Kegel Exercises Benefits Sexually and Functionally
You know how in Sex and the City, the second movie, when Samantha looks at a bunch of hot guys (not to start telling the movie’s whole story but they were staying at the hotel she was staying in and, ahem, washing themselves up in the pool after a game) and then she says she doesn’t feel anything, down there…we all know something’s wrong when that happens, yeah? Well, that can happen to anyone who’s firstly, over 50 and secondly, hasn’t paid attention to their muscles down there. And by saying anyone, I do mean anyone, despite their gender. So men, you need them as well. Kegel exercises benefits you sexually and functionally for you to have better control of what’s going on down there.
Now I know, Samantha surely must have filled up her quota on Kegels just right. The woman exercised her Kegels while having lunch with three other people. She followed her health regime as if God set it up for her…and yet age caught up with her. So just think, what’s going to happen to us whose fitness routines are set up by just mere mortals? And me, I don’t even have a proper fitness routine! I exercise on my own whenever I can find the time! So don’t you think it’s high time we did something about it?
What are Kegel Exercises?: How to do Them and Why Should I Consider Doing Them?
Your pelvic floor muscles are now simply called kegel muscles and they’re the ones that help you hold your pee. That’s an unusual way to start a paragraph, but really, that’s how you identify your kegels. And you must identify those muscles before you start exercising them. Here’s what you do, you go to the bathroom and start peeing, only to hold it for a few seconds and see which muscles helped you hold it.
But obviously, don’t make it a habit of stopping your urine midstream as this might cause more harm than good. You don’t want a half-empty bladder or worse, an infection. For men, you could also identify or clench those muscles that let you pass gas. Or insert a finger in your rectum and see which muscles help you squeeze it tight. There are many ways to identify which ones are those mighty Kegels!
Kegels are exercised to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and they also help prevent urine or fecal incontinence. Many doctors recommend it to patients for the reasons mentioned above. Biofeedback training is performed, in that case, by medical personnel where they insert a small probe inside your rectum. This helps monitor the activity in your pelvic floor muscles when you contract or relax them.
You can also do your Kegels at home, and here’s how:
How to master the kegels?
There is a specific technique for exercising your Kegels. The best way is to first lie flat on your back – with time you’ll be able to do it standing up or sitting down (or while you’re eating dessert, like Samantha) – but first lie down and learn the proper way to master your Kegels. After you’ve identified which ones your kegel muscles are, try and clench them. Here is a detailed video with Kegel exercises for men.
Keep in mind that you are trying to clench just those muscles, and not any other muscles either in your butt or in your stomach (abdomen), or even the back. You’ll feel yourself clench (contracting) – hold till you finish counting to three – and loose (relaxing) your Kegels. Make a habit of repeating this 5 or 10 times in a row before resting for 20 seconds and going 5 more times. The best thing about Kegels is you can set your limits as you absolutely do not have to overdo it.
Tip: You could empty your bladder before starting your kegel routine. This will help prevent any unwanted urine leakage while your pelvic muscles are getting used to rhythmic contraction and relaxation.
Why Should We Pay Attention to The Muscles in Our Nether Regions?
We should do it because when not in use, everything, including muscles, have a tendency to waste away. Ah but I’m not saying that having sex continuously is the way to use them regularly here. You could say, when we have sex we’re contracting and dilating our muscles as well, right? So why should we additionally need to exercise the muscles down there anyway? To that I say, we, at times, forget that our vagina and the muscles surrounding it were built to adjust to the shape being inserted in it.
During sex, your muscles mostly stretch and make space for what it’s coming in contact with – whatever may be the shape or size. Due to this, with time, the muscles in your nether regions might lose their tightness. Kegels are important for you not just because they help you tighten up those muscles and prevent leakage – check out the other article you’ll find here on Kegels (for men) and their certain other benefits before reading on – but there are also sexual benefits of doing Kegels regularly.
Kegel Exercises Benefits Sexually: Men and Women
For both men and women, Kegels can, in fact, bring certain sexual benefits.
- For men, healthy pelvic floor muscles ensure a rich and continuous blood supply to your nether regions.
Any man knows how important it is for an erection to have proper blood supply maintained in the body. This flow of blood supply in the body, in turn, helps your penis maintain an erection. So, what’s the main kegel exercises benefits sexually for men? Kegels help men have fuller and harder erections. That’s pretty much it.
Semen retention is something that can also be affected with prolonged exercising of the Kegels. Ejaculation is a natural process that is carried out by step-by-step stimulation in the body. But Kegels can impact your power to control your muscles making them stronger. And with time Kegels can let you involuntarily last longer in bed.
- For women, well we all know that tightness is a quality appreciated by both men and women alike when it comes to sexual intercourse.
Tighter the pelvic floor muscles, more the pressure your nether regions can apply on any appendage (I mean not just a penis but also your fingers or a sex toy or the human tongue) that comes in contact with it. The more the pressure, the more the pleasure – that’s just how things work down there.
One added sexual benefit that comes from doing Kegels is that, as a woman, you can exercise your pelvic floor muscles to voluntarily close on this said appendage. By ‘close’ I mean create a sucking sensation. I have experienced this myself that voluntary contraction in a vagina can create an added pull inwards when engaging in sexual intercourse.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kegel Exercises Benefits Sexually and More
Are kegels only for women?
Not at all! Both men and women can exercise their pelvic floor muscles through Kegels. There are some added precautions when men exercise their Kegels – they should not exercise their Kegels when there’s a catheter inside their penis or when an injury has led to urine incontinence (leakage).
For women as well, when this happens, the urine leakage usually stops when the injury has healed itself. There’s no need to forcefully exercise your Kegels when you’re hurt or healing from an injury. Other than this, Kegels are for everybody, regardless of if you’re a man or a woman!
Can pregnant women exercise their kegels?
Many pregnant women experience urinary incontinence in their third trimester. What you need to keep in mind is that it’s not much help if you wait till you start leaking urine to exercise your Kegels. Kegels should be performed right from the first week of pregnancy to prevent any leakage in the coming months. Once you’re already leaking, Kegels can not control that leakage immediately.
When a woman is pregnant, a lot of factors come into play. You could go for a run every day, even during the eighth month of pregnancy, if you’re a regular runner! But if you haven’t exercised a day in your life and expect to begin when you’re starting to get out of shape or feel that you’re getting too weak, the body will need to work extra hard to adjust itself to this new routine. Kegels or not, it’s always advised to start exercising as early and stick to it.
Can kegels make me good in bed?
Exercising your Kegels sure does have some great sexual benefits but your overall performance in bed depends on many other factors. Your sexual organs – the penis and the vagina – will definitely benefit from exercising your Kegels but to be ‘good’ in bed, please know that you need to be free and open in a lot of ways. Be free with exploring your sexual side and open to having an adventure or two in bed! Try out new things by yourself or with a partner and come up with your own definition of ‘good’.
Takeaway on Kegels
Making some time to catch up on Kegels can never be a bad idea. Not only does it help you be fit but is also beneficial for healthy and prolonged sex life.
Keep in mind that you should stop doing Kegels if there’s a pain in the abdomen or anywhere else. In case of pain, you might not be doing your Kegels right or might be having trouble exercising your Kegels. In this case, seek out help from a doctor.
