How to do Kegel Exercises for Men to Last Longer in Bed

If you’ve experienced premature ejaculation, you’re not alone. It’s the most common male sexual disorder, and unfortunately, it can seriously impact the quality of your sex life for you and your partner. The inability to delay ejaculation is more than frustrating, especially if you’re into sexual play where delaying that moment for the most pleasure is your ultimate goal. However, even guys who have been plagued with PE throughout their lives can take advantage of a relatively common technique to help them last longer, namely Kegel exercises.

You may think that Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor are only for women, but they also help men. Several clinical studies have shown that regular performing Kegels can make a decided difference that allows you to last longer in bed, including a 2014 study published in the Journal of Urology. Another study published in the January 2016 issue of Sexual Medicine Reviews promoted kegel exercises not only for PE but also for erectile dysfunction. Even as far back as 2004, the British Journal of General Practice promoted the use of kegel exercises for men as a way to diminish sexual dysfunction.

Why are Kegel Exercises Effective for Premature Ejaculation?

The answer is simple. Kegel exercises rehabilitate the pelvic floor muscles, which are instrumental in your ability to control ejaculation. Although Kegel exercises, named after Dr. Arnold Kegel, originally targeted women suffering from weak pelvic floor muscles following childbirth, new benefits emerged over time, including improved sexual function and orgasms in women. The same eventually holds for guys too. Not only can you help prevent premature ejaculation by doing them, but you’ll also get other benefits, including greater sexual satisfaction.

Even if you don’t have problems with PE, you’ll like the results that Kegel exercises can give you. According to the previously mentioned Journal of Urology study, 82.% of the participants also saw an increase in sexual stamina. Who doesn’t want harder, firmer erections?

Why Do Pelvic Floor Muscles Weaken?

Problems with the pelvic floor occur when the muscles located there become stretched, weaken, or even too tight. Some people have problems when they are young while others develop a weak pelvic floor as they age. The following conditions can cause weak pelvic muscles:

Chronic back pain
Ongoing constipation
Frequent heavy lifting
Being overweight or obese
Chronic coughing or sneezing
Previous injury to the pelvic region

Finding Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

To perform Kegels, you first have to find your pelvic floor muscles. Three different ones are involved: the pubococcygeus, puborectalis, and iliococcygeus. These muscles extend across the bottom of the pelvis and combine with ligaments and tendons to support the organs located there.

While the muscles are hard to pronounce, finding them isn’t difficult. In fact, you use them every day. The next time you urinate, try to stop the flow midstream. Yes, you just did a Kegel exercise. The same thing goes for the next time you need to break wind. Tense your muscles when you feel like you need to pass gas. Notice that it is the same sensation. When you do this, you squeeze the anal sphincter, not your butt cheeks. The pelvic muscles support the bladder and bowel, too, as well as all of the structures involved in sexual function.

If you still aren’t sure where these muscles are, try the following method. Get naked and lie down on the bed if you wish. Place one or two fingers on the area between your balls and your anus and pretend you have to stop urinating. Do you feel that flexing sensation? You may feel some movement in your balls and penis when you do this, too, as this is the same muscle group that you use to make your penis dance when it is rock hard. Yes, you know you have done that. Don’t flex your butt, your legs, or your abs while doing this. Focus simply on flexing the pelvic floor areas.

Another way to determine whether you have found your pelvic floor muscles is to look at your naked self in the mirror. If you have tightened the right muscles, you’ll see the base of the penis drawn in, and the balls lift. As you release these muscles, you should feel a sensation of letting go.

If you still need help finding it, drink a lot of fluid, wait to pee, and then stop the stream. You’ve found it. Now that you’ve found you’re pelvic floor muscles, you’re ready to go to work on Kegel exercises.

How to Perform Men’s Kegel Exercises

Just by locating your pelvic floor muscles, you’ve already done a couple of them. Like any other exercise, start doing Kegels slowly as you can get sore at first. It’s also a good idea to consult with your doctor before starting a Kegel routine. You’ll find different ways to do them, but they are all relatively the same. The differences lie in how long you hold the contraction and the time in between contractions. Experts recommend different times for holding long and short contractions, but the basic concept is the same for both: Squeeze, hold, and release.

1. Start by wearing loose-fitting clothing

You don’t want anything to restrict your movement.

2. Choose a position

You can perform Kegel exercises standing, sitting, or lying down. Choose the one that is most comfortable for you and also allows you to concentrate. The best position for beginners is lying down. Once you become comfortable doing them, you can try sitting, standing, or even walking while performing Kegels.

3. Squeeze your pelvic muscles according to everything you have read previously

The length of time you hold the contractions depends on the type of Kegel exercises you decide to do.

Slow Kegel Exercises

Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as hard as you possibly can, according to the manner previously described. Hold to a count of five, but resist the urge to hold your breath because doing so makes you pull in your belly button and causes you to bear down on the pelvic floor. Just breathe normally as you would during other types of exercise. Keep squeezing as you slowly count, and then relax slowly. Once your muscles relax, you can squeeze again. Keep repeating until you reach a count of 10 cycles. If you can’t reach 10, feel free to stop whenever you are tired. It can take time to build up to 10, but make sure you work your way up to this number. Once you can attain ten contractions, you may want to increase the amount of time you hold each contraction before releasing. Relaxing the muscles is just as important as contracting them as the rest phase allows your muscles to recover from the previous construction and prepare for the next one.

Fast Kegel Exercises

When performing this version, you squeeze the same muscles but only hold them for about a second before relaxing your muscles all at once and then quickly holding the contraction again. Performing this version may be too challenging for you when you are just starting. Once again, remember not to hold your breath and stop doing Kegel contractions when you feel you have done enough if you can work your way up to 10. With this version, you can also increase the number of repetitions you do as your strength increases.

Varying Your Kegel Routine

Some doctors recommend fast contractions, some recommend slower ones, while others recommend ones that are in between or even a mix of two or three. That’s why it’s important to talk to your doctor to see what he or she recommends. Varying the type that you do is important because no two guys are the same. You’ll respond to one type more than the others.

What you should aim for is increasing the number and intensity that you do every day. Another suggestion is to aim for a Kegel session three times each day or at the very least several times a week.

Consistency is Key

If you only perform Kegel exercises occasionally, they won’t work for PE or any other problem for that matter. You must remain consistent performing Kegel exercises so they will work, so how do you do this? Some experts recommend that you do your routine at a specific time of day, such as when you awake in the morning or at another time that is convenient for you.

Another way to keep track of your Kegel exercises is by using an app called Stamena or Kegel Trainer. These apps will remind you when to do them and even give you visual clues on how long you should hold each contraction. You’ll also be able to measure your progress with these apps as each has different levels for you to reach. As you go through the levels, you should notice your pelvic floor muscles are strengthening, and you are lasting longer. Once you get to the point where you are happy with the results, you can back off a bit on the exercises. Think of your exercises as a gym for your erections, but just like going to the gym, your muscles will eventually need time off to rest.

However, you must remember that it takes patience and dedication to strengthen the pelvic floor, but the more you do them, the quicker you’ll see results. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for the exercises to work.

Don’t be embarrassed if you have trouble doing them correctly. Ask for help from your doctor or a physical therapist so you can learn to isolate and strengthen the correct muscles. Sometimes biofeedback can help. Your doctor will insert a small probe into your rectum that displays pelvic floor activity on a monitor as you attempt to contract and release your pelvic floor muscles.

Combining Kegels With Other PE Techniques

Other methods such as using thicker condoms or applying a desensitizing spray in conjunction with Kegel exercises are popular approaches. Both are a good way to delay ejaculation and increase your stamina immediately while you wait for Kegels to start working.

The start-stop method, where you bring yourself to the point of orgasm four or five times and then back off sexual stimulation, is also effective for treating PE. However, many guys and their partners find this method unsatisfying.

Additional Benefits of Kegel Exercises

Because Kegel exercises strengthen the whole structure down there, you’ll get other benefits. Imagine having multiple orgasms. Kegels can help you achieve that if you don’t ejaculate. You can also orgasm more intensely by squeezing your pelvic muscles right before you orgasm and holding your ejaculate as long as possible. You’ll get more mundane benefits too. If you have problems with urination or emptying your bowels, Kegels can help improve those situations too.