Kegel exercises are designed to develop strength in the muscles located at the floor of your pelvis, under your bladder and large intestine. Both men and women who are having urinary or bowel problems can complete Kegel exercises to help improve their control. Training should be completed on a daily basis, but it takes only minutes to complete.
Significance
MedlinePlus recommends Kegel exercises for women who have urinary control problems, men who have urinary problems following prostate surgery and for those who have problem controlling their bowels. Pregnancy, aging and surgery can cause the muscles at the pelvic floor to weaken. Completing Kegel exercises regularly can help people regain control of their urinary and bowel processes, and, according to MayoClinic.com, can help women who have difficulty reaching orgasm during sexual intercourse.
Finding the Muscles
To better understand how to correctly complete Kegel exercises, you should first work at isolating the correct muscles. MedlinePlus recommends beginning urination and then making yourself stop. The muscles that you feel tightening at your bladder, vaginal and anus area the ones you should feel contracting when you're completing Kegel exercises. Women who are still having difficulty finding the correct muscles can insert a finger into their vagina and then attempt to squeeze that finger with surrounding muscles. Men can insert a finger into their rectum and then tighten the muscles surrounding the finger.
Exercise
You can complete Kegel exercises while either sitting or standing. Make sure your bladder is empty. Relax your abdominals, butt and thighs. Contract the pelvic floor muscles and hold the contraction for five seconds, followed by a five second relaxation period before contracting for another five seconds. As you build up strength, increase the contraction and relaxation time to 10 seconds.
Training
To see significant results, MayoClinic.com recommends completing three sets of 10 repetitions per day. The exercises can be completed while sitting or standing. They are still effective if you're multitasking, so it's okay to complete them while working or watching television. According to MedlinePlus, you should see improvement after four to six weeks of consistent training.
Considerations
Only complete three sets of 10 repetitions per day. Overtraining can cause fatigue and lead to an increased lack of urinary and bowel control. It's not unlikely to have your thigh, abdominals and butt to tighten when first beginning Kegel exercises, so monitor those muscles and relax them as necessary.
