve sexual performance and satisfaction for both men and women. This type of exercise is called a Kegel after its inventor, Dr. Arnold Kegel.
Finding the Muscle
Since you've probably never had occasion to contract your PC muscle consciously before, you might not even know what it feels like to use it. But your body does. One of the best ways to locate your pubococcygeus muscle and gain conscious control over it is to try stopping the flow of urine in midstream. Once you're successful in stopping the urine flow, you'll know you've located the right muscle. Your next step is to practice duplicating that feeling when you're not urinating. An alternative way of locating the PC muscle is to imagine you're holding back flatulence.
You can verify that you're squeezing your PC muscle by placing a finger or two inside your vagina, for women, or just inside your anus, for both men and women. You should feel a slight squeeze when you contract the PC muscle.
Strengthening the Muscle
Once you've located the PC muscle, you strengthen it just like you'd strengthen any other muscle--with regular workouts. In "Kegel Exercises: A How-to Guide for Women," the Mayo Clinic recommends holding a contraction in your PC muscle for five seconds, then relaxing for five seconds, and repeating. As your PC muscle gets stronger you can work up to holding the contractions for 10 seconds at a time, doing up to 30 contractions daily in sets of 10. Since your PC muscle can get fatigued just like any other muscle, don't push it past the point of exhaustion.
You can strengthen your PC muscle anywhere--lying in bed, sitting at work or school, driving in the car or riding on the bus. The University of Michigan recommends starting doing PC-muscle exercises while lying down, then working your way up to doing sitting and standing versions as well.
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