Kegel exercises help to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support the bladder, uterus and large intestine. Strengthening your pelvic floor can help manage and prevent urinary incontinence and problems controlling bowel movements. Kegel exercises are also helpful for women who are having trouble achieving orgasms. These exercises are particularly useful for the elderly, pregnant women and people who have had prostrate or gynecologic surgery.
For Women
MedlinePlus advises that women insert a finger into the vagina and tighten the muscles as if holding urine, then release. The muscles you feel moving up and down are the pelvic floor muscles. Make sure your bladder is empty. While sitting or lying down, tighten your pelvic muscles and hold for 10 seconds, then relax muscles for 10 seconds. Continue to contract and relax at least 10 times. Keep your abdomen, thigh and buttock muscles relaxed and avoid holding your breath. Repeat these exercises three times a day. Doing Kegel exercises incorrectly or with excessive force can cause the vaginal muscles to become too tight, and this can lead to pain during sexual intercourse. Consult your doctor is you are have difficulty.
For Men
Men can find the correct muscles by trying to stop and start their urine stream while standing at the toilet to urinate. Do this two to three times. Before beginning Kegel exercise, make sure your bladder is empty. While sitting or lying down, tighten your pelvic muscles and hold for 10 seconds, then relax muscles for 10 seconds. Continue to contract and relax at least 10 times. Keep your abdomen, thigh and buttock muscles relaxed and avoid holding your breath. Repeat these exercises three times a day. Over-exercising your pelvic muscles can cause muscle fatigue and urinary leakage. Discomfort is usually a sign that you are doing the exercises incorrectly.
With Weights
Kegel exercises can be performed with a type of weight called a vaginal cone to more effectively strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Cones are used to apply pressure and isolate specific sections of pelvic muscles for a better workout. When using vaginal cones, start with a relatively small weight and steadily increase the size of the weight over time. Tighten your pelvic muscles around the cone, hold for 10 seconds. Relax for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times. Do this exercise three times a day, morning, noon and night.
